About Us
People
The Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy (‘Vidhi’) is an independent think-tank doing legal research to make better laws and improve governance for the public good. We do this through high quality, peer reviewed original legal research; through engaging with the Government of India, State governments and other public institutions to both inform policy-making and to effectively convert policy into law; and through strategic litigation petitioning courts on important law and policy issues. Our abiding values are non-partisan engagement, research excellence and independence.
Vidhi is a not-for-profit company set up under Section 25 of the Companies Act, 1956 in 2013 (now Section 8 of the Companies Act, 2013).Donations to Vidhi are tax exempt under Section 80G of the Income Tax Act, 1961.
The idea of Vidhi came about in 2009-10 when India was caught up in the controversy around the Indo-US nuclear liability bill. We were a group of graduate students who felt that there was room for significant improvement in the bill and sent in an unsolicited report to the standing committee of the Parliament. Many of our suggestions were accepted by the standing committee and the Government of India and are the law of the land.
This approach is at the core of Vidhi – to do high-quality law and policy research and engage with key stakeholders to drive real change. It has been an incredible journey so far where we have contributed significantly to a range of reforms, such as the creation of the new bankruptcy ecosystem, drafting of the data protection bill, repealing of 119 laws that discriminate against persons affected by leprosy etc. and intend to continue to deepen our impact.
– Arghya Sengupta, Research Director, Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy
Founding Team
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Alok Prasanna
- Co-Founder and Lead, Karnataka
B.A. LL.B. (Hons), NALSAR University, BCL (Oxon)
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Arghya Sengupta
- Founder and Research Director
B.A. LL.B. (Hons.), BCL (Oxon), D.Phil. (Oxon), Rhodes Scholar
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Debanshu Mukherjee
- Co-Founder and Lead, Corporate Law and Financial Regulation
B.A. LL.B. (Hons.), BCL (Oxon), LLM (Harvard), Fulbright Scholar
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Dhvani Mehta
- Co-Founder and Lead, Health
B.L.S. LL.B. (University of Mumbai), BCL, D.Phil (Oxon)
Vidhi's Footprint
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183
Blogs
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3
Books
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9
Briefing Books
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72
Conferences organised by Vidhi
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6
Films
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37
International Partnerships
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50
Journal Articles
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115
Conferences attended by Vidhi
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580
Op-Eds
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42
Podcasts
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138
Reports
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37
Submissions
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37
Statutes Vidhi assisted the government in drafting
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40
Rules and regulations Vidhi assisted the government in drafting
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4
Parliamentary Committees to which Vidhi has made depositions
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88
Government projects (central, state, commissions, committees etc) to which Vidhi has provided research assistance
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2
Litigation
Impact At A Glance
- Initiated the bankruptcy law reform process in India and advised the government on the design, drafting, and implementation of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code. 2016 (IBC)
- Supported the UIDAI in drafting the Aadhaar Act, 2016, which made UIDAI a statutory body that has over time been universally accepted, including by the Supreme Court
- Successfully intervened in a Supreme Court case on advanced medical directives, now advocating for a holistic end of life care act
- Assisted the Justice Srikrishna Committee in drafting the Personal Data Protection Bill, 2018 - the first comprehensive privacy legislation in India
- Supported the State government in drafting the Karnataka Innovation Authority Act, now drafting rules & regulations for implementation
- Advised the government on reforming India's company law regime and helped in the operationalisation of the National Company Law Tribunal
- Shaping the discourse on judicial reforms through JALDI's (Justice, Access and Lowering Delays in India) empirical research and collaborations with diverse stakeholders to develop implementable solutions
- Successfully filed a Public Interest Litigation to repeal laws that discriminate against persons affected by leprosy
Testimonials
“Vidhi’s work on governance and legal reform has started a vital conversation in India, and I hope they continue to inform and collaborate with a wide range of stakeholders.”
Harish SalveSenior Advocate, Supreme Court of India
“Initially, we thought there were only 16 laws that dis- criminate against persons affected with leprosy, but when we started working with Vidhi, we discovered that there were about 119 such discriminatory laws. Since we don’t have the kind of legal expertise that Vidhi has, we turned to them again to discuss what needed to be done and how this project could be taken forward.”
Nikita SarahHead Advocacy & Communications, Leprosy Mission Trust
"The work initiated by Vidhi is an excellent initiative to build on what we have achieved so far, address the issues as they emerge and contribute to the closely interrelated reforms in both law and policy."
Dr. Y.V. ReddyChairman, 14th Finance Commission and Former Governor, RBI
“Vidhi assisted in drafting the initial set of regulations relating to IPs, IPAs, corporate insolvency resolution, and liquidation. These regulations, along with work on other elements, enabled commencement of corporate insolvency on 1st December 2016.”
Dr. M.S. SahooChairperson, Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India
“When the Justice Srikrishna Committee was formed, Vidhi through its very extensive research gave us the benefit of getting the posi- tion of law across the world and what exactly the problems that they face and what we should do in our country. Their inputs were very valuable and that is why we could do this task in a very short time.”
Dr. Ajay Bhushan PandeyRevenue Secretary, Government of India
