Anand Grover is a lawyer known for legal activism in Indian law relating to homosexuality

Homosexuality

Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...

 and HIV

HIV

Human immunodeficiency virus is a lentivirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome , a condition in humans in which progressive failure of the immune system allows life-threatening opportunistic infections and cancers to thrive...

. He is a member of the Lawyers Collective

Lawyers Collective

Lawyers Collective is an NGO in India which promotes human rights, especially issues relating to women's rights, HIV, tobacco, and parliamentary corruption in India.-Founding:Lawyers collective was founded in 1981...

.

United Nations work

Grover is a member of the UNAIDS

Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS

The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS, or UNAIDS, is the main advocate for accelerated, comprehensive and coordinated global action on the HIV epidemic....

 Reference Group on HIV and Human Rights and a Special Rapporteur in the United Nations Human Rights Council

United Nations Human Rights Council

The United Nations Human Rights Council is an inter-governmental body within the United Nations System. The UNHRC is the successor to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights , and is a subsidiary body of the United Nations General Assembly...

. His duty in this position is to promote the right to physical and mental health.

Repeal of Section 377

With the Lawyers Collective Grover led the Naz Foundation's

Naz Foundation (India) Trust

The Naz Foundation Trust is a non-governmental organisation in that country that works on HIV/AIDS and sexual health. It is based in the Indian capital of New Delhi.-History:...

 legal case for the repeal of Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code

Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code

Chapter XVI, Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code is a piece of legislation in India introduced during British rule of India that criminalises sexual activity "against the order of nature." The section was read down to decriminalise same-sex behaviour among consenting adults in a historic...

, which was a law criminalizing homosexuality in India

Homosexuality in India

Homosexuality is generally considered a taboo subject by both Indian civil society and the government. Public discussion of homosexuality in India has been inhibited by the fact that sexuality in any form is rarely discussed openly. In recent years, however, attitudes towards homosexuality have...

.

HIV activism

Grover led the Lawyers Collective court case against Novartis

Novartis

Novartis International AG is a multinational pharmaceutical company based in Basel, Switzerland, ranking number three in sales among the world-wide industry...

 regarding an interpretation of Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights

Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights

The Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights is an international agreement administered by the World Trade Organization that sets down minimum standards for many forms of intellectual property regulation as applied to nationals of other WTO Members...

 which would determine the patent status of antiretroviral drugs in India. The result of the case was that the Lawyers Collective prevailed and certain drugs became ineligible for patenting, thus keeping the price of the medications in line with generic medication costs.

External links

• court report from result of Article 377 trial