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Introduction

Free legal aid is a provision granted to ensure that individuals, regardless of their economic or social status, can access justice. Article 39A of the Indian constitution provides Equal justice and free legal aid .In India, the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) is mandated to provide free and competent legal services to the weaker sections of society, as per the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987.

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Entitlement to Free Legal Aid in India

• SC/ST: Constitution has always emphasized the upliftment of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, recognizing them as historically marginalized communities. By entitling them to free legal aid, it ensures that they can contest injustices without worrying about the financial implications.
• Women and Children: Women and children often find themselves at a disadvantageous position in many socio-legal contexts. Offering them free legal aid not only fortifies their legal standing but also signals a nation’s commitment to protecting its most vulnerable.
• Victims of Natural Disasters: Calamities such as floods, droughts, and earthquakes can lead to a sudden change in socio-economic statuses. By providing victims of such tragedies with free legal aid, the state ensures that they can reclaim their rights, property, or any other legal redress.
• Individuals in Custody: Being in custody often restricts an individual’s access to resources. By providing free legal aid to detainees, especially juveniles, India upholds the principle of a fair trial, ensuring that one’s economic status isn’t a barrier to justice.
• Persons with Disabilities: Their unique challenges make it crucial to offer them a level playing ground in the legal arena. By extending free legal aid, India ensures their rights and dignities are preserved.
• Low Income Group: Economic inequalities should not translate into unequal access to justice. By providing free legal aid to those below a certain income threshold, the system guarantees that justice is not a luxury but a right.
• Victims of Trafficking: Human trafficking is a grave violation of human rights. By extending free legal aid to its victims, the system ensures they get a fair chance to reclaim their lives and seek justice against their oppressors.
• Industrial Workmen: Industrial disputes, often involving powerful corporate entities, can be intimidating for individual workmen. By ensuring free legal aid, their rights are protected against potential exploitation.
• Senior Citizens: With age often comes vulnerability. Certain states recognizing this have extended free legal aid to senior citizens, ensuring they can seek justice without being burdened by legal fees.
• Victims of Ethnic Violence: Ethnic and communal violence can have devastating impacts on individuals and communities. By providing them with free legal aid, the state ensures that they can seek redress and reconciliation, a step towards restoring normalcy.

Role of NALSA

• Legal Literacy and Awareness: NALSA actively initiates legal literacy programs, notably deploying the “Legal Aid Clubs” in schools to foster a culture of legality from a young age.
• ADR Mechanisms: Promoting the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) mechanisms, including Lok Adalat’s, which have significantly reclogged the judiciary. For instance, the “National Lok Adalat” held across the country in 2015 resolved around 1.25 crore cases.
• Legal Aid Clinics: NALSA has established Legal Aid Clinics in rural and remote areas. These clinics, often run by law students under the guidance of experienced lawyers, bring justice to the doorsteps of people in the remotest corners of the country.
• Training Lawyers: It undertakes the training of panel lawyers to ensure they offer competent and professional services. The “NALSA (Free and Competent Legal Services) Regulations, 2010” is a step towards standardizing the quality of legal aid providers.
• Policy Formulation: NALSA works tirelessly in policy formulation, coming up with several schemes to provide free legal aid to different sections of the society including women, SC/ST, and persons with disabilities, among others.
• Legal Aid Counsels: Appointing legal aid counsels in various courts to offer free legal services has ensured that many get representation in court, irrespective of their economic status.
• Legal Assistance to Prison Inmates: Notably, NALSA has been reaching out to prison inmates, with legal aid clinics being established in jails, helping in reducing under-trial population significantly by facilitating bail and plea bargain.
• Community Outreach: NALSA has initiated community outreach programs targeting marginalized groups, including awareness camps in rural areas to help people understand their legal rights and remedies available.
• Legal Research: By engaging in legal research, NALSA has been constantly working towards the betterment of legal aid services, understanding the dynamically changing needs and adapting its strategies accordingly.

Conclusion

Free legal aid is a cornerstone in ensuring justice for all and the efforts by NALSA, despite facing certain hurdles, have been commendable in reaching out to marginalized sections of society. Going ahead, it is incumbent upon the society and the system to work synergically to remove impediments and foster a culture of justice that is truly inclusive.

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