New on the SLR Forum! Nidah Kaiser reviews Dr Sagnik Dutta’s ‘In the Shadow of Minority Rights: Decolonising Gender, Liberalism, and the Politics of Difference’. Read more here - forum.nls.ac.in/slr-forum-bl...

Our conversation with Rohit De and Ornit Shani on their latest book ‘Assembling India’s Constitution’ is now live on the SLR Forum!

Now live on the SLR Forum: Senjuti Chakrabarti, the defence lawyer in the RG Kar Medical College case, revisits the Trial Court’s refusal to award the death penalty, challenging the limits of “collective conscience” despite intense public pressure. Read more here: forum.nls.ac.in/slr-forum-bl...

New on the SLR Forum! CP Shruthi examines the persistent gap between the formal recognition of mitigation in Indian death penalty jurisprudence and its substantive application in the sentencing practice. Read more here: forum.nls.ac.in/slr-forum-bl...

New on the SLR Forum! Poorva Sharma and Vasujit Dubey examine the ICJ’s 2025 Climate Advisory Opinion through a TWAIL lens, arguing that despite recognising climate change as existential, the Opinion reproduces Global North dominance through institutional, normative, and epistemic injustices.

The Socio-Legal Review (SLR) at NLSIU is currently inviting submissions for Volume 22 (2), a special issue on ‘Law and History in South Asia’. The issue will be published in late 2026. The deadline for submission is 15 March 2026.

Closing Issue 1 of Volume 21 is this systematic review analysing three recent books that focus on the incarceration of the “Bhima Koregaon-16”—sixteen activists who were detained in the aftermath of a 2018 gathering. To read more, visit repository.nls.ac.in/slr/vol21/is...

For our Notes From the Field section in Volume 21(1), the authors of this piece examine how India citizens perceive and prioritise fundamental rights, with particular attention to Article 19(1) and the constitutional right to property. To read more, visit repository.nls.ac.in/slr/vol21/is...

In the third article for Volume 21(1), Tejaswi Chhatwal critically examines Hitesh Verma v State of Uttarakhand (Supreme Court, 2020) and argues for reading it as a “landmark trial” in the judicial undoing of reform. To read the piece, visit repository.nls.ac.in/slr/vol21/is...

In this article for Volume 21(1), Rashmi Banerjee examines the 1920 trial of Musammat Kelee, a Hindu widow from Ajmer-Merwara, accused of drowning her illegitimate infant son in a lake. To read the article, visit repository.nls.ac.in/slr/vol21/is...

In our first article for Volume 21(1), Jayna Kothari, Nithya R Rajshekhar, and Naibedya Dash offer an insightful data-driven analysis of women in India's higher judiciary using official records. To read the article, visit repository.nls.ac.in/slr/vol21/is...

The Editorial Board (2024-25) of the Socio-Legal Review is delighted to announce the release of Volume 21, Issue 1! To access the Issue, please visit repository.nls.ac.in/slr/vol21/is...

SLR is hosting its third Annual Workshop online, on Saturday, 10th January 2026 at 11 AM. The keynote speaker is Dr. Anindita Adhikari, Assistant Professor of Social Sciences at NLSIU. The workshop is open to all, register here: forms.gle/8sjCsrjYcm82...

The Socio-Legal Review is pleased to announce its Editorial Board for 2025-26. We look forward to expanding the imaginations for socio-legal scholarship through dedicated editorial work and public-facing initiatives.

New on the SLR Forum: Sumedha Edara analyses 'In Re: Right to Privacy of Adolescents (2025)', situating Article 142 as a mechanism for facilitating a more dignitarian and agency-sensitive reading of provisions. forum.nls.ac.in/slr-forum-bl...

In the third iteration of the SLR Reading Circle, this term we are reading a set of texts curated for the theme 'Law and the Paper Archive'. The concept note and session plan can be found here: www.nls.ac.in/news-events/...

In this series on Sara Dezalay's Lawyering Imperial Encounters: Negotiating Africa’s Relationship with the World Economy (Cambridge University Press 2024), Faisal Chaudhry's review engages with the book’s own preferred metaphor, of law as “a Möbius ribbon." forum.nls.ac.in/slr-forum-bl...

For the SLR Forum, we continue to invite contributions on a rolling basis in the form of short essays and commentary on contemporary developments or issues that speak to the Aims and Scope of the Journal. To submit, please mail us at [email protected]

NLSIU’s Socio-Legal Review (SLR) Journal is now inviting submissions for Volume 22(1) of the Journal. The deadline is 31st January 2026. Please find the submission guidelines here: repository.nls.ac.in/slr/policies... Please find all other relevant details here: drive.google.com/file/d/131cp...

New on the SLR Forum: Dr. Chandrabhan Yadav interviews Dr. Shivani Kapoor on Professor Tulsi Ram's Hindi autobiography and the political possibilities embedded in the autobiographical form and its engagement with caste and Dalit experience. forum.nls.ac.in/slr-forum-bl...

New on the SLR Forum: For 'Voices from the Field', Mahek Bhatia reflects on the implications of digital networking methods for researchers conducting socio-legal fieldwork in India, particularly for questions of positionality and access. forum.nls.ac.in/slr-forum-bl...

New on the SLR Forum: In this two-part series, our editors interview Dr. Saagar Tewari about his new book, 'Islands Against Civilization: Anthropology, Nationalism, and the Politics of Scheduling, 1918-1950' (Orient BlackSwan, 2024). forum.nls.ac.in/slr-forum-bl...

New on the SLR Forum: Tanishq Desai critiques the legitimacy of cash bail, using Bourdieu’s framework of symbolic violence to interrogate its disproportionate impact against working-class persons. forum.nls.ac.in/slr-forum-bl...

In our latest from the SLR Interviews series, our editors spoke to Dr. Vibhuti Ramachandran about her recent book 'Immoral Traffic' (CUP 2025), on the practice of ethnography and the positionality of the ethnographer. forum.nls.ac.in/slr-forum-bl...

New on the SLR Forum: Dr. Srinivas Burra examines mainstream pedagogical approaches towards teaching international law, exploring methods for incorporating critical international law perspectives with a focus on Global South jurisprudence. forum.nls.ac.in/slr-forum-bl...

New on the SLR Forum: Dr. Ashna Singh argues that TWAIL scholarship on international law ignores caste in its teaching, research and discourse and shows that caste is central to the TWAIL perspective for the critical perspectives it offers on South Asia. forum.nls.ac.in/slr-forum-bl...

New on the SLR Forum: Dr. Akhila Basalalli analyses the need for a new pedagogy of international law, taking lessons from the growing integration and inward-looking normativity of international law. forum.nls.ac.in/slr-forum-bl...

New on the SLR Forum: Prof. Rohini Sen uses the feminist pedagogical techniques of standpoint theory and relational analysis to critically examine notions around expertise in teaching and research in international law academia. forum.nls.ac.in/slr-forum-bl...

New on the SLR Forum: Tanya Sara George and Abhishek Sanjay critique Section 62(5) of the RPA, which disenfranchises incarcerated persons - analysing its colonial origins, disproportionate impact on marginalised groups and jurisprudence on the issue. forum.nls.ac.in/slr-forum-bl...

We are meeting for our second session today, to discuss Chapter 3 of the book with Dr. Mrinal Satish. Do join us if you're on campus, details here.

In the second iteration of the SLR Reading Circle, this term we are reading Dr. Alastair McClure's Trials of Sovereignty over four sessions. If you're on campus, join us! Details of the first session are here, we are reading Chapter 1 with Dr. Samyak Ghosh.

The SLR Forum now has a new home! Do engage with the breadth of socio-legal scholarship that we have published here over the years. forum.nls.ac.in/slr-forum/

New on the SLR Forum: Anshul Dalmia empirically analyses 34 recent constitution bench judgments for their level of accessibility, on metrics of the availability of transcripts, translations into vernacular languages, clarity and brevity. www.sociolegalreview.com/post/who-can...

New on the SLR Forum: Anagha Damaraju argues that the Patna HC's hasty approval of the Bihar caste survey's data collection modalities may lead to the misuse of sensitive data, rendering marginalised caste groups susceptible to privacy violations. www.sociolegalreview.com/post/caste-d...

New on the SLR Forum: Lakshmi Menon, from The Square Circle Clinic, reviews Alastair McClure's book 'Trials of Sovereignty', arguing that discretionary capital sentencing follows a colonial legacy designed for subjugation and punishment. www.sociolegalreview.com/post/the-leg...

Our Special 20th Anniversary Issue ends with a Postscript written by Kalyani Ramnath, Editor-in-Chief of SLR in 2007. Ramnath reflects on SLR’s journey, particularly the initial years, placing the question of socio-legal in an institutional context. repository.nls.ac.in/slr/vol20/is...

This looks fantastic, with a great line-up of scholars including legal historians Elizabeth Lhost and Kalyani Ramnath (who was there in the early days)! Also includes Anup Surendranath & Maitreyi Misra on death penalty (India) and Maryam Khan on socio-legal studies in Pakistan. Congratulations, all!

In our fifth and final article, Sara Dezalay asks what a socio-legal enquiry looks like on a "global" scale when seen from the vantage point of Africa, showing the entanglement of law in the selective globalisation fostered by global value chains. repository.nls.ac.in/slr/vol20/is...

In our fourth article, Maryam S Khan shows the emergence and development of socio-legal research in Pakistan in broad comparison with India, arguing that the meaning and evolution of “socio” in socio-legal is contingent on social and historical contexts. repository.nls.ac.in/slr/vol20/is...

In our third article, Anup Surendranath and Maitreyi Misra show how mitigation practice—which draws heavily from social science disciplines—brings forth the tensions between the ostensible neatness of legal doctrine and the complexity of social reality. repository.nls.ac.in/slr/vol20/is...

The second article in our Special Issue is by Deepa Das Acevedo and Jahnavi Chamarthi who discuss the relationship between the subdiscipline of legal anthropology and the broader field of law and society scholarship, with a special focus on India and SLR. repository.nls.ac.in/slr/vol20/is...

In the first article of our Special Anniversary Issue, Elizabeth Lhost critically examines what constitutes “law’s archive” when doing legal history. Outlining trends in socio-legal history, she asks how a critical historian can tell a story of fragments. repository.nls.ac.in/slr/vol20/is...

SLR's Special 20th Anniversary Issue is out now! Volume 20(2) reflects on two decades of socio-legal inquiry from India, South Asia, and beyond—through legal history, anthropology, mitigation practice, comparative method & institutional memory. Read here: repository.nls.ac.in/slr/

The recording of the launch event of our Special 20th Anniversary Issue is now available on our YouTube channel. If you missed it, go watch an insightful discussion on the contours of socio-legal scholarship today, with special focus on South Asia. www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5Mu...

Reminder to register for our Special 20th Anniversary Issue launch event happening tomorrow, 18 June at 3 PM IST. Catch SLR Editors in conversation with Elizabeth Lhost, Anup Surendranath, Maitreyi Misra, Maryam Khan, and Sara Dezalay. Register here: shorturl.at/ElSzB

In this interview, our editors spoke to Dr. Sagnik Dutta about their book, 'In the Shadow of Minority Rights' (CUP 2025), on Muslim women's resistance, activism and agency in the context of increasing Hindu majoritarianism and violence. www.sociolegalreview.com/post/muslimn...

It’s finally here! India, South Asia, and Beyond—SLR’s ambitious 20th Anniversary Issue takes stock of the field. Join us on 18 June, 3 PM IST for its launch + round-table with our authors on what socio-legal inquiry means today. Q&A to follow! Register: shorturl.at/ElSzB

In this two-part series, we interview Dr. Rahul Rao about his new book, 'The Psychic Lives of Statues' (Pluto Press, 2025) and speak to him about questions of iconography, memory, decolonisation and progress. www.sociolegalreview.com/post/statues...

As part of SLR’s anniversary celebrations, we spoke with former editors about the journal’s evolution and socio-legal inquiry today. Our final feature before the Special Issue launch later this month! Read now at SLR Forum. @gautambhatia88.bsky.social www.sociolegalreview.com/post/looking...

From the page to the process—after sharing author reflections for our 20th Anniversary, we now turn to the editors who helped shape SLR. First up: Sanhita Ambast, Editor (2007), now Senior Research Advisor at Amnesty International, reflecting on the value of socio-legal work.