Sayantani Bagchi is an Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Law at National Law University (NLU) Jodhpur, specializing in Constitutional Law. She has been associated with NLU Jodhpur since January 2019 and teaches a range of subjects, including Constitutional Law (core), Comparative Constitutional Law and Judicial Process, Election Laws, and Constitutional Rights and Social Justice.
Before joining NLU Jodhpur, she held academic and research positions at various institutions, including the Centre for Regulatory Studies, Governance and Public Policy at WBNUJS Kolkata, the University of Calcutta, and CMR University in Bangalore. She completed her B.A. LL.B. (Honours) from the University of Calcutta, securing the University First rank. In recognition of this achievement, she was felicitated with the Mamraj Agarwal Rashtriya Purashkar by the Governor of West Bengal in 2014.
She is currently pursuing her doctoral research at WBNUJS Kolkata, titled Constitutionalism in Action: The Interplay Between Constitution, Constitutional Conventions and Political Norms, and was awarded the Best Researcher Award (2023-2024) for her ongoing work in this area.
Apart from her teaching responsibilities, she is actively engaged in institutional and research initiatives. She serves as the Director of the Centre for Comparative Constitutional Law and Administrative Law (CCAL) and the Constitutional Law Society at NLU Jodhpur. She is also the Chief Editor of the Comparative Constitutional Law and Administrative Law Journal (CALJ). Additionally, she is the founder and convener of the National Seminar on Constitutionalism in Contemporary Times, an annual event organized by the CCAL and the Constitutional Law Society. The seminar which completed its third term, provides a platform for scholars and researchers to discuss contemporary issues in constitutional law.
She is also serving as the Faculty Advisor at the Centre for Research in Governance, Institutions, and Public Policy, which focuses on the intersection of law and public policy.
Some of her publications include:
1. Sayantani Bagchi and Prakhar Raghuvanshi, "Towards A Participatory Democracy—A Case for Inclusive Public Participation in Law-Making," Statute Law Review, Volume 45, Issue 2, August 2024 (https://doi.org/10.1093/slr/hmae029).
2. Sayantani Bagchi, "The Constitutional Text as a Means of Social Change," in Dr. Sangeeta Roy Maitra (ed.), Law and Transformation (Satyam Law International, 2022).
3. Sayantani Bagchi, "Unwritten Constitutional Conventions and Entrenched Constitutional Text: A Study on the Interplay in a Comparative Perspective," KSLU Law Journal, 2021.
4. Anmol Jain and Sayantani Bagchi, "Marking the Imprecise Territory of Gubernatorial Discretion to Call for a Trust Vote," Indian Law Review (2021) https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/24730580.2021.1967655
5. Sayantani Bagchi, "Book Review: The Transformative Constitution by Gautam Bhatia," (2020) 4(4) Comparative Constitutional Law and Administrative Law Quarterly (ISSN 86 24374351).
6. Sayantani Bagchi, "Laws Governing Inter-State Labour Migration in India with Special Reference to The State of Odisha," (2019) 1(1) CMR University Journal for Contemporary Legal Affairs 183 (ISSN 2582 4805).
7. Sayantani Bagchi and Jyotsna Nisha, ‘Towards an Effective Participatory Local Self Governance’ (2017) 2 (1) NUJS Journal of Regulatory Studies 68 (ISSN (O) No. 2456-4605).
Email – sayantani.bagchi@nlujodhpur.ac.in, sayantanibagchibl1@gmail.com
Areas of Interest: Comparative Constitutional Law, Political Theory, Constitutional Interpretation, Judicial Reforms.
