New Delhi, May 7 -- A divided US Supreme Court on Tuesday (May 6) allowed President Donald Trump's ban on transgender individuals serving in the military to take effect, putting thousands of active-duty troops at risk of removal. The court's decision stays a lower court's preliminary injunction that had previously blocked the ban while legal battles proceed.

The court's three liberal justices-Sotomayor, Kagan, and Jackson-dissented from the decision, which marks a major victory for Trump as he advances a broader rollback of transgender rights during his second term.

In a January 27 executive order, Trump claimed that expressing a gender identity divergent from one's biological sex disqualifies a person from military service.

"Expressin...