New Delhi, Oct. 9 -- The Delhi High Court on Wednesday said the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019, was a "toothless tiger" while hearing a petition seeking recognition of rape as an offence against transgender women and transgender children under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). The court, however, prima facie observed that such expansion lies within the legislature's domain, not the judiciary, while asking the Centre to file its response. Hearing a plea by Dr Chandresh Jain, a bench of chief justice DK Upadhyaya and justice Tushar Rao Gedela noted that had the legislature intended such inclusion, it would have amended Section 376 of Indian Penal Code-now replaced by Section 63 of BNS-which explicitly defines rape as committed by a "man" against a "woman", excluding men, transgender persons, and animals. Jain, represented by advocates Anant Sharma and Sanjeev Kumar, sought inclusion of "transwoman" and "transchildren" under Chapter V of the BNS, arguing that Section 18 of the Transgender Persons Act is inadequate. Section 18 penalises various offences, including sexual abuse, but only with imprisonment of six months to two years and a fine, without defining offences or linking them to existing penal laws. The petition contended that exclusion of transgender persons from definitions in key laws violates Articles 14, 15, and 21 of the Constitution. Calling Section 18 "absolutely toothless", the court said it lacked procedural rules for filing complaints....