COIMBATORE: This Valentine’s Day meant a lot for

Surekha, 24, and her partner Manikandan, 26. The couple, who got married in 2018, was not able to register their marriage. On Friday, their wish was fulfilled at Vadavalli sub-registrar office near Coimbatore.

The couple could not earlier register their marriage as under Section 5 (iii) of the Hindu Marriage Act, the term bride meant woman. The couple first attempted registering their marriage in 2019.

They were getting home rental agreements and electricity connections in Surekha’s name only because they were not legally married yet.

The couple approached the district collector two weeks ago, following which the inspector general of registrations wrote to the Vadavalli sub-registrar clarifying that the Act and the term bride were applicable for transgenders. The department contacted the couple’s lawyer PP Sivakumar and agreed to register their marriage.

The couple has been living in Kavundampalayam. Manikandan is an autorickshaw driver.

“I feel so happy that I feel like I have got a new life,” Manikandan said after registering their marriage. Surekha said it was in this moment that she finally felt legally accepted by society.

“I didnt feel this way, even when my gender change was published in the gazette and when I got my Aadhaar and voter id card. I file like my married life has just begun,” she added.

“I want to be an example to people who don’t feel confident about being in love with transsexuals and to transsexuals who are in love with either men or women,” said Manikandan.

“I can now provide my marriage certificate for fertility treatment, or child adoption, to take a loan together and open a joint bank account, which is how every other couple lives,” said Surekha.

They were accompanied by Manikandan’s parents, Surekha’s adopted mother and their friends to the sub- registrar office.

Surekha, who works in a dairy farm in Narasimanaickenpalayam, said, “I don’t have my parents or any siblings, because I left home as a child. I also need some legal family.”

The Madras high court in April 2019 ruled that the term “bride” under the Hindu Marriage Act includes transwomen and directed authorities to register a marriage between a man and a transsexual woman.