Senior Advocate Meenakshi Arora

Bio: After doing her LL.B at the Maharaja Sayajrao University, Meenakshi Arora has been practising
at the SC since 1986. In 2013, she became only the fifth woman to be designated as senior advocate.

Landmark cases (chronological order)

 In Anuradha Bhasin v. UoI (Kashmir lockdown): Argued that criticism of government policies
should not be suppressed and views, be it good bad or ugly, must be allowed in democracy.
People had the right to say if they supported the move or not, she added, saying Article
19(2) can be used to restrict freedom of speech only if there's a necessity. She also
connected the lockdown to larger questions of human rights.
 In RTE Students and Parents Association v. State of Karnataka: Represented the petitioners
challenging the May 31, 2019 judgment of Karnataka HC which held that a student has no
right to admission to a private school under the Right to Education Act if a government or
aided school is available in the neighbourhood.
 Aadhar judgment (9 Judge Bench): Argued in favour of privacy as a fundamental right
flowing from Articles 14, 19, 20 (3), 21 (right to life). She brought forth the impact of
surveillance, the parameters of strict necessity and purpose limitation, and the test of
proportionality. Apart from SC judgments, she referred to various international judgments,
resolutions and reports.
 A member of the Gender Sensitization and Internal Complaints Committee of the Supreme
Court, Arora was one of the advocates whose persistent efforts led to the framing of the
Vishakha Guidelines, which later culminated into the legislation of the Sexual Harassment of
Women at Workplace Act (2013).