TMC nominates Hyderabad born Menaka Guruswamy to Rajya Sabha
HYDERABAD: The All India Trinamool Congress has nominated Hyderabad-born senior Supreme Court advocate Menaka Guruswamy to the Rajya Sabha ahead of the upcoming elections to the Upper House.
The Election Commission has scheduled polling for March 16 to fill 37 Rajya Sabha seats across multiple states, including West Bengal.
Guruswamy was among the lead counsel in the landmark Navtej Singh Johar versus Union of India case. In 2018, the Supreme Court read down Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, decriminalising consensual same-sex relations.
Academic and legal career
Guruswamy studied at Hyderabad Public School, Begumpet, before graduating with a BA, LLB (Hons) from the National Law School of India University, Bengaluru.
A Rhodes Scholar, she pursued a Bachelor of Civil Law at the University of Oxford and later completed a DPhil in law, focusing on constitutionalism in South Asia. She also holds an LLM from Harvard Law School as a Gammon Fellow.
She trained in the chambers of the late Ashok Desai, former Solicitor General of India. Her family resides in Yapral.
In 2019, the Supreme Court designated her a senior advocate. Her practice spans constitutional law, human rights, commercial disputes, white-collar crime and administrative reforms.
She has appeared in cases concerning civil liberties, citizenship and the Right to Education framework.
Family reaction and response
Mohan Guruswamy, former adviser to the Union finance minister, said, “My wife and I are delighted and proud.”
Responding to her nomination, Menaka Guruswamy said, “I look forward to protecting the Constitution from the vantage position in the Upper House, an opportunity given to me by Mamata Banerjee.”
