Law and Tech | जवाहरलाल नेहरू विश्वविद्यालय की आधिकारिक वेबसाइट, नई दिल्ली, भारत

About The Group

About the Centre for the Study of Law and Governance (CSLG)

CSLG comprises ten faculty members drawn from law, sociology, political science, economics and social work. It runs a PhD programme on law and governance. The Centre adopts a multidisciplinary approach to framing research and teaching on the relationship between law and governance. The study of governance, in its various forms and at different sites, is central to several contemporary issues: the reform of public institutions and public law; the creation and establishment of procedures and rules that lead to greater efficiency, transparency and accountability; and the challenge of making governance more inclusive and participatory through the strengthening of democracy and civil society.

About the Law and Technology Research Group (LTRG)

The Law and Technology Research Group (LTRG) includes faculty members and research scholars in CSLG who work on various public policy and governance aspects of technologies. The two primary activities of the group are hosting a Law and Tech Conversation Series (EXALT) and undertaking legislative and policy analysis.

Convener and Coordinators

Faculty Convener: Dr. Nupur Chowdhury (nupur[at]jnu[dot]ac[dot]in)

Research Coordinators: Dr. Mandira Narain (narainmandira2[at]gmail[dot]com) and Mr. Prabhat K. Mishra (prabhat0104[at]gmail[dot]com).

For information, or to join the mailing list or the research group, please email the coordinators at exalt[at]jnu[dot]ac[dot]in / prabhat0104[at]gmail[dot]com / narainmandira2[at]gmail[dot]com.

EXALT (Exchanges on Law Technology and Society)

EXALT is a conversation series where the Group invites speakers from academia to discuss the societal and legal implications of technology. The series started in 2021 with the aim of engaging with people working in different disciplines related to law, technology and policy; sessions have featured scholars working on disinformation, data justice and digital rights, smart cities and AI research.

EXALT podcasts can be accessed on: https://creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/exalt8/

Talks organized under EXALT

Dr. Samuel Woolley, Assistant Professor, University of Texas at Austin and Research Associate at the Project for Democracy and the Internet, Stanford University - “The Reality Game: How the next wave of technology will break the truth and what we can do about it?”, 18 February 2021. [Poster]
Dr. Linnet Taylor, Associate Professor, Tilburg Institute for Law, Technology, and Society (TILT) and lead, ERC-funded Global Data Justice project, and Siddharth deSouza, Postdoctoral Researcher, Global Data Justice project - “Global Data Justice”, 3 March 2021. [Poster]
Dr. Maša Galič, Assistant Professor of Criminal (Procedure) Law, Vrije Universiteit (VU) Amsterdam - “Privacy and Data Protection in Smart Cities”, 5 April 2021. [Poster]
Prof. Subbarao Kambhampati, Professor of Computer Science, Arizona State University, USA, and former President, Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AAAI) — “Artificial Intelligence”, 22 April 2021. [Poster]
Constitutional Law Reading Group - Open Discussion on the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, 9 June 2021. [Poster]
Dr. Noopur Raval, Postdoctoral Researcher, AI Now Institute - Conversation on Digital Labour and Gig Economy Platforms, 30 June 2021. [Poster]
Dr. Luke Stark, Assistant Professor, University of Western Ontario - Conversation on AI Ethics and Governance, 6 July 2021. [Poster]
Dr. Sun-Ha Hong, Assistant Professor, Simon Fraser University - “Limits of Knowledge in a Data-driven Society”, 14 July 2021. [Poster]
Online Panel Discussion on the Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Act, 2022 - Speakers: Dr. Usha Ramanathan and Dr. Gautam Bhatia, 20 May 2022. [Poster]
AI and the Law Conversation Series - organised as part of the celebrations to commemorate 25 years of CSLG. Speakers: Prof. Nisheeth Srivastava (IIT Kanpur), Mr. Saikrishna Budamgunta (CEO, Pinaca Technologies), Justice Gautam Patel (Retd., Bombay High Court), Dr. Pupul Dutta Prasad (IPS and Hon. Professor, NLUD). 7, 14, 21 and 28 November 2025. [Poster]

Law and Policy Analysis

The LTRG regularly analyses and comments on forthcoming policies and laws on technologies in India. To that effect, it has provided detailed analysis and submitted inputs on policymaking to the Government of India through the following reports:

Study Group Comments on Net Neutrality submitted to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), March 2017. [Report]
Study Group Comments on the White Paper on Data Protection Framework for India, submitted to the Sri Krishna Committee on Data Protection Law in India, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, January 2018. [Report]
Study Group Comments submitted on the Draft National Forest Policy 2018, to the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, April 2018. [Report]
CSLG Study Group Comments submitted on the Draft Scientific Social Responsibility (DSSR) Policy, to the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, October 2019. [Report]
Memorandum on the DNA Technology (Use and Application) Regulation Bill, 2019, submitted to the Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science & Technology, Environment & Forests, Rajya Sabha, Parliament of India, December 2019. [Report]
Study Group Comments on the Personal Data Protection Bill, 2019, submitted to the Joint Parliamentary Committee of the Parliament of India, February 2020. [Report]
CSLG Study Group Comments on Artificial Intelligence and Facial Recognition Technology, submitted to NITI Aayog, 30 December 2022. [Report]
Recommendations on the Digital Personal Data Protection Rules, 2025, submitted to the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), Government of India, 4 March 2025. [Report]
UNESCO Guidelines for the Use of AI Systems in Courts and Tribunals, 2025- LTRG joined the consultations and provided feedback on the draft report; the contribution is acknowledged in the report. [Report]
Feedback on the Draft Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Second Amendment Rules, 2026, submitted to the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), Government of India, 7 May 2026. [Report]
Study Group on Draft Regulations for Use of Artificial Intelligence in Courts - Report submitted to the Member Secretary, Artificial Intelligence Committee, Supreme Court of India, 15 July 2026. [Report]

CSLG–Infosys Agreement of Cooperation

Signed on 16 October 2025, to undertake research and co-organize events on the Regulation of Artificial Intelligence.

Coordinators: Prof. Jaivir Singh and Dr. Nupur Chowdhury

Events:
Reflections on Liability Frameworks for Autonomous Machines - Invited talk by Prof. Jaivir Singh and Dr. Nupur Chowdhury, delivered as part of the TechCohere Tech Focus Week | Autonomous Machines & Humanoids, Infosys, 26 March 2026.

Modernization of Traffic Management across States in India

Study Objectives:

The aim of this project is to study the effectiveness of the Automatic Over Speed Violation Detection with Vehicle Registration Number Plate Recognition and Prosecution system, including the use of AI in violation detection and apprehension of traffic crimes (ITMS). The project will include a review of the following aspects:

Scale of infrastructure currently under operation and planning across states in India, including on national highways.
The nature of violations detected, fines imposed, fines recovered and fines contested across States in India.
The scientific and technical process underlying the operation of this system.
The institutional infrastructure and support operationalized to support the system of automatic violation detection.
Operational capacity and institutional engagements of vendors participating in these infrastructure systems.

Study Methods:

Academic Review of Literature
Collection and Analysis of Authenticated Information obtained through RTI requests.
Doctrinal Analysis of Motor Vehicle Act, 1988 and Central Motor Vehicle Rules, 1980 and Case Law
Court Ethnography of Litigation venues (including Lok Adalats) on traffic contestations
Qualitative interviews of traffic officials, vendors, scientific experts and lawyers