Neetika is a candidate for the DPhil in Criminology at the University of Oxford and an Honorary Research Fellow at the Institute for Crime & Justice Policy Research. She is currently on sabbatical from her role as Director - Criminalisation and Punishment at The Square Circle Clinic (formerly Project 39A), a criminal justice initiative at NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad, India. Since 2017, along with three others, Neetika co-led Project 39A and its subsequent transition to The Square Circle Clinic, playing a key role in its evolution into one of India’s foremost centres for pro bono criminal defense litigation and cutting-edge criminal justice research.
Neetika has conceptualised and led significant research studies on criminal justice issues in India, with a particular focus on the death penalty, sentencing, and sexual offences. Her research draws on a rich mix of qualitative methodologies, including court observations, in-depth interviews, focus group discussions, and analysis of judgments. Neetika’s work has been published in peer reviewed journals including the Criminal Law Forum, Indian Journal of Gender Studies, Socio-Legal Review, and the Economic & Political Weekly. In addition to her academic work, she regularly contributes opinion editorials on criminal justice issues to leading English-language newspapers and onlines news platforms in India.
Neetika is trained as a lawyer in India and holds graduate degrees in law and women’s studies from Harvard Law School and the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, respectively.