Supreme Court rejects bid to cancel sex change rules

The petitioner alleged that successive governments, including the present administration, had facilitated gender transition procedures in a manner contrary to the law. 

In his petition, Jayathilaka argued that Sri Lankan law does not permit a person to change their sex from male to female or from female to male through surgery without what he described as a biological basis. He further alleged that, under guidelines issued in 2016 by the then Director General of Health Services, individuals had been allowed to change their gender identity based on recommendations made by psychiatrists.