MUMBAI: The state law department has expressed the view that the case of a woman constable, Lalita Salve, is a 'special case'.

Salve who sought permission to experience a sex change and continue in service as a male constable, be considered optimistically and treated as

Salve, 29, who belongs from Beed, joined the force as a female constable in June 2010. She sought permission for a month's leave to undergo sex reassignment surgery in September 2017 but her request was dismissed by her superiors in November. Following this, she approached Bombay High Court and filed the plea in which she noted that doctors who examined her found that she suffers from gender dysphoria, a condition in which emotional and psychological individuality are at odds with one's biological sex.

Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis had directed the home department to treat her case positively. In his report, the director general of police had put the responsibility on the government to take a decision.

The home department had then sought a legal opinion. A senior official said the law department has indicated that as an employee, she should not be dispossessed of her rights. "Salve has been facing biological changes within her body, which is a natural phenomenon. She is not doing so deliberately. Going by this reasoning, her case must be taken positively and treated as an exceptional one," said an official statement.