FACULTY OF LAW

ALIGARH MUSLIM UNIVERSITY

CENTRE JANGIPUR MURSHIDABAD

LEGAL AID MOVEMENT IN INDIA

Subject- Public Interest Lawyering

SUBMITTED TO
DR ASIF IQUBAL SHAH
Assistant Professor, Faculty of Law

SUBMITTED BY
MOHD YUSUF
Roll no.- 17BALLB023
Enrolment no.- GK3467
10th Semester, B.A.LL.B. (Hons.)
 LEGAL LITERACY

INTRODUCTION

Whatever standards a man chooses to set for himself, be they religious, moral, social or purely
rational in origin, it is the law which prescribes and governs his rights and duties towards the other
members of the community. This somewhat arbitrary collection of principles he has very largely
to take as he finds and in a modern society it tends to be so diverse and complex that the help of
an expert is often essential not merely to enforce or defend legal rights but to recognize, identify
and define them. 1

The Encyclopedia Britannica defines legal aid as phrase which is acquired by usage and court
decisions, a specific meaning of giving to person of limited means grants or for nominal fees,
advice or counsel to represent them in court in civil and criminal matters. 2 Inability to consult or
to be represented by a lawyer may amount to the same thing as being deprived of the security of
law. Rawls first principle of justice is that each person is to have an equal right to the most
extensive total system of equal basic liberties compatible with a similar system of liberties for all. 3
Legal Aid is the method adopted to ensure that no one is debarred from professional advice and
help because of lack of funds.Thus, the provisions of legal aid to the poor are based on
humanitarian considerations and the main aim of these provisions is to help the povert-stricken
people who are socially and economically backward. 4

Lord Denning while observing that Legal Aid is a system of government funding for those who
cannot afford to pay for advice, assistance and representation said: The greatest revolution in the
law since the post-second World has been the evolution of the mechanism of the system for legal
aid. It means that in many cases the lawyers fees and expenses are paid for by the state: and not by

1
Mathews and Outton: Legal Aid & Advice, London, Butterworths, 1971.
2 Part 13 at p. 871, Quoted in Legal Aid Programme in India-A Constitutional Guarantee-Alka Shrivastav.

3 John Rawls: A Theory of Justice, Universal Law Publishing Co. Pvt. Ltd. Delhi, 2000.

4 Scott, C.H.: Legal Aid Past and Present,A Brief Bleak Picture, pp. 4-5.

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the party concerned. It is a subject of such importance that I venture to look at the law about costs-
as it was-as such it is-and as it should be. 5

DEVELOPMENT

• Legal aid strives to ensure that constitutional pledge is fulfilled in its letter and spirit and
equal justice is made available to the poor, downtrodden and weaker sections of the society.
• Article 39A of the Constitution of India provides that State shall secure that the operation
of the legal system promotes justice on a basis of equal opportunity, and shall in particular,
provide free legal aid, by suitable legislation or schemes or in any other way, to ensure that
opportunities for securing justice are not denied to any citizen by reason of economic or
other disability.
• Articles 14 and 22(1) also make it obligatory for the State to ensure equality before law
and a legal system which promotes justice on a basis of equal opportunity to all.

What is free legal aid?

• Free legal aid is the provision of free legal services in civil and criminal matters for those
poor and marginalised people who cannot afford the services of a lawyer for the conduct
of a case or a legal proceeding in any court, tribunal or authority.
• These services are governed by Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 and headed by the
National Legal Services Authority (NALSA).
• Free legal aid is provided to weaker sections of the society who fall within the purview of
Section 12 of the Legal Services Authority Act, 1987.

Provision of free legal aid may include:

1) Representation by an advocate in legal proceedings.

2) Payment of process fees, expenses of witnesses and all other charges payable or incurred in
connection with any legal proceedings in appropriate cases.

5 What Next in the Law: Lord Denning, London Butterworths, 1982.

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3) Preparation of pleadings, memo of appeal, paper book including printing and translation of
documents in legal proceedings.

4) Drafting of legal documents, special leave petition, etc.

5) Supply of certified copies of judgments, orders, notes of evidence and other documents in legal
proceedings.

ORIGIN OF LEGAL AID IN INDIA

• Since 1952, the government of India started addressing the question of legal aid for the
poor in various conferences of law ministers and Law Commissions. In 1960, some
guidelines were drawn by the government for legal aid schemes. In different states, legal
aid schemes were floated through legal aid boards, societies and law departments.
• In 1980, a committee at the national level was constituted to oversee and supervise legal
aid programmes throughout the country under the chairmanship of Justice P.N. Bhagwati,
then a Judge of the Supreme Court. This committee came to be known as CILAS
(Committee for Implementing Legal Aid Schemes) and started monitoring legal aid
activities throughout the country.
• The introduction of Lok Adalats added a new chapter to the justice dispensation system of
this country and succeeded in providing a supplementary forum to the litigants for
conciliatory settlement of their disputes.
• In 1987, the Legal Services Authorities Act was enacted to give a statutory base to legal
aid programmes throughout the country on a uniform pattern. This Act was enforced in
1995 after certain amendments were introduced therein by the Amendment Act of 1994.
• National Legal Services Authority (NALSA)
• The National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) has been constituted under the Legal
Services Authorities Act, 1987 to monitor and evaluate implementation of legal aid
programmes and to lay down policies and principles for making legal services available
under the Act.
• In every state, a State Legal Services Authority (SLSA) and in every High Court, a High
Court Legal Services Committee has been constituted. District Legal Services Authorities

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(DLSAs), Taluk Legal Services Committees have been constituted in the districts and most
of the taluks to give effect to the policies and directions of the NALSA and to provide free
legal services to the people and conduct Lok Adalats in the state.
• Supreme Court Legal Services Committee (SCLSC) has been constituted to administer and
implement legal services related to the Supreme Court of India.

FUNCTIONS OF NALSA

• NALSA lays down policies, principles, guidelines and frames effective and economical
schemes for the State Legal Services Authorities to implement legal services programmes
throughout the country.
• Primarily, the State Legal Services Authorities, District Legal Services Authorities, Taluk
Legal Services Committees, etc. have been tasked to discharge the following functions:

1) To provide free and competent legal services to the eligible persons covered under Section 12
of the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987.

2) To organise Lok Adalats for amicable settlement of disputes.

3) To organise legal awareness camps in the rural areas.

LOK ADALATS

• In order to facilitate alternative methods of dispute resolution, NALSA conducts Lok

Adalats. It is a forum where disputes/cases pending in the court of law or at the pre-
litigation stage are settled/compromised amicably.
• Lok Adalats have been given statutory status under the Legal Services Authorities Act,
1987. Under the said Act, the award (decision) made by the Lok Adalats is deemed to be a
decree of a civil court and is final and binding on all parties and no appeal lies against such
an award before any court of law.

There are three types of Lok Adalats:

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1) Regular Lok Adalats are organised by the Legal Services Authorities/Committees as per the
convenience/discretion of the State/District authorities, for settlement of both pre-litigation and
post-litigation cases.

2) National Lok Adalats are conducted quarterly for settlement of cases (both pre-litigation and
post-litigation) in all the courts from the Supreme Court of India to the taluk courts on a single
day.

3) Permanent Lok Adalats are permanent establishments set up in most of the districts to provide
compulsory pre-litigative mechanism for settlement of disputes related to public utility services.

• Lok Adalats have moved to the virtual platform due to the coronavirus pandemic and 27
such e-Lok Adalats organised in 15 states settled 2.51 lakh cases between June and
October.
• The National Lok Adalat held on December 12 settled 10,42,816 cases, out of which
5,60,310 were at the pre-litigation stage and 4,82,506 were pending in courts, the law
ministry said. The details, as provided by states on National Legal Services Authority
portal, indicate that the settlement amount was nearly Rs 3,227.99 crore. A total 8,152
benches were constituted by 31 state legal services authorities to hold the national Lok
Adalat on December 12 through virtual and physical mode across the country.

OTHER LEGAL AID PROGRAMMES

Aspiring to fulfil its goal of access to justice for all, the department of justice has initiated three
programmes.

TELE-LAW PROGRAMME

• Specially designed to provide legal advice and consultation from the panel lawyers, tele-
law service aims to connect the needy and disadvantaged to the panel lawyers via video
conferencing, telephone and online chat facility available at the Common Service Centers
(CSCs) at the village level.

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• The service is free for those who are eligible for free legal Aid as mentioned under Section
12 of Legal Services Authority Act, 1987. For all others, a fee of Rs 30 is charged.
• This service is being implemented in 28,060 CSCs across 115 aspirational districts in 28
states in the country.
• To enable easier access of the services to the unreached, Para-legal Volunteers (PLVs)
have been provided access to mobile application to facilitate registration of the cases
through Tele-Law mobile application.
• A Tele-Law dashboard has also been developed that provides the stakeholders to analyse
CSC-wise and village-wise case pre-registered, cases registered and advice enabled by the
panel lawyers.
• A dedicated Tele-Law portal has been developed and it is available in 22 scheduled
languages that include English, Hindi, Bengali, Urdu and Assamese, etc.
• Till October, over four lakh beneficiaries have been provided with legal advice.

NYAYA BANDHU PROGRAMME

• The department of justice launched the Nyaya Bandhu (pro bono legal
services) programme in April 2017.
• The programme aims to provide free legal assistance and counsel to the persons eligible
under Section 12 of Legal Service Authorities Act, 1987.
• The term pro bono, short for “pro bono publico”, is a Latin term which means “for the
public good”. In practice, the term is used specifically in the context of the legal profession
— referring to the practice of giving voluntary legal advice to individuals and organisations
that are unable to afford legal advice and / or cannot access legal aid.
• This service is provided by advocates who are registered with the department of justice to
volunteer their time and services to represent the cases of registered applicants/litigants.
To ensure seamless connectivity between the registered litigant and registered Pro Bono
advocate, a Nyaya Bandhu mobile application has been developed.

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NYAYA MITRA PROGRAMME

• The issues of delays and pendency have been the bone of contention for the Indian judiciary
for a long time.
• According to the law ministry, more than 4 crore cases are pending in various
courts, including the Supreme Court. Over 13 per cent of these cases are 5 to 10 years old
and nearly 7 per cent are more than 10 years old.
• Nyaya Mitra programme aims at assisting the district judiciary in reduction of pendency of
ten year old cases and increasing access to justice for marginalised people. It was launched
in 2017 in 227 selected districts of 16 states. Selection of district courts for Nyaya Mitra
was done based on the highest pendency of court cases over 10 years of period sourced
from National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG) database.
• Nyaya Mitra Programme, launched in 2017, facilitates in reduction of more than a decade
old pending court cases.
• The Nyaya Mitra is a retired judicial officer/ executive officer having a legal
degree/background, located at High Courts/district courts.
• They also provide assistance during the Lok Adalat in settling pending cases.

CONCLUSION
Thus we can find a paradigm shift in the approach of the Supreme Court towards the concept of
legal aid from a duty of the accused to ask for a lawyer to a fundamental right of an accused to
seek free legal aid. But in spite of the fact that free legal aid has been held to be necessary adjunct
of the rule of law, 6 the legal aid movement has not achieved its goal. There is a wide gap between
the goals set and met. The major obstacle to the legal aid movement in India is the lack of legal
awareness. People are still not aware of their basic rights due to which the legal aid movement has
not achieved its goal yet. It is the absence of legal awareness which leads to exploitation and
deprivation of rights and benefits of the poor.

6
Khatri v. State of Bihar, A.I.R. 1981 SC 928.

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Thus it is the need of the hour that the poor illiterate people should be imparted with legal
knowledge and should be educated on their basic rights which should be done from the grass root
level of the country. Because if the poor persons fail to enforce their rights etc. because of poverty,
etc. they may lose faith in the administration of justice and instead of knocking the door of law
and Courts to seek justice, they may try to settle their disputes on the streets or to protect their
rights through muscle power and in such condition there will be anarchy and complete dearth of
the rule of law. Thus legal aid to the poor and weak person is necessary for the preservation of rule
of law which is necessary for the existence of the orderly society. Until and unless poor illiterate
man is not legally assisted, he is denied equality in the opportunity to seek justice.

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