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This article, like many others, was first published exclusively for long-term supporters, 3 hours before everyone else got to read it.

NLSIU sends 9 faculty offer letters to 8 star alumni, incl NLU-D & JGU profs, and a Jessup winner [CORRECTION]

The high-powered hires into prof, associate prof and assistant prof ranks have been a long time coming (12 years, to be exact)

NLU Delhi profs Mrinal Satish (left), Aparna Chandra to become NLS prof, assoc. prof as part of round of 9 hires
NLU Delhi profs Mrinal Satish (left), Aparna Chandra to become NLS prof, assoc. prof as part of round of 9 hires

NLSIU Bangalore’s executive council (EC) on Saturday signed off on its permanent faculty recruitments, which had been long-pending due to the EC having been repeatedly postponed due to Covid-19 after interviews had been carried out.

These would also be NLSIU’s first permanent teacher recruitments in 12 years, following a notification for 13 positions, including two professors, one associate professor and 10 assistant professors (including two in social sciences).

Of course, the below names are just offers at this point and it does not necessarily mean that they will be accepted. Nevertheless, the fact that eight out of nine are graduates from NLS will likely make both students and the alumni network happy.

The notice for the positions were issued on 1 February, as we had first reported.

However, the process (as so many national law university processes do) had also attracted a writ petition and an ex parte stay order in February 2020, from an applicant for the post of assistant professor in law. It is understood that the stay was set aside, with certain conditions.

We have reached out to NLSIU vice-chancellor (VC) Prof Sudhir Krishnaswamy for comment.

All those who received offers whom we have contacted, either declined to comment or were unreachable for comment.

Offer for new NLS professor wings its way to NLU Delhi

NLSIU had been looking for two professors in its call for applicants, but we have not been able to authoritatively confirm whether a second professor appointment was made.

However, we understand from several sources with knowledge of the process, that NLU Delhi criminal law professor Mrinal Satish (a 2001 NLS LLB graduate and 2007 Yale University LLM).

According to his university profile, he teaches “criminal law, including advanced courses to students of the undergraduate and postgraduate programmes”, with his research interests including “sentencing, gender and the law, medical jurisprudence, empirical analysis of law, reproductive justice, excessive undertrial and pre-trial detention, and studying the impact of the criminal justice system in its interface with vulnerable and disempowered groups”.

Satish had returned to NLU Delhi in November 2019 after a year at the Delhi Judicial Academy (DJA).

Before that, he was executive director of NLU Delhi’s Centre for Constitutional Law, Policy and Governance since 2014.

NLS associate professor offers also goes to NLU D

For the associate professor position, we reliably understand that NLSIU has made an offer to NLU Delhi assistant prof Aparna Chandra.

She is a 2006 NLS LLB, 2007 Yale Law School LLM, and 2013 JSD also from Yale, and is research director of NLU Delhi’s Centre for Constitutional Law, Policy and Governance.

She teaches and researches on constitutional law, human rights, legal theory, gender and the law, and judicial process reform.

Lateral assistant professor offers:

We understand from sources with knowledge of the hires, that offers have been made to for at least four academics who are currently not teaching at NLSIU, to join its faculty:

  • Jindal School of Liberal Arts & Humanities, which is part of JGLS Sonepat’s umbrella body associate professor Atreyee Majumder (NLS LLB 2006, 2014 Yale University PhD, at JGLS since January 2019).
  • Shreya Shree, currently an independent researcher after nearly two years at NLU Delhi’s Centre for Constitutional Law, Policy and Governance (2015 NLS LLB, 2018 NLU Delhi LLM).
  • Azim Premji University’s (APU) Sushmita Pati, who teaches law and governance there, as political science assistant professor (holding a BA in political science from Lady Shriram College of Delhi University, MA and MPhil in political studies from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) Delhi.
  • Raag Yadava, who is a 2013 NLSIU LLB graduate and also famously its 2013 Jessup winner, and a Rhodes scholar to boot).

Clarification 9 July 2020: We understand that at least two of the candidates, Yadava and Chowhury, have both been offered positions on contract, rather than permanent positions.

Ad hoc NLS assistant professors to get contract

Another two ad hoc assistant professors, whose tenures had never been made permanent due to the long NLS permanent faculty hiring freeze, have also been made offers to become permanent assistant professors, with one having been made an offer on contract:

  • NLS assistant professor of law (ad hoc) Sanyukta Chowdhury (2005 NLS LLB, National University Singapore (NUS) LLM) to join on contract.
  • NLS assistant professor Kunal Ambasta (2012 NLS LLB, 2013 Berkeley LLM).
  • NLS assistant professor of law (ad hoc) Rashmi Venkatesan (2007 NLS graduate, 2015 SOAS LLM).
Correction 9 July 2020: Contrary to our initial report and as pointed out in the comments, we understand that Chowdhury has been made an offer to join on contract, not as permanent faculty.

A formal hat-tip to all readers who have shared information with us regarding the recruitments.

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