In 1st landmark case of a sex change, govt permits woman IRS officer to turn man

Chandigarh, July 10

In a landmark move, the government has permitted an IRS officer to officially change name and gender.

The woman Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer, serving as the Joint Commissioner in the regional bench of Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT), Hyderabad, turned a man.

This is said to be the first case of a sex change in the Indian Civil Services.

The Ministry of Finance has accepted the request of M Anusuya for change of her name to M Anukathir Surya and gender from female to male.

“The request of Ms M Anusuya has been considered. Henceforth, the officer will be recognised as ‘Mr M Anukathir Surya’ in all official records,” reads the order issued by the Ministry of Finance, Government of India on July 9.

The 35-year-old officer posted as Joint Commissioner in the office of the Chief Commissioner (Authorised Representative) of CESTAT, had joined his current posting last year.

Surya started his career as an Assistant Commissioner in Chennai in December 2013, and was promoted to the rank of Deputy Commissioner in 2018.

He completed his Bachelor’s degree in Electronics and Communication from the Madras Institute of Technology in Chennai. He did PG Diploma in Cyber Law and Cyber Forensics from the National Law Institute University in Bhopal in 2023. With IANS inputs