Mr. A. Nirmal Singh Heera completed his B.L. (Five-Year Integrated Law Degree) at Government Law College, Tirunelveli, from 2003 to 2008. He obtained his M.L. in Intellectual Property Rights from the Tamil Nadu Dr Ambedkar Law University, Chennai, during the academic years 2008–2010, and qualified for the UGC-NET in Law in June 2011. He also completed M.A. degrees in public administration and political science from Tamil Nadu Open University, Chennai, during the years 2004–2006 and 2006–2008, respectively.
He began his professional career as an advocate at the Metropolitan Magistrate Courts, Saidapet, Chennai, where he practised from 2008 to June 2014, handling matters on both the civil and criminal sides. Subsequently, he entered the field of legal academia as a guest faculty at Government Law College, Chengalpattu, where he served for about one and a half years. He later joined the School of Law, SASTRA Deemed University, Thanjavur, as a full-time Assistant Professor of Law and served from 25 June 2014 to 30 April 2019. Thereafter, he worked as an Assistant Professor at VIT School of Law, VIT University, Chennai Campus, from 6 June 2019 to 30 November 2019. He joined Tamil Nadu National Law University (TNNLU), Tiruchirappalli, as Assistant Professor of Law on 2 December 2019 and continues to serve in the same capacity.
He has substantial experience in teaching both procedural and substantive laws and has authored a book titled “Marriage and Divorce Laws (Including Adoption, Maintenance, Minority and Guardianship) along with The Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006”, co-authored with Mrs N. Prabhavathi, Assistant Professor of Law, School of Law, SASTRA Deemed University, Thanjavur. He has also contributed three book chapters in edited volumes in the field of law. During his tenure at SASTRA University, he served as the Coordinator of the SASTRA Legal Aid Clinic and organised 18 legal aid and legal awareness programmes in and around Thanjavur District. He also assisted the Tiruvarur District Legal Services Authority in conducting a two-day door-to-door legal awareness campaign on 2 and 3 November 2016 and supported law students in conducting educational classes for children at the Government Children’s Home for Boys, Thanjavur.
He has also served as a resource person in training programmes organised by the Tamil Nadu State Judicial Academy for advocates with varying years of practice, conducted at the Principal District Court, Thanjavur, on 29 September 2018, 30 September 2018, and 24 February 2019.
In the field of research, he has presented more than 25 research papers at regional, national, and international seminars and conferences and has actively participated in numerous workshops, symposia, and training programmes. He has also participated in several Faculty Development Programmes (FDPs) and successfully completed multiple SWAYAM MOOC courses to enhance his academic and research capabilities. He has published 39 research articles in national and international peer-reviewed journals, including UGC-CARE-approved and Scopus-indexed journals.
He has also successfully completed a research project titled “A Study on the Efficacy of the Taluk Legal Services Committee for Providing Access to Justice in Tiruchirappalli District” under the Centre for Studies in Access to Justice at TNNLU, where he serves as the Faculty-in-Charge.
His teaching and research interests include Family Law, Code of Civil Procedure, Code of Criminal Procedure, Law of Evidence, Intellectual Property Rights, Constitutional Law, and Criminal Law.