Biography

Avni Bahri is an academic, socio-legal researcher, and practitioner whose work lies at the intersection of criminal justice, penology, gender, human rights, and governance. With over a decade of experience spanning academia, public policy, and grassroots engagement, her scholarship is informed by extensive empirical fieldwork and sustained engagement with institutions of law, governance, and social justice. Her work seeks to bridge the divide between theory and practice, examining how legal and governance systems can become more responsive to the experiences of marginalized and vulnerable populations.

At O.P. Jindal Global University, Avni teaches courses in criminology, criminal justice, policing, penology, and prison governance, drawing upon her extensive professional experience within the criminal justice sector. She is also a Visiting Faculty at the National Law School of India University (NLSIU), Bengaluru, where she teaches an elective course titled “Revitalizing Justice: Exploring Strategies for Progressive Prison Reform.” Her research interests include prisons and punishment, vulnerability in justice systems, gender and law, police governance, constitutionalism, digital governance, and human rights.

Prior to joining academia, Avni worked extensively with governmental institutions and civil society organizations. As a Legal Expert with the National Commission for Women (Government of India), she contributed to legal review processes, policy development, institutional reform initiatives, and national capacity-building programmes. Her work included gender sensitization of police personnel, development of training modules for women representatives in Panchayati Raj Institutions, implementation of skill-development initiatives for women in custodial and institutional settings, and participation in inquiry committees investigating violations of women’s rights. She also played a leading role in conceptualizing and implementing national digital literacy programmes for women in collaboration with major technology stakeholders.

Avni has been closely associated with prison reform initiatives in India through her work with the Supreme Court Committee on Prison Reforms under the Ministry of Home Affairs. In this capacity, she contributed to the development of research tools, prison inspections, policy recommendations, training programmes for correctional personnel, and broader discussions on correctional governance and prisoners’ rights. Her professional experience also includes governance and policy research with the Praja Foundation, where she worked on democratic participation, urban governance, and citizen engagement initiatives.

Her scholarship reflects a strong commitment to interdisciplinary and comparative inquiry. She has presented her research at leading international conferences and academic forums. Beyond academia, she actively contributes to public discourse on justice reform and has spoken at numerous national and international forums, including delivering a TEDx talk on women in institutional and custodial settings in India.

Avni is particularly interested in exploring how questions of gender, vulnerability, inequality, and institutional power shape experiences of justice and injustice. Her work combines doctrinal, socio-legal, and interdisciplinary methodologies to examine contemporary challenges facing criminal justice systems, both within India and globally. 

Through her teaching, research, and policy engagement, Avni seeks to advance a vision of justice that is inclusive, rights-based, and attentive to the lived realities of those who encounter legal and governance institutions.