Profile
Abhijit became a member of chambers in October 2022 following completion of his pupillage. He accepts instructions in a range of Chambers’ practice areas including crime, public law, and extradition.
Prior to joining chambers, Abhijit worked as a criminal lawyer in New Zealand, before completing his LLM at the University of Cambridge in 2021.
He is a CPS Grade 2 prosecutor and has represented individuals charged with serious offences.
Expertise
Abhijit has been instructed as both prosecution and defence counsel in the magistrates’ court and the Crown Court. He has conducted numerous magistrates’ court and Crown Court trials where individuals have been charged with a wide range of offences, including offences involving serious violence, drug trafficking, and sexual offences.
Recent instructions in the Crown Court include prosecuting individuals who have been charged with large-scale theft from their employer, supplying cannabis, and voyeurism. Abhijit also regularly defends in the Crown Court, having recently secured acquittals where a prisoner was charged with assaulting prison officers by biting and where an individual was charged with supplying heroin and cocaine.
He has been instructed as a disclosure junior in complex prosecutions by both the CPS and the SFO. He has also been instructed in trials involving complex legal issues arising out of protest action.
Abhijit has been instructed in connection with the Infected Blood Inquiry. He was been instructed to advise witnesses subject to a rule 9 request, and to carefully analyse and review documents included in any such request.
Abhijit has also been instructed in connection with the Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry, reviewing and analysing documents provided to the Inquiry by core participants.
Abhijit is a member of the GLD ‘Junior Junior’ Scheme.
Abhijit has a keen interest in extradition law. He has experience representing requested persons at preliminary hearings. He has assisted with the preparation of advice and skeleton arguments addressing complex issues under the Extradition Act 2003.
In 2020, Abhijit commenced a LLM at the University of Cambridge. He was a project manager for the Cambridge Pro Bono Project, assisting in analysing both domestic and international jurisprudence concerning the scope of “cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment” under of Article 3 of the ECHR, He graduated First Class and completed the Bar Transfer Test in 2021.
In 2018, Abhijit was admitted to the legal profession in New Zealand. He spent the next two-and-a-half years gaining experience as a criminal defence lawyer in New Zealand, appearing at first instance, and on appeal, representing individuals charged with a range of criminal offences. In the Court of Appeal, he appeared as a led junior in criminal appeals concerning issues such as the admissibility of novel expert evidence, the impact of procedural failures at trial, and the relevance of significant personal mitigation on sentence.
In 2017, Abhijit graduated with an LLB (Honours). During his undergraduate studies, he won the New Zealand Bar Association Sentencing Advocacy moot. He graduated with First Class Honours upon completing a dissertation examining the admissibility of defendants’ statements at trial.
- The use of section 66 of the Courts Act 2003 following R. v Gould: Part 2” Arch. Rev. 2023, 4, 5-9
- The use of section 66 of the Courts Act 2003 following R. v Gould: Part 1” Arch. Rev. 2023, 3, 8-10
- Master of Law (First Class), Clare College, University of Cambridge
- Bar Transfer Test, BPP University
- Bachelor of Laws (Honours, First Class) Auckland University of Technology
- Bachelor of Business (Economics) Auckland University of Technology
- Honourable Society of Inner Temple
- Criminal Bar Association
Recognition
