In a first in India's civil services, IRS officer gets name and gender changed in official records

In a landmark event for India's civil services, a woman IRS officer has officially transitioned to being recognized as a male civil servant. Ms. M Anusuya, who serves as Joint Commissioner at the Central Excise Customs Excise & Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) in Hyderabad, will now be known as Mr. M Anukathir Surya. This change marks a significant first in the history of Indian civil services.

The Union Finance Ministry, according to a TOI report, issued an order on Tuesday, confirming the request for the name and gender change. The order stated that Ms. M Anusuya, an IRS officer from the 2013 batch, had requested to change her name to Mr. M Anukathir Surya and her gender from female to male. The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs, Department of Revenue, approved this request, making the changes official in all records.

"Ms M Anusuya, an IRS officer of 2013 batch, presently posted as Joint Commissioner in the office of Chief Commissioner (AR), CESTAT, Hyderabad, has requested for change of her name from Ms M Anusuya to Mr 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," said the order .


This transition follows the landmark April 2014 Supreme Court judgment in the NALSA case, which recognized the third gender and affirmed that gender identity is a personal choice, regardless of whether an individual undergoes sex reassignment surgery. The judgment highlighted that sexual orientation refers to an individual's enduring physical, romantic, and/or emotional attraction, including transgender and gender-variant individuals. It paved the way for government recognition of gender transitions within the civil services.

In 2015, a male commercial tax officer in Odisha transitioned to female and was officially recognized as Aishwarya Rituparna Pradhan, setting a precedent for gender transitions in Indian civil services.

Mr. M Anukathir Surya brings extensive experience to his role, having served in the Indian Revenue Service for over a decade. His tenure includes positions as Joint Commissioner in Hyderabad, Deputy Commissioner, and Assistant Commissioner in Chennai. He is a graduate in Electronics and Communication from Madras Institute of Technology Chennai and also holds a PG Diploma in Cyber Law and Cyber Forensics from National Law Institute University, Bhopal.