Mr. Sanjay Vashishtha pursued his B.A., LL.B. (Hons.) from the Faculty of Law, Jamia Millia Islamia, followed by an LL.M. in Comparative Law from McGill University, Canada, and an M.Sc. in Criminology & Criminal Justice from the University of Oxford, United Kingdom. Mr. Vashishtha is a recipient of St Cross funding and was elected as the community representative at Oxford. He has received several national awards and scholarships throughout his academic career, including the prestigious National Scholarship by the Bar Council of India Trust. Mr. Sanjay Vashishtha studied the law, practice, and sociology of the death penalty at the University of Oxford.
As a Counsel, Mr. Vashishtha has been engaged by several high-profile entities and individuals, including Padma Bhushan and Padma Vibhushan awardees. He has successfully represented national and international clients and corporations in commercial claims and disputes involving several thousand crores as lead arguing counsel. He has also successfully appeared for and defended clients in key matters under special and general penal laws, securing reportable judgments.
He has represented and continues to represent the Election Commission of India, National Law University Delhi as its Standing Counsel, Delhi Police as Consultant Legal, Rajiv Gandhi National Law University, Patiala as Consultant and Counsel, Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) as Standing Counsel, and the Delhi Development Authority, among others. Mr. Vashishtha successfully represented the Saket Bar Association (a body of over 12,000 lawyers) as lead counsel before the NGT and secured a landmark order concerning the Saket Court Complex.
Mr. Vashishtha practices on both the original and appellate sides before the Courts of Higher Judicature, NCLT, NCLAT, and the Supreme Court of India. He is also a defence counsel in several high-profile and sensitive criminal matters. He has served as a consultant to the Penal Law Reform Committee of India constituted by the Ministry of Home Affairs for amendments to penal laws and serves as an expert member of a Government of India committee studying laws relating to the “Right to Repair in India.” He is also a board member of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar University Delhi.
Mr. Vashishtha has been invited by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), Government of India, to train its officers and has spoken at the Parliament of India on several occasions on diverse topics. He has addressed participants from more than 80 countries.
He is a Guest Faculty at the Delhi Police Specialized Training Centre and Professor of Practice at Lloyd Law College, Noida. He has also served as guest faculty at various institutions, including the University of Oxford (Department of Criminology), Hindu College (University of Delhi), National Law University Delhi, Dr. Ram Manohar Lohiya National Law University Lucknow, Manav Rachna International University, Indian Police Foundation, Symbiosis Law School, Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law Patiala, Institute of Parliamentary Studies (Parliament of India), and Jindal Global Law School, Sonipat.
He has delivered lectures on evidence-based policing to IPS officers and other law enforcement officials from across the country and is a member of committees constituted by the Government of India for the amendment of sensitive laws.
Mr. Vashishtha has several significant publications to his credit and has published extensively in both national and international journals, including publications associated with the University of Oxford, London Redress, York University Law Journal, International Journal of Humanities and Social Science, Journal of the Indian Law Institute, as well as legal platforms such as Live Law and Bar & Bench.
He is an expert member of Supreme Court Cases (SCC) Blogs and represents Supreme Court Cases (SCC) and Eastern Book Company as Counsel. He recently authored the 8th Edition of the book on Criminology published by the renowned Eastern Book Company. The book was launched by the former Chief Justice of India, Hon’ble Justice U.U. Lalit.