believes in the national motto of India “Satyameva Jayate” : “सत्यमेव जयते ‘
Truth Alone Triumphs and the constitutional resolve to secure to all access to Justice and Equality of opportunity.
We shall strive to restore faith in the legal system and the rule of law by bridging the divide of economic and other disabilities to the access of justice and creating awareness, building capacity and research based advocacy to bring a holistic change to ensure speedy and efficient access to justice for all.
About Us
‘Satya – Pro Bono Law’ is the culmination of its founder, Alina Arora’s vision to establish an institution of excellence in the practice of pro bono law. Satya seeks to bridge the existing divide between justice and the marginalized groups of society by building a team of highly skilled pro bono lawyers who have solemnly resolved to secure JUSTICE and EQUALITY for all. We believe that justice delayed is justice denied. Satya will strive to bring about a holistic change to the legal system through capacity building, awareness, and research; and above all, to ensure that opportunities for securing justice are not denied to anyone by reason of economic or other disabilities.
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Board of Advisors
Prof. Srikrishna Deva Rao
Vice-Chancellor, National Law University, Delhi
Professor Rao has been instrumental in institutionalizing legal aid and legal empowerment in India.
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Justice (Retd.) Gita Mittal
Former Chief Justice of High Court of Jammu and Kashmir
Justice Mittal has been a practising lawyer in all Delhi courts and other judicial forums since 1981 and was appointed to the Delhi High Court Bench on July 16, 2004.
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Alina Arora
Partner, Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas
Alina has over two decades of experience in the practice of corporate laws at India’s top-tier law
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Bharat Chugh
Former Civil Judge/Metropolitan Magistrate and former Partner at L&L Partners
Bharat graduated in law in 2011 and in 2013, at the age of 23, secured the first rank in the Delhi Judicial Service Exam, and was appointed as a Civil Judge/Metropolitan Magistrate
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Team - Satya Vakils
Aman Ashesh
Associate
Shreya Jad
Associate
Lakshya Gupta
Of-Counsel
Nandini Rajwade
Counsellor
Our Services
Free Legal Assistance
Research & Advocacy
Awareness Campaigns
Capacity Building
Free Legal Assistance
Free Legal Assistance
Satya will have a pro-bono legal servicesprogramme for marginalized people, including but not limited to women, children, senior citizens, and persons from economically disadvantaged sections of society. Satya Vakils will provide free legal services to the marginalized people and endeavor to ensure that opportunities for securing justice are not denied to anyone by reason of economic or other disabilities.
Research & Advocacy
Research & Advocacy
Satya will undertake research programmes that will work as effective tools in facilitating much needed legal and policy reforms to strengthen and reinstate faith in the judicial/legal ecosystem.
The research projects shall be approached from the perspective of different stakeholders and will aim to generate quality empirical data that can be utilized to bring about appropriate legislative and policy changes to secure JUSTICE and EQUALITY for all.
Awareness Campaigns
Awareness Campaigns
Satya will conduct awareness campaigns for all segments of society to create awareness about legal rights, laws that govern and protect vulnerable groups in society, and the various governmental and non-governmental facilities/ schemes available to secure legal rights and access to justice, including free legal services provided under the National and State Legal Services Authority Act.
Capacity Building
Capacity Building
Satya will conduct legal training programmes as well as capacity building workshops for various stakeholders, such as members of the judiciary, lawyers, police, prosecutors, investigators, probation officers, paralegal volunteers, and others, on the various issues confronting marginalised & vulnerable groups in our society, such as women, children, senior citizens, the LGBTQ community, and others, as well as the strategies that can be used to assist the marginalised and vulnerable sections of society secure their rights and access justice, including through free legal services provided under the National and State Legal Services Authority Acts.
Support Our Work
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Partner With Us
Satya seeks to leverage the strength and reach of a variety of organisations, including but not limited to law firms, corporations, universities, think tanks, (NGOs), corporations, and international development organisations, in order to accomplish its mission of ensuring access to justice for all. Satya will provide pro bono cases, capacity building, mentoring, and other opportunities to train pro bono lawyers. Lawyers shall work on pro bono matters and provide litigation and non-litigation support to those in need of the same. They can also participate in specialised programmes aiming at increasing public awareness of legal rights, such as the right to free legal services by organising events, legal training programmes, and working on research initiatives.
If you are interested in collaborating with us, please write to us at contact@satyalaw.org
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Become a Mentor
Satya intends to train young lawyers committed to our objective of providing free legal aid to marginalized groups. We call upon seasoned lawyers, law firm partners and retired judges to become Mentors to our lawyers on a case to case basis and guide them in handling our pro-bono litigation matters aimed at securing the rights of those who find themselves unable to avail legal representation. If you are interested in becoming a Mentor for Satya, please reach out to us at contact@satyalaw.org
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Volunteer with us
Satya is looking for volunteers from a variety of backgrounds [lawyers, counsellors, IT support, graphic and content writers, researches (not limited to law) and NGO representatives etc.] to help us achieve our goal of ensuring equal access to justice for all. Volunteers from all walks of life are welcome to help us achieve our aim of ensuring that all people have equal access to justice. If you would like to volunteer with us, please email us at contact@satyalaw.org
Satya – Pro Bono Law’ is dedicated to the cause of ensuring access to justice to the marginalised groups in our society and aims to create an institution of excellence in the practice of pro bono and rights-based law. Satya intends to create a dynamic and rewarding internship programme that will provide insight into the nuances of India’s justice delivery system as well as impart practical hands-on legal training to aspiring next generation lawyers in rights-based litigation and research. The main objective of the programme will be to instil the seeds of pro bono lawyering in aspiring young lawyers who will be the catalyst of change towards ensuring EQUALITY and JUSTICE to the marginalised sections of our society.
To build a pro bono law career, interns are expected to help with research projects as well as any ongoing litigations cases during their internship. Those interested in pro bono law and interning with us should send their resumés with a brief cover letter explaining why they want to intern with us to contact@satyalaw.org
Career
If you are passionate about practicing pro bono law and are committed to the goal of ensuring equal access justice to all, please write to us at contact@satyalaw.org with your resumé and a brief explanation of why you believe an organization like ‘Satya -Pro Bono Law’ is necessary and how you might be able to contribute to it and build your career with it in the practice of pro bono law. Retainership would be subject to discussions.
Justice (Retd.) Gita Mittal
(Former Chief Justice of High Court of Jammu and Kashmir)
Justice Mittal has been a practising lawyer in all Delhi courts and other judicial forums since 1981 and was appointed to the Delhi High Court Bench on July 16, 2004. She was appointed Acting Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court on April 14, 2017 and served until August 2018. On August 11, 2018, Justice Gita Mittal became the first female Chief Justice of Jammu & Kashmir. Her illustrious career on the bench has spanned civil, matrimonial, criminal, and writ petitions, including several groundbreaking decisions.
Nandini Rajwade
Counsellor
Nandini Rajwade is a Documentary Journalist. She has done her Masters in Journalism from UC Berkeley, California. She has worked extensively on social and environmental documentary films including the long running documentary feature Living On The Edge and the globally acclaimed ‘Smile Pinki’. Her primary work has been at the grassroots level with marginalised and underprivileged communities .
Nandini is a California certified domestic violence counsellor and has worked with the affected asian communities in California .
Having taken a break in her career due to personal reasons she is excited to return to meaningful work with Satya.
Lakshya Gupta
Of-Counsel
Lakshya practises as an advocate in Delhi after having completed his law degree from National Law University, Delhi in 2017.
He is an independent practitioner with considerable experience in both IPC and special legislation matters at trial and appellate stage. Lakshya has interacted with the criminal justice system as a former core member of the Death Penalty Research Project (now Project 39A) and as a lawyer assisting Mr. Rajiv Mohan, a renowned defence practitioner who was formerly a public prosecutor.
Shreya Jad
Associate
Shreya obtained a law degree from the Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law and a Master's degree in Access to Justice from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences. Shreya has previously worked in commercial and civil litigation as well as research. During her time at TISS, she undertook extensive research on gender rights and issues affecting the LGBTQ+ community, and gained significant experience working with paralegal volunteers at legal aid clinics.
Aman Ashesh
Associate
Aman is a law graduate from NLU Vishakhapatnam with a Master’s degree in Access to Justice from Tata Institute of Social Sciences.
He is a self-professed socio-legal professional with experience in interdisciplinary research, non-profit organizations and criminal laws, and academic specialization in criminal justice, criminology and human rights. He also has extensive experience collaborating with professionals from other fields to establish innovative and research-based social policies and initiatives.
About Us
Satya recognizes the importance of policy interventions in ensuring improved access to institutions of justice and effective implementation of the right to free legal aid for the marginalised. To this end, Satya will lead in-depth policy research initiatives and training programmes, in collaboration with other stakeholders, to develop practical recommendations to accomplish our mission of ensuring that justice is served fairly to all.
Bharat Chugh
Former Civil Judge/Metropolitan Magistrate and former Partner at L&L Partners
Bharat graduated in law in 2011 and in 2013, at the age of 23, secured the first rank in the Delhi Judicial Service Exam, and was appointed as a Civil Judge/Metropolitan Magistrate where he served in various judgeship assignments in the four years that he spent at the Bench.
Bharat is currently practicing as an independent counsel with expertise in criminal law, commercial and technology law, and international arbitration law. He has served on various committees/policy discussions and has also been appointed as amicus curiae by the High Court to assist in some serious criminal cases. He is also a part of the Young SIAC (Singapore International Arbitration Centre) steering committee.
Bharat is a guest lecturer/resource person at various academies and has conducted training programs for aspiring and serving judges, IPS officers, investigators, prosecutors, arbitrators, defence counsels, company secretaries, aspiring resolution professionals (under IBC), doctors, prison officials, forensic experts, and corporate counsel.
Alina Arora
Partner, Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas
Alina has over two decades of experience in the practice of corporate laws at India’s top-tier law firms and is internationally recognized as a leading practitioner in insurance laws, government procurement and white-collar crimes.
Alina was recently awarded the ‘IFLR Women in Business Law Award 2020 Asia’ as the Lawyer of the year for White Collar Crime in Asia and the ‘Best in White Collar Crime’ by Euromoney Women in Business Law Awards Asia-Pacific, 2020. She has also been recognized as one of the top 100 women lawyers in the world in white collar crimes by Global Investigations Review 2021. Amongst other accolades, recognitions, and awards, she has been consistently ranked as a leading lawyer for White-Collar Crime & Insurance by Chambers & Partners Asia-Pacific, Asia Law, Legal 500, Euromoney’s Expert Guides and Who’s Who Legal.
Alina was recently appointed as a member of the Sub-Committee on providing Pro-Bono Legal Aid Services of the Department of Justice, Government of India, 2020 and to the CII’s National Committee on Regulatory Affairs in 2019. She was also appointed as an Honorary Adjunct Professor of Law at Jindal Global Law School of O.P. Jindal Global University. Alina is a regular speaker at various national and international conferences and has published several articles & chapters in books in esteemed international and domestic publications.
Prof. Srikrishna Deva Rao
Vice-Chancellor, National Law University, Delhi
Professor Rao has been instrumental in institutionalizing legal aid and legal empowerment in India. He developed a specialized Diploma in Paralegal Practice at the Indira Gandhi National Open University in 2009 during his tenure as Director of the School of Law at New Delhi. Professor Rao is currently the Chairperson of the Committee for Reforms in Criminal Law, constituted by the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India to recommend reforms in the India's criminal laws. He has been actively engaged in human rights teaching and research.