Menaka Guruswamy - Revision history

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← Older revision		Revision as of 22:53, 5 June 2022
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	{{Short description\|~~senior~~ advocate in the Supreme Court of India}}		{{Short description\|Senior advocate in the Supreme Court of India}}
	{{Use dmy dates\|date=June 2021}}		{{Use dmy dates\|date=June 2021}}
	{{Infobox person		{{Infobox person
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	\| caption = Menaka Guruswamy		\| caption = Menaka Guruswamy
	\| birth_date = {{birth date\|df=y\|1974\|11\|27}}		\| birth_date = {{birth date\|df=y\|1974\|11\|27}}
	\|\| birth_place = [[Hyderabad]], [[India]]<ref>{{Cite news\|url=https://www.deccanchronicle.com/nation/current-affairs/200917/hyderabads-menaka-guruswamy-gets-rare-honour-at-rhodes.html\|title=~~Hyderabad’s~~ Menaka Guruswamy gets rare honour at Rhodes\|work=Deccan Chronicle\|date=20 September 2017\|access-date=19 May 2020}}</ref>		\|\| birth_place = [[Hyderabad]], [[India]]<ref>{{Cite news\|url=https://www.deccanchronicle.com/nation/current-affairs/200917/hyderabads-menaka-guruswamy-gets-rare-honour-at-rhodes.html\|title=Hyderabad's Menaka Guruswamy gets rare honour at Rhodes\|work=Deccan Chronicle\|date=20 September 2017\|access-date=19 May 2020}}</ref>
	\| alma_mater = [[University of Oxford]]<small> </small><br />[[Harvard Law School]]<small> </small><br />[[National Law School of India University]]		\| alma_mater = [[University of Oxford]]<small> </small><br />[[Harvard Law School]]<small> </small><br />[[National Law School of India University]]
			\|partner = [[Arundhati_Katju\|Arundhati Katju (2018-present)]]
	\| occupation = [[Senior Counsel\|Senior Advocate]] at the [[Supreme Court of India]]		\| occupation = [[Senior Counsel\|Senior Advocate]] at the [[Supreme Court of India]]
	}}		}}
	'''Menaka Guruswamy''' (born 27 November 1974) is a Senior Advocate at the Supreme Court of India. She was the B.R. Ambedkar Research Scholar and Lecturer at [[Columbia Law School]], New York from 2017 to 2019.<ref name="law.columbia.edu">{{Cite web\|url=https://www.law.columbia.edu/faculty/menaka-guruswamy\|title=Menaka Guruswamy, Research Scholar and Lecturer in Law\|last=\|first=\|date=\|website=\|archive-url=\|archive-date=\|access-date=}}</ref> Guruswamy has been visiting faculty at [[Yale Law School]], [[New York University School of Law]] and [[University of Toronto Faculty of Law]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite web\|url=https://www.law.utoronto.ca/faculty-staff/distinguished-visitors/menaka-guruswamy\|title=Dr. Menaka Guruswamy, Faculty Profile\|last=\|first=\|date=\|website=\|archive-url=\|archive-date=\|access-date=}}</ref> She is known for having played a significant role in many landmark cases before the Supreme Court, including the [[Navtej Singh Johar v. Union of India\|Section 377 case]], [[T. S. R. Subramanian v. Union of India\|the bureaucratic reforms case]], [[2013 Indian helicopter bribery scandal\|the Augusta Westland bribery case]], the [[Salwa Judum]] case, and the Right to Education case.<ref>{{Cite web\|url=https://www.prsindia.org/theprsblog/supreme-court-upholds-25-reservation-private-schools\|title=Supreme Court upholds 25% reservation in private schools\|last=\|first=\|date=\|website=\|archive-url=\|archive-date=\|access-date=}}</ref> She is assisting the Supreme Court as Amicus Curie in the case pertaining to the alleged extrajudicial killings of 1,528 persons in [[Manipur]].<ref>{{Cite web\|url=https://www.orfonline.org/research/human-rights-and-the-military/\|title=Human rights and the military\|last=\|first=\|date=\|website=\|archive-url=\|archive-date=\|access-date=}}</ref>		'''Menaka Guruswamy''' (born 27 November 1974) is a Senior Advocate at the Supreme Court of India. She was the B.R. Ambedkar Research Scholar and Lecturer at [[Columbia Law School]], New York from 2017 to 2019.<ref name="law.columbia.edu">{{Cite web\|url=https://www.law.columbia.edu/faculty/menaka-guruswamy\|title=Menaka Guruswamy, Research Scholar and Lecturer in Law\|last=\|first=\|date=25 June 2021\|website=\|archive-url=\|archive-date=\|access-date=}}</ref> Guruswamy has been visiting faculty at [[Yale Law School]], [[New York University School of Law]] and [[University of Toronto Faculty of Law]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite web\|url=https://www.law.utoronto.ca/faculty-staff/distinguished-visitors/menaka-guruswamy\|title=Dr. Menaka Guruswamy, Faculty Profile\|last=\|first=\|date=\|website=\|archive-url=\|archive-date=\|access-date=}}</ref> She is known for having played a significant role in many landmark cases before the Supreme Court, including the [[Navtej Singh Johar v. Union of India\|Section 377 case]], [[T. S. R. Subramanian v. Union of India\|the bureaucratic reforms case]], [[2013 Indian helicopter bribery scandal\|the Augusta Westland bribery case]], the [[Salwa Judum]] case, and the Right to Education case.<ref>{{Cite web\|url=https://www.prsindia.org/theprsblog/supreme-court-upholds-25-reservation-private-schools\|title=Supreme Court upholds 25% reservation in private schools\|last=\|first=\|date=\|website=\|archive-url=\|archive-date=\|access-date=}}</ref> She is assisting the Supreme Court as Amicus Curie in the case pertaining to the alleged extrajudicial killings of 1,528 persons in [[Manipur]].<ref>{{Cite web\|url=https://www.orfonline.org/research/human-rights-and-the-military/\|title=Human rights and the military\|last=\|first=\|date=\|website=\|archive-url=\|archive-date=\|access-date=}}</ref>

	Guruswamy has advised the [[United Nations Development Fund]], New York and [[United Nations Children's Fund]] (UNICEF), New York and UNICEF South Sudan on various aspects of International Human Rights Law and has also supported the constitution-making process in Nepal.<ref>{{Cite web\|url=https://www.indiainnewyork.gov.in/pdf/Dr.%20Menaka%20Guruswamy.pdf\|title=Dr. Menaka Guruswamy, Research Scholar and Lecturer in Law\|last=\|first=\|date=\|website=\|archive-url=\|archive-date=\|access-date=}}</ref>		Guruswamy has advised the [[United Nations Development Fund]], New York and [[United Nations Children's Fund]] (UNICEF), New York and UNICEF South Sudan on various aspects of International Human Rights Law and has also supported the constitution-making process in Nepal.<ref>{{Cite web\|url=https://www.indiainnewyork.gov.in/pdf/Dr.%20Menaka%20Guruswamy.pdf\|title=Dr. Menaka Guruswamy, Research Scholar and Lecturer in Law\|last=\|first=\|date=\|website=\|archive-url=\|archive-date=\|access-date=}}</ref>
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	===Decriminalization of Homosexuality===		===Decriminalization of Homosexuality===
	In April 2016, Guruswamy along with a team of lawyers including Arundhati Katju and Saurabh Kripal filed a petition on behalf of five LGBT petitioners led by Navtej Singh Johar challenging the constitutionality of [[Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code]], 1860. The petition was the first instance that LGBT Indians actually filed writ petitions alleging violation of their fundamental rights.<ref>{{Cite web\|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jul/24/our-lives-should-be-lived-in-the-sun-the-couple-fighting-to-legalise-gay-sex-in-india\|title=Our lives should be lived in the ~~sun’~~: the couple fighting to legalise gay sex in India - The Guardian\|last=\|first=\|date=\|website=\|archive-url=\|archive-date=\|access-date=}}</ref> Guruswamy also appeared on behalf of petitioners from the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi and in the landmark judgment, the 5-judge Constitutional bench of the Supreme Court read down Section 377 as not applicable to consenting adults.		In April 2016, Guruswamy along with a team of lawyers including Arundhati Katju and Saurabh Kripal filed a petition on behalf of five LGBT petitioners led by Navtej Singh Johar challenging the constitutionality of [[Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code]], 1860. The petition was the first instance that LGBT Indians actually filed writ petitions alleging violation of their fundamental rights.<ref>{{Cite web\|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jul/24/our-lives-should-be-lived-in-the-sun-the-couple-fighting-to-legalise-gay-sex-in-india\|title=Our lives should be lived in the sun': the couple fighting to legalise gay sex in India - The Guardian\|last=\|first=\|date=\|website=\|archive-url=\|archive-date=\|access-date=}}</ref> Guruswamy also appeared on behalf of petitioners from the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi and in the landmark judgment, the 5-judge Constitutional bench of the Supreme Court read down Section 377 as not applicable to consenting adults.

	She had also appeared for Shyam Benegal the film maker in the Supreme Court in the case of Suresh Kumar Koushal v. Naz Foundation (2013).		She had also appeared for Shyam Benegal the film maker in the Supreme Court in the case of Suresh Kumar Koushal v. Naz Foundation (2013).
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	== Honors and awards ==		== Honors and awards ==
	Guruswamy is the first Indian and second woman to have her portrait hung at the Milner Hall in [[Rhodes House]] at the University of Oxford.<ref>{{Cite web\|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.in/2017/09/19/possibly-for-the-first-time-an-indian-woman-scholars-portrait-will-hang-at-rhodes-house-in-oxford_a_23214329/\|title=For The First Time, An Indian Woman Scholar's Portrait Hangs At Rhodes House In Oxford\|last=\|first=\|date=\|website=\|archive-url=\|archive-date=\|access-date=}}</ref> In January 2019, her name featured in Foreign Policy's 100 Global Thinkers List, along with other prominent personalities such as Michelle Obama, Kofi Annan and Jeff Bezos.<ref>{{Cite web\|url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2019-global-thinkers/\|title=A Decade of Global Thinkers\|last=\|first=\|date=\|website=\|archive-url=\|archive-date=\|access-date=}}</ref> On International Women's Day in March 2019, Guruswamy was honored by Harvard Law School as Women Inspiring Change in a portrait exhibition.<ref>{{Cite web\|url=https://barandbench.com/sudha-bharadwaj-menaka-guruswamy-harvard-international-womens-day-portrait-exhibit-2019/\|title=Sudha,Menaka feature in Harvard Int'national Women's Day Portrait\|last=\|first=\|date=\|website=\|archive-url=\|archive-date=\|access-date=}}</ref> In ~~April~~ 2019, ~~her name featured in~~ Time ~~Magazine~~'s 100 ~~Most Influential People, along with other prominent personalities such as [[Arundhati Katju~~]], [[~~Xi Jinping~~]], [[~~Nancy Pelosi]], and [[Hasan Minhaj~~]].<ref>{{Cite web\|url=http://time.com/collection/100-most-influential-people-2019/5567711/arundhati-katju-menaka-guruswamy\|title=Arundhati Katju and Menaka Guruswamy, Time 100\|last=\|first=\|date=\|website=\|archive-url=\|archive-date=\|access-date=}}</ref> She has also been featured in Forbes India's List of Women-Power Trailblazer, 2019.<ref>{{Cite web\|url=http://www.forbesindia.com/lists/2019-w-power-trailblazers/1759/1\|title=Menaka Guruswamy: Taking the law into her hands\|last=\|first=\|date=\|website=\|archive-url=\|archive-date=\|access-date=}}</ref>		Guruswamy is the first Indian and second woman to have her portrait hung at the Milner Hall in [[Rhodes House]] at the University of Oxford.<ref>{{Cite web\|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.in/2017/09/19/possibly-for-the-first-time-an-indian-woman-scholars-portrait-will-hang-at-rhodes-house-in-oxford_a_23214329/\|title=For The First Time, An Indian Woman Scholar's Portrait Hangs At Rhodes House In Oxford\|last=\|first=\|date=\|website=\|archive-url=\|archive-date=\|access-date=}}</ref> In January 2019, her name featured in Foreign Policy's 100 Global Thinkers List, along with other prominent personalities such as Michelle Obama, Kofi Annan and Jeff Bezos.<ref>{{Cite web\|url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2019-global-thinkers/\|title=A Decade of Global Thinkers\|last=\|first=\|date=\|website=\|archive-url=\|archive-date=\|access-date=}}</ref> On International Women's Day in March 2019, Guruswamy was honored by Harvard Law School as Women Inspiring Change in a portrait exhibition.<ref>{{Cite web\|url=https://barandbench.com/sudha-bharadwaj-menaka-guruswamy-harvard-international-womens-day-portrait-exhibit-2019/\|title=Sudha,Menaka feature in Harvard Int'national Women's Day Portrait\|last=\|first=\|date=\|website=\|archive-url=\|archive-date=\|access-date=}}</ref> In 2019, she was included on the [[Time 100\|''Time'' 100]], ''[[Time (magazine)\|Time]]''{{'}}s list of the 100 most influential people in the world alongside [[Arundhati Katju]].<ref>{{Cite web\|url=http://time.com/collection/100-most-influential-people-2019/5567711/arundhati-katju-menaka-guruswamy\|title=Arundhati Katju and Menaka Guruswamy, Time 100\|last=\|first=\|date=\|website=\|archive-url=\|archive-date=\|access-date=}}</ref> She has also been featured in Forbes India's List of Women-Power Trailblazer, 2019.<ref>{{Cite web\|url=http://www.forbesindia.com/lists/2019-w-power-trailblazers/1759/1\|title=Menaka Guruswamy: Taking the law into her hands\|last=\|first=\|date=\|website=\|archive-url=\|archive-date=\|access-date=}}</ref>

	== Publications ==		== Publications ==
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>Wikignome Wintergreen: /* Senior Advocate */ Grammar

2021-06-25T16:40:02Z

Senior Advocate: Grammar

New page

{{Short description|senior advocate in the Supreme Court of India}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2021}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Menaka Guruswamy
| image =
| caption = Menaka Guruswamy
| birth_date = {{birth date|df=y|1974|11|27}}
|| birth_place = [[Hyderabad]], [[India]]<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.deccanchronicle.com/nation/current-affairs/200917/hyderabads-menaka-guruswamy-gets-rare-honour-at-rhodes.html|title=Hyderabad’s Menaka Guruswamy gets rare honour at Rhodes|work=Deccan Chronicle|date=20 September 2017|access-date=19 May 2020}}</ref>
| alma_mater = [[University of Oxford]] [[Harvard Law School]] [[National Law School of India University]]
| occupation = [[Senior Counsel|Senior Advocate]] at the [[Supreme Court of India]]
}}
'''Menaka Guruswamy''' (born 27 November 1974) is a Senior Advocate at the Supreme Court of India. She was the B.R. Ambedkar Research Scholar and Lecturer at [[Columbia Law School]], New York from 2017 to 2019.<ref name="law.columbia.edu">{{Cite web|url=https://www.law.columbia.edu/faculty/menaka-guruswamy|title=Menaka Guruswamy, Research Scholar and Lecturer in Law|last=|first=|date=|website=|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=}}</ref> Guruswamy has been visiting faculty at [[Yale Law School]], [[New York University School of Law]] and [[University of Toronto Faculty of Law]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://www.law.utoronto.ca/faculty-staff/distinguished-visitors/menaka-guruswamy|title=Dr. Menaka Guruswamy, Faculty Profile|last=|first=|date=|website=|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=}}</ref> She is known for having played a significant role in many landmark cases before the Supreme Court, including the [[Navtej Singh Johar v. Union of India|Section 377 case]], [[T. S. R. Subramanian v. Union of India|the bureaucratic reforms case]], [[2013 Indian helicopter bribery scandal|the Augusta Westland bribery case]], the [[Salwa Judum]] case, and the Right to Education case.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.prsindia.org/theprsblog/supreme-court-upholds-25-reservation-private-schools|title=Supreme Court upholds 25% reservation in private schools|last=|first=|date=|website=|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=}}</ref> She is assisting the Supreme Court as Amicus Curie in the case pertaining to the alleged extrajudicial killings of 1,528 persons in [[Manipur]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.orfonline.org/research/human-rights-and-the-military/|title=Human rights and the military|last=|first=|date=|website=|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=}}</ref>

Guruswamy has advised the [[United Nations Development Fund]], New York and [[United Nations Children's Fund]] (UNICEF), New York and UNICEF South Sudan on various aspects of International Human Rights Law and has also supported the constitution-making process in Nepal.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.indiainnewyork.gov.in/pdf/Dr.%20Menaka%20Guruswamy.pdf|title=Dr. Menaka Guruswamy, Research Scholar and Lecturer in Law|last=|first=|date=|website=|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=}}</ref>

== Early life and education ==
Guruswamy is the daughter of Mohan Guruswamy, a former [[Bharatiya Janata Party]] strategist and Special Advisor to Union Finance Minister [[Yashwant Sinha]], and Meera Guruswamy.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.forbesindia.com/article/2019-wpower-trailblazers/menaka-guruswamy-taking-the-law-into-her-hands/52721/1|title=Menaka Guruswamy: Taking the law into her hands|last=|first=|date=|website=|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Business Today, People|url=https://archives.digitaltoday.in/businesstoday/22081998/people.html|access-date=2020-11-05|website=archives.digitaltoday.in}}</ref>

Guruswamy has advanced degrees in law from the [[University of Oxford]], [[Harvard Law School]] and the [[National Law School of India University]]. Her primary education was Hyderabad Public School,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.deccanchronicle.com/150730/lifestyle-health-and-wellbeing/article/top-legal-honour-oxford-harvard-and-now-yale|title=A top legal honour: Oxford, Harvard and now Yale|last=|first=|date=|website=|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=}}</ref> after which she finished High School at Sardar Patel Vidyalaya, New Delhi. This was followed by B.A.LL.B. (Hons) from National Law School of India University, Bangalore (1997). Subsequently, she was awarded a [[Rhodes Scholarship]] to read for the BCL at the University of Oxford (2000)<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://rhodesproject.com/menaka-guruswamy-profile|title=Profile with Menaka Guruswamy|last=|first=|date=|website=|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=}}</ref> and the Gammon Fellowship to pursue the LL.M at Harvard Law School (2001). She obtained her D.Phil from the University of Oxford in 2015 with a thesis on ‘Constitutionalism in India, Pakistan and Nepal’.

In the year 2019, in an interview with CNN Fareed Zakaria, Guruswamy revealed that she was in a relationship with lawyer [[Arundhati Katju]], with whom she convinced the Supreme Court in 2018 to decriminalise Section 377. She said that the two were indeed a couple and that the victory was not just a professional benchmark but also a personal win.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.news18.com/news/buzz/section-377-lawyers-menaka-guruswamy-and-arundhati-katju-come-out-as-a-couple-2237281.html|title=Section 377 Lawyers Menaka Guruswamy and Arundhati Katju Come Out as a Couple|last=|first=|date=|website=|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=}}</ref>

== Career ==
Guruswamy joined the bar in 1997 and started working with the then Attorney General of India, [[Ashok Desai]]. After completing her BCL at Oxford (2000) and LL.M. at Harvard (2001), she practiced law at [[Davis Polk & Wardwell]], New York, as an Associate.

Her practice at the Supreme Court of India covers areas of White Collar Defense, Constitutional Law, Corporate Law and Arbitration. She has represented the Union of India and National Capital Territory of Delhi in various matters.

===Decriminalization of Homosexuality===
In April 2016, Guruswamy along with a team of lawyers including Arundhati Katju and Saurabh Kripal filed a petition on behalf of five LGBT petitioners led by Navtej Singh Johar challenging the constitutionality of [[Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code]], 1860. The petition was the first instance that LGBT Indians actually filed writ petitions alleging violation of their fundamental rights.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jul/24/our-lives-should-be-lived-in-the-sun-the-couple-fighting-to-legalise-gay-sex-in-india|title=Our lives should be lived in the sun’: the couple fighting to legalise gay sex in India - The Guardian|last=|first=|date=|website=|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=}}</ref> Guruswamy also appeared on behalf of petitioners from the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi and in the landmark judgment, the 5-judge Constitutional bench of the Supreme Court read down Section 377 as not applicable to consenting adults.

She had also appeared for Shyam Benegal the film maker in the Supreme Court in the case of Suresh Kumar Koushal v. Naz Foundation (2013).

===Bureaucratic Reforms Case===
In the case of [[T. S. R. Subramanian v. Union of India|T.S.R. Subramanium & Others v. Union of India]], Guruswamy represented former cabinet secretary T.S.R. Subramanian and 80 other retired high ranking bureaucrats to seek the implementation of various bureaucratic reforms.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.livemint.com/Opinion/5Tsc7stKrVFzqnqZoWFLXO/The-Supreme-Court-has-sent-a-message-Menaka-Guruswamy.html|title=The Supreme Court has sent a message: Menaka Guruswamy|last=|first=|date=|website=|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=}}</ref> In a significant decision, the Supreme Court held, ''inter alia'', that bureaucrats are not bound to follow oral orders from Government officials and must rely on written orders, that a Civil Services Board consisting of senior bureaucrats must be formed at the Centre and State level to look into matters of postings and transfers.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sci.gov.in/jonew/judis/40943.pdf|title=T.S.R. Subramanium & Others v. Union of India, Supreme Court of India|last=|first=|date=|website=|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=}}</ref>

===Right to Education Case===
Guruswamy represented an intervenor, the Azim Premji Foundation, in the case of Society for Unaided Private Schools of Rajasthan v. Union of India pertaining to the constitutionality of Section 12(1)(c) of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/independence-day-special/story/20160822-maneka-guruswamy-amartya-sen-right-to-education-act-azim-premji-extra-judicial-killings-829381-2016-08-10|title=My Freedom to Argue|last=|first=|date=|website=|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=}}</ref> Section 12(1)(c) mandated private unaided schools to admit 25% of their Class strength with children from weaker and disadvantaged sections and provide them with free education. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Constitutionality of the provision.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.livemint.com/Politics/v8XGnE7Bw4zVJofReOjvlI/SC-upholds-25-reservation-for-poor-in-schools-through-RTE.html|title=SC upholds 25% reservation for poor in schools through RTE|last=|first=|date=|website=|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=}}</ref>

===Salwa Judum Case===
Guruswamy was a part of the team of lawyers that successfully litigated against Salwa Judum in the landmark case of Nandini Sundar v. State of Chhattisgarh [(2011) 7 SCC 547].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://indiankanoon.org/doc/920448/|title=Nandini Sundar v. State of Chattisgarh, (2011) 7 SCC 547|last=|first=|date=|website=|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=}}</ref> Salwa Judam was the practice of deploying tribal youths as Special Police Officers in the fight against the Maoist insurgency and ordered their immediate disarming.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.insafbulletin.net/archives/893|title=Supreme Court For Relief Of Victims Of Salwa Judum, Security Forces Or Naxalites|last=|first=|date=|website=|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=}}</ref>

===August Westland VVIP Chopper Scam===
In the Augusta Westland corruption case, wherein middlemen and Indian officials received kickbacks in a deal to purchase helicopters, Guruswamy represented former Air Chief Marshal S.P. Tyagi before a Special CBI Court.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/defence/agustawestland-european-middleman-discloses-percentage-of-bribe-paid-to-tyagi-brothers-says-cbi-to-court/articleshow/55983893.cms|title=AgustaWestland: 'European middleman discloses percentage of bribe paid to Tyagi brothers', says CBI to court|last=|first=|date=|website=|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=}}</ref> She successfully argued for his bail after his arrest.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/defence/former-iaf-chief-s-p-tyagi-granted-bail-in-agustawestland-chopper-scam/articleshow/56178713.cms?from=mdr|title=CBI failed to state amount of money paid to former IAF Chief SP Tyagi in AgustaWestland case: court; grants him bail|last=|first=|date=|website=|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=}}</ref> In 2018, a charge sheet was filed against Tyagi and the case is currently pending.

===Amicus Curiae===
In 2012, a bench of Justice Aftab Alam and Justice Ranjana Desai appointed Guruswamy as the Amicus Curie in the case of alleged 1528 extrajudicial killings by the armed forces in Manipur, India. Among other contributions, Guruswamy proposed to the bench that a Special Investigation Team be set up to investigate the killings of persons.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.legallyindia.com/supreme-court/scoi-report-amicus-guruswamy-in-fake-encounter-case-proposes-sit-to-probe-mysterious-manipur-killings-20151006-6713|title=SCOI Report: Amicus Guruswamy, in fake encounter case, proposes SIT to probe mysterious Manipur killings|last=|first=|date=|website=|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=}}</ref> In 2016, accepting the submissions of the Amicus and the Petitioners, the Supreme Court ordered that the use of excessive force by Police or the Armed Forces must be thoroughly enquired into. The Court held that there is no concept of absolute immunity from trial by the criminal court constituted under the Cr.P.C., even if the offence is alleged to have been committed by army personnel.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.livelaw.in/manipur-extra-judicial-killings-allegation-excessive-force-police-armed-forces-must-thoroughly-enquired-sc/|title=Manipur Extra Judicial Killings: Allegation of excessive force by Police or Armed Forces must be thoroughly enquired into: SC|last=|first=|date=|website=|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=}}</ref> In 2017, the Court directed the CBI to constitute a Special Investigation Team to complete investigations in the matter, lodge FIRs in the matter and file chargesheets wherever necessary.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.livelaw.in/manipur-extra-judicial-killings-sc-orders-cbi-investigation-62-cases/|title=Manipur Extra Judicial Killings: SC Orders CBI To Constitute SIT|last=|first=|date=|website=|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=}}</ref> The case is ongoing in the Supreme Court.

===Senior Advocate===
On March 29, 2019, Guruswamy was designated Senior Advocate by the Supreme Court of India.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://barandbench.com/six-women-senior-advocates-supreme-court/|title=Six women lawyers designated Senior Advocates by Supreme Court, 14 women Senior Advocates till date|last=|first=|date=|website=|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=}}</ref> The designation is conferred on merit to exceptional lawyers by the Supreme Court of India or of High Courts in the States. The designation is conferred by a permanent committee consisting of the Chief Justice of India as its Chairperson, along with two-senior-most Supreme Court judges, Attorney general for India, and a member of the Bar as nominated by the Chairperson and other members.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.livelaw.in/sc-finally-notifies-guidelines-to-regulate-designation-of-senior-advocates-read-the-guidelines|title=SC Finally Notifies Guidelines To Regulate Designation Of Senior Advocates|last=|first=|date=|website=|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=}}</ref> Each application is then sent to all the justices of the Supreme Court who consider the list of advocates who have applied and review the marks allotted.

== Academic career ==
Guruswamy was the B.R. Ambedkar Research Scholar and Lecturer at Columbia Law School, New York from 2017-2019.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.law.columbia.edu/faculty/menaka-guruswamy|title=Dr. Menaka Guruswamy, Research Scholar and Lecturer in Law|last=|first=|date=|website=|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=}}</ref> She has also been visiting faculty at Yale Law School, University of Toronto Faculty of Law<ref name=":0" /> and New York University School of Law. She has taught courses on South Asian Constitutionalism, Comparative Constitutional Law, Constitutional Design in Post-Conflict Democracies and others.

== Honors and awards ==
Guruswamy is the first Indian and second woman to have her portrait hung at the Milner Hall in [[Rhodes House]] at the University of Oxford.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.in/2017/09/19/possibly-for-the-first-time-an-indian-woman-scholars-portrait-will-hang-at-rhodes-house-in-oxford_a_23214329/|title=For The First Time, An Indian Woman Scholar's Portrait Hangs At Rhodes House In Oxford|last=|first=|date=|website=|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=}}</ref> In January 2019, her name featured in Foreign Policy's 100 Global Thinkers List, along with other prominent personalities such as Michelle Obama, Kofi Annan and Jeff Bezos.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2019-global-thinkers/|title=A Decade of Global Thinkers|last=|first=|date=|website=|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=}}</ref> On International Women's Day in March 2019, Guruswamy was honored by Harvard Law School as Women Inspiring Change in a portrait exhibition.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://barandbench.com/sudha-bharadwaj-menaka-guruswamy-harvard-international-womens-day-portrait-exhibit-2019/|title=Sudha,Menaka feature in Harvard Int'national Women's Day Portrait|last=|first=|date=|website=|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=}}</ref> In April 2019, her name featured in Time Magazine's 100 Most Influential People, along with other prominent personalities such as [[Arundhati Katju]], [[Xi Jinping]], [[Nancy Pelosi]], and [[Hasan Minhaj]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://time.com/collection/100-most-influential-people-2019/5567711/arundhati-katju-menaka-guruswamy|title=Arundhati Katju and Menaka Guruswamy, Time 100|last=|first=|date=|website=|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=}}</ref> She has also been featured in Forbes India's List of Women-Power Trailblazer, 2019.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.forbesindia.com/lists/2019-w-power-trailblazers/1759/1|title=Menaka Guruswamy: Taking the law into her hands|last=|first=|date=|website=|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=}}</ref>

== Publications ==
Guruswamy has co-edited Founding Moments in Constitutionalism to be published on October 19, 2019, by Hart/Bloomsbury Publications, UK. Her most recent publications include essays on Constitution-Making in South Asia, in Handbook on Comparative Constitutional Law (Edward Elgar, Forthcoming (2019), short piece on the Aadhar decision in the ''American Journal of International Law'' (2018) and ‘Crafting Constitutional Values: An Essay on the Supreme Court of India’, (An Inquiry into the Existence Of Global Values, Hart Publishing/Bloomsbury (2015).<ref name="law.columbia.edu"/>

Guruswamy writes widely for print and online publications such as the New York Times, the Indian Express, Scroll.in and the Hindu.{{cn|date=October 2020}}

==References==
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[[Category:1974 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:New York University School of Law faculty]]
[[Category:Alumni of the University of Oxford]]
[[Category:Harvard Law School alumni]]
[[Category:Indian Rhodes Scholars]]
[[Category:LGBT people from India]]
[[Category:Lesbians]]
[[Category:LGBT rights activists from India]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian women lawyers]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian lawyers]]
[[Category:21st-century Indian women lawyers]]
[[Category:21st-century Indian lawyers]]