Introduction
The Centre for Constitutional Law Studies (CCLS) aims to become a destination for scholars and public intellectuals from a variety of regional and disciplinary bases (CCLS@JGLS). CCLS is dedicated to leading research in persistent and contemporary issues in public law, with a particular focus on constitutional and administrative law, and political and legal theory.
The Centre seeks to initiate a dialogue and develop expertise in using different methodologies and interdisciplinary skills (from academic areas such as political philosophy, history, and economics) to improve the quality of research output when undertaking comparative or empirical analysis of public law issues. To this end, the Centre specifically wishes to establish collaborations with other academic institutions; and scholars working in these fields, as well as with members of government; policy-makers; legal professionals and non-governmental organisations, both locally and globally.
The Centre’s work will focus on the following objectives:
Organising conferences, panel discussions and guest lectures: related to and engaging with emerging doctrinal public law issues; projects for constitutional theory building and developing methodological rigour; and explorations into interdisciplinary approaches to public law questions in areas such as constitutional history; judicial reasoning; and empirical judicial studies;
Providing a forum for external scholars , both local and global, to present and develop their research and scholarship on issues of mutual interest, in order for the Jindal Law School community to benefit from and engage with ongoing debates and dialogue on innovative approaches to contemporary issues in public law and theory;
Providing a forum for Jindal faculty and students to present and develop works-in-progress, which can draw on interdisciplinary insights and are theoretically rigorous — and which can help to focus international attention on Indian Constitutional Law scholarship;
Developing a specialized comparative research hub/cluster: such a cluster can focus on issues of South Asian constitutionalism or more broadly, on issues on “constitutionalism of the global south.”
Bringing out a Policy Paper series: to explore policy implications of various constitutional doctrines; case law and issues such as the special status of Kashmir and its subsequent abrogation; the judicial selection process; intersection of gender justice and public law, South Asian constitutionalism; migration of constitutional ideas.
Past Event
February 2025
Paper Presentation, Dr. Rawin Leelapatana, ‘The Monarchy-led Urban Development: Lessons from Bangkok’s Planning Regime’ (Oxғᴏʀᴅ Uɴɪᴠᴇʀsɪᴛʏ Pʀᴇss, (2024) 11(3) The Chinese Journal of Comparative Law 1-29). Discussants: Professor (Dr.) Sarbani Sen, Professor & Director, Centre for Constitutional Law Studies, JGLS, Professor Anshuman Shukla, Associate Professor, JGLS, Professor (Dr.) Arpan Acharya, Assistant Professor, JGLS. (February 2025)
April 2025
Paper Discussion, Prof. Rupavardhini Balakrishnan Raju, Lecturer in Administrative Law at Trinity College University of Oxford, "Language Status in Constitutional Design: Framework and Terminology", Discussants: Prof. (Dr.) Sarbani Sen, Professor & Director, Centre for Constitutional Law Studies, JGLS, Prof. (Dr.) Alexander Fischer, Adjunct Professor, Shiv Nadar University, Chennai and Moderated by Prof. Ishan Vijay Avadhanam, Lecturer and Research Fellow, Centre for Constitutional Law Studies, JGLS. (April 2025)
April 2025
Paper presentation titled “Seven to Six: Questioning the Assumptions Underlying Judicial Majoritarianism in the Indian Supreme Court” by Prof. Ankit Kaushik, Assistant Professor of Law, National Law University Delhi; Panel of Discussants: Prof. Ritwika Sharma, Assistant Professor, JGLS | Former Head and S.R.F. - Constitutional Law, Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy, Prof. Jaideep Singh Lalli. Ph.D. in Law Candidate, Trinity College, University of Cambridge | External Member, CCLS, Prof. Anujay Shrivastava, Assistant Professor, JGLS | Research Fellow, CCLS. The event was moderated by Prof. Anmol Jain, Assistant Professor, JGLS | Research Fellow, CCLS (April 2025)
September 2025
Hosted a Book Chapter Talk on "Judicial Obliqueness: The Supreme Court, the Office of the Speaker, and the Forced Apoliticization" authored and presented by Prof. Anmol Jain. Prof. Ritwika Sharma, and Prof. Sahibnoor Singh Sidhu served as discussants. The session was moderated by Prof. Ishan Vijay (September 2025)
November 2025
Hosted a paper discussion on "Evictions, meaningful engagement, and the right to housing in India: two roads". The paper is authored and was presented by Rishika Sahgal, Rhodes Scholar and Assistant Professor in Law, Birmingham Law School, UK. Prof. Anshuman Shukla and Prof. Sahibnoor Sing served as discussants. The session was moderated by Prof. Sarbani Sen. (November, 2025)
November 2025
Commenced a series on Citizenship and the Constitution, wherein the first session on “Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 and the Basic Structure Challenge was led by Prof. Anujay Shrivastava., Research Fellow, CCLS. Prof. (Dr.) Sarbani Sen, Professor, JGLS and Director, CCLS, and Mr. Jaideep Singh Lalli, Singhvi-Trinity Scholar & Ph.D. in Law Candidate at Trinity College, University of Cambridge, and External Member, CCLS served as discussants. The session was moderated by Prof. Nidhi Sharma, Assistant Director, CCLS (November, 2025).
January 2024
In collaboration with the Office of Special Initiatives, CCLS co-hosted the Book Launch of “Court on Trial: A Data-Driven Account of the Supreme Court of India”, authored by Sital Kalantry, Aparna Chandra and William J. Hubbard, followed by a Panel Discussion on the book. January 2024
February 2024
Co-hosted the workshop and Guest Lecture by Dr. Deval Desai, Reader, International Economic Law, Edinburgh Law School on “Against Failed States: The Constitutional Consequences of Welfare Underspending” with Research Dean’s Office and CCLS members (Prof. Sarbani Sen and Prof. Sahibnoor Singh) participated as a discussant and moderator for the event.February 2024
February 2024
Hosted a Panel Discussion on “The Unconstitutionality of the Electoral Bonds Scheme” with Prof. Sandeep Suresh, Assistant Professor and Doctoral Candidate, Jindal Global Law School as the Speaker, and Mr. Aman Mehta, LLM Candidate in Comparative Constitutional Law, Central European University as the Discussant along with Prof. (Dr.) Sarbani Sen, Professor and Executive Director, Centre for Constitutional Law Studies, JGLS, and Prof. Anujay Shrivastava, Lecturer and Research Fellow, Centre for Constitutional Law Studies, JGLS) February 2024
March 24
Hosted Panel Discussion on “The Centrality of the Right Against Discrimination to India's Story” in collaboration with Mr. Lalit Panda, Senior Resident Fellow, Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy March 24
August 2024
Hosted a Panel Discussion on “The Role Of Political Parties In Indian Democracy”.The Speakers for the session are Ms. Ritwika Sharma Senior Resident Fellow at the Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy and Lead, Charkha, Vidhi’s Constitutional Law Centre and Ms. Mayuri Gupta, Milon K Banerji Research Fellow at Charkha, Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy.August 2024
September 2024
Conducted a Blog Writing Workshop for JGLS Students to provide a platform to hone their legal writing and research skills by Kieran Correa under the supervision of Prof. Nidhi Sharma and Ms. Nayonika Sen.September 2024
October 2024
Hosted a hybrid format Book Discussion on “Legalizing the Revolution: India and the Constitution of the Postcolony” (Cambridge University Press, 2024) with Dr. Sandipto Dasgupta (Assistant Professor of Politics at the New School for Social Research & member of the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton). Prof. (Dr.) Arpan Acharya (JGLS) and Prof. Sahibnoor Singh Sidhu (Research Fellow, CCLS) acted as discussants. Prof. (Dr.) Sarbani Sen (Director, CCLS), Prof. Nidhi Sharma (Assistant Director, CCLS), and CCLS Research Fellows, Prof. Anujay Shrivastava and Prof. Karan Kataria offered organisational support.October 2024
October 2024
Hosted a Student Colloquium for students to engage with critical issues in constitutional law, share their research, and discuss ideas with fellow peers and faculty. Prof. Nidhi Sharma (Assistant Director, CCLS) and CCLS Research Fellows, Prof. Ishan Vijay Avadhanam, Prof. Nayonika Sen and Prof. Rituraj Singh Chauhan acted as discussants.October 2024
October 2024
Hosted a Panel Discussion in collaboration with Constitutional Law Research Cluster, JGLS on “Grand Narratives of Transition and the Quest for Democratic Constitutionalism in India and South Africa” by Prof. (Dr.) Theunis Roux. Prof. (Dr.) Sarbani Sen (Director, CCLS) and Prof. (Dr.) Matthew John (Coordinator, Constitutional Law Research Cluster) acted as discussants. The discussion was moderated by Prof. Anmol Jain.October 2024
November 2024
Hosted the “Grand Constitutional Law Quiz 2024” in collaboration with the JGU Vice Chancelor’s Office as a part of the 75th Constitution Anniversary Month Celebrations. Prof. Nidhi Sharma (Assistant Director, CCLS) and Prof. Sahibnoor Singh Sidhu (Research Fellow, CCLS) lead the event with support from Prof. (Dr.) Sarbani Sen (Director, CCLS) and Prof. Anujay Shrivastava (Research Fellow, CCLS).November 2024
November 2024
Hosted the “Mock Constituent Assembly Debate” in collaboration with the JGU Vice Chancelor’s Office as a part of the 75th Constitution Anniversary Month Celebrations. Prof. Raushan Tara Jaswal (JGLS) acted as Chair with Prof. (Dr.) Khagesh Gautam (Professor, JGLS), Prof. Sayan Mukherjee (Senior Research Fellow, CCLS), Prof. Nayonika Sen (Research Fellow, CCLS) and Prof. Sahibnoor Singh Sidhu (Research Fellow, CCLS) acting as the Faculty Debaters. Prof. Nidhi Sharma (Assistant Director, CCLS), Prof. Sahibnoor Singh Sidhu (Research Fellow, CCLS) and Prof. Nayonika Sen (Research Fellow, CCLS) led the organisation and ideation with support from Prof. (Dr.) Sarbani Sen (Director, CCLS) and Prof. Anujay Shrivastava (Research Fellow, CCLS).November 2024
November 2024
The CCLS Team contributed to the three-day National Convention on the Constitution of India, 2024 organised by JGU Vice Chancellor’s Office (November 2024):
- Prof. (Dr.) Sarbani Sen (Director, CCLS) served as the Faculty Presenter for the Distinguished Public Lecture on the theme “Law & the idea of India” with Dr. Shashi Tharoor (Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha) on 23rd November 2024,which was also chaired by Prof. (Dr.) C. Raj Kumar (JGU Vice Chancellor and Dean, JGLS).
- Prof. Anujay Shrivastava (Research Fellow, CCLS) served as the Faculty Presenter and Coordinator, whereas Prof. (Dr.) Alexander Christoph Fischer (External Fellow, CCLS) served as a Distinguished Panellist for ‘‘Session XI: Constitutional Change: Necessity & Practice of Constitutional Amendments’’ (25th November 2024).
- Prof. Nidhi Sharma served as a Distinguished Panellist for the Valedictory Session of the National Convention on the Constitution of India, 2024 (25th November 2024).
February, 2023
Two Day (in-person) Seminar on various themes of Constitutionalism with Prof. (Dr.) Philipp Dann, Professor of Public and Comparative Law, Humboldt University, Berlin,
Prof. Sarbani Sen presented a paper online titled “The Struggle of Constitutional Amendments in India in Oxford University” at a workshop organized by the Oxford University titled Asian Comparative Constitutional Law: Volume II - Constitutional Amendments February, 2023
15th September 2023
The Centre organised a panel discussion on the university campus on the topic “Exploring Pendency in Lower Courts using Big Data Analytics and Artificial Intelligence”, wherein the researchers employed BDA and AI models on a data set that comprises 79 million cases that were filed before lower courts between 2010 and 2018 to identify key factors that contribute to delay and pendency in lower courts.
The presenters were Prof. (Dr.) Mohit Bhatnagar, Associate Professor (JGBS) and Prof. (Dr.) Shivaraj Huchhanavar, Assistant Professor (JGLS) and the discussants for the event were the members of CCLS- Prof. Sarbani Sen, Prof. Nidhi Sharma, Prof. Suprita Acharya, and Prof. Sahibnoor Singh Sidhu.
26th September 2023
A Constitutional Law Student Symposium (Fall 2023) was organised by the Centre in the Big Bang Conference Room with the objective to provide a platform for students, who are working on research papers in the field of constitutional law, to present their ideas and thoughts and to develop them further through constructive feedback and academic contributions from faculty members of JGLS
31st October 2023
Book Discussion was organised by Prof. Mathew John’s book on India’s Communal Constitution – Law, Religion, and the Making of a People. Set against the overwhelmingly liberal design of the Indian Constitution, the book speaks to the debates on law, constitution, and the contested terrain of political identity in modern India.
4th November 2023
A Distinguished Guest Lecture was delivered by Hon’ble Mr. Justice Aniruddha Bose, Judge, Supreme Court of India on “Constitutionalism in the Contemporary World”. The lecture was delivered by Justice Bose on the university campus and focused on the intersectionality of constitutionalism and democracy, especially in jurisdictions without a written constitution.
Publications:
Non-Scopus
- Anmol Jain and Tanja Herklotz (eds), Indian Constitutionalism in the Last Decade (Verfassungsbook, 2025).
- Anmol Jain, ‘Concerning State of Academic Freedom in India’, in Anmol Jain and Tanja Herklotz (eds), Indian Constitutionalism in the Last Decade (Verfassungsbook, 2025).
- Anmol Jain, ‘Uniting the Indian Opposition’, in Anmol Jain and Tanja Herklotz (eds), Indian Constitutionalism in the Last Decade (Verfassungsbook, 2025).
- Anmol Jain, Amogh Dhar Sharma’s ‘The Backstage of Democracy’, Party Politics (2025).
- Anmol Jain, Grand Narratives of Constitutional Journeys and the Crisis of Democracy: Introduction to the Blog Symposium, IACL-AIDC Blog
- Anmol Jain, Judicial Paternalism and Free Speech in India, Verfassungsblog
- Anmol Jain, Judicial Review of Parliamentary Process in Dr Sunil Kumar Singh v. Bihar Legislative Council, Constitutional Law and Philosophy Blog
- Anmol Jain, The Battle today is not for the Abstract Ideals of the Constitution – It is for Democracy Itself, The Indian Express
- Anujay Shrivastava, ‘‘Too Presumptuous’? Electoral Bonds Judgment and the Presumption of Constitutionality Doctrine’ (NLSIR Online, 11 October 2024), available at: <https://www.nlsir.com/post/too-presumptuous-electoral-bonds-judgment-and-the-presumption-of-constitutionality-doctrine>.
- Nidhi Sharma, ‘The Synergy of the Electoral Bonds Case and the Right to Information of Voters in Indian Democracy’ IACL-AIDC Blog (Forthcoming)
- Nidhi Sharma, Stripping a state of its statehood: Disenfranchisement of the people of Jammu and Kashmir, Oxford Human Rights Hub Blog, (April 19, 2024)
- Sahibnoor Singh Sidhu and Shruti Pathania, 'The Sinking of Land in Joshimath and the Indian Constitution's Human Rights Guarantees' in Neeraj Singh Manhas et. al. (ed.) A World of Rights: Navigating the Global Landscape of Human Rights (KW Publishers, 2023
- Sahibnoor Singh Sidhu, 'RTI in India- A Constitutional Perspective' in Simranjeet Kaur (ed.) Right to Information- Concept, Law and Practice (Satyam Law International, 2023)
- Sarbani Sen and Anujay Shrivastava, ‘Constitutional Change’ in Aparna Chandra, Gautam Bhatia and Niraja Gopal Jayal (eds), The Cambridge Companion to the Constitution of India (Cambridge University Press 2025)
- Sarbani Sen, ‘Constitutional amendments in India’ in Ngoc Bui and Mara Malgodi (eds), Asian Comparative Constitutional Law: Volume II – Constitutional Amendments (Hart 2024).
- Sarbani Sen, ‘India’s founding moment’ in E Sridharan R Sudarshan and Sarbani Sen (eds), Constitutionalism in South and Southeast Asia: Founding Moments, Politics and Evolution (Social Science Press forthcoming 2024)
- Sarbani Sen, ‘India’s founding moment’ in E. Sridharan, R. Sudarshan and Sarbani Sen (eds), Constitutionalism in South and Southeast Asia: Founding Moments, Politics and Evolution (Social Science Press/Routledge, forthcoming 2024).
- Sarbani Sen, ‘The Indian constitution: institutional frameworks’ in Asian Comparative Constitutional Law: Volume III “Constitutional Structures” (Ngoc Son Bui and Mara Malgodi eds., Hart 2025
SCOPUS Publications:
- Anmol Jain published a book review of “The Indian Constitution: A Conversation with Power. By Gautam Bhatia. [Gurugram: HarperCollins Publishers India, 2025. xxvi + 347 pp. Paperback Rs 599.00. ISBN 978-9-36569-365-1.]” for The Cambridge Law Journal, Volume 84, Issue 2 (Cambridge University Press).
- Anshuman Shukla and Sayan Mukherjee published an article on “Women in Security Services: A (post)feminist Reading of Lt Col Nitisha v Union of India” for Indian Law Review (Q2 SCOPUS-indexed) (co-authored with Ipsita Ray).
- Anujay Shrivastava, “Unto The Unheavenly Exodus – Citizenship Amendment Act 2019 And The ‘Basic Structure’ Challenge” has been accepted for publication by the International Journal of Legal Information (SCOPUS-indexed) for its Spring 2026 issue
- Ishan Vijay Avadhanam, Tracing Blasphemy: Comparing the Legal Overreach on Expression and Free Speech in Digital Media and OTT in India and the US, Indian Journal of Law and Justice (Vol. 15 Issue: 1) (forthcoming).
- Karan Kataria, Reassessing Legal Horizons: An Exploration of Indian Migrant Worker’s Journey Through Espionage Allegation, Conviction, And Release In Qatar, Migration Letter (Q2 Scopus Publication) (March 24)
- Nidhi Sharma, ‘Legislative Realm of Informational Privacy in India: A Comparative Analysis in the backdrop of General Data Protection Regulation, 2024’ in the Conference Proceeding of the 13th International Conference on Innovation, Knowledge, and Management, Conference Proceedings (March 2025)
- Nidhi Sharma, ‘The erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir: A Constitutional Lens to examine In Re: Article 370 of the Constitution’ in Indian Law Review, ISSN: 2473-0599 (Online), Taylor and Francis Ltd. (February, 2026)
- Nidhi Sharma, The Ghost of Article 12 in the Indian Constitution – the Verticality v. Horizontality Conundrum, International Journal of Legal Information, ISSN: 0731-1265 (Print), 2331-4117 (Online)
- Nidhi Sharma, The quasi-federal constitution? Taxonomical influences on interpretation of federalism in India. Global Constitutionalism. Published online 2025:1-25. doi:10.1017/S2045381725100117
- Sahibnoor Singh Sidhu, 'Incomplete History and the Triggering Title- Book Review of The Colonial Constitution by Arghya Sengupta'. EPW Vol. 59, Issue No. 17, 27 April 2024.
- Sayan Mukherjee, Nullifying 24,000 Jobs Legal Sustainability of the Calcutta High Court’s ‘Cash for Job’ Order, Economic & Political Weekly, JULY 13, 2024 vol LIX no. 28.
