{{Short description|Indian lawyer (born 1940)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=June 2018}} {{Use Indian English|date=June 2018}} {{Infobox person | name = Indira Jaising | image = Advocate Indira Jaising.jpg | alt = | caption = | birth_name = Indira Jaising | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1940|6|3|df=y}} | birth_place = Bombay Presidency, British India (now Mumbai, Maharashtra, India) | death_date = | death_place = | other_names = | spouse = Anand Grover | occupation = Lawyer | years_active = | known_for = Human rights and gender equality activism | notable_works = }}
'''Indira Jaising''' (born 3 June 1940) is an Indian Senior Advocate. In 2018, she was ranked 20th in the list of 50 Greatest Leaders of the World by Fortune magazine<ref>https://fortune.com/ranking/worlds-greatest-leaders/2018/indira-jaising/</ref>.In 2009, Ms Jaising became the first woman to be appointed as the Additional Solicitor General of India. She was also the first Indian woman elected to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) from 2009-2018<ref>https://www.livemint.com/Politics/fUR7lHlQECNBY6a6vQ6R0J/Indira-Jaising-elected-to-UN-committee-on-women-discriminati.html</ref>. She is a co-founder of The Leaflet (a digital platform for critical legal analysis and views) with Anand Grover.
==Early life== Jaising was born on 3 June 1940 in Mumbai to a Sindhi Hindu family.<ref name="oh">{{cite web | url=http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cedaw/docs/memberscv/Jaising.pdf | title=Indira Jaising (India) | publisher=United Nations Human Rights - Office of the High Commissioner | access-date=15 June 2018 }}</ref> She attended St. Teresa's Convent High School, Santacruz, Mumbai, and the Bishop Cotton Girls' School, Bengaluru. She earned a Bachelor of Arts from Bangalore University.<ref name="oh"/> In 1962, she earned a Master of Laws from the University of Bombay.<ref name="oh"/>
In 1986, she became the first woman to be designated a Senior Advocate by the Bombay High Court. In 2009, Jaising became the first female Additional Solicitor General of India. From the beginning of her legal career, she has focused on the protection of human rights and the rights of women.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Mohan |first=Rohini |date=2017-01-09 |title=Narendra Modi's Crackdown on Civil Society in India. |url=https://go.gale.com/ps/i.do?p=AONE&sw=w&issn=22699740&v=2.1&it=r&id=GALE%7CA476853032&sid=googleScholar&linkaccess=abs |journal=International New York Times |language=English |pages=NA}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Indira Jaising |url=https://fortune.com/ranking/worlds-greatest-leaders/2018/indira-jaising/ |access-date=2023-10-25 |website=Fortune |language=en}}</ref>
==Fighting for women== Jaising argued several cases relating to discrimination against women,<ref>{{Cite news |last=Rajagopal |first=Krishnadas |date=2018-03-03 |title=Supreme Court lawyer Indira Jaising in conversation with Krishnadas Rajagopal |url=https://www.thehindu.com/society/yes-the-supreme-court-has-been-floundering-indira-jaising/article22907531.ece |access-date=2024-11-08 |work=The Hindu |language=en-IN |issn=0971-751X}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Manthan |title=Triple Talaq – Indira Jaising |url=https://www.manthanindia.com/triple-talaq-indira-jaising/ |access-date=2024-11-08 |website=Manthan India |language=en-US}}</ref> including Mary Roy's case,<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-09-01 |title=The landmark Mary Roy case in SC, which gave Syrian Christian women equal right to property |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/mary-roy-case-syrian-christian-women-equal-property-case-sc-explained-8125339/ |access-date=2024-11-08 |website=The Indian Express |language=en}}</ref> which led to the grant of equal inheritance rights for Syrian Christian women in Kerala, and the case of Rupan Deol Bajaj, the IAS officer who had successfully prosecuted KPS Gill for outraging her modesty.<ref>{{Cite web |author=Scroll Staff |date=2017-06-05 |title=Watch: Rupan Deol Bajaj talks about the sexual harassment case she won against KPS Gill |url=https://scroll.in/video/839715/watch-rupan-deol-bajaj-talks-about-the-sexual-harassment-case-she-won-against-kps-gill |access-date=2023-10-25 |website=Scroll.in |language=en-US}}</ref> This was one of the first cases of sexual harassment that had been successfully prosecuted. Jaising also argued the case of Githa Hariharan, in which the Supreme Court decided that a mother is equally a natural guardian of a child as a father.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Fernandes |first1=Joeanna Rebello |title=It's sad we needed the law to tell us that the mother's a natural guardian: Githa Hiraharan |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/sunday-times/all-that-matters/Its-sad-we-needed-the-law-to-tell-us-that-the-mothers-a-natural-guardian-Githa-Hariharan/articleshow/48033836.cms |access-date=30 August 2022 |work=Times of India |date=July 12, 2015}}</ref> Jaising also successfully challenged the discriminatory provisions of the Indian Divorce Act in the High Court of Kerala, thus enabling Christian women to get a divorce on the grounds of cruelty or desertion, a right that was denied to them. She has also represented Teesta Setalvad in a case where she was accused of embezzling money.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.outlookindia.com/newswire/story/jaising-leads-protest-against-setalvads-victimisation/881711|title=Jaising Leads Protest Against Setalvad's 'Victimisation'|work=Outlook India}}</ref>
In 2015, Jaising argued the case for Priya Pillai in the Green Peace India case.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lawyerscollective.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Final-Written-Submissions-in-Priya-Pillai-19.02.2015.pdf|title=In the High Court of Delhi at New Delhi|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180827103825/http://www.lawyerscollective.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Final-Written-Submissions-in-Priya-Pillai-19.02.2015.pdf|archive-date=27 August 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 2016, Indira Jaising challenged the procedure for designating senior advocates in the Supreme Court.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://barandbench.com/scoop-supreme-court-refuses-jaisings-rti-request-senior-designation-terms-jaisings-averments-writ-petition-bad-taste/|title=Supreme Court v. Indira Jaising: Supreme Court admits no Rules for Senior Designation but process 'fair and transparent'|work=Bar & Bench|first=Murali|last=Krishnan|date=25 July 2016}}</ref>
More recently, Indira Jaising wrote a column for The Indian Express, criticizing the manner in which the Indian Supreme Court rejected Nupur Sharma's plea for consolidation of FIRs in criminal cases filed against her for allegedly defaming Prophet Mohammed. In the article, Jaising said the Supreme Court's "remarks against Sharma are uncalled for, and can prejudice low courts."<ref>{{cite web | url=https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/supreme-courts-judgement-on-nupur-sharma-is-bad-in-law-8032112/ | title=Supreme Court's refusal to club all FIRs against Nupur Sharma is bad in law | date=16 July 2022 }}</ref>
==Human rights and the environment== Jaising has represented the victims of the Bhopal tragedy in the Supreme Court of India in their claim for compensation against the Union Carbide Corporation. Jaising also represented Mumbai residents who were facing eviction. Jaising has been associated with several Peoples Commissions on Violence in Punjab to investigate the extrajudicial killings, disappearances, and mass cremations that took place during the period 1979 to 1990. The United Nations appointed Jaising to a fact-finding mission investigating the alleged murder, rape and torture by security forces against Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar's Rakhine state.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-myanmar-rohingya-un-idUSKBN18Q0ND|title=Indian rights lawyer to lead U.N. probe into Rohingya crackdown|journal=Reuters|date=30 May 2017}}</ref>
Jaising has represented several environmental cases in the Supreme Court of India.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Reed |first1=John |title='Modi is supposed to represent all of us': human rights lawyer Indira Jaising |url=https://www.ft.com/content/f5262198-fadf-41e6-833c-987c7cda68ba |access-date=14 June 2024 |work=Financial Times |date=16 February 2024}}</ref>
==Lawyers Collective== In 1981, Jaising founded the Lawyers Collective with her husband Anand Grover. The organization is devoted to feminist and left-wing causes, especially the promotion of human rights. She later became the founder secretary of the Lawyers Collective, an organization that provides legal funding for the underprivileged sections of Indian society.<ref>{{cite web |title=President of Human Rights Council appoints Members of Fact-finding Mission on Myanmar |url=https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2017/05/president-human-rights-council-appoints-members-fact-finding-mission-myanmar |website=United Nations |access-date=9 February 2025}}</ref> She founded a monthly magazine called ''The Lawyers'', in 1986, which focuses on social justice and women's issues in the context of Indian law. She has been involved in cases related to discrimination against women, the ''Muslim Personal Law'', the rights of pavement dwellers and the homeless and the Bhopal gas tragedy. She has fought against child labor, for the economic rights of women, estranged wives and domestic violence cases. The NGO currently has had its license suspended for violating the FCRA norms.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/govt-hits-out-at-indira-jaising-suspends-fcra-registration-of-her-ngo/story-jBGB8qHU6nKmnthuQ8fn7M.html|title=Indira Jaising's NGO 'Lawyers Collective' suspended for 6 months|work=Hindustan Times |date=1 June 2016}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/fcra-licence-of-indira-jaisings-ngo-suspended-for-6-months/articleshow/52541987.cms|title=FCRA licence of Indira Jaising's NGO suspended for 6 months|journal=The Economic Times|last=PTI|date=1 June 2016}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/indira-jaisings-ngo-loses-licence/article8679272.ece|title=Indira Jaising's NGO loses licence|journal=The Hindu|date=June 2016}}</ref>
==Other== Jaising has attended several national and international conferences on women, representing her country at these events. Her NGO has been barred by the MHA (Ministry of Home Affairs) from receiving foreign funds. The NGO ''Lawyers' Collective'' has had their license suspended for violation of foreign funding norms.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-news-india/indira-jaising-ngo-licence-suspended-fcra-home-ministry-tax-filings-2829436/|title=Indira Jaising's NGO barred by MHA from receiving foreign funds for 6 months|date=2 June 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=MHA cancels FCRA licences of 1,300 NGOs |url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/mha-cancels-fcra-licences-of-1300-ngos/articleshow/71964523.cms?from=mdr |access-date=January 19, 2021 |work=Rahul Tripathi, ET Bureau |agency=Economic Times |publisher=Economic Times |date=November 8, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/Home-Ministry-cancels-licence-of-Indira-Jaising%E2%80%99s-NGO/article16773098.ece|title=Home Ministry cancels licence of Indira Jaising's NGO|journal=The Hindu|last=PTI|date=2016-12-07}}</ref> However, the Bombay High Court passed an order to defreeze NGO's domestic accounts; the case continues in the Supreme Court<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/mumbai/Defreeze-accounts-of-Indira-Jaisingh%E2%80%99s-NGO-HC/article17118258.ece|title=Defreeze accounts of Indira Jaisingh's NGO: HC|newspaper=The Hindu|access-date=2017-02-12|language=en}}</ref>
She had a fellowship at the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies in London and has been a visiting Scholar at the Columbia University New York.{{citation needed|date= September 2022}} She was a member of the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women. She was conferred with the Rotary Manav Seva Award in recognition of her services to the nation in fighting corruption and as a champion of the weaker sections of the society.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2013-11-21 |title=Indira Jaising, Additional Solicitor General to deliver first UN Public Lecture on 25 November in New Delhi |url=https://asiapacific.unwomen.org/en/news-and-events/stories/2013/11/indira-jaising-additional-solicitor-general-to-deliver-first-un-public-lecture |access-date=2024-02-01 |website=UN Women – Asia-Pacific |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2014-12-15 |title=Anand Grover |url=https://www.globalcommissionondrugs.org/commissioner/anand-grover |access-date=2024-02-01 |website=The Global Commission on Drug Policy |language=en-US}}</ref>
Jaising was given the Padma Shree by the President of India in 2005 for her service to the cause of public affairs.<ref name="Padma Awards">{{cite web|url=http://mha.nic.in/sites/upload_files/mha/files/LST-PDAWD-2013.pdf |title=Padma Awards |publisher=Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India |date=2015 |access-date=21 July 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151015193758/http://mha.nic.in/sites/upload_files/mha/files/LST-PDAWD-2013.pdf |archive-date=15 October 2015 }}</ref> Her husband Anand Grover is a human rights lawyer and designated senior advocate of the Supreme Court.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sharma |first=Padmakshi |date=2023-09-13 |title=Manipur: Petitioners Tell Supreme Court That Lawyers Aren't Willing To Appear For Them Due To Threats |url=https://www.livelaw.in/top-stories/manipur-petitioners-tell-supreme-court-that-lawyers-arent-willing-to-appear-for-them-due-to-threats-237642 |access-date=2024-02-01 |website=www.livelaw.in |language=en}}</ref> In 2018, she was ranked 20th on the list of 50 Greatest Leaders of the World by Fortune magazine.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.livelaw.in/first-indian-lawyer-makes-fortunes-worlds-greatest-leaders-list-indira-jaising-ranked-20-list-day-faced-setback-sc/ | title=In a First an Indian Lawyer Makes It to Fortune's World's Greatest Leaders List: Indira Jaising Ranked 20 in the List on a Day She Faced Setback from SC| date=2018-04-19}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== * [http://ipc498a.wordpress.com/2007/10/26/indira-jaising-moans-on-the-first-anniversary-of-the-badly-drafted-dv-act/ Woman Against Family] - blog entry by Jaising written on the first anniversary of the domestic violence act *[https://theleaflet.in/indira-jaising-writes-why-attorney-general-and-the-central-governments-contempt-of-court-petition-against-advocate-prashant-bhushan-stands-on-thin-ice/ '''Contempt, the flavour of the season''']- Indira Jaising writes: Why Attorney General and the Central Government's contempt of court petitions against Advocate Prashant Bhushan stand on thin ice
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{{Padma Shri Award Recipients in Public Affairs}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jaising, Indira}} Category:Scholars from Mumbai Category:1940 births Category:Living people Category:United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women members Category:Indian solicitors Category:Recipients of the Padma Shri in public affairs Category:Additional solicitors general of India Category:Indian women's rights activists Category:Indian women activists Category:20th-century Indian women educational theorists Category:20th-century Indian educational theorists Category:Indian feminists Category:Activists from Maharashtra Category:Women educators from Maharashtra Category:Women scientists from Maharashtra Category:Educators from Maharashtra Category:Indian officials of the United Nations Category:20th-century Indian women educators Category:20th-century Indian educators Category:20th-century Indian lawyers Category:20th-century Indian women lawyers Category:21st-century Indian lawyers Category:21st-century Indian women lawyers Category:Supreme Court of India lawyers Category:Senior advocates in India