Plea for implementing integrated help system for women across India not justiciable: Supreme Court

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday said the issue raised in a plea seeking a direction to implement the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) women integrated help system, which provides a hassle-free access to justice to women survivor of violence, across India was not justiciable.

A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan observed the issue could be considered by the NALSA on the administrative side.

"These are matters which are not justiciable," the bench orally told senior advocate Colin Gonsalves, who was appearing for the petitioners.

The apex court was hearing a plea, which sought a direction to implement the NALSA women integrated help system across all states and union territories, said a pilot project was operating in Jammu and Kashmir and Chhattisgarh for a little over last three years.

The bench granted six weeks time to the NALSA's counsel to place on record the authority's viewpoint on the issue.

While hearing the matter in September 2023, the apex court said, "Before we proceed further in the matter, we call for a report from the NALSA qua the scheme which the petitioner(s) seeks implementation of."

The plea, filed through advocate Satya Mitra, said it was a "successful project" and they were seeking its replication across the country.

The petitioner further said it was a technology integrated system of the 181 women helpline, the NALSA legal aid helpline 15100 and all other government schemes meant to provide women and girl survivors of violence a hassle-free access to the criminal justice system, and empower and protect them from atrocities.

"It is operating on a pilot scale in Jammu and Kashmir and Chhattisgarh for the past three years," the petitioners said.

It said extending the NALSA women's integrated help system nationwide would not require a special budget because the schemes that were part of it were already funded and the software required to manage was also available for free.

The petition said the NALSA women's integrated help system has a wide scope of work, including access to justice, welfare entitlements and access to all NALSA schemes for men, women, children and disadvantaged persons.