National Law University Delhi (NLU Delhi) has announced the revitalisation of Project 39A, one of the University’s leading research centres working in the areas of access to justice, legal aid, criminal justice reform, and empirical legal research.
Project 39A has gained national and international recognition for its research and policy engagement on critical issues within the criminal justice system. The decision to revitalise the Centre reflects the University’s commitment to strengthening its work in areas that remain central to the justice system. The earlier team at Project 39A produced significant and widely recognised work. Building on this foundation, the present initiative seeks to deepen and reorient the Centre’s work so that existing and emerging challenges in the criminal justice system can be addressed with greater focus, scale, and institutional continuity.
As part of this initiative, the University has appointed:
(1) Shri Sanjay Vashishtha, Advocate, Supreme Court of India, as Executive Director of Project 39A
(2) Dr. Pupul Dutta Prasad, Indian Police Service officer and scholar of criminology and social policy, as Honorary Director of Project 39A
The Hon’ble Vice-Chancellor of NLU Delhi will serve as the Patron of the Centre and oversee key policy and administrative decisions relating to its functioning.
Shri Sanjay Vashishtha brings extensive experience in constitutional and criminal law practice, along with a strong academic background. He holds an MSc in Criminology and Criminal Justice from the University of Oxford and an LLM in Comparative Law from McGill University, and has appeared in numerous matters before the Supreme Court of India and various High Courts.
Dr. Pupul Dutta Prasad brings significant expertise in criminal justice administration, policing, and institutional reform. He holds a PhD in Social Policy from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) as a Commonwealth Scholar, an MSc in Human Rights from LSE, an MA in International Relations from Jawaharlal Nehru University, and an LLB from the University of Delhi. His research focuses on criminology, institutional accountability, and evidence-based approaches to criminal justice reform.
Under its renewed leadership, Project 39A will seek to expand its work in empirical legal research, policy engagement, training and capacity-building, and institutional reform within the criminal justice system. The Centre will aim to strengthen the connection between rigorous academic research and real-world legal and policy practice, with a particular focus on advancing fairness, accountability, and access to justice.
Through this revitalisation, NLU Delhi reaffirms its commitment to advancing research-driven legal policy and contributing to meaningful reform within India’s justice system.