[ad_1]
I The lawyers of The Supreme Court of Japan and Menaka Guruswamy both graduates of the NLSIU Bangalore, were selected to appear on the list of the 100 most influential personalities of the TIME magazine, based in 2019, quoted in especially for their work in overthrowing section 377.
Guruswamy, a former Supreme Court lawyer, graduated from the NLS in 1997 and holds a Master of Laws degree from Harvard Law School as well as from 39, a BCL and a D Phil from the University of Oxford.
Katju is also a graduate of the NLSIU. with a Master of Laws from Columbia Law School. She had worked with the Indian National Commission for the Protection of the Rights of the Child on the drafting of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses Act 2012.
The two representatives of the LGBTQ community represented several members of the LGBTQ community before the Supreme Court. among other lawyers who represented various petitioners arguing their disputes in the Supreme Court and high courts on various motions brought under section 377.
Guruswamy had disputed eloquently and thoroughly in the Supreme Court case relating to the constitution, and Katju had been involved in the case ever since. 2012.
Normally we do not cover magazine power lists or rankings, even if they include lawyers (from NLS or others), but TIME is probably one of the most known to the world. And to our knowledge, they are the first Indian lawyers to be on the list, generally quite US-centric and including influencers, both positive and negative, and generally led by political leaders (Donald Trump obviously this year), Billionaires (like Mark Zuckerberg), icons (like Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga, and Michelle Obama) and artists (lots of US star actors on this list).
The two lawyers were cited in the "pioneers" category (full list here).
The actor Priyanka Chopra wrote a few words about them for TIME:
This historic ruling overturned a 157-year-old law, was the result of a long-running campaign orchestrated by two astonishing litigators, Arundhati Katju and Menaka Guruswamy. The fight was hard. The LGBTQ + community has struggled for decades at the legal and social levels – for its fundamental rights, for privacy, for its dignity, for its safety and for its love.
Armed with a well-planned strategy that goes beyond their well documented legal research arguments, Arundhati and Menaka have become symbols of hope for the LGBTQ + Indian community. Their perseverance and commitment led a whole community to a historic victory by humanizing their struggles and giving them the freedom to love. As the Chief Justice stated, "constitutional morality can not be martyred on the altar of social morality".
Arundhati and Menaka have helped to make a giant leap for LGBTQ + rights in the world's largest democracy. In their fight for justice, they showed us that as a society we must continue to progress, even after the change of laws, and that we must make an effort to understand, accept and love.
That's who we are. as people.
Source link
