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  • OUR TEAM

Meet the IDIA team

TRUSTEES

Justice Ruma Pal

Trustee

Prof. (Dr.) M. P. Singh

Trustee

Shishira Rudrappa

Managing Trustee

Late Prof. (Dr.) Shamnad Basheer

Founder

MANAGEMENT

Sabah Mistry

Chief Executive Officer

Abhijith Mohan

Director

Abhishek Verma

Director

Arnab Roy

Director

Ankitha Antony

Director

Bhavya Johari

Consultant

Dharini Mathur

Advisor

Kirtikar Srivastava

Director

Madhurima Mukherjee

Chief Mentor

Mingma L Sherpa

Consultant

Shinto Mathew Abraham

Advisor

Shivakumara Palani Swami

Treasurer

Sindhu M

Accounts Assistant

Sushovan Bhattacharjee

Director

Suhaib Salman

Director

Swati Agrawal

Director

Tushant Sharma

Director

Yuvaraj M

Senior Executive, Accounts

Justice Ruma Pal is a former judge of the Supreme Court of India.

She did her LL.B. from Nagpur University and went on to read for her Bachelor of Civil Law (BCL) degree at the University of Oxford.  She commenced practice in 1968 before the Calcutta High Court in civil, revenue, labour and constitutional law matters. On August 6, 1990, she was appointed Judge at the Calcutta High Court, and on January 28, 2000, she was elevated to the Supreme Court of India. She retired on June 3, 2006. 

In her long and distinguished career, Justice Pal has delivered many critical judgements in landmark cases. She co-revised M. P. Jain’s Indian Constitutional Law (6th Edition) and has been published in several national and international journals. She served as the Chancellor of Sikkim University from 2012 to 2017. She is also a member of the International Forum of Women Judges.

Read more about her on her Wikipedia page here.

Mahendra Pal Singh, or M.P. Singh as he is more popularly known, is one of the most renowned Constitutional Law scholars of India. He is currently the Chancellor of Central University of Haryana, and the Chair Professor at the Centre for Comparative Law, National Law University, Delhi. 

Dr. Singh started his career as a lecturer at the University of Meerut and has since then been associated as a lecturer/fellow/visiting professor with several institutes of national and international repute, including the University of Delhi, Jawaharlal Nehru University, the University of Heidelberg, the University of Hong Kong, and National University of Singapore. He has also served as the Vice-Chancellor of the West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences. 

He is, perhaps, best known for his scholarly works in the field of Constitutional Law and Administrative Law, and some of his well-known publications include V.N. Shukla’s Constitution of India (revised by Dr. Singh), Comparative Constitutional Law, and German Administrative Law in Common Law Perspective.

Read more about him on his Wikipedia page here.

Shishira is one of the Founding Trustee of IDIA. Shishira is a Partner at Spire Consulting. 

He also is a Director at Spire Capital and SAB Media Publications and serves as Board of Advisor for Kalpavriksh Fund. 

Shishira graduated in Law from the National Law School of India University, Bangalore and is a Thomas Buergenthal Scholar from George Washington University, where he completed his Masters in Law (LL.M.).

Prof. (Dr.) Shamnad Basheer founded IDIA in 2010 when he was teaching at the West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata. He graduated from the National Law School of India University, Bangalore and did his post-graduate studies at the University of Oxford. He was a renowned academician, known especially for his contributions to the field of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR). He was the founder of the leading IPR blog in India, SpicyIP. He was awarded the Infosys Prize 2014 in Humanities.
His demise in 2019 left us all shocked and bereaved. Heartfelt condolences and obituaries poured in from his friends, family, and many legal luminaries in India and abroad. Here are links to a few of them:

He will always be remembered fondly, and we will keep his legacy alive!

Sabah Mistry brings over 25 years of experience across the Banking, Early Childcare, Learning, and Real Estate sectors, along with extensive work in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. She previously worked with Leading With Pride, an organisation dedicated to strengthening LGBTQIA+ inclusion within corporate India.

Sabah currently serves as the CEO of IDIA Charitable Trust, where she oversees nationwide operations, including scholar development, organisational strategy, partnerships, fundraising, disability inclusion, and the volunteer-led Law For All programme. She is deeply committed to building equitable pathways into the legal profession and advancing IDIA’s mission of increasing diversity by increasing access.

Abhijith is a Director at IDIA. He holds a Master’s degree in Social Work from Rajagiri College of Social Sciences, Kochi. Prior to joining IDIA, he served as a Project Head and De-addiction Counsellor at Rajagiri outREACH, where he worked extensively in community-based interventions and rehabilitation.
 
At IDIA, Abhijith oversees the operations of the Kerala and NIRMA Chapters, playing a key role in scholar engagement and chapter development. He also oversees the organization’s social media efforts and supports the mental health vertical, ensuring sustained wellbeing for scholars.
Abhishek is a Director at IDIA. He completed his B.A. LL.B. (Hons.) from the West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata in 2018. At IDIA he oversees the operations of various State Chapters and co-heads the national scholar development vertical – CHAMPS.

Arnab is a Director (Operations) at IDIA. He completed his B.A. LL.B. (Hons.) & LL.M. from the West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences (WBNUJS) and presently he is a Ph.D. Research Scholar there. Previously, he worked as a research associate of the IPR Chair at WBNUJS under guidance of Professor (Dr.) Shamnad Basheer.

During his LL.B., Arnab worked to ensure minimum wages for all contract labourers of WBNUJS.

At IDIA, Arnab is the director-in-charge of the Background Check, Sensitisation, Scholar engagement, fundraising. He is also co-managing IDIA West Bengal chapter.

Ankitha Antony, the Regional Director of the Delhi Chapter at IDIA, holds a master’s degree in social work from Rajagiri College of Social Sciences, Kerala. With a wealth of experience in organizing impactful sensitization programs and diverse events, she brings a strong foundation in counseling and community outreach. 

At IDIA, Ankitha plays a pivotal role across multiple verticals. She oversees the mental health initiatives across the organization, ensuring holistic support for scholars and volunteers. Additionally, she is involved in the IDAP (IDIA Disability Access Programme) project, collaborating closely on the sensitization efforts to promote accessibility and inclusion. Her responsibilities also extend to handling key administrative tasks.

Bhavya Johari has been associated with IDIA Hyderabad Chapter since 2019, beginning as a Mentorship Volunteer and progressing through leadership roles as Deputy Team Leader (2020), Team Leader (2021-2023), and Advisor to the Director (2024). His return in 2026 as Director (Consultant) marks his continued commitment to democratizing legal education and increasing diversity in the legal profession.

Throughout his academic journey, he graduated with Rank 1 from NALSAR University of Law. LL.B. (Hons.), receiving 10 Gold Medals from the President of India, including the Best Student for Overall Excellence Award, and completed his LL.M. (First Class Honours) from Melbourne Law School as an Alex Chernov Scholar. Despite receiving a pre-placement offer from a tier-1 law firm, he chose to pursue an academic career focused on public international law and human rights advocacy. His scholarly work has appeared in leading international journals and platforms, bringing to IDIA both grassroots mentorship experience and insights from international legal scholarship.

Dharini has spent the last two decades working in-house and in private practice in India and the United States, advising on transactions and strategy.

Dharini has a LL.M from Harvard Law School, a B.C.L. from Oxford University where she was a Commonwealth Scholar and a BA LLB (Hons.) degree from the National Law School, Bangalore. Dharini is currently India Co-Chair of the Harvard Law School Women’s Alliance Network.

At IDIA, Dharini works on mentorship, scholar development, partnerships and fund-raising initiatives.

Kirtikar is a Director at IDIA. He completed his B.A. LL.B. (Hons.) from the West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata in 2018. He joined the Delhi office of AZB & Partners as an Associate after graduating and worked there for over two years.

At IDIA, Kirtikar heads the national scholar development vertical – CHAMPS. He has also conducted the annual IDIA Diversity Survey in the leading National Law Universities and
co-authored the survey reports. He also oversees the operations of the Hyderabad and Uttar Pradesh Chapters.

Madhurima Mukherjee is the Chief Mentor at IDIA. She has almost 25 years of experience in the legal profession. She graduated from the National Law School of India University in 1997. She has been a Partner with AZB & Partners, Luthra & Luthra Law Offices and Amarchand Mangaldas (erstwhile).

Madhurima is known for her strategic advice, resolving complex legal issues and has counseled a number of prestigious clients. She has been featured in the ‘Top 100 Indian Lawyers’ list by IBLJ (2018 – 2020). She has been ranked for Capital Markets by Chambers Asia-Pacific (2009, 2013, 2016 – 2020) and Chambers Global (2016 – 2019). She has won many other accolades and has many other achievements.

At IDIA, Madhurima uses her knowledge and experience to help our trustees and team to structure IDIA’s projects and vision. Madhurima undertakes this role alongside her independent legal practice and other philanthropic initiatives.

Mingma is a Consultant for IDIA. She has completed her B.A. LL.B. from the Sikkim Government Law College, Gangtok, Sikkim and L.LM. (Intellectual Property Rights) from NALSAR, Hyderabad.

She has worked on environmental issues, women and child rights, and indigenous community rights. She enjoys art and culture.

At IDIA, she handles the operations of the Sikkim, Assam, and Tripura Chapters.

Shiva is the Accounts Manager at IDIA. He has a B.Com. degree.

 
 
Sindhu M works as an Accounts Assistant at IDIA. She has completed her Bachelor of Commerce from Teresian College, University of Mysuru, in 2022.
Sushovan is a Director at IDIA. He completed his B. Com. from the Calcutta University.
 
At IDIA, Sushovan is the director in charge of West Bengan chapter and co-managing scholars’ internship.
 
Suhaib Salman is a lawyer with an LL.M. in IPR from Nalsar University. Formerly the Creative Head of Lawctopus, he lent his legal expertise as a Creative Consultant for Greenpeace India’s ‘Vaccines for All’ campaign. Suhaib’s versatility extends to the realm of photography, where his award-winning work ‘Baker-Khani’ graced the UNESCO International Gallery. An ALLY (European Union) fellow and Ideosync-Unesco Information Fellow, he’s a dedicated advocate for digital media rights. At IDIA, Suhaib is the Director-in-Charge of the J&K Chapter. He is also responsible for handling social media and content production.

Swati is a Director at IDIA. She completed her B.A. LL.B. (Hons.) from National Law School of India University, Bangalore, before going on to do her LL.M. at West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata. She has worked as a banking and finance lawyer with ICICI Bank Limited and Talwar Thakore and Associates in Mumbai. 

At IDIA, Swati is the director-in-charge of the IDIA Disability Access Program (IDAP) that supports IDIA Scholars with disabilities and works towards making educational institutions and professional spaces in the legal field more accessible. She also handles/oversees the operations of the IDIA Punjab Chapter at RGNUL Patiala.

Tushant is a Director at IDIA. He completed his B.B.A. LL.B. (Hons.) from National Law University, Odisha in 2017. He worked as a law researcher at the office of Justice Vibhu Bakhru (Delhi High Court) after his graduation, for over two years. In 2021, he completed his LLM in public law from_ SOAS University of London. At IDIA, Tushant oversees the operations of three State Chapters – Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, and Jharkhand. Further, he is also a co-director for IDIA’s Training and Management (T&M) Operations and also oversees the sensitisation work at
the central level. 

As a T&M Director, he supervises the IDIA training policy and related procedures, trainee intake process and coaching enrolments. Tushant’s interest lies in education policy, and its intersection with tribal rights, environmental justice and grassroot democracy. 

Yuvaraj is a Senior Executive in the Accounts Team at IDIA. He has an M.Com degree from Karnataka State Open University.