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Indira Jaising Biography: Age, Career, Family and More

F4U Editorial Desk • Updated October 4, 2026 • 6 min read

Quick Info

Date of birth3 June 1940

Age80 Years (as in 2020)

BirthplaceMumbai, Maharashtra

ProfessionLawyer

NationalityIndian

Marital statusMarried

SpouseAnand Grover

Indira Jaising Biography

Indira Jaising is a veteran Indian lawyer and human rights advocate from Mumbai, known for landmark litigation on women's rights, sexual harassment and the

Early life and background

Indira Jaising was born on 3 June 1940 in Mumbai, Maharashtra, where she spent her childhood and completed her schooling. She earned a Bachelor of Arts from Bangalore University and went on to receive an LLM from the University of Bombay in 1962. Her upbringing and education in Mumbai laid the foundation for a long legal career focused on public interest and gender equality.

Career

Jaising began practice as a lawyer and increasingly took on cases with a human rights and women’s rights focus. She built a national reputation by representing victims of sexual harassment and by challenging laws and procedures she viewed as discriminatory. In 1986 she became the first woman to be designated a senior advocate by the High Court of Bombay, a milestone that marked her arrival among India’s leading litigators.

She and her husband, Anand Grover, a senior lawyer known for his work on issues including homosexuality and HIV, cofounded the NGO Lawyers Collective in 1981. The organisation concentrated on feminist and left-leaning causes and supported litigation and advocacy on social justice and gender issues. Jaising also started a monthly legal magazine, The Lawyers, in 1986 to address social justice and women’s issues within the Indian legal context.

Jaising took part in several high-profile matters. Early in her public career she worked on the Rupan Deol Bajaj versus KPS Gill case, a widely publicised sexual harassment matter. She successfully challenged provisions of the Indian Divorce Act in the High Court of Kerala and argued Mary Roy’s case, securing inheritance rights for Syrian Christian women in Kerala. In 2015 she represented activist Priya Pillai in a Greenpeace India matter. In 2016 she personally challenged the Supreme Court’s procedure for designating senior advocates.

Public profile

Over decades of litigation and advocacy, Jaising has been a prominent voice on gender equality, human rights, and legal reform. She has represented clients in disputes that attracted national attention and has taken part in national and international conferences on women’s issues. Her work was recognised by the Government of India with the Padma Shri in 2005 for her contributions to public affairs.

Her career has also intersected with controversy. Lawyers Collective faced scrutiny from Indian authorities: in 2019 the Ministry of Home Affairs barred the organisation from receiving foreign funding and suspended its licence under foreign funding regulations, and CBI searches were conducted at the residences of Jaising and Anand Grover and at their NGO’s offices amid inquiries relating to the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act.

Jaising has been an outspoken and sometimes polarising figure. In January 2020 she attracted media attention for remarks suggesting forgiveness in the context of the 2012 Delhi gang-rape case, comments that were criticised by the victim’s family.

Latest updates

In 2018 Fortune magazine included Indira Jaising on a list of the World’s 50 greatest leaders, reflecting international recognition of her long-running advocacy. As of 2020 she was reported to be 80 years old and continued to be associated with Lawyers Collective and public interest litigation activities.

Editorial Review and Sources

This F4U profile is written from publicly available career and profile information, then reviewed for clarity before publication. If you spot an outdated detail about Indira Jaising, send the page URL and a reliable correction source to f4udotin@gmail.com.

Reference context: StarsUnfolded
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Recent Work

Representation of Priya Pillai

Argued on behalf of Priya Pillai in a Greenpeace India matter (2015).

2015
Challenge to designation procedure for senior advocates

Represented herself in a 2016 case questioning the Supreme Court's procedure for declaring senior advocates.

2016
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Career Highlights

  1. First woman designated as a senior advocate by the High Court of Bombay (1986)
  2. Co-founder of Lawyers Collective (1981)
  3. Founded the monthly legal magazine The Lawyers (1986)
  4. Padma Shri recipient for public affairs (2005)
  5. Successfully challenged inheritance restrictions affecting Syrian Christian women in Mary Roy’s case
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Frequently Asked Questions

When was Indira Jaising born?

3 June 1940

What is Indira Jaising known for?

Lawyer

What is Indira Jaising’s marital status?

Married

Who is Indira Jaising married to?

Anand Grover