Paid Internship at The Square Circle Clinic, NALSAR University of Law (New Delhi, Pune, Nagpur; Stipend Rs 10,000 per Four Weeks)

The Square Circle Clinic (formerly Project 39A) is a criminal justice initiative at NALSAR University of Law, with offices in New Delhi, Hyderabad, Pune and Nagpur. The Clinic works on two fronts: pro bono criminal defence, especially for prisoners sentenced to death, and interdisciplinary research and public engagement on criminal justice issues such as mental health, forensic science, legal aid, criminalisation of poverty, prevention of torture, wrongful convictions, and science and technology.

Its Fair Trial Programme provides quality legal representation to undertrial prisoners in Yerwada and Nagpur Central Prisons in collaboration with the state legal aid machinery, and uses empirical data from that work to build resources aimed at systemic improvements in legal aid.

Through this call, issued on 27 April 2026, the Clinic accepts interns on a rolling basis under its internship policy for 2026-27. There is no single closing date; applications are considered as they arrive, and applicants are asked to apply two months before the first of the proposed month of internship.

• Litigation: the Delhi office works to ensure competent pro bono legal representation for prisoners sentenced to death across India, irrespective of the offence. The Pune and Nagpur offices provide trial-level pro bono representation to undertrial prisoners in Yerwada and Nagpur Central Prisons.
• Mitigation investigation: as part of the capital defence work, the mitigation team develops in-depth life histories of prisoners sentenced to death and prepares detailed mitigation reports for submission before courts during sentencing hearings.
• Research interventions: fieldwork and empirical analysis on forensic science, science and technology in criminal justice, wrongful convictions, criminalisation and punishment, legal aid in the criminal justice system, mental health and criminal justice, and the administration of the death penalty.
• Strategic communication: developing public communication strategies on critical criminal justice issues, including storytelling across mediums and contributing to the organisation’s social media strategy.

The internship is open to students enrolled in recognised undergraduate or postgraduate programmes in law, humanities, social sciences, psychology, psychiatry, or media and communications. Students enrolled in other programmes may apply, but preference is given to the disciplines listed above. Students enrolled in recognised programmes both in India and abroad are eligible.

• Interns assist with litigation activities, research projects or public outreach initiatives. The Clinic tries to account for the interests interns express, but reserves the right to allocate tasks as its requirements demand.
• Every member of the Clinic undertakes administrative duties, so interns are also expected to assist in administrative matters.
• Working hours are 10 am to 6 pm, and interns work only from the Clinic’s offices. In-person internships are strongly preferred; remote requests are accepted only in extraordinary circumstances.
• Full-time internships run for a minimum of 4 weeks and a maximum of 12 weeks, and candidates must indicate the exact months in the application.
• Applications for part-time internships are considered, but full-time interns are strongly preferred, and a part-time intern who is selected must serve a minimum of 12 weeks.
• Interns are based at the New Delhi, Pune or Nagpur offices. The Hyderabad office houses only the administrative and finance teams, so no internship positions are available there.

Full-time interns are paid a stipend of Rs 10,000 for every four weeks of internship. Part-time interns are paid Rs 5,000 for every four weeks. Apart from work-related travel during the internship, the Clinic cannot support travel or accommodation expenses. The internship programme is supported by grants received by the Clinic.

Applications are accepted only through the online application form. There are two separate forms, one for the Delhi position and one for the Nagpur and Pune positions, both linked below on the official job opening page. Each applicant must upload:

• A résumé.
• A statement of purpose explaining the applicant’s interest in representing prisoners sentenced to death and the contribution they envision making in the position, not exceeding 750 words.
• A writing sample on any issue related to the criminal justice system, which may address a legal question or take an interdisciplinary approach, not exceeding 1,000 words.

• Because of the volume of applications, the Clinic cannot provide individual responses; only successful applicants are contacted. An applicant who has not heard back four weeks before the proposed start date should assume the application was unsuccessful.
• The Clinic reserves the right not to fill internship positions.
• The Clinic works on behalf of all prisoners sentenced to death, regardless of the offence involved.
• Queries may be sent to the internships email below, but the Clinic cannot provide application status updates.