South Asia 2012-13

Final Round Judges

JUSTICE NAIMA HAIDER is a Justice in the High Court Division of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh.

JUSTICE S. MURALIDHAR is a Delhi High Court Justice.

NEERAJ KISHAN KAUL is a Senior Advocate and Former Judge of the Delhi High Court.

GOPAL SUBRAMANIAM is a Senior Advocate in the Supreme Court of India and Former Solicitor General of India.

DEEPAK JACOB is Vice-President of Legal and Regulatory Affairs at STAR TV.

Advanced Rounds Judges

AARTHI RAJAN graduated from the University of Delhi and in law from the University of Cardiff, Wales and was called to Bar (England & Wales) in 2008 (Lincoln’s Inn). She is a practising advocate in the Supreme Court of India.

AJIT SHARMA graduated from NALSAR and completed his LL.M. from George Washington University. He has worked at Dorsey & Whitney, London and Trilegal, Mumbai. He is currently a Counsel in the Supreme Court of India.

APAR GUPTA completed his LL.M. from Columbia Law School and is currently a partner in Advani& Company. He primarily deals with arbitration and civil litigation. He also advises and represents companies on legal issues concerning information technology and electronic commerce.

ARUNDHATI KATJU graduated from National Law School of India University, Bangalore and worked for over five years with Mr.SidharthLuthra, Senior Advocate. She now has an independent practice.

CHETAN GUPTA completed his B.C.L. from the University of Oxford in 2008 and is currently in private practice. Previously, he has clerked for Justice Arijit Pasayat and has also worked in the Chambers of Harish Salve and Gaurav Pachnanda.

CHINMAYI ARUN is an Assistant Professor of Law at National Law University, Delhi and a Fellow of the Centre for Internet and Society, Bangalore.  She has an LL.B. from the NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad, and received her LL.M. from the London School of Economics and Political Science.

DHRUV DEWAN graduated from National Law Institute University, Bhopal in 2004 and is now a Principal Associate at Amarchand&Mangaldas& Suresh A. Shroff& Co.  He is part of the contentious dispute resolutions team and handles corporate-commercial litigations in both courts and arbitrations.

GAURAV AGRAWAL graduated from the National Law School of India University, Bangalore in 1999 and is currently practicing in the Supreme Court of India. He has co-authored a book on ‘Supreme Court Practice and Procedure’.

GOPAL SANKARANARAYANAN read his Masters in Criminology at the LSE before commencing practice at the Supreme Court of India. He specializes in Constitutional Law and has assisted the Kingdom of Bhutan in framing its Constitution. He appeared as junior counsel in I.R.Coelho&Ashoka Kumar Thakur and has recently argued before the Constitution Bench in the Media Guidelines case. He also teaches Media Law at the Convergence Institute Bangalore, every summer.

HARIPRIYA PADMANABHAN graduated from National Law School India University in 1998. She has previously worked in the litigation team at Amarchand&Mangaldas& Suresh A. Shroff for three years and in the chambers of Mr. K.K Venugopal for six years. She has been practicing independently for the last five years.

JOYJYOTI MISHRA graduated from the National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata in 2005. Joyjyoti has been an avid mooter and was the lead oralist of the NUJS team that won the Willem C. Vis International Arbitration Moot, Vienna in 2003. Presently, he is a Principal Associate with Khaitan& Co., New Delhi.

KARAN CHANDHIOK graduated from Amity Law School and completed his BCL from University of Oxford in 2007. He has previously worked at Allen &Overy, and is currently a Managing Associate at Luthra&Luthra Law Offices.

KARUNA NUNDY is an advocate in the Supreme Court of India and is currently leading litigation concerning the rights of the Bhopal Gas victims. She has also argued cases involving the rights of alleged terrorists, mentally ill people and class actions on sexual harassment. Ms.Nundy was on the NAC’s drafting committee for the Right to Food Bill and advised on the Communal Violence Bill and the Mental Health Care Bill. Ms.Nundy holds a law degree from University of Cambridge and has completed her LL.M from Columbia University.

MADHAVI DIVAN earned a degree in law from Cambridge University where she was a Cambridge Commonwealth Scholar. She practices in the Supreme Court of India. She is the author of a book titled, ‘Facets of Media Law’ published in 2006.

MENAKA GURUSWAMY practices law at the Supreme Court of India. Amongst other cases, she has successfully litigated against state-sponsored vigilante groups in Chhattisgarh, defended the Right to Education Act and challenged the constitutionality of laws that punish same-sex relations. Menaka has previously taught at New York University’s School of Law and has also advised UNDP and UNIFEM in New York. She graduated from NLSIU, Bangalore and was a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University and a Gammon Fellow at Harvard Law School. Her doctoral research from Oxford University is on Constitution- Making in India, Pakistan and Nepal.

MIHIRA SOOD graduated from NALSAR University of Law in 2007 and is currently a Senior Associate with Luthra&Luthra Law Offices specializing in Intellectual property, media and entertainment law.

MOHIT ABRAHAM is a Partner at PXV Law Partners where he heads the litigation and dispute resolution practice. He is an Advocate-on-Record of the Supreme Court having secured the 1st rank in the qualifying examination conducted by the Supreme Court. He is a graduate of the Harvard Law School and the National University of Juridical Sciences.

NAVPREET PANJRATH is Corporate Counsel of Google India Pvt. Ltdand comes from a leading law firm specializing in IP and IT laws giving her exposure to a range of interesting and broad spectrum issues.  In her previous role, Navpreet has been a litigator and also doubled up as a commercial attorney. Her court forays covered a wide gamut of IT disputes, matters dealing with trade mark and copyright infringement and design infringement actions.  Amongst many others, she worked on a leading case dealing with issues around intermediary liability and copyright infringement.  A large portion of her work also included advising and partnering with clients to work out long term and comprehensive strategies for protection of their intellectual property right.

RAGHAV SHANKAR graduated from NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad and completed his BCL and M.Phil from the University of Oxford. He is currently litigating in Delhi.

RAHUL AJATSHATRU has degrees in Economics and Law from the University of Delhi. He specializes in Media and Entertainment Laws. Rahul was a key Legal Consultant and Attorney for a leading Entertainment Company of India. He currently leads Anand And Anand’s Media & Entertainment Practice in Mumbai.

RAHUL NARAYAN completed his law degree in 2004 and completed his B.C.L. from the University of Oxford. He has previously worked at AZB & Partners, New Delhi and Herbert Smith, London. He is currently an independent practitioner dealing with both litigation and corporate matters and is an advocate-on-record in the Supreme Court of India.

RAJSHEKHAR RAO graduated from the National Law School of India University, Bangalore in 1999. He was Junior Counsel with the Justice Venkataswami Commission appointed to look into the ‘Tehelka’ matter. He is in private practice at New Delhi since July 2006 and appears before the Supreme Court, High Courts and other forums.

RAMANJIT SINGH CHIMA is a policy analyst with Google, based in Delhi. He graduated from the National Law School of India University, Bangalore.

SANTHOSH KRISHNAN graduated from NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad in 2007 and is currently a litigating lawyer based in New Delhi.

SHIBANI GHOSH graduated from the National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata and completed her B.C.L. and M.Sc. from the University of Oxford. She is a practicing public interest lawyer specializing in environmental and access to information laws. She is also a Research Associate at the Centre for Policy Research, New Delhi, and has been a Visiting Faculty at the TERI University, New Delhi.

SHRI SINGH completed his law degree from the National Law School of India University, Bangalore. He is presently an independent practitioner and specializes in criminal law and special crimes legislation.

SIDDHARTH AGGARWAL graduated from the National Law School of India University, Bangalore and is an advocate practicing in the Delhi High Court and the Supreme Court of India.

S SUKMAR graduated from NALSAR, University of Law and completed her LLM with honours at Columbia Law School. She has her own intellectual property laws practice in Delhi, and practices before the Supreme Court and the Delhi High Court. She is also the India Country Director for i-Probono, an organization that connects civil society organizations in need of pro bono legal assistance, to lawyers and students who can deliver this assistance.
VAIBHAV KAKKAR graduated from National Law University, Jodhpur in 2006 and has been associated with Luthra&Luthra Law Offices as a Managing Associate since. He mostly deals in matters related to General Corporate, Corporate Structuring & Regulatory Practices.
Preliminary Rounds Judges
ABHINAV SHRIVASTAVA completed his undergraduate law degree from NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad in 2010 and completed his masters in law from King’s College London in 2012, specialising in Regulation and Technology Law. He is currently engaged as an Associate at the Law Offices of NandanKamath, a firm in Bangalore concerned with Media, Sports and Technology law.

       
ADIT S. PUJARI graduated from the National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata and is currently litigating in Delhi. He is working in the chambers of Mr. SiddharthAggarwal, and was formerly an Associate at Amarchand&Mangaldas& Suresh A Shroff& Co.

ADITYA SHAMLAL graduated from National Law School of India University, Bangalore in 2008. He previously worked with AmarchandMangaldas& Suresh A. Shroff& Co. and assisted Mr. Raj Panjwani, Senior Counsel in a litigation practice based at the Delhi High Court and the Supreme Court. He is currently working with Gamechanger Law Advisors, a boutique legal practice for Start-up’s and SME’s.

AISHANI GUPTA is a fifth year student at National Law University, Delhi. She was a member of the winning team at the South Asia Rounds of Price Media Law Moot, 2012 and was also adjudged as the best speaker of the competition. In the international rounds, she advanced to the semi-final rounds and was the highest ranked Indian speaker in the competition. She writes regularly on issues of media and technology on Law Wire.

AJEY SANGAI graduated from NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad in 2011 and received his LL.M degree from School of Law, New York University. He specialized in Legal and Political Philosophy and, Comparative Constitutional Law. Currently, he is working as a Research Associate at Jindal Global Law School, Haryana.

AKHIL ANAND is currently a senior associate with Poovayya& Co., New Delhi and is primarily involved in litigation, real estate and general corporate matters.

ALOK PRASANNA is a graduate of NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad and hold a B.C.L. from the University of Oxford. He currently works in the Chambers of Mohan Parasaran, Additional Solicitor General of India and is a Panel-C counsel appearing on behalf of the Union of India in the Supreme Court.

AMIT GEORGE graduated from NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad and holds a LLM with a specialization in International dispute resolution from the University of London. He is currently practicing in the High Court of Delhi and the Supreme Court and mostly deals with an arbitration law centric practice.

ANAND SHANKAR JHA graduated from the Hidayatullah National Law University, Raipur in 2008. He worked as a legal manager at ICICI Bank Ltd and is currently an Advocate in the Supreme Court of India.

ANIMESH SHARMA graduated from the National Law School of India University Bangalore in 2008 and has been practicing in the Punjab and Haryana High Court since.

ANIMESH SINHA graduated from Amity Law School in 2008 and has previously worked as an Associate in the litigation team at Karanjawala& Co. He was a partner at Advani& Company and is currently practicing independently.

ANIRUDH WADHWA is a graduate of the National Law School of India University, Bangalore and the University of Oxford. He is currently practicing at the Delhi High Court.

ARYA TRIPATHY graduated from the Hidayatullah National Law University, Raipur and is currently an Associate at Amarchand&Mangaldas& Suresh A Shroff& Co., New Delhi.

ASMITA SINGH graduated from National Law Institute University, Bhopal in 2010. She currently works in the chambers of Mr. Gautam Narayan, an Advocate on Record in the Supreme Court. She has also independently appeared and argued in tribunals such as the National Green Tribunal, the Central Administrative Tribunal (Principal Bench) and the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission.

BIPIN ASPATWAR graduated from the National Law School of India University, Bangalore in 2008 and was the Assistant Director of the Public Interest Legal Support and Research Centre. He is currently practicing in the Supreme Court of India.

DEEPAK BISWAS graduated from Symbiosis Society’s Law College with a BSL LLB in 2006. He has previously worked in the chambers of Mr. Rajiv Shakder, (Presently a sitting judge in the Delhi High Court) and as an Associate in Praxis Partners and AZB and Partners. He is currently working in Luthra and Luthra Law Offices as a senior associate. He specialises in the area of corporate and commercial litigation including arbitrations.

DHANANJAYA MISHRA graduated from the NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad, in 2010 and is currently an Associate with Luthra&Luthra Law Offices, New Delhi.

DHRUV BHATTACHARYA is a V year student pursuing B.A. LL.B (Hons.) at NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad and was a member of the winning team at the International Rounds of Price Media Law Moot Court Competition, 2012 held at the University of Oxford.

DIVYANT LAHOTI graduated from GGS Indraprastha University, India in 2008 and pursued his LL.M in International Commercial Law from King’s College, London. He has previously worked with the former Chief Justice of India, Dr. Justice R. C. Lahoti and is currently working with Luthra&Luthra Law Offices as a Senior Associate.

HARSH KUMAR is a Principal Associate in the New Delhi office of Khaitan& Co. and is part of the Corporate Department. His practice focuses on corporate and commercial transactions such as acquisitions, joint ventures, strategic alliances, private equity, mergers and reorganisations. Harsh has also worked in the London office of Herbert Smith LLP where he was involved in international corporate transactions.

KARTIKEY MAHAJAN graduated from National Law University, Jodhpur in 2011. He worked as an Associate with Luthra&Luthra Law Offices, New Delhi and currently practices before the Delhi High Court and the Supreme Court.

KUNAL SINGH is a 5th year student pursuing B.A. L.L.B. (Hons.) at NALSAR University, Hyderabad. Winner of the world rounds of the Oxford Media Law moot, 2012.

MALAK BHATT is an Associate at AmarchandMangaldas, New Delhi and practices with the litigation team. He has completed his B.A., LL.B. (Hons.) from NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad and also obtained the BCL from University of Oxford.

MANASA SUNDARRAMAN is a third year student at National Law School of India University, Bangalore. She was a quarter-finalist in the Oxford Rounds of the Price Media Law Moot Court Competition in March 2012. Her team won the Best Memorial award at the South Asian and Oxford Rounds.

MANAV KAPUR graduated from NALSAR, University of Law in 2010 and completed his LL.M from School of law, New York University. He served as a law clerk to Justice Markandey Katju, Supreme Court of India and is currently an Assistant Professor at NALSAR, University of Law.

MEYYAPPAN NAGAPPAN graduated from the NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad in 2010. He is currently working in the Chambers of Mohan Parasaran, Additional Solicitor General of India and is a panel counsel for TRIFED.

NIKHIL KANEKAL works with The Printers (Mysore) Private Limited, the Bangalore-based publishers of Deccan Herald and Prajavani, on legal and digital media aspects. He graduated from Symbiosis Law School, Pune and was a Stabile Fellow at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism in New York. Previously, he covered the Supreme Court of India as a correspondent for Mint.

NINAD LAUD completed his LL.B (Hons.) from Goa University and has been working in the chambers of Mr. Mukul Rohatgi since 2006.

NITIKA DWIVEDI is a fifth-year law student at National Law University, Delhi and was a semi-finalist in the Oxford Rounds of the Price Media Law Moot Court Competition in March 2012. She was awarded the best speaker for the finals of the South Asia Rounds, 2011. Currently, Nitika is a Research Assistant for PCMLP’s India Media Law Research Project.

NIZAM PASHA graduated from the National Law School of India University, Bangalore in 2007. He was a Senior Associate with Amarchand&Mangaldas& Suresh A. Shroff& Co. in the Mergers & Acquisitions team. He is currently practicing in the Supreme Court and is working in the office of the Attorney General of India.

PRATEEK CHADHA graduated from National Law School India University, Bangalore and he completed his LL.M from Harvard Law School. He has previously clerked under Justice B.S Chauhan, Judge Supreme Court of India and is currently practicing in the Chambers of Mr. AmitSibal.

PREETINDER SINGH is a graduate of the National Law School of India University, Bangalore and currently practices in the Punjab & Haryana High Court.

PRITIKA RAI ADVANI is a fourth year student of the National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata. She has been involved in the India Media Law Research Project coordinated by the Programme in Comparative Media Law and Policy, University of Oxford.

RAADHIKA GUPTA is a Research Associate at the Jindal Global Law School, Sonipat. She obtained her B.A., LL.B. (Hons.) degree from NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad in 2011 and her LL.M. from Harvard Law School in 2012, specializing in jurisprudence, feminist legal theory and constitutional law. She has worked as a member of the team of legal consultants to the committee drafting the new disability legislation in India.

RUCHIRA GOEL graduated from NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad and completed her LL.M. from the New York University School of Law on an Inlaks scholarship in 2010. She was an Assistant Professor at Jindal Global Law School and is currently litigating in the High Court of Delhi.

SAGNIK SINHA graduated from the Gujarat National Law University, Gandhinagar in 2009 and is currently an international trade lawyer with Laksmi, Kumaran & Sridharan. He recently completed the LL.M in International Trade from Georgetown University Law Center in 2012.

SANTOSH KRISHNAN graduated from NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad in 2007 and is currently a litigating lawyer based in New Delhi.

SHAUNAK KASHYAP is an advocate in Supreme Court and practices essentially in commercial laws. He has authored 2 books on the Constitution of India.

SHEJA EHTESHAM graduated from NALSAR, University of Law and is currently a Partner at ALG India Law Offices. She advises her clients on intellectual property transactional issues and manages the trademark and copyright portfolios of several multinationals and Fortune 500 companies across a wide range of industries.

SHIVENDRA SINGH graduated from NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad in 2010 and completed his BCL at the University of Oxford after working as a law clerk under Justice Dalveer Bhandarifrom July 2010 to June 2011.  He is currently working in the Chambers of Mr.Gautam Narayan.

SHRADDHA DESHMUKH graduated from ILS Law College, Pune in 2010 and completed her B.C.L. from the University of Oxford. She is currently an Associate at Karanjawala& Co.

SHRAVANTH SHANKER holds a degree in law from Osmania University, Hyderabad and is presently an Associate Advocate at AmitSibal’s Law Chambers in New Delhi. He is primarily involved with Commercial and Intellectual Property litigation at the Delhi High Court.

SUBHADRA BANDA graduated from the NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad in 2010. She was a judicial clerk at the Supreme Court and is currently associated with the Centre for Policy Research and Ford Foundation, New Delhi.

SONAM ANAND graduated from ILS Law College in 2009 and is currently working in the chambers of Ms. Indira Jaising. She is a Panel lawyer for the Central Government in the Supreme Court of India.

SOURAV ROY is a fifth year student at NALSAR, University of Law and he was an oralist in the winning team of the International rounds of the 2011-12 Price Media Law Moot Court Competition.

SOWMYA RAO graduated from NALSAR University of Law in 2009. She has previously worked with Luthra&Luthra Law Offices, Delhi as well as with Clifford Chance LLP, London. She is currently working as a legal consultant for the Financial Sector Legislative Reforms Commission.

UJWALA UPPALURI is a fourth year student at National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata and she advanced to the Semi-final rounds of the South Asia Rounds of the Price Moot Law Court Competition 2012. She is the author of this year’s Bench Memorial for the judges. Ujwala is an avid researcher in technology and civil liberties and blogs on the Free Speech Initiative.

VAIBHAV SHARMA graduated from the Army Institute of Law, Mohali and is currently working as an Advocate in the High Court of Punjab & Haryana.

VANSHDEEP DALMIA graduated from National University of Juridical Sciences in 2009. He was working with the Standing Counsel for Union of India in the High Court of Delhi and is currently working in the Chambers of Ms.InduMalhotra. He mostly practices in matters regarding civil law, indirect taxes and law of arbitration.

VINAY KESARI graduated from Nalsar University of Law, Hyderabad in 2009. He has previously worked with Luthra&Luthra Law Offices, New Delhi, and is currently working in the field of technology law and policy.

VIVEK JAIN is working in the Chambers of Indu Malhotra and is currently practicing in the Supreme Court of India.

WARISHA FARASAT graduated from National Law School of India University, Bangalore and completed her LL.M from Columbia Law School. She has previously worked at the International Center for Transitional Justice in New York and has practiced at the original and appellate levels in India. She currently works at the Centre for Equity Studies in India.

YAMAN VERMA is a graduate from National Law School India University, Bangalore and is currently working in the competition law team at Amarchand&Mangaldas& Suresh A. Shroff as an Associate. He advanced to the quarter-final rounds in Willem C. Vis International Commerical Arbitration Moot Court Competition, Vienna in 2009 and was adjudged as the Best Speaker in Henry Dunant Memorial Moot Court Competition in 2007.

ZOHEB HOSSAIN is an Assistant Professor at Jindal Global Law School and the Assistant Director for the Centre for Legal Writing, Mooting and Advocacy Program.