News Type: Event

‘The AI Polylemma in Legal Education’ | JSW Centre for the Future of Law Working Paper Series

The JSW Centre for the Future of Law at NLSIU is organising a hybrid presentation by Dr. Rahul Hemrajani, Assistant Professor, and Faculty Director of the Centre, NLSIU. The talk will be held on December 29, 2025, at 4:00 PM IST.

The discussion is part of our series of presentations on contemporary scholarship by leading academics.

Rahul will be discussing his working paper on the nature of AI’s role in legal education. His work focusses on empirical study of the law and judicial processes, and AI’s role in law and legal education, and has been teaching at NLSIU since 2023.

Abstract

The AI Polylemma in Legal Education:
Why Law Schools Cannot Ban, Permit, or Regulate Their Way Out Of Generative AI

The rapid integration of Generative Artificial Intelligence into legal practice has created an acute polylemma for legal education: a situation in which every available policy choice appears simultaneously unavoidable and untenable. Legal education must prepare students for a profession in which the use of AI is highly advantageous, even though such use will inevitably undermine the analytic abilities the profession has historically demanded. It must also do so under conditions in which neither prohibitory policies nor evaluation redesign can materially or realistically limit student’s reliance on AI.

In this paper, using empirical evidence collected from a leading law school in India, including surveys, focus group discussions and interviews, Rahul explores the evidence for these interlocking theses. He argues that these theses are logically incompatible and no coherent educational strategy can resolve the contradictions without sacrificing either professional competence or intellectual rigour. He concludes that legal education stands at an inflection point where reform is no longer viable and more fundamental reconstruction of either pedagogical goals, assessment validity, or professional identity is required.

We invite you to join us for what promises to be an invigorating discussion on the subject of AI in education.

 

Seminar on ‘Mapping Labour, Power, and Regulation in India’s Platform Economy’ | By Centre for Labour Studies, NLSIU and Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung

The Centre for Labour Studies (CLS) at the National Law School of India University, with the support of the Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung, is organising a seminar on ‘Mapping Labour, Power, and Regulation in India’s Platform Economy’ on Saturday, December 20, 2025.

About CLS

The Centre for Labour Studies (CLS) at NLSIU is an interdisciplinary centre focussed on examining the regulation and governance of labour and employment relations. Over the past three years, CLS has been deeply engaged in issues concerning gig and platform workers, publishing more than a dozen reports on various aspects of platform-mediated work. These studies explore the working conditions of food delivery and ride-sharing workers in Bengaluru and Hyderabad, as well as the impact of algorithmic management and digital platform monopolies on labour practices. CLS has also closely followed and advised on the Karnataka Platform-Based Gig Workers (Social Security and Welfare) Act, 2025, providing critical inputs on the legislation and its rules.

About The Seminar

As part of its broader engagement with gig and platform labour, CLS supported by the Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung (RLS) is hosting a day-long seminar on December 20, 2025, to be held in hybrid mode – both on campus and online. With the ILO preparing to draft a global convention on platform work in 2026, multiple Indian states introducing diverse platform-worker legislations, and the central labour codes now notified, the need for sustained dialogue on the rapidly evolving gig and platform economy has become increasingly urgent.

Overview

The seminar will feature panel discussions on emerging forms of platformisation, the growing monopolisation of the platform economy, and the expanding role of algorithmic management in shaping work conditions. It will also review the range of state-level legislations enacted across India and work toward developing a collective roadmap for an expanded regulatory framework for platform work.

A key outcome of the event will be to work towards a framework for a strengthened and comprehensive platform-work regulatory model, one that can serve as a blueprint for worker unions seeking to reinforce existing laws or advocate for new protections in their respective states.

How To Join Online?

Meeting Link

Meeting ID: 325 253 898 014 16
Passcode: Ez6WX6b2

Schedule

Session 1: Urban Services and Platform Economy | 10:00 AM to 11:15 AM

India’s platform economy is evolving rapidly, moving well beyond the familiar domains of ride-hailing and food delivery. A wider range of household services—domestic and care work, beauty services, home repairs, plumbing, carpentry, and various skilled trades—is now being reorganised through digital platforms. These sectors involve more complex, varied tasks and distinct labour arrangements, making their dynamics fundamentally different from delivery or transport work. The sector’s growing significance is underscored by Urban Company’s recent profit before tax of ₹28.6 crore in FY25, along with the rise of platforms such as NoBroker, YesMadam, and numerous region-specific service providers.

Despite these trends, India still lacks a detailed understanding of how the household-services in the platform sector functions. This session is conceived as an exploratory panel aimed at mapping the urban services sector – both in terms of understanding its political economy including mapping major actors, how traditional forms of work have reconfigured and looking at working conditions of workers including how platforms shape job allocation, ratings, earnings, and control, and how these dynamics differ from delivery and ride-hailing platforms.

Session 2: Monopoly and Platform Economy | 11:30 AM to 12:45 PM

The platform model is built around two fundamental tenets – market dominance and geographical ubiquity. Market dominance is essential to choke out potential competition and geographical equity to shorten response times. These factors have specific impacts on the various stakeholders, including principally, the platform workers and the consumers of platform services. With respect to workers the challenge becomes how to attract ever increasing numbers of platform ‘partners’ and retain their services even while the platform itself becomes progressively less attractive as an employment option with crowding of that space. With consumers, the challenge becomes ensuring loyalty, while expanding the consumer base. In essence, the logic becomes simple – streamline costs even while selling the workers the illusion of large potential earnings; maintain service standards for consumers to keep them hooked on to the platform; lower consumer prices to the extent of keeping competition at bay. In essence, invest in improved services while charging low to consumers – buy dear and serve cheap. This upside-down market logic makes sense only when we understand creating market dominance is an end in itself for the platform. It allows the platform to expand horizontally into related business areas, gathering more consumers and gaining access to their market data in the process. Data itself becomes a profitable commodity.

This session will examine why and how understanding the logic and political economy of digital platforms is crucial for workers and unions and explore how regulation—including antitrust interventions—can be used to create fairer markets.

Session 3: Algorithmic Regulation and Work | 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM

As algorithms increasingly coordinate and supervise labour across workplaces, it has become crucial to understand how these systems function and how they affect working conditions. Although often associated with the digital platform economy, evidence indicates that algorithmic management is rapidly permeating diverse forms of work, including public sector employment, marking a new phase of labour control and discipline.

However, in India, the regulation of algorithmic management remains largely absent from the agendas of labour unions and the government. At the same time, industry actors argue that algorithms are proprietary technologies, placing them outside the purview of labour regulation and public oversight. As a result, algorithmic management sits at a critical juncture—deeply relevant to contemporary labour governance yet largely overlooked in policy and regulatory discussions.

Against this backdrop, this session will examine how algorithmic management is understood globally and within India, present recent research findings from CLS and IT for Change on working conditions shaped by algorithmic control and open the floor for a discussion on possible regulatory pathways for governing algorithms in the Indian context.

Session 4: Directions for Expanded Platform Legislation | 2:45 PM to 4:15 PM

The past year has witnessed a rapid proliferation of platform-related legislations at the state level in India. While broadly similar in structure—and notably uniform in their failure to recognise gig and platform workers as “workmen”—these state laws nevertheless exhibit important variations in their details and scope. Adding to this evolving legal landscape is India’s recent decision to notify the long-pending labour codes, which include limited provisions for the social security of gig and platform workers. At the same time, many state legislations represent only an initial step toward regulating platform labour, falling short of fully addressing the complexities of platform work and, more broadly, algorithmically mediated work.

This session seeks to take stock of India’s current regulatory framework on platform labour by analysing the various state-level legislations, examining potential synergies and conflicts between these laws and the newly notified labour codes, and discussing what an expanded and forward-looking regulatory framework for platform work should entail.

 

Panel Discussion on ‘Valuing the Invisible: Recognising Women’s Unpaid Domestic Work’

The National Law School of India University, Bengaluru, is organising a panel discussion on “Valuing the Invisible: Recognising Women’s Unpaid Domestic Work” on December 30, 2025 in the Ground Floor Conference Hall at Training Centre. The panel discussion is being organised under a Humboldt University Research Grant.

Overview

This programme seeks to critically examine the status of women’s unpaid domestic and care work in India. It aims to move beyond welfare and dependency-based narratives to foreground unpaid domestic work as socially indispensable. The discussion will explore pathways for recognising, valuing, and compensating unpaid domestic work as an essential part of the production and reproduction of society.

Panellists

Jayna Kothari, Senior Advocate, Supreme Court of India & Co-founder, CLPR

Jayna Kothari has been practicing as an Advocate in the Karnataka High Court in Bangalore and the Supreme Court since the last 16 years. Her areas of expertise and interest include public interest law, constitutional and administrative law, social rights, disability rights, family law, consumer rights and property law. She is the founder of the Centre for Law and Policy Research, Bangalore since 2009.

Some of the landmark cases in which she has appeared include the constitutional challenge in the Supreme Court of India to the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Primary Education Act 2009, a litigation in the High Court of Karnataka on addressing out of school children and finding remedies to bring them back to school, the case of National Federation for the Blind v. State of Karnataka in which more than 300 categories of government jobs were identified and reserved for persons with disabilities in the State of Karnataka, and a public interest litigation challenging the controversial Upper Bhadra irrigation Project in Karnataka undertaken without forest and wild life clearances.

Besides taking elective courses at NLSIU, she has taught an Advanced Course on the Human Right to Education at the Norwegian Centre for Human Rights, University of Oslo (2015); an Advanced Course on Justiciability of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights at Abo Akademi University, Finland (2014); and a course on Human Rights Law at University Law College, Bangalore (2003).

Prof. Kamala Sankaran, Professor of Law & Ford Foundation Chair in Public Interest Law, NLSIU

Prof. Sankaran comes with a rich teaching experience from across various premier institutions in the country. She has previously served as the Vice-Chancellor of the Tamil Nadu National Law University, Tiruchirappalli, as Professor at the Campus Law Centre, Faculty of Law, University of Delhi, and as Research Professor, Indian Law Institute, New Delhi. She is a recipient of the Fulbright Post-Doctoral Research Fellowship at the Georgetown University Law Center, Washington D.C. She has also been a Visiting South Asian Research Fellow, School of Interdisciplinary Area Studies, Oxford University, and a Fellow at the Stellenbosch Institute of Advanced Study, South Africa. Her research interests include constitutional law, international labour standards, and the regulation of work. She has also been a member of the Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations (CEACR), ILO, since 2018.

Prof. Kanchana Mahadevan, Former Professor & Head, Department of Philosophy, University of Mumbai

Kanchana Mahadevan is Visiting Faculty at the Masters in Public Policy Programme St. Xavier’s College. She was formerly a Professor at the Department of Philosophy, University of Mumbai (from September 1995 to October 2024). She has held visiting professorships at LUISS University, Rome (2016, 2019) and Leopold Franzens University, Innsbruck (2023). She has also been a senior fellow at the Justicia Amplificata, Goethe University Frankfurt and Bad Homburg (2018) and the Moore Institute, National University of Ireland, Galway (2019).

She received her PhD in Philosophy (on Jürgen Habermas’s communicative ethics) in 1993  at the University of Georgia, USA.  She works in the fields of political philosophy, ethics, feminist philosophy, continental thought and critical theory. She also works in the interdisciplinary areas of aesthetics and film.

Her authored book Between Femininity and Feminism: Colonial and Postcolonial Perspectives on Care (Indian Council of Philosophical Research in collaboration with DK Printworld New Delhi, 2014) examines the relevance of Western feminist philosophy in the Indian context. She has co-edited two books on Gandhi, namely, Gandhi Then and Now: Autobiographies and Conversations and Inheriting Gandhi: Influences and Activisms (both published by Speaking Tiger, New Delhi, 2022). She has also coedited a volume of philosophical and psychological essays on the pandemic entitled The COVID Spectrum: Theoretical and Experiential Perspectives (Speaking Tiger Publications, New Delhi 2021).

Her research paper publications on Ambedkar explore his re-articulation of democracy from the Indian perspective. In her recently published research on care ethics, she has explored its critical potential in relation to health care work (nursing practices in particular) and the cosmopolitan character of care.

Moderator

Dr. Sharada R Shindhe, Assistant Professor of Law, NLSIU

Dr. Sharada R Shindhe is an Assistant Professor of Law at National Law School of India University, Bengaluru. She is a recipient of the prestigious Dr. D. C. Pavate Memorial Fellowship at the Centre of International Studies, University of Cambridge. Her research has been published in various journals, and she has delivered special lectures across multiple areas of law.

Currently, she teaches Family Laws and Arbitration at NLS. Her Ph.D. is in arbitration. Her ongoing research interests include Social Reproduction Theory, with a particular emphasis on women’s free time and unpaid domestic work.

 

Registration

The session is open to the NLS community as well as to the public. Those interested in attending the event are requested to fill out the registration form before 5 pm on Saturday, December 27, 2025.

Play Screening | National Theatre Live’s Production of ‘Prima Facie’ | By The Green Room

The student-led theatre effort at NLS, The Green Room, presents a screening of Prima Facie (A National Theatre Live production).

The Green Room is a nod to the intimate, lively backstage space in theatres where artists gather before a performance. Here is the exciting schedule for this trimester.

About the Play

Prima Facie follows Tessa Ensler, a brilliant young barrister who excels at defending men in sexual assault cases, until her personal life collides painfully with the very structures she has long championed. The play dismantles legal formalism and confronts the distance between law in theory and law in lived experience, asking urgent questions about credibility, consent, and the silencing of survivors.

Directed by Justin Martin and written by Suzie Miller, this acclaimed staging features Jodie Comer in a remarkable solo performance.

About the Playwright

Suzie Miller, a playwright, former lawyer, and human rights advocate, draws on her legal background to interrogate the institutional failures of criminal justice systems in cases of sexual assault.

The Production

This National Theatre Live production has been widely praised for its intensity, minimalistic staging, and the emotional precision of Jodie Comer’s performance. With its dynamic use of lighting, sound, and monologue-driven storytelling, the production immerses the audience in Tessa’s unraveling world. Comer’s portrayal (raw, restrained, and devastating) earned international acclaim for bringing nuance and depth to a role that oscillates between professional confidence and personal vulnerability.

Faculty Seminar | ‘Hate Speech, Law, and Platform Regulation in India’

At this week’s faculty seminar, Dr. Siddharth Narrain, Assistant Professor of Law, presented his paper titled ‘Hate Speech, Law, and Platform Regulation in India.’

Abstract

In this paper, Siddharth provides a contextual account of the distinctive ways in which the regulation of hate speech has developed in the Indian context. Some of the key characteristics of the development of hate speech law in India include a) its colonial history that has led to an over reliance on  a public order rationale for limitations on speech and b) inconsistencies, arbitrary use by government agencies. He argues that there is an urgent need for rethinking hate speech regulation in India from a public order centred discourse to one that tied anti-discrimination framework that considers the structural and historical context of discrimination in India.

Panel Discussion on ‘Labour Reform in Contemporary India’ | By NLSIU’s Legal Services Clinic, Manipal Law School and St. Joseph’s College of Law

NLSIU’s Legal Services Clinic, in collaboration with Manipal Law School and St. Joseph’s College of Law, as part of the Bangalore Legal Forum (BLF), is organising a panel discussion titled “Labour Reform in Contemporary India.” The session will focus on unpacking the Four New Labour Codes, their structure, policy trajectory, and implications for workers, industry, and state regulation.

The BLF is a monthly, city-wide initiative that brings together Bengaluru’s legal academia, practitioners, and students to deliberate on contemporary legal issues through accessible, research-driven discussions. It aims to build a shared, collaborative space for cross-institutional engagement and to strengthen public-facing legal discourse in the city.

Speakers:

Please use the RSVP form to confirm your attendance. The event is open to public.

Workshop on ‘Experiments in Writing: Environment and Climate Law’ By Dr. Arpitha Kodiveri, Vassar College

The Commons Cell, National Law School of India University (NLSIU), Bengaluru, is organising a oned-day workshop on ‘Experiments in Writing: Environment and Climate Law.’ This workshop is designed and delivered by Dr. Arpitha Kodiveri, Assistant Professor of Political Science, Vassar College.

About the Workshop

This one-day intensive workshop invites participants to explore new modes of writing in climate and environment law, moving beyond traditional legal forms to experiment with narrative, reflective, interdisciplinary, and speculative approaches. Designed for students pursuing law, social sciences, and public policy, the workshop blends creative experimentation with rigour, encouraging participants to produce writing that is analytically grounded while also being affective and publicly accessible. Across the workshop, participants will test alternative structures, voices, and genres that can help reshape how legal scholars and students communicate environmental urgency and imagine climate-just futures.

Read The Brochure

About Dr. Arpitha Kodiveri

Dr. Arpitha Kodiveri is an environmental law and justice scholar and an assistant professor of political science at Vassar College. Her work focuses on the role of law in the context of redressing climate harms faced by indigenous communities in South Asia. Her previous research examines land conflicts and legal mobilization by forest-dwelling communities in India. She has worked as an environmental lawyer supporting Adivasi and forest-dwelling communities in India.

Eligibility

NLSIU students across various cohorts of BA LLB, LLB, LLM, BA(Hons), and MPP programmes are eligible to apply. The workshop will be ideal for students with an interest or experience in research in environmental and climate jurisprudence. Interested students should apply using this Google Form. Registration is mandatory.

Important dates

Last date for filling the Google Form: December 7, 2025.
Notification to successful registrants: December 17, 2025.
Workshop: December 20, 2025.

Important notes

Attendees are expected to participate in workshop activities and break-out group discussions. There will be no formal assessment, research papers submission or exams. We will circulate some readings in advance that participants are expected to read prior to the workshop.

Queries

For any queries, please write to  Lianne D’Souza () or Aditya Dalal ().

NLS Men’s University Football Team Emerge Runners-Up At Legacy Cup 2025

We congratulate the NLS Men’s University Football Team for securing the Runners-Up position at the Legacy Cup 2025 held at Ekalavya Academy of Sports Excellence, Electronic City on November 30, 2025.

The 5-a-side football tournament featured sixteen teams from various universities, competing in a knockout format.

The NLSIU squad for the event consisted of the following players: Muhammad Anwar, Saumya Bapna, Kanishk Hegde, Shoubhik Chatterjee, Siddarth Dinesh, Janav Arun, and Sai Sanket. The team secured victories in the Round of 16, Quarter-Finals, and Semi-Finals, including two closely contested penalty shootouts, advancing to the championship match. After a competitive run, the NLSIU team finished as Runners-Up.

A note from the team:

“The tournament proved to be a highly valuable competitive experience for the squad. Representing NLSIU at this scale and returning with a podium finish was both rewarding and encouraging for the team’s ongoing development.”

Guest Lecture on Regulation of Digital Currencies | By Sharwari Pandit, Associate, McKinsey & Company

NLSIU hosted a guest lecture by Sharwari Pandit (NLS BA LLB 2017), Associate at McKinsey & Company on December 12, 2025.  This classroom session revolved around her new co-authored book: ‘The Digital Currency Revolution: Central Bank Digital Currencies, Crypto, and the Future of Global Finance,’ Mark Mobius, Lourdes Casanova, Sharwari Pandit, and John Ninia, Springer Nature, 2025.

Abstract

As emerging markets rapidly adopt digital financial systems, Sharwari’s work offers a sharp, timely look at how these innovations impact economic regulation, privacy, central bank autonomy, and the global financial order. From country case studies to debates on the potential decline of cash and the rise of digital currencies, her book opens crucial questions for public policy today.

Gallery

NLSIU Campus Day | 3-Year LLB (Hons) & Master’s Programme in Public Policy (MPP) | January 4, 2026  

NLSIU is organising a Campus Day on Sunday, January 4, 2026, for prospective NLSAT candidates applying to the 3-Year LLB (Hons.) and 2-Year Master’s Programme in Public Policy (MPP).

The campus visit is intended for anyone who is interested in applying for these programmes for the Academic Year 2026-27.

This event gives applicants a rare chance to experience NLSIU up close, receive information on these programmes, attend demo classes led by our faculty, engage with current students, and explore our campus firsthand. Candidates are welcome to bring up to two guests along for the visit.

Please note, registration for the campus visit is mandatory. Please register on the NLSAT 2026 admissions portal (nlsatadmissions.nls.ac.in) and fill out the ‘NLSAT 2026 Campus Visit’ Google Form.

The last date to register for the campus visit is December 30, 2025 (11:59 pm). A detailed schedule will be shared with registered attendees ahead of the campus day.

Campus Day Schedule

  • 9:30 – 10:00 am: Registration | Gate 1
  • 10:00 – 10.30 am: Introductions & Address by Dean-Academics and Programme Co-Chairs | Amphitheatre
  • 10:30 – 10:55 am: Address by Student Welfare Officer (SWO) and Director, Campus and Residential Life (DCRL)
  • 11:05 – 11:45 am: Demo classes for 3-Year LLB (Hons) & Master’s Programme in Public Policy (parallel sessions) | New Academic Block
  • 11:45 am – 12 pm: Refreshments | Outside the Library
  • 12:15 – 12:45 pm: Guided Campus Tour
  • 1:00 pm: Light refreshments | Near Training Centre Cafe

For queries or assistance, please write to

Here’s a glimpse of a typical NLSAT Campus Day: