Vidhi Centre To Host Panel On 'Queer Legal Futures In A Post-Supriyo World' At NALSAR
The Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy will be conducting a panel discussion on the theme “Queer Legal Futures in a Post-Supriyo World” as a part of the 18th Justice Bodh Raj Sawhny - NALSAR Moot Court Competition. The panel will be presided by experts in the domain of LGBTQ+ rights and policy in India, and aims to provide a platform for reflection on the course of queer rights in India following the Supreme Court's ruling in Supriyo @ Supriya Chakraborty v. Union of India (2023).
Location: SAARC Law Hall, NALSAR University of Law
How to Attend: The panel will be conducted offline at the aforementioned location. Additionally it shall be livestreamed online, for more details please refer to the BRS Moot Court competition's Instagram page closer to the event (@brs_moot_nalsar).
Schedule:
| Time | Event |
| 5.30-5.40 | Opening Remarks |
| 5.40-7.00 | Panel Discussion |
| 7.00-7.15 | Q&A and Closing Remarks |
On the 26th of September, Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy shall be hosting a Panel Discussion on the theme “Queer Legal Futures in a Post-Supriyo World”. While the judgment marked a moment in recognising the dignity and lived realities of queer persons, it also left unresolved many pressing legal and policy questions—particularly around marriage equality, family recognition, adoption, healthcare, and protection from discrimination.
This panel aims to bring together scholars, practitioners, and lawyers to reflect on how constitutional values of equality, dignity, and non-discrimination can be advanced in the wake of the Court's decision. The discussion will highlight both the challenges and the opportunities that lie ahead, examining how litigation, legislative reform, and grassroots mobilisation can together shape a dignified and inclusive future for queer communities. By situating Supriyo within a longer arc of queer constitutional struggles, the panel intends not only to evaluate the present legal landscape but also to imagine pathways toward substantive justice. It aims to discuss how we can legally inform transformative inclusion for queer people in India.
About the Speakers
1. Senior Advocate Raju Ramachandran: Adv. Ramachandran is a constitutional lawyer who represented the petitioners in Supriyo @ Supriya Chakraborty v. Union of India. He has also challenged the notice/objection rules under SMA, emphasising that marriage recognition also provides vital social, economic and legal protections to queer couples.
2. Dr. Sourav Mandal: Dr. Mandal is an Associate Professor of Law at Jindal Global Law School, whose research has focused on the impact of family jurisprudence on queer lives in India, including queer kinship, intimate relationships and law reform.
3. Advocate Raghavi Shukla: A trans woman lawyer practising in the Supreme Court and Delhi High Court, Adv. Shukla has written and spoken publicly on how existing legal categories exclude gender-diverse persons (for example in medical, reproductive and identity law), pushing for more expansive interpretive approaches and rights recognition.
4. Kartavi Satyarthi: Kartavi Satyarthi is a senior Resident Fellow at the Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy who researches and writes on queer rights, especially around discrimination, family law, and legal recognition of queer relationships and families.
The Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy ('Vidhi') is an independent think-tank doing legal research to make better laws and improve governance for the public good. Vidhi does this through quality, peer reviewed original legal research; through engaging with the Government of India, State governments and other public institutions to both inform policy- making and to effectively convert policy into law; and through strategic litigation petitioning courts on important law and policy issues. Vidhi's abiding values are non-partisan engagement, research excellence and independence.
The National Academy of Legal Studies and Research (NALSAR) was established in 1998 by a Statute of the State of Andhra Pradesh. Since its inception, the University has been home to conversations on law and justice. Every year, NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad hosts its annual Constitutional Law Moot, Justice B.R. Sawhny Memorial Moot Court Competition, in collaboration with the Bodh Raj Sawhny Memorial Trust and the Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy. This year they announce the 18th edition of the Justice Bodh Raj Sawhny Memorial Moot Court Competition, to be held offline from 26th September 2025 to 28th September 2025 at the NALSAR campus.