Bishen Jeswant

Bishen is a Partner in the Employment Law Practice of Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas and is based out of the Bangalore office.

He deals extensively on a wide array of employment law matters including senior management exits, complex issues around large-scale reduction of the workforce, employee benefits and employee movement as part of a corporate restructuring.

He has a specific interest and expertise in matters relating to diversity and inclusion, including the law around persons with disabilities, sexual harassment investigations and issues pertaining to women at the workplace. He hosts a podcast called “the POSHpod”, where he discusses various issues in relation to India’s anti-sexual harassment law. The podcast has been well received across the industry and is running on its second season. The podcast streams on YouTube and Spotify.

Bishen actively conducts workshops and orientation programmes for members of internal committees of corporates dealing with sexual harassment complaints. For his excellence and expertise in the field of diversity and inclusivity, he was also appointed by the National Judicial Academy onto their panel of resource persons and by Parity Consulting as their “Inclusivity Ambassador”.

Some of the other areas in which Bishen specializes is employee investigations and the law around provident fund benefits (social security in India). He regularly advises clients on the processes to be followed when undertaking internal investigations, including on the principles of natural justice, compliances to be ensured before carrying out any employee dismissals etc. These matters can be quite sensitive especially when involving senior-managerial employees, and Bishen is known for balancing the legal requirements with the sensitivities of matters and the requirements of clients. Compliance around provision of provident-fund benefits is one of the most rigorously policed labour subjects in India and considering the various complexities involved around the manner of computation, differential treatment based on nationality etc., compliance often proves quite onerous. Bishen is appreciated by clients for his nuanced understanding of the subject and providing well-considered holistic advice, and for his representations before regulators in this regard.

Bishen’s contributions to various publications such as the Business World, Indian Business Law Journal (IBLJ) etc. (links below) highlights his thought leadership. He also engages with and is regularly quoted by publications such as Economic Times and BW Legal.

Bishen read law at the National Law Institute University, Bhopal, from where he graduated in 2012. Beyond his legal pursuits, he is a multifaceted individual with diverse interests ranging from numismatics to collecting airline scale models, with cricket being the closest to his heart. His diverse background, which includes working full time with the statistics team at ESPNcricinfo, enriches his life view and brings a unique perspective to his legal practice