Nandita is a valuable member of our criminal defence team.
Nandita has been with Astor Legal since 2021. She holds a Bachelor of Laws and Business from University of Technology, Sydney. She further completed the Nationally Accredited Mediator Training Program and passed the National Mediation Assessment. Currently, she is completing a Masters of Applied Laws.
Prior to joining Astor Legal, Nandita worked in the finance department of one of the ‘big four’ banks. This allowed her to develop a unique skillset, particularly in relation to complex fraud and white collar crime matters.
Since joining Astor Legal Nandita has gained experience in all aspects of criminal law, including domestic violence, AVOs, assaults, traffic offences, complex frauds and sexual offences. She specialises in domestic violence and AVO cases and holds an impressive track record in having these cases dropped before they reach the hearing date. She has done this through meticulous preparation and drafting of legal documents including statements, affidavits, AVO & bail variations and representations to Police.
Clients regularly commend Nandita for her excellent efforts to go above and beyond to ensure they are well informed throughout the process. Her empathetic and thoughtful approach ensures the highest quality of legal services for her clients.
Outside of the office, Nandita organises hampers for vulnerable members of the community at the Women’s Shelters throughout western Sydney.
Nandita is also fluent in Punjabi and Hindi.
Nandita is a valuable member of our criminal defence team.
Level 3 Suite 5/1 Horwood Place, Parramatta
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Our client is an IT professional in a senior leadership role within Australia.
Late last year he came to know his daughter had been taken advantage of by a colleague of his while she was in a vulnerable mental state. Our client held concerns for his daughter and his granddaughter’s welfare.
Consequently, he attended his colleague’s residence to speak to him about his intentions towards his daughter and his disapproval of their relationship. A heated argument took place between our client, his colleague and our client’s son.
Nine days later the colleague contacted Police claiming he had fears for his safety and required an AVO. The Police took an AVO against our client.
Our client contacted us wanting to know how to beat an AVO. We began the process of attempting to have the matter withdrawn. Despite our representations, police insisted they wanted to press on with the matter – in large part due to the colleague wanting the AVO to remain.
We arranged the taking of witness statements from our client’s son and his friend who were present when the argument took place. We also filed a statement from our client detailing what actually occurred and that it was merely a heated argument.
The case proceeded at Burwood Local Court where the police officer in charge of the matter gave evidence. Upon cross-examination by one of our AVO lawyers, we were able to expose the investigation of the matter as being inadequate, as the police officer conceded that she had not contacted the witnesses who had been present at the time of the argument.
During cross-examination of the complainant, we were able to expose the fact that he did not ask our client to leave his home at any time. We also highlighted the delay in his complaint to police which pointed to his lack of fear. These factors were emphasised in our closing submissions
The Court was ultimately not satisfied on the balance of probabilities that the PINOP had fears for his safety as as such they dismissed the AVO application. Our client and his family were overjoyed with the result and can now continue with their lives
Our client is a well-known media personality who is also a board member of a domestic violence charity.
He was on holiday with his wife and two children in the NSW South Coast when an incident occurred between himself and his wife.
Police were called to the scene. When they arrived they video recorded a statement with his wife. This is known as a Domestic Violence Evidence in Chief (DVEC).
Despite our client protesting his innocence, officers applied for an apprehended violence order (AVO) against him.
Our client came to us distressed at what had occurred and also concerned about the possibility of media attention.
We immediately go to work in preparing lengthy and detailed legal representations for the withdrawal of the AVO.
Ultimately, after significant negotiation with Police we were able to persuade them to withdraw the AVO early in proceedings.
This saved our client significant time and expense. Both he and his family can move on with their lives without the AVO hanging over their heads.
Astor Legal recently appeared at Parramatta Local Court for a 19-year-old man who was facing a 3 month suspension for exceeding his demerit points.
Our client had committed a speeding over 45km/hr offence for which he had served a 6 month police suspension.
At the time he was still only a P1 licence holder and as such the offence took him over his demerit points as well.
At Court the Magistrate dismissed a number of similar licence appeals for people with far less serious offences.
Despite this, we were able to persuade the Magistrate that he had a strong need for a licence and had significant responsibilities which he required his licence for.
These included his attendance at TAFE and his employment as an apprentice electrician.
In the result, the Magistrate allowed the appeal completely.
This means that our client faces no suspension at all and can continue to drive.
Recently Astor Legal appeared at Bankstown Local Court in relation to a client who had breached a good behaviour licence. Our client had a terrible driving history that was littered with over 50 speeding offences.
Indeed, he had breached the good behaviour licence by committing a further speeding offence. He came to us concerned that a loss of licence would mean that he could no longer work or take care of his autistic son.
We immediately got to work by obtaining evidence of our client’s need for a licence. We obtained a reference from his employer explaining that he needed to travel to various sites throughout the day. We also obtained significant evidence of his son’s autism and need to attend various medical appointments.
Our client also enrolled in a Traffic Offender Program where he was able to demonstrate that he had appreciated the dangers of speeding and had corrected his driving behaviour. We appeared at Bankstown Local Court on his behalf and made detailed submissions before the presiding magistrate.
Despite our client’s lengthy traffic record, His Honour was persuaded to deal with the offence by way of a conditional release order without conviction. This means that our client remains on the good behaviour licence and does not face any suspension.
Last week Astor Legal appeared at Fairfield Local Court in relation to a bail application.
Our client had initially been charged with two separate allegations of sexual touching and was already on strict bail conditions. Some months later, Police laid a third charge of sexual touching against him and took him into custody.
His family came to us desperate for him to be released.
In preparation, we obtained a letter from our client’s wife who confirmed that she could ensure that he complied with his bail conditions. Our client’s wife was also able to act as surety and surrender $15,000 in security.
Our bail application lawyers spoke with the Prosecutor prior to the court appearance who strongly opposed bail being granted.
We were able to persuade the Prosecutor that our proposed bail conditions would mitigate any risk to public safety, re-offending and flight.
The Prosecutor ultimately resiled from his earlier opposition and consented to our proposed conditions. Further, we were able to reduce the surety amount to $10,000.
We made submissions in Court which persuaded the Magistrate that our client should be granted bail and that our proposed bail conditions would ameliorate any bail concerns.
In particular, our submissions were based on the client only leaving home for work purposes and residing with his wife who was the surety.
The Magistrate agreed with our submissions and granted bail to our client. Our client and his wife were overjoyed with the outcome.
The team at Astor Legal is headed by an Accredited Specialist in Criminal Law. We focus on each individual client and the specifics of each case to gain the best possible outcome.