Indira Jaising is a senior Indian lawyer known for her outstanding contribution to promoting human rights and gender equality in India. She has taken up several cases to combat discrimination against women in India, including Rupan Deol Bajaj v. KPS Gill, which received extensive media coverage.
Wiki/Biography
Indira Jaising is one of the most renowned lawyers in India. She was born on June 3, 1940 (Age 80; as of 2020) was born in Mumbai, Maharashtra. She was born into a Sindhi Hindu family and spent her childhood in Mumbai. Her star sign is Gemini. She did her Bachelor of Arts from Bangalore University and then her Master of Laws from Mumbai University in 1962. After getting her Master of Laws, she started practicing law. She is committed to fighting for human rights and continues to do so till date.
Indira Jaising walks out of court
appearance
Eye color: Black
Hair color: Gray
Family, Caste and Husband
Indira Jaising was born into a Sindhi Hindu family in Mumbai, Maharashtra. Indira Jaising grew up in Mumbai and completed her law training. She married Anand Grover, a senior lawyer in the field of homosexuality and AIDS law in India. In 1981, they co-founded an NGO called Lawyers Union, which worked on feminist and left-wing causes.
Profession
Indira Jaising is one of the most prominent lawyers in the Indian judicial system and is actively involved in raising issues such as human rights and gender equality. She has handled many high-profile cases, one of which was that of Indian Police Service officer Rupan Deol Bajaj, who claimed that former Punjab Governor, late KPS Gill, had sexually harassed her at a party in 1988. The case went on till 2005 and KPS Gill was asked to pay a fine of Rs. 2 lakh and serve 3 years in prison. She is committed to the welfare of women and another case she took up was that of Mary Roy. The final judgment in the case gave equal inheritance rights to Syrian Christian women in Kerala. She challenged the Indian Divorce Act in the Kerala High Court because the provisions in the Act were not in favour of women.
Indira Jaising and her legal team
Indira Jaising represented victims of the Bhopal gas leak in the Supreme Court of India seeking compensation from the American multinational Union Carbide. She also worked with the Punjab People’s Violence Commission to investigate judicial killings, disappearances and mass cremations that took place between 1979 and 1990. In 2015, she represented Priya Pillai in a Greenpeace India case and in 2016, she raised concerns about the Supreme Court’s process for appointing senior counsel. Indira Jaising is a member of the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies in London and was a visiting scholar at Columbia University in New York.
dispute
- In 2019, the Central Bureau of Investigation raided the homes and offices of senior Indian lawyers Indira Jaising and Anand Grover to investigate a case. The case arose because the NGO “Lawyers Alliance” violated some foreign donation norms. The case was filed in 2016, alleging that the organization violated the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) and that the donations to the organization were used for “political purposes.” The Indian Ministry of Home Affairs cancelled the organization’s FCRA license. However, the government decided to unfreeze their accounts, but the license was not renewed.
- In January 2020, Indira Jaising made a controversial statement saying that Asha Devi, the mother of the 2012 Delhi gang rape victim, should forgive the criminals. The matter received much attention and Nirbhaya’s mother severely criticized Indira Jaising for making such a statement, even though she is a senior lawyer actively involved in fighting for women’s rights. Actress Kangana Ranaut also responded to the statement, saying that Indira Jaising should be kept in jail with the criminals.
Facts/Trivia
- Indira Jaising was ranked 20th in Fortune magazine’s 2018 list of the “50 Greatest Leaders in the World”.
- In 1986, Indira Jaising founded the monthly magazine The Lawyer, which published articles on social justice and women’s issues in the context of Indian law.
The Lawyer Magazine by Indira Jaising
- In 2005, Indian President Dr. Abdul Kalam awarded Indira Jaising the Padma Shri for her contribution to public affairs.
- She is a member of the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women.
- She was determined to fight the corruption rooted in the country’s judicial system and in 1989, she exposed the corruption of Justice Ramaswamy and his promotion of others to participate in corruption.
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education