Dean, Research, and Internationalization

I joined National Law University Odisha in 2011 when it was still in its foundational years. At the university, I have taught subjects like International Criminal Law, Access to Justice, Criminal Law and Gender Laws.

My research work is primarily in the areas of Gender Rights, Access to Justice, Criminal Law Reforms, Juvenile Justice and Rights of Victims in the justice delivery mechanism. I also take interest in Legal Theory. In the area of Gender Justice, the emphasis of my work is on the interpretation of family based violence by courts in various contexts, the procedure adopted by judges in weighing evidence, their perception of victims and the impact of such perception on the rights of victims. Although much of my work is doctrinal, I also engage in qualitative and empirical research. Presently, I am working on an assessment of judicial and police behaviour towards women filing criminal complaints against their partners and families and the long-term impact of such behaviour on victims.

At National Law University Odisha, I have undertaken action research projects in collaboration with other stakeholders including civil society organisations, district, state and taluk legal services authorities, panchayats, women’s and children’s organisations, etc. From 2014-2017, I coordinated a DoJ-GoI-UNDP sponsored project titled “Access to Justice for Marginalised People and Socially Relevant Legal Education” that was implemented in three districts of Odisha and involved several community-based interventions. Establishing legal aid clinics, training community stakeholders, encouraging Clinical Legal Education in Law Colleges, especially those located in remote districts of the state of Odisha were the primary goals of this project. Apart from this, I have drafted the proposal for and been instrumental in the initial setting up of the Child Rights Centre at the university in collaboration with UNICEF. I played a similar role in establishing the Community College for Paralegals at NLUO.

Outside of academics, I take interest in painting and singing. I pursue traditional Odia folk art including Saura art and light Hindustani vocals.