Legal Aids

Legal Aid Counsel Scheme

It is not that everyone can afford high fees of advocates or the cost for a legal battle.  Realising this predicament, the Authority has ensured proper services so that no person in custody is deprived of legal representation during a trial. To facilitate this, the Authority has initiated a legal aid counsel scheme so that every person in custody gets legal aid and thus gets a fair trial. The scheme is available in many courts of metropolitan magistrates and special executive magistrates and also at the Children Welfare Board, where this type of a scheme is perhaps very much needed. Through this scheme, arrested people can avail the services of remand advocates who can represent the cases of the former in court. The Authority, as a part of the scheme, also has set up a panel of advocates.

Appointment of Jail Visiting Advocate

Perhaps, there are a thousand or more people languishing in jails for the want of proper legal aid or a lawyer to represent their case. Taking this grave issue into consideration, the Authority now has advocates who visit various jails from time to time on a particular day of the week. They meet up inmates who are unable to hire the services of a lawyer and offer proper legal aid and advice. This is done under the provisions of the Legal Services Authority Act, 1987, under Section 12 (g). These advocates also help the inmates file bail or parole requests in court and they can also file appeals through these advocates, thus paving way for a just and accessible justice system.

Raising of Income Ceiling

In order to ensure that the Act benefits maximum people and that the services reach as many as possible, the income-ceiling limit U/s 12 (h) of the Act has been increased to 50,000/- per annum.

Emphasis on Competent and Quality Legal Services

If ‘Access to justice for all’ is the motto, then it has to be ensured that the legal services provided to are competent. The Authority has a panel of advocates for this purpose and a regular feedback is taken from the panel to ensure undisrupted and speedy justice to all those who avail the legal services. If any advocate fails to impress or are found diligent in their work, their names are struck off from the panel. The Authority also gives preference to young and honest advocates who are earnest in their work.

Accreditation of Non-Governmental Organisations

If the legal services have to reach maximum beneficiaries, then it is necessary to reach out to like-minded organizations and people for the same. Hence, the Authority teams up with non-governmental organizations as with government departments to ensure that the services offered by the Authority reaches maximum number of people and that its activities are spread far and wide. A majority of these NGOs are registered and they are either working directly or indirectly in the legal field.

Observance of Legal Services Day

Just having an Authority and legal services are not enough if the information regarding their activities are unknown. Hence, spreading the word about the work is needed. The Authority takes up various initiatives to spread awareness about its work. One is observing 9th November as the Legal Services Day. On this day, the Authority publishes information regarding the activities of the Authority, the various schemes and services in leading newspapers both in English and Hindi. In addition to spreading the word, the Authority also organizes camps and programmes to spread awareness about legal issues and procedures in different locations in Delhi. These programmes are very popular and citizens from all walks of life attend these camps along with NGOs working on legal issues.

Helpline

Many a times, mere information regarding a legal matter can go a long way in helping a person and bringing some relief. It is not possible to visit lawyers and courts every day for many. That is why a helpline comes handy. The Authority has initiated the service of a toll free helpline number 12525 which has become very popular. Till date, around 4693 calls were received at this number and so many people could benefit from this service. Anybody who has queries or need information about legal services can call the legal aid helpline on all working days from 10 am to 5 pm. The helpline functions from the Patiala House Court. The helpline has proved to be a huge boon to lakhs of people saving their time and energy and since this helpline offers all kinds of information, it helps people become more aware and thus save themselves from cheats who might have taken advantage and exploited helpless people.