Have my masters. Cleared NET. Now how do I get into academia ? Do I go for a PhD or do I apply for assistant professor ? Can I go for assistant professorship whilst doing PhD ? How do I apply for being an assistant professor? Individual advertisement or through connections ??? Totally lost. Can anyone provide a guiding light ?

PhD or Asst Prof is a choice you have to make. Depends on your age - PhD is always good to have in the long term, but if you're already over 30 then apply as AP somewhere and get some teaching experience under your belt. It will come in useful later including for your PhD application.

Most govt law schools put out advertisements for faculty periodically - you will have to check their websites. In case of private colleges you can write to the HR directly but beware that working conditions are terrible. If you know anyone senior in any institution (including the one where you studied) then definitely speak to them and they may be able to help also. At the very least you should get Visiting Prof status somewhere.

You should apply for a permanent AP position asap. There are several NLUs hiring now including NLSIU. Several private universities too. You have two options re PhD. Apply at one of the NLUs, then you can continue while working. Otherwise, wait for a year or two, develop a really good proposal and try for a funded PhD abroad. You should remember publishing at least two decent articles or book chapters every year (SCOPUS indexed journals would be the best, but UGC Care journals would work too), and at least two decent conference paper presentations. Focus on one or two subjects to make them your own, although you may have to teach others based on the institutional requirements. Remain updated about developments and industry happenings in those fields. You should also subscribe to one of the several groups and social media pages for law faculty in India and even abroad. Former will be good for getting to know of opportunities and events, latter may even help you to brainstorm about pedagogy, curriculum etc.

Above all, try to understand your students. What makes them tick, how to motivate them to do better, be kind while not compromising with your expectations or quality. Best of luck!

You can do Asst profship and PhD at the same time but from the experiences of a few people I know it is difficult and not recommended as you cannot do full justice to both.

If you get a full time appointment as Asst Prof in a university then after 3 years of continuous service you will be eligible for study leave to do a PhD as per UGC regulations. As someone else has said, try for a funded position abroad and go.