Poor needy people can have round-the-clock access to free legal aid to guard their basic rights, shortly, if various plans of the “24 Hours Legal Aid Clinic” being set up in Bangalore, materialise.

An initiative of Karnataka State Legal Services Authority, the Legal Aid Clinic to be formally launched on Saturday at Nyaya Degula, Siddaiah Road, Bangalore, is exploring ways to provide 24 hours legal assistance to needy persons, particularly those belonging to poor, backward and vulnerable sections of the society.

It is supposed to provide free legal information and assistance through volunteering advocates, till late in the evening, everyday.

Necessary guideline
In addition, provision for necessary guidance and information through telephone is also planned during night and early morning hours. The Clinic would also maintain a Register for entering details of each grievance to ensure proper follow up action.

High Court judge and Chairman of HC Legal Services Committee, Justice K L Manjunath, explained: “There are circumstances when women are harassed by husbands, in-laws or others, innocent people are taken to illegal custody by police in the odd hours, or when some urgent need for police protection or medical care is not addressed.

The Clinic wants to remedy such helplessness of poor people by providing someone to attend their legal needs, atleast to the possible extent, during those odd hours too.”

Attendant
The proposal now is to appoint an attendant at night who will either guide the aggrieved persons or provide telephone numbers of responsible officers of State or City Legal Services Authorities or of a panelist advocate to ensure immediate action and guidance, if it is an emergency. “Such support of a statutory authority would make concerned public authorities to discharge their duties properly since, otherwise they would become liable for negligence,” Justice Manjunath said.

The services are planned to be publicised by displaying the Clinic’s details including address and telephone number in prominent places in all police stations, Government hospitals and other public premises across the City.