Transgender activist Vidya Kamble has been appointed a member of the National Lok Adalat in Nagpur, PTI reported on Sunday. After her appointment on January 29, she expressed her concern about discrimination against members of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender community.

She is the first transgender person to be appointed to the judicial panel in Maharashtra, District Legal Aid Committee Secretary Kunal Jadhav said. Kamble has been an activist for a decade.

The newly-appointed member of the Lok Adalat questioned why families ostracise transgender babies. “If a child is born with a disability, he/she is not neglected or thrown out,” she said. “Then why transgenders are rejected?”

The judicial panels comprise a sitting or a retired judge, a lawyer and a social activist. Members of these panels are given the task of settling cases pending in courts or disputes that are at a pre-trial stage. The panels have statutory status under the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987.