Field of Study India: International Legal Studies

Devanshu Sajlan

Devanshu Sajlan, a judge by profession, is passionate about analyzing the interplay between law and the rights of marginalized groups in India. Officiating as a judge at Tis Hazari Courts since 2019, he has passed more than 200 judgments pertaining to diverse areas of law. His judgments dealing with contract law (non-compete clauses), defamation law, sexual crimes, and crimes against society have been reported by SCC Online, a leading law journal of India. He was also one of the first judges in New Delhi to record evidence through videoconferencing mode during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Hailing from New Delhi, Devanshu studied law at National Law University, Delhi. He was awarded the Pandit Shri Girdhari Lal Salwan gold medal in 2014. After graduating, he started working at one of India’s leading corporate law firms, AZB & Partners, where he worked on multiple transactions with international institutions like the International Finance Corporation, American Tower Corporation, and Asian Development Bank. Thereafter, to pursue his passion for criminal litigation and human rights, he joined the chamber of Neeraj Kishan Kaul, Senior Advocate, and former Additional Solicitor General of India. Devanshu also joined the panel of Delhi Legal Services Authority in 2018 as an independent practitioner to help indigent litigants and undertrial prisoners.

As a Fulbright-Nehru Master’s fellow, Devanshu is studying the criminal justice courses dealing with issues of bail jurisprudence specifically faced by indigent prisoners. He feels this will enable him to find improved solutions to the plight of thousands of disenfranchised under-trial prisoners in India.

Praavita Kashyap

Praavita Kashyap is a practicing advocate in New Delhi, specializing in criminal law. She represents the defense and complainants across various subject areas including criminal defamation, homicidal crimes, and sexual violence, as well as individuals charged under India’s anti-terrorism laws. She has worked on several trials of public significance.

For the last decade, Praavita has been associated with social movements and campaigns. Her experience working with the Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan on the Right to Information and the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act fostered her understanding of transformative, participatory approaches to drafting law. Around 2015, she documented constitutional cases regarding the impact of technological interventions in welfare. In 2017, she was instrumental in establishing a campaign critiquing India’s unique biometric identification project. She then founded the ‘Article 21 Trust’ to work on issues at the intersection of welfare and technology.

Praavita holds an LLB from Delhi University, a BA (Hons.) in philosophy from St. Stephen’s College, Delhi University, and an MA in human rights from Sciences Po, Paris. Her studies are motivated by her commitment to social justice.

As a Fulbright-Nehru Master’s fellow, Praavita is studying data governance law, criminal procedure, and constitutional rights, and learn strategies from the rich history of movement lawyering in the US. This will strengthen her work with social movements to bridge the disjunct between technology policy, the law and lived experiences of the marginalized. Praavita plans to return to India to continue her independent litigation practice and shape creative, participatory policy in India.

Amartya Kanjilal

Amartya Kanjilal graduated from the Faculty of Law, Delhi University in 2013. Since then, he has been engaged in human rights and criminal law litigation and research. He has worked as a judicial clerk in the Delhi High Court and practiced as a criminal defense lawyer in various courts in Delhi. He also worked at Project 39A, where he provided legal representation to death-sentenced prisoners in the Supreme Court of India and various High Courts. He has researched and written extensively on issues of criminal and constitutional law, with a special focus on capital punishment jurisprudence and gender law reform.

As a Fulbright-Nehru Master’s fellow, Amartya is studying the administration of criminal justice in the U.S., concentrating on legal aid mechanisms. He hopes to continue building his practice in the future, focusing on criminal justice and legal aid. He also hopes to teach seminar courses at law universities in the future.