Biography

Karuna Nundy is an Indian Lawyer at the Supreme Court of India. Her work is mainly focused on constitutional law, commercial litigation and arbitration, media law, and legal policy. Nundy has served as a lawyer in the United Nations, International Tribunals, and New York. It is mentioned by the Times of India (an Indian English-language daily newspaper) that Karuna has been related as one of three feminists who are directing a new wave for the upliftment of Indian women, along with Arundhati Roy and Vrinda Grover. Mint (an Indian financial daily newspaper published by HT Media) called Karuna an Agent of Change and Forbes magazine represented Nundy as a Mind that Matters..After completing studies at St. Stephens College, Delhi University, Karuna worked as a TV journalist for a short time. In an interview, Nundy said that she was particular about returning to India after completing her Law studies in the US because she wanted to make a huge contribution through her legal work. She said, Growing up in a society with both extreme poverty and riches, I realised early on how unfair life was. Certain things that happened in my childhoodmolesters just grabbing you on the streets, an incident in my school where the principal went into victim-blame modemade me think about how I could bring about change and gain the power to fix things most effectively..In an interview with the Huffington Post (an American news aggregator and blog), Karuna stated that as a lawyer, she wanted to contribute to the human rights work in India and as a general lawyer. She mentioned, I felt that here is where I could make the biggest contributionnot just in human rights work, but also as a general lawyer. I felt this is where the need was. I have a visceral understanding of these various layers [here], in terms of language, in terms of nuance, and informationIt is also a court of ideas, as much as it is a court of facts. It has been quite a leader when it comes to economic and social rights..Karuna was dedicatedly involved in providing justice for the 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy victims. She contributed to the major commercial legal policies and human rights litigation in India. Kruna challenged the governmental and corporate nexus during the Bhopal gas tragedy case, which was a difficult task due to increased corruption, by demanding safe drinking water for the people in these affected areas. She wanted to fragment chemical-filled groundwater with safe drinking water to these areas. She also fought to provide better healthcare and medical facilities for poor people.In 2013, in an interview, when Nundy was asked about her international experiences, she said she worked in drafting the interim constitution of Nepal, which specifically included women and childrens rights. She added that she had participated in many workshops with the senate of Pakistan on legislating constitutional rights. She said, My international experience includes commercial arbitrations and bilateral investment treaty work as well as constitutional work. I helped draft parts of the interim constitution of Nepal, where we specifically included womens and childrens rights, conducted workshops with the senate of Pakistan on legislating constitutional rights, and worked with the government of Bhutan on compliance with international treaties..In 2013, in a conversation with a media person, Nundy revealed the gender justice done in the Indian constitution by Dr. B.R. Ambedkar while drafting the constitution of India, which was predominantly framed by upper-caste and upper-class men of Indian society. She added that Article 14 spoke about the equality of all people before the law. She said, Our Constitution was framed predominantly by upper-caste, upper-class men, but the main architect of that Constitutionbrilliant Dr B.R. Ambedkarwas in many ways a man who understood gender justice, and had a good handle on substantive and formal equality. So we have Article 14 which speaks about equality of all people before law, but there is also Article 15, which recognizes that the playing field is not level and says that nothing will come in the way of making special provisions for women and children..In 2013, a major turning point in Karuna Nundys life happened when she was dedicatedly engaged with laws dealing with anti-rape bills and sexual harassment of women in India. She participated in the Nirbhaya Rape Case- a horrific incident that gained a rage both within India and across the globe. Karuna was consulted during the preparation of the Verma Committee Report, to review Indias Anti-Rape Laws that were earlier established by the government of India. Initially, the report had not gained much success but in 2013 it was a victory to the efforts in passing the Criminal Law (Amendment)2 Act, 2013 the anti-rape bill..In 2015, in the case of Shreya Singhal v. Union of India, Nundy fought on behalf of the Peoples Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), an NGO that defends civil liberties and human rights in India, and brought down the section 66A of the Information Technology, 2000 (that dealt with issues of freedom of speech and censorship).In 2016, Nundy fought for Jeeja Ghosh in the case against SpiceJet Airlines. The client of Karuna, Ms. Ghosh, had cerebral palsy and boarded a flight from Kolkata to Goa. She was asked to leave the flight by the airline staff because she didnt see well, and they didnt want her condition to worsen. She sued the airline in the Supreme Court and claimed that the airline treated differently-abled passengers badly. The Supreme Court fined the airline to pay Rs. 10 lakh to Jeeja Ghosh and ordered SpiceJet to instruct its staff on the needs and treatment of such passengers.In January 2017, by an Economic Times jury, Karuna Nundy was included in a list of Corporate Indias Fastest Rising Women Leaders. It cited Karuna as being famous in the corporate world for her expertise in commercial law..