Context:
The India Justice Report 2025 has flagged persistent gaps in India’s legal aid system. Despite over 80% of the population being eligible, only 15.5 lakh individuals accessed free legal aid in FY 2023–24, highlighting deficiencies in reach, quality, and resource utilisation under NALSA.
About Legal Aid and NALSA
- Full Form: National Legal Services Authority
- Established: Statutory body under the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987
- Operational Since: 1995
- Patron-in-Chief: Chief Justice of India
- Mandate: To provide free and competent legal services to eligible persons, especially marginalised communities.
Key Responsibilities
- Lays down policies and supervises State (SLSAs) and District Legal Services Authorities (DLSAs).
- Organises Lok Adalats, awareness drives, and promotes Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR).
- Offers legal aid to SCs, STs, women, children, disabled persons, poor individuals, and prisoners under Section 12.
Major Initiatives by NALSA
- Legal Aid Defence Counsel (LADC) Scheme (2022):
- Institutional legal defence for accused persons in 610 districts.
- Para-Legal Volunteers (PLVs):
- Grassroots legal workers trained for community outreach, awareness, and mediation.
- Permanent Lok Adalats:
- Conciliation-based resolution for pre-litigative and pending disputes.
- Legal Literacy Clubs:
- Created in schools and colleges to improve early legal awareness.
- Jail Legal Aid Clinics:
- Dedicated legal services for undertrial and convicted prisoners.
- Special Schemes:
- Tailored legal aid for transgender persons, disaster victims, industrial workers, and custodial populations.
Key Challenges Identified
| Issue | Details |
|---|---|
| Budget Constraints | Legal aid accounts for <1% of the justice budget; funds fell to ₹169 crore (2022–23) from ₹207 crore (2017–18). |
| Fund Underutilisation | Utilisation rate dropped from 75% to 59%, hampering service delivery. |
| Decline in PLV Workforce | 38% drop in Para-Legal Volunteers between 2019–24; poor honorarium payments in many States. |
| Rural Inaccessibility | Just 1 legal aid clinic per 163 villages; per capita legal aid spending as low as ₹2. |
| Service Quality Gap | Widespread perception that legal aid quality is inferior to private counsel. |
| Centralised Fund Control | State Legal Services Authorities need central clearance for hiring and logistics, delaying implementation. |
Significance
- The report underscores the urgent need for decentralisation, better budgeting, and frontline legal workforce strengthening.
- Legal aid is vital for ensuring access to justice, a constitutional right under Article 39A.
- NALSA’s role is pivotal in achieving inclusive justice, especially for India’s vulnerable populations.
