Free legal aid availed in only 1 out of 100 cases: SC judge

Executive Chairman of the National Legal Services Authority and Supreme Court Judge Justice Uday U Lalit has said that out of every 100 criminal cases in the country legal aid is sought only in one case.

“The persons involved in the remaining 99 cases have no idea about the operation of a legal aid authority,” the judge lamented.

He was delivering a keynote address at the inaugural function of legal services clinics and the campaign on “Actualisation of Rights and Entitlements in Achieving Sustainable Development Goals – 2020,” at PDA College of Engineering on Sunday.

The judge said that awareness about the availability of free legal aid should be created among masses, more importantly, the poor. They should be told that availing of free legal service is a constitutional right. “What is worrying is that even those who know about this facility are not coming forward to make use of it,” he said adding that legal counsels should consider free legal aid as part of their profession.

He said legal aid to the poor does not mean it is of poor level and it has to be of better quality and standard. “If more people are not coming forward to make use of this service, we should introspect about our services,” he said.

Justice Lalit called upon senior advocates to render pro bono legal aid to the poor and marginalised sections to ensure that they get quality access to justice.

“Merely training the panel lawyers will not be sufficient. The solution to the problem is that some of the senior advocates must take legal aid as a matter of choice and keep on appearing for matters pro bono so that the man who comes through the door of legal aid service clinic is assured that it is not going to be a matter which is botched up and a quality legal aid will be extended to him,” Justice Lalit said.

He commended the efforts of the Karnataka State Legal Services Authority with respect to the establishment of the off-campus legal services clinics and release of a graphic novel to spread legal literacy in the state.

Karnataka High Court Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi said the concept of access to justice in India was much broader than confining it to providing lawyers for representing before the
court.

“It includes increasing legal awareness and also providing legal assistance to the poor and marginalised section of the society for actualisation of entitlements and their rights. Post-Covid-19, it has become a challenge to provide access to justice to all marginalised section of the society,” he said.

Karnataka State Legal Services Authority Executive Chairman Justice B Veerappa and other judges were present.