Biography

Raj Kapil P., is an Assistant Professor at Jindal Global Law School, O.P. Jindal Global University. He holds Master of Arts in Criminology and Criminal Justice Administration from University of Madras. He is also Master of Arts in Human Rights and Duties Education from Institute of Distance Education, University of Madras. He has qualified the UGC-NET for eligibility for Assistant Professor in Criminology. He has completed the International P.G. Course on Victimology, Victim Assistance and Criminal Justice offered by Inter-University Centre for Advanced Studies, Dubrovnik, Croatia. Owing to his interest in workplace safety, he has also completed Govt. of India Certified Online Professional Course on ‘Advanced Industrial Health and Safety’ offered by MSME – Technology Development Centre.

He also has experience and expertise in Right to Information process in India seeking information from public authorities. His work along with Ms. Nishanthe was instrumental in Tamil Nadu Government passing G.O. Ms. No. 33 Dated:15 Feb 2021, from Higher Education (K1) Department. In 2017, Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission announced recruitment for 3 vacancies for a post called as Social Case Work Expert. Among other duties, the Case Work Expert would work with Convicted People in Prison by having at least a session with two persons in a day and two sessions in a week in group mode. Despite having the Eligible Qualification as Master of Arts in Criminology and Criminal Justice Administration, having secured the written exam, he was mechanically rejected before the interview stage during certificate verification stating that the title ‘Criminology and Criminal Justice Administration’ is not matching with the title ‘Criminology’ in the notification. He approached the State Human Rights Commission, pending an order from SHRC, he moved to High Court through Advocate Yogeshwaran which allowed him to attend the interview. Please visit: https://bit.ly/rajkapilsocialcaseworkexpert  for the order. Placed second rank overall, he was placed in reserve list for his eligible pool of one vacancy. This looked like settled for Criminology Post-Graduates until he found out that around 4 candidates with Criminology background securing written exam for the post of Assistant Superintendent in Protection Homes in Social Defence Department were rejected in 2019 once again in the same mechanical ground. With one of the candidates (Ms. Nishanthe) through her RTI related efforts, Raj Kapil helped in reaching till appeal hearing at the Tamil Nadu Information Commission, which gave an ultimatum to concerned authorities to work to pass appropriate Government Order in two months’ time. Thanks to the direction, the above mentioned G.O. came to existence, and subsequently in the same year 2021, 16 vacancies for District Child Protection Officer was called for by TNPSC and around 4-5 Criminology Graduates got recruited with much ease thanks to the G.O. that became fruitful through legal battle through Right to Information Act, 2005. Related news report is found in: https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/chennai/equivalence-of-degree-accorded-to-criminology-courses/article33984189.ece

In a matter concerning access to information from the University of Madras, the Tamil Nadu Information Commission (TNIC) awarded compensation of Rs. 10,000/- in his favour in Dec 2018 after finding that he had been denied information and subjected to undue hardship in obtaining it. Following sustained efforts to secure compliance with the Commission's order, the compensation was ultimately paid in May 2026 by the Registrar of University of Madras, more than 7.5 years from the date of original order, following an Order of TNIC in a non-compliance hearing. Related news report can be found in: https://www.dtnext.in/news/chennai/8-year-battle-ends-mu-pays-rti-applicant-rs-10k-in-damages

Stressing upon the importance of adhering to the rule of law principle by the members of semi-judicial commissions in maintaining neutrality, Raj found that one of the members of National Commission for Women attending a political party campaign and that the slogans in her social media bio reflected more as a party person than as an impartial judge at the semi-judicial commission. He sought necessary information from the National Commission for Women which did not provide any information on can members have political affiliation and related queries. Getting no information at both stages of application and first appeal, the matter was published in the press. The concerned member in the commission announced resignation from NCW within 48 hours of the publication of the news article citing that a bye-law does not allow her to do party work along with NCW semi-judicial work. The related news report can be found in: https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/ncw-reaffirms-no-political-affiliations-rti-appeal-dismissed/article68512791.ece

His engagement with issues of legal accessibility and governance extends beyond criminology. In collaboration with K. S. Vignesh, then (in 2022-23) a student of Criminology, he drew attention to the absence of an official Tamil translation of the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014 in Tamil Nadu even after 8 years since enactment. The issue underscored the significance of making legislation available in regional languages to enhance public awareness and access to legal rights to street vendors. The news report of the same is in: https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/eight-years-on-law-for-street-vendors-yet-to-be-translated-in-tamil/article66384295.ece

In a landmark order in a Public Interest Litigation that highlighted concerns regarding practices by some doctors in post-mortem examination processes, a Two-Judge Bench (Justice. N. Kirubakaran, Justice. S. S. Sundar) of the Madurai Branch of the Madras High Court observed that it is ‘obviously clear’ that 57 out of 178 post-mortem certificates (issued during the period 1 April 2019 to 15 April 2019) from Government Rajaji Medical College and Hospital, Madurai, appeared to have been prepared using a cut-and-paste method. Seeking details as voices of the dead/killed, including information on the setting up of an inquiry commission regarding these 57 cases, the status of identification of doctors involved, and other related information, Prof. Raj Kapil contacted the Government of Tamil Nadu. The RTI request was tossed between multiple offices, no information was provided. The matter was subsequently reported in the press: https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/health-officials-refuse-information-on-suspicious-postmortem-reports/article68566160.ece

Through independent review and public-interest engagement, he has contributed to discussions on transparency and accountability in connection to the Forensic Aptitude Caliber Test (FACT), an All-India Test that aim to test the comprehensive aptitude and skills of Post Graduate subjects in Forensic Science. In 2024, he highlighted inconsistencies between the advertised (fully online) and actual mode of conduct (pen and paper mode) of the Forensic Aptitude Caliber Test - 2024 (FACT). The matter attracted media attention and underscored the importance of accountability, procedural clarity, and effective communication in assessment matters. The related news can be found in: https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/forensic-aptitude-tests-held-offline-despite-being-advertised-as-fully-online/article68991985.ece 

His research interests include constitutional governance and transparency in executive decision-making. He has explored questions relating to the exercise of the President of India’s suspensive veto and related disclosure practices under the Right to Information Act, 2005, contributing to broader public discourse on transparency in constitutional processes. The matter was published in: https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/no-information-available-on-president-murmu-returning-files-for-reconsideration-rashtrapati-bhavan-says-in-rti-response/article68094847.ece
During his postgraduate studies at the University of Madras, he secured distinction in Criminology and was entitled to both the R. M. Mahadevan Gold Medal and the ICRES Thiru N. Pitchandi Medal. Through sustained engagement with the University's administration and the use of the Right to Information Act, he successfully secured the conferment of these academic honours. The matter attracted public attention as an example of the role of transparency and accountability mechanisms in ensuring that students receive the academic distinctions and entitlements due to them. The Hindu reporting of the same is available in: https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/criminology-topper-from-university-of-madras-invokes-rti-act-to-get-medal/article65222079.ece

With the information on news that the JioCinema’s reach increased by 38% with a reach of over 62 crore in the Season 17 of IPL, in 2024, given the timing of the season clashed with the General Elections to the House of the People, he asked the Election Commission, did it take any effort to ask concerned organizers to postpone/prepone the election as considerable youth could have been occupied with IPL rather than keeping up-to-date with matters relevant to elections like manifesto reading, analyzing candidate profile, etc. The Election Commission did not provide any information despite first appeal stating that the query does not come under the definition of the RTI Act, 2005. The news report regarding the same is available in: https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/no-information-on-whether-postponement-of-ipl-was-considered-ec-replies-to-nagercoil-mans-query-under-rti-act/article68243591.ece 

During his internships at Human Rights Advocacy and Research Foundation, Chennai, he was part of Fact-finding investigations related to alleged encounter death, alleged custodial death, alleged dowry death, alleged gang-rape of a girl child, alleged death of a young woman in suspicious circumstances, and an alleged suicide of a school girl in hostel premises.
He is active in YouTube (Channel Name: Know with Raj Kapil; Link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3u21W-GRAcAcYwrczk1Zyg/videos) and Instagram (Name: know_with_raj_kapil) promoting awareness on crime and victimization prevention, rule of law, Indian Constitutional values, job opportunities, Philosophical thoughts from India, etc. He also does song reviews, movie reviews, etc. on YouTube.

Prior to joining JGLS, he was teaching Criminology in D. G. Vaishnav College, Chennai and he also has experience in teaching civil service aspirants during his association with Shankar IAS Academy which had/has been the Preferred IAS coaching institute for training students of Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Kapu Corporation (Govt. Of Andhra Pradesh), and BC Welfare Department (Govt. Of Andhra Pradesh).

University of Madras has awarded him R. M. Mahadevan Gold Medal, ICRES Thiru. N. Pitchandi Medal and Aringnar Anna Endowment Scholarship for the meritorious academic performance during his Post-Graduation in Criminology and Criminal Justice Administration at the University.