New Delhi: Project 39A, a criminal justice research and legal aid programme that first started in 2018, has a new home. This week, it formally announced its move from the National Law University (NLU) Delhi to the National Academy of Legal Studies and Research (NALSAR), Hyderabad.
It also has a new name. The initiative will now be called ‘The Square Circle Clinic’ and will continue functioning from cities like Delhi, Nagpur, and Pune, according to an official statement issued by the organisation.
“From 31st March 2025, we will collectively begin a new chapter at NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad, as The Square Circle Clinic. Whilst being a part of NALSAR, Hyderabad, we will continue working from Delhi, Nagpur and Pune,” it said in its statement Monday.
It is known for its work in the Supreme Court and various high courts, where it has provided pro bono representation to death row prisoners, resulting in 26 acquittals and 50 commutations.
Besides this, it also collaborated with various district legal services authorities and worked towards the representation of undertrials incarcerated in Pune and Nagpur Central Prisons. This work resulted in the release of 1,625 individuals, the statement said.
At NALSAR, Hyderabad, Project 39A said, it intends to expand its work in the criminal justice space, along with the diverse body of work it has built on a series of themes such as mental health, incarceration, forensics, sentencing, legal aid, capital punishment, custodial violence, prison art education, and storytelling initiatives.
It started as the Centre for Research on the Death Penalty and received the approval of the NLU’s academic and executive council in August 2014.
Two years later, in December 2016, NLU approved the expansion of the initiative’s mandate beyond the contours of the death penalty, enabling it to work with incarcerated populations in general, with institutions of criminal justice administration and on issues of criminal justice reform.
Subsequently, Project 39A, inspired by Article 39A (equal justice and free legal aid) of the Constitution, came to be established to conduct research on the administration of the death penalty in India and to provide free legal representation to the prisoners who are sentenced to death.
In January 2018, the initiative further received approval to specifically work on issues of torture, legal aid, mental health in the criminal justice system and forensics besides its work on the death penalty.
It started its operations with a criminal law lecture on 28 September 2018, where Justice S. Muralidhar, a former judge of the Delhi High Court, talked about ‘Crime, Punishment and Justice in India.’
Project 39A’s work has been cited by the Supreme Court of India, the Law Commission, and the World Psychiatric Association. It has also been referenced in parliamentary debates in the Lok Sabha and reports of the UN Secretary-General and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
“Our work has received formal recognitions from the World Psychiatric Association, New York Legal Aid Society and the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty. During our time at Project 39A, we shed light on under-explored issues in the criminal justice system, and we will continue this critical work as The Square Circle Clinic,” the statement said.
“Our research, pro bono legal representation, and public discourse has been driven by our commitment to the constitutional vision of equal access to justice for all,” it added.
(Edited by Sanya Mathur)
Also Read: Why SC slapped Rs 60 lakh fine on UP govt on plea by Prayagraj residents affected by demolitions