PROTECTION OF THE TRANSGENDERS FROM THE SEXUAL

OFFENCES UNDER THE IPC, 1860?

Tushar Ranjan
3rd Year Student, NUSRL, Ranchi
[email protected]; 7761030602

Abstract: The social stigma associated with the Transgenders and their sexual identity in the
community stand strong paving the way for frequent violence, exploitation and discrimination.
This article mainly focusses on the fact that how in spite of being bound by various obligations
to protect the rights of the Transgender, the Indian Criminal law which having witnessed several
reforms and introduction of new and modified laws in the past few decades, has still failed to
provide proper legal protection to the transgender community who are being a constant victim of
sexual violence. This article addresses the important issues surrounding sexual violence of the
Transgender with the persecution they have been subjected to by not only the community
members but also by the people administered to protect and maintain the law and suggests
possible measures and steps for the protection of their community under Indian law.
Through the first part of the Paper, the researcher seeks to identify the flaws and other minute
loopholes in the law provisions of the sexual crimes under the IPC and other various penal
governing codes by analyzing the issues and assessing the current law structure which makes the
Transgenders vulnerable to not only sexual assault but also subjected to grave violence. The
second part of the paper is highlighted on the need to make changes in the criminal law and to
promote gender sensitization in the country.

KEYWORDS: Sexual Offence, Transgender, IPC, Criminal Law.

 1. INTRODUCTION
India has been unsuccessful in counteracting cases of sexual harassment against Transgenders
community who undeniably face discrimination even today which makes them one of the most
disempowered and deprived groups in Indian society. It is very necessary to acknowledge the
grey area in the Indian Penal Code (IPC), with regard to the acts of sexual violence against the
transgenders. There is no legal recourse available to them above the age of 18 years. Given the
changing scenarios and challenges, gender-neutrality in law is the road to social change and the
society needs to unbind itself from the shackles of the gender stereotypes that have been
prevailing for a long time. Transgenders are additionally essential for society and have
equivalent rights, as are accessible to different people. Although the Parliament has passed The
Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 20191; for the protection of the
Transgenders, they are left with very limited rights and protection which are insufficient to seek
any judicial remedy.
1.1 THE TRANSGENDER COMMUNITY RECOGNISED AS THE “THIRD GENDER”
There is ample historical and mythological evidence that India has always been home for the
transgender community. Truth be told, the Hijra people group in India follow their beginnings
from epics like Ramayana and the Mahabharata. 2 Transgender people have existed in every
culture, race, and class since the story of human life has been recorded.
Transgender is a term to describe people “who do not conform to traditional notions of gender
identity, appearance and notion”. It includes Hijras and Transsexuals. While some take medical
help like going through surgical operations to change into the other gender, others play out the
part of the other gender. These diverse range of identities makes them too vulnerable to sexual
violence.3
In the landmark judgement of National legal services authority (NALSA) v. UOI,4 Apex court
passed the order to give separate identity to the transgenders by recognizing them as the “third
genders”.5 The Court observed that the right to self-identify one's sexual orientation, including

1
The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019 (Act No. 40 of 2019).
2
Shweta Kabra; “Gender Neutral Laws- How Needful in India?”, Meaning of Gender Neutrality, P. no. 8; available
at: http://docs.manupatra.in/newsline/articles/Upload/3FE150D0-E784-49BD-8328-4134C0E87955.pdf (last visited
on Oct 21, 2020).
3
Ibid.
4
AIR 2014 SC 1863.
5
Ibid at para 19.
"third gender", is an indispensable piece of the Right to live with dignity under Article 21 of the
Indian Constitution.
It was also observed that 'individual' under Article 14 of the Constitution isn't confined to just
male and female, yet hijras and transgender people who are neither male nor female yet fall
inside the ambit of 'individual' and are qualified for lawful protection of laws in all circles of
State movement.6 The NALSA judgment likewise distinguished the issue of the Transgender
people group being exposed to sexual viciousness. The Court held that Sexual attack, including
molestation, assault, forced anal and oral sex, rape and stripping is being committed without any
potential repercussions and there are reliable insights and materials to support such exercises.7

1.2 CHANGES IN THE SEXUAL OFFENCES LAWS OF THE IPC

Throughout the long term, criminal laws in India have on numerous occasions been changed to
address the issue of great importance. The Law Commission of India in its 172nd Report8, after
the corollary to Sakshi v. Union of India9 recommended to introduce gender-neutral sexual
offence laws, for both the victim and the offender and to increase the ambit of Section 375 of the
IPC. The Justice Verma Committee in 2013 10 again expressed the need for gender-neutral laws
for the victim but a gender specific law for the offender. However, The Criminal Law
(Amendment) Ordinance 201311; which had introduced the views of Justice Verma Committee
was later on, repealed and replaced by the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013 which is again
gender-specific, protecting the interest of women only.
● Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 201912 (“The Act”) being the first
statutory enactment pointed toward improving the states of transgenders, yet in addition,
thrashed as a draconian type of law by the transgender community. Section 5 of the Act
requires a transgender to move toward a District Magistrate for the giving of authentication as
a transgender.13 It's only after this that they will have the option to change their sex to either
Male or Female on officially sanctioned ID cards.
6
Supra note 5 at para 21.
7
Ananya Srinath, Transgender Act-A Violation of Human Rights; available at: https://medium.com/the-
%C3%B3pinion/transgender-act-a-violation-of-human-rights-fc9dafefbc56, (last visited on Oct 22, 2020).
8
Law Commission of India, “172th Report on Review of Rape Laws” (March, 2000).
9
AIR 2004 SC 3566.
10
Government of India, “Report of the Committee on Amendments to Criminal Law” (January, 2013).
11
The Criminal Law (Amendment) Ordinance 2013 (Act no. 3 of 2013).
12
Supra note 1.
13
Ibid, s.5
The process to obtain this certificate is to show proof of sex reassignment surgery, which is not
something all transgender people want as it is expensive and unaffordable to many. In the act it is
not discussed how actually the district magistrate going to examine the people and also stands in
violation of right to privacy and this contradicts the 2014 NALSA judgement 14 by the Supreme
Court, which gave transgender people the right to self-identify, and did not mandate surgery.15
The Bill makes sexual abuse against a transgender person a punishable offence. However, it fails
to clearly define what constitutes sexual abuse. In the case of a cisgender woman, her rapist-once
convicted will be sentenced to a minimum of seven years of jail term, which can extend to a life
sentence. Be that as it may, with regards to a transgender individual, the minimum sentence is a
half year and can be maximum up to a limit of only two years.16
The Bill does not have any provisions to apprehend those who discriminate against, bully, or
harass transgender people at educational institutes, workplaces or anywhere else. The Bill also has
no mention of things like marriage rights, adoption rights, property rights, social security, or
pension. This deprives the transgender community of some of the most fundamental rights.
● National Council for Transgender Persons 17 is propose in the act, although, it lacks
independence in carrying out functions, composed of 30 people merely has only 5
representatives from the transgender community. Moreover, the person will be nominated by
the central government gravely putting the autonomy of the person on the board in peril.
Every member who is not an employee of the central government is to be appointed by the
Central Government, questioning the independence of the council.
● The Criminal Law Amendment Act, 2013 18 did appease those who had criticized the
Ordinance,19 but it also led to a new line of criticism from certain members of the queer
movement, who viewed the reversion as damaging the interests of the transgender
community. Pertinently, such criticism poses another difficult question whether the interests
of the transgender community ever featured in the entire discourse surrounding gender
neutrality in Indian rape law.20 However, the new amendment gave a more precise and refined

14
Supra note 4.
15
Ibid at para 22.
16
Supra note 1, s.18(d).
17
Id, s. 16.
18
The Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013 (Act No. 13 of 2013).
19
Supra note 11.
20
Harshad Pathak, “Beyond Binary-Rethinking Gender Neutrality in Indian Rape Law”; 11 Asian Journal of
Comparative Law 367–397 (2016).
 definition of “rape” which goes beyond peno-vaginal penetration and elaborated on the
understanding of consent.
2. CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF THE ISSUES SURROUNDING SEXUAL VIOLENCE
OF THE TRANSGENDERS
Transgenders in India face an assortment of issues. So far, these communities see that they have
been barred from viably partaking in social and social life, economy, and governmental issues,
and decision-making processes. An essential explanation (and result) of the avoidance is seen to
be the absence of (or equivocalness) acknowledgment of the gender status of transgender
individuals.
a. DO THE TRANSGENDERS EXPERIENCE SEXUAL ASSAULT?
In India, various studies have documented the sexual and physical violence against transgender
persons.21 Some of the reports are summarized below:
1. In September 2003, The Peoples Union for Civil Liberties, Karnataka (PUCL-K) distributed
a genuinely exceptional report on common freedoms infringement against the transgender
community in India.22 In one such story, 23 years of age Sachin remembers his injury in the
wake of being deserted by a customer in a ring street. What followed was rape by a police
officer, which left him mentally drained and in torment. His bad dream went endless when
before long, a van full of tourists halted and alternated on him until he was too feeble to even
consider fighting.23
The report which is based on personal interviews similar to this, with around 40 to 50
transgenders in the city was horrifying and shocking. Sexual violence in the form of physical
abuse, rape, beatings and torture at the hands of the police and personal guards, tourists,
businessmen and others, is a constant pervasive theme in all the narratives that they have
collected from the study. Along with subjection to physical violence such as beatings and threats
of disfigurement with acid bulbs, the sexuality of a transgender also becomes a target of prurient
curiosity and the sexuality of a transgender turns into an objective of vulgar interest, at least,
which prompts fierce viciousness, and no more.

21
Supra note 2.
22
Peoples’ Union for Civil Liberties, Karnataka (PUCL-K); “Human Rights violations against the transgender
community- A study of Kothi and hijra sex workers in Bangalore, India”; (September 2003).
23
Ibid.
Like the narrative indicate, the police continually degrade hijras by asking them sexual inquiries,
feel up their bosoms, strip them, and at times assault them. With or without the component of
actual brutality, such activities establish an infringement of the integrity and privacy of the very
sexual being of the individual.24
2. In Jayalakshmi v. The State of Tamil Nadu 25, the petitioner was the sister of a
youthful transgender named Pandian, in Tamil Nadu, who was being examined by the
Police with respect to a burglary case. The Police authorities took him to the Police
station for cross-examination and she was then released on bail on condition that Pandian
would answer to the Police station consistently. Pandian was sexually harassed and
manhandled by the Police staff inside the police headquarters each day. They even
threatened Pandian against disclosure of inappropriate behavior. Pandian later set himself
ablaze and following a couple of days succumbed to the wounds. In his dying declaration,
he expressed that he couldn't bear the torment and pain so he had needed to take his life.26
The Court ordered the State Government to pay compensation of a sum of Rs.5 lakhs to the
petitioner for the harassment meted out to her brother Pandian. The State Government was asked
to initiate disciplinary action against respondents for the treatment meted out to Pandian.
3. HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS
Even though the transgender community has seen social and legal progress but still there are
instances wherein transgender people face pervasive discrimination in many areas of life and it’s
not just society that discriminates them but the law of the country also does not give them equal
share of rights and does not protect their interests as well. The inference about the discriminatory
nature of the law towards the transgender community can be drawn as the provision of the IPC
are discriminatory to the transgender community as there is no room for protection of
transgender community victims under the rape laws of IPC and against unnatural offences and
other sexual offences; the provisions of the IPC only protects the women community and such
discrimination is arbitrary and is in violation of the Fundamental Right guaranteed under Part III
of the Constitution. The current rape laws leave out a large swathe of transgender victims who
become the objects of social stigma.

24
Supra note 22.
25
AIR (2007) 4 MLJ 849.
26
Government of India, “Report of the Expert Committee on the issues relating to Transgender Persons” (Ministry
of Social Justice and Empowerment 2013).
 3.1. The International Laws and Convention
After going through the above laws, it seems that Article 1, 6, 7 and 12 of the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights27 (which provides that all human beings are born free, equal in
dignity and rights, recognizing the right to treat everyone is equal before the law without any
discrimination) as well as Article 7, 9 ,16, and 17 of the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights28 have a very less impact on our society and how it behaves towards the
transgenders.29 Principle 4 of the UN Declaration on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity 30
presented to the UN General Assembly; expresses deep concerns on violations of human rights
on fundamental freedoms based on sexual orientation or gender identity.31
Taking into account the Constitutional assurance, the transgender communities is qualified for
fundamental rights i.e. Right to Personal Liberty, dignity, Freedom of expression, Right to
Education and Empowerment, right against Violence, Discrimination and exploitation and Right
to work under Article 14, 15, 16, 19 and 21 of the Constitution of India.32
● The Yogyakarta Principles, a non-binding set of international standards, apply
international human rights standards to issues that affect the LGBTQ community, and
have been used by the UN and other groups in their effort to promote and protect the
human rights of sexual minorities.33 The Principles affirm that “human beings of all
sexual orientations and gender identities are entitled to the full enjoyment of all human
rights.”34
3.1.a. SEXUAL OFFENCES LAWS BEING GENDER SPECIFIC
This means that a man is not always the perpetrator of the crime and the woman is not always the
victim. Men, women, transgenders or any other persons identifying with a particular gender
27
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948.
28
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, 1976.
29
Sparsh Gupta, “Laws Relating to Sexual Harassment Against Transgenders”; Criminal Law Review (2019).
30
UN Declaration on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity, 2016.
31
Supra note 26.
32
Dr. Ujwala Bendale, “Analytic Study relating to Rights of Transgender vis-à-vis Supreme Court verdict NALSA
v. UOI 2014” Bharti Law Review 7(2014).
33
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity, International Justice Resource Centre, available at:
https://ijrcenter.org/thematic-research-guides/sexual-orientation-gender-identity/#Same-Sex_Marriage (last visited
on Oct. 29, 2020).
34
Introduction to Yogyakarta Principles, available at: http://yogyakartaprinciples.org/principle-1/ (last visited on
Oct. 29, 2020).
identity (or not) may fall in the ambit of ‘perpetrator’ or ‘victim’. In the case of Sudesh Jhaku v.
KC Jhaku35 the court opined that the men should be included within the ambit of protection
under law against sexual offences.
● Rape: The law dealing with rape has been given u/s 375 of the IPC and depends on the
pre-assumption that the offense of rape must be submitted by a male perpetrator upon a
female. It doesn't protect the Transgender community victims from being explicitly
attacked. This view doesn't adjust to the focal thought of balance and equivalent security
of law as set down in Article 14 of the Constitution. Article 14 is a privilege delighted in
by 'any person' thus it applies similarly to men, ladies, and transgender people. Thus,
transgender individuals are additionally qualified for equivalent legitimate insurance of
the law in all circles.36
● Any emphasis on sexual orientation explicitness in assault law stands in opposition to the
structure of uninhibited gender equity. It sabotages the compass and guarantees that
sexuality incorporates people without names and personalities the most customary and
advantaged alongside the most loathed; and strengthens an understanding that solitary
two sexes are pertinent to any talk on assault law. Therefore, certain victims and
perpetrators are missing from hypotheses of assault basically on the grounds that they
will not forfeit their sexual orientation character. The laws so outlined at that point
present a class of survivors of nontraditional rapes with a decision between sexual
orientation personality and the quest for equity.37
Besides, Section 376 of the IPC contains provisions of exasperated assault where the perpetrator
is in a place of control over the victim, and these offenses get harsher punishments. These
provisions show the significance of the power equation when it comes to rape. Notwithstanding,
the assumption that such slanted force conditions can just happen between a man and a lady is a
confined perspective on the real world. Transgenders just as guys might be casualties of these
slanted force conditions similarly also.38

35
1996 (38) DRJ 22
36
Fiza Bhaba; “Discriminatory Penal Laws For Transgender Community”; available at:
http://legalserviceindia.com/legal/article-788-discriminatory-penal-laws-for-transgender-community.html (last
visited on Oct. 29, 2020).
37
Supra note 20.
38
Ankita Ramgopal; “Rape laws: Why is sexual violence against India’s transgender community not being taken
seriously?”; Scroll.in, Mar 3, 2018, available at: <https://scroll.in/article/868907/rape-laws-why-is-sexual-violence-
against-indias-transgender-community-not-being-taken-seriously> (last visited on Aug. 20, 2020).
 ● Unnatural Offences: As published in The Tribune on October 14, 201939, The Delhi
High Court had issued a notice to the Centre and sought its stand on the plea made by a
lawyer who had challenged the constitutional validity of Section 37740 (unnatural
offence) of the IPC in light of exclusion of the transgenders from its protection and
alternatively, he has sought that the section be read down to make it constitutional by
including the transgenders as well.
Besides Section 377, the petition has also challenged the constitutional validity of Sections 8
and 10 of the IPC which define the words ‘gender, man and woman’ saying their definitions do
not include transgenders.41 The Supreme Court of India in the landmark decision in Navtej Singh
Johar v. Union of India,42 declared Section 377 of the IPC as unconstitutional in context to
consensual homosexual acts. However, it is still valid and criminalizes non-consensual acts
against the order of nature through penetration. The section protects men, women and even an
animal but at the same time excludes the Transgender community which is not justifiable. The
point here is even animals, who can't raise voice against offenses, are getting assurance under
this segment however not the transsexual individuals who infer that the latter, are remediless
when an offense under Section 377 read with Sections 8 and 10 of IPC is committed against
them.
● Offences u/s 354A, 354B, 354C, 354D of IPC: Similarly, the offences of sexual
harassment, voyeurism and stalking as provided under the IPC are attracted where the
victims are females, excluding men and transgenders and the perpetrators are solely men.
This constitutes denial of the equal protection of law to the transgenders and violations of
their human rights.
Pertinently, so far as criminal liability is concerned, transgenders cannot escape punishment
when they are accused of committing crimes. The world “person” in the IPC and General

39
“PIL claims no protection for transgenders from sexual offences under IPC”, The Tribune, Oct. 14, 2019,
available at <https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/archive/nation/hc-seeks-centre-s-reply-on-pil-claiming-no-
protection-for-transgenders-from-sexual-offences-847098> (last visited on Oct. 29, 2020).
40
Ibid.
41
“PIL: Protect transgenders from sexual offences”, The Tribune, Sept. 27, 2020, available at:
<https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/nation/pil-protect-transgenders-from-sexual-offences-147220> (last visited on
Sept. 28, 2020).
42
AIR 2018 SC 4321.
Clauses Act means all human beings. People who can be rebuffed for committing offenses to
incorporate transgenders, however they are intentionally denied of their social liberties.
3.2 OPPOSITION FROM THE FEMINIST GROUPS
The call for gender-neutral laws is often seen as a criticism of feminism. There are no official
statistics to evidence that non-females are raped in India or that women can rape another person.
Novotny (2003) in her article in the Seattle Journal of Social Justice43 expresses concern that
gender neutral rape laws would lead to negative consequences for female victims of rape and
calls it a ‘backlash against feminism.’44in her article in Economic And Political and Weekly
Journal expresses "a sexually unbiased rape law may open up roads for perpetrating great trauma
and mortification on a section, as of now underestimated, and subsequently nullify the very point
of the change."45
3.3 NEED FOR A CHANGE IN THE CRIMINAL LAW
One of the first things that needs to be done for recognizing the reality of Transgender sexual
victimization is a change in the framing of laws. This should be accomplished for the Indian
Penal Code, 1860 yet in addition for different laws, for example, abusive behavior at home and
family laws. In this way, the officials need to guide the law commission to direct investigates and
appraisal of a wide range of casualties of sexual brutality free of gender.46
 Inclusion of Transgender People in Laws Relating to The Sexual Crimes: The
National Coalition of Anti-Violence Projects (NCAVP) estimates that around half of
transgender people experience sexual assault and rape at some point in their lifetime but
the Indian Penal Code has failed to provide any adequate protection to them, whereas, the
constitution provides for the fundamental right to equality and tolerates no
discrimination.47
Gender-neutral laws recognize male and transgender members of the society as victims and do
not rob the law or society of any sensitivity towards female victims. It simply recognizes the fact

43
Patricia Novotny, “Rape Victims in the (Gender) Neutral Zone: The Assimilation of Resistance?” 1 Seattle
Journal for Social Justice 746 (2002).
44
Ibid.
45
Flavia Agnes; “Gender Neutrality in Rape Law, Law, Ideology and Female Sexuality”; 37 Economic & Political
Weekly (2002).
46
Nikunj Kulshreshtha Gender-neutral rape laws: A need for Indian society, iPleaders Nov. 5, 2019 available at:
<https://blog.ipleaders.in/rape-sexual-assault-law-india-gender-neutral/> (last visited on Oct. 29, 2020).
47
The National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs, “Hate Violence against Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual,
and Transgender People in the United States” 47 (2008).
that other genders may also fall prey to such inhuman crimes.48 Therefore, to place the
Transgenders into same and equal footing as that of the other individuals there is a dire need of
making the rape laws, sexual assault, sexual harassment and domestic violence laws to be
transgender-inclusive to cover the cases of sexual assault on these people. Gender neutrality
within rape statutes means, the concept, that the criminal law should recognize that men, women
and transgender persons can be rape victims as well as perpetrators. An act of rape must be
viewed solely as a human rights violation. If rape is indeed a human rights violation, then a
criminal offence of rape that seeks to punish these instances cannot be selective in terms of the
protection it affords, on the basis of the genders of the actors involved. Human rights, such as the
right to life with dignity and equal protection of the law, are rights that each person is entitled to,
by reason of being a human being. This includes men, women, and transgender persons to equal
extents.49
Further, Section 377 of the IPC protects men, women and even an animal but at the same time
excludes the Transgender community which implies that the transgender community is
considered to be even inferior to animals which is absolutely against the basic rights. Therefore,
to seek protection of laws to all human beings and identify the offences of sexual nature against
both men and transgenders, the provisions of Section 377 and definitions under Section 8 and 10
of the IPC should be made inclusive of man, women and transgender.
 Gender Sensitization Training: Alongside amending the criminal law, sensitization of
the entire legal machinery is also required so that victims do not feel any hesitation in
reporting violations to the Police officials, as the Police forms the first authority in the
legal machinery for victims’ approach. However, police officials’ apathy is so widely
known among the general public that it dissuades victims from speaking up. 50 Suitable
suggestive measures of the sensitization training are hereunder:
1. Law enforcement agencies including police and judicial officers need to be sensitized on
issues of trans people to end their harassment and discrimination.51

48
Supra note 22.
49
Ibid.
50
Supra note 46.
51
India: Enforce Ruling Protecting Transgender People, available at: https://www.hrw.org/news/2015/02/05/india-
enforce-ruling-protecting-transgender-people (last visited on Oct. 29, 2020).
2. The Government should take steps to sensitize the general community so as to create a
supportive and enabling environment for the TG community.52
3. Transgenders should be counted in population census and Rules must be framed so that no one
may call them in any disrespectful way.
4. Law should be accommodated in the matter of dishonor comments and molestation made to
the transgenders, if any.
5. Transgenders must be provided opportunities for better education, for this some schemes may
be announced for their social as well as economic development.
4. CONCLUSION
Transgenders are the marginalized section of the society. It would be a social failure if we deny
the sheer existence of rapes and sexual offences against the Transgenders and classify them as
unfortunate occurrences and not involve them within the meaning of the law. This would fail our
Criminal Law System in totality as it refuses to empathize with victims other than females. The
gender neutrality of rape law should be in consonance with the doctrines of equality before the
law and equal protection of the law, as engraved under Article 14 of the Constitution of India.
Social acknowledgment of such a reality would add to the lawful help of victim in looking for a
review. Therefore, we need a complete restructuring of almost all statutes, especially the IPC, to
accommodate gender-neutral laws.
The Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill, 2019 was moved to make sexual offences gender-neutral
in India. The objective is to extend the protections of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, Code of
Criminal Procedure, 1973 and Indian Evidence Act, 1872 in cases of sexual offences to all
genders, and to omit any discrimination. The Bill is still pending and a dire need for
implementing gender-neutral policies to ensure inclusion and to sensitize every individual of the
society to bring about legal reform for the transgender people so they can also be free and
empowered in their public and private lives as any other citizen of India.

52
Consolidated Guideline on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights of Women Living with HIV, available at:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK442185/ (last visited on Oct. 29, 2020).