Jayna Kothari

Executive Director

jayna[dot]kothari[at]clpr[dot]org[dot]in

Jayna is a co-founder of CLPR. She is a Senior Advocate and practices in the Supreme Court of India. She graduated from University Law College with a B.A. LL.B degree and read the BCL at Oxford University. Jayna was awarded the Wrangler D.C. Pavate Fellowship in Cambridge University.

Jayna’s research and practice interests include constitutional law, gender and sexuality law, disability rights and discrimination law. She had argued in the Supreme Court in the recent constitutional challenges to Section 377 and adultery which were both decriminalized. She also argued the Independent Thought case in which the Supreme Court recognized child marital rape as a criminal offence. Her book, “The Future of Disability Law in India” was published in 2012 by Oxford University Press.

Publications

Blog

On abortion, Supreme Court has listened to Women

October 3, 2022

CLPR Executive Director Jayna Kothari writes for the Indian Express on the recent Supreme Court judgement which expanded the abortion rights of women and persons who require safe medical termination of pregnancies. She argued that the judgement upheld the right of all women and girls to make reproductive choices for themselves, without undue interference from the state. She emphasised that any deprivation of reproductive healthcare services negatively affects the dignity of women.

Go to link

For Full Equality of Women, Marital Rape Exception Must Go

May 25, 2022

In this article published by the Indian Express, Jayna Kothari examines the recent split verdict by the Delhi High Court on the criminalisation of marital rape.

Go to link

The Freedom of Marriage and Association and Prohibition of Crimes in the Name of ‘Honour’ Bill, 2022: A Draft

May 17, 2022

A legislation drafted by CLPR which provides the legal framework to prevent, investigate and adjudicate crimes in the name of ‘honour’ and protect individual liberty.

Go to link

CLPR | Trans Law Quarterly | Issue VI

June 28, 2022

This Pride Month, we are happy to present to you the VI Issue of our Trans Law Quarterly. In the past two years of the pandemic, we witnessed the tireless efforts of LGBTQIA+ activists, policymakers, litigants and judicial officers which resulted in timely court orders and policies safeguarding and advancing the rights of transgender persons. Putting together the quarterly has provided us a chance to reflect on how far we have come and how long the road ahead is.

CLPR | Trans Law Quarterly | Issue V

March 3, 2022

On Trans Day of Visibility, we bring you the 5th Issue of Trans Law Quarterly. The last few months have witnessed an expansion of avenues where trans rights have gained recognition. Perhaps it is the need to rebuild our lives, in hopefully a post-pandemic world, that has given fresh impetus to both, individuals and institutions, to move towards a more equitable society.

Access, Equality and Trans Inclusion in Education | Roundtable 1 | Transform 2021

January 12, 2022

This is a brief summary of the panel on Equality in Education at Transform…