The Trust has instituted the Nani Palkhivala Award for Protection and Preservation of Civil Liberties and Human Rights in India. The Award is given to individuals and organizations from time to time. The Award carries a Citation and a cheque for Rupees Two Lakhs and Fifty Thousand in each category. (From 2006 till and including in 2011 the cheque was for Rupees One Lakh. It was increased to Rs.2.50 lakhs in 2012.)

The Award winners since 2006 are:

Sr. No.	year	Individuals	Organizations
1	2006	Ms Navaz Kotwal	PUCL, Delhi
2	2007	Ms Teesta Setalvad	None
3	2008	Mr. Shailesh Gandhi	None
4	2009	Ms Aruna Roy	Public Concern for Governance Trust
5	2010	Mrs. Maja Daruwala	None
6	2011	Mr. Chaman Lal	None
7	2012	Late Mr. B.G. Deshmukh	None
8	2013	Mr. Justice Santosh Hegde (Retd.)	None
9	2014	Mr. Avdhash Kaushal	Swami Vivekananda Youth Movement, Mysore
10	2015	No Award	None
11	2016	Dr. Abhay Bang	Maharogi Sewa Samiti, Anandwan/Warora

The panel of judges for the Awards in 2006 and 2007 comprised Mr. Justice M.N. Venkatachaliah (Retd.) (Chairman) and Mr. Justice S.P. Bharucha (Retd.), both former Chief Justices of India and Mrs. Anu Aga, former Chairperson, Thermax India Ltd., while for the Awards in 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011 the panel comprised Mr. Justice M.N. Venkatachaliah (Retd.) (Chairman) Mrs. Justice Sujata Manohar (Retd.) and Mr. Justice Sam Variava (Retd.), both former Judges of the Supreme Court of India.

The panel of judges for the Awards from 2012 to 2016 comprised Mrs. Justice Sujata Manohar (Chairperson), Mr. Justice Sam Variava and Mrs. Sudha N. Murthy.