Why in News?
Senior advocate Menaka Guruswamy took oath as a Rajya Sabha member on April 6, 2026, becoming India's first openly queer MP.
Who is Menaka Guruswamy?
She is a senior advocate in the Supreme Court and was the lead lawyer in the Navtej Singh Johar case (2018) that read down Section 377 IPC, decriminalizing homosexuality.
She was nominated by the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) from West Bengal.
She was named in TIME's 100 Most Influential People in 2019.
Exam Connect
Rajya Sabha → Established under Article 80, members serve 6 years, and the Vice President is the Chairman.
Section 377 → Colonial-era law (1861), struck down for consensual adult acts in 2018.