A PROJECT

ON

REQUIREMENT OF FREE LEGAL AID

SUBJECT: PUBLIC INTEREST LAWYERING

SESSION: 2021-2022

SUBMITTED ON: 23 JULY 2022

SUBMITTED BY: SUBMITTED TO:

RAHUL BAGARI DR. JUHI PAWA

ROLL NO. 54 (FACULTY OF PIL)

CLASS- 4TH SEMESTER

SECTION- A

University Five Year Law College

University of Rajasthan, Jaipur

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DECLARATION :-

I, Rahul Bagari, hereby declare that project titled "Requirement of Free Legal Aid" is
based on the original research carried out by me under the guidance and supervision of
Dr. Juhi Pawa. The interpretations put forth are based on my reading and understanding of the
original text. The book, article and website etc. which have been relied upon by me have been
duly acknowledged at the respective place in the text.

For the present project which I am submitting to the university, no degree or diploma has been
conferred on me before, either in this or in any university.

DATE: SIGNATURE

23 July 2022 Rahul Bagari

ROLL NO. 54

CLASS- 4th SEMESTER'A'

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CERTIFICATE :-

Dr. Juhi Pawa ; Date: 23 July 2022

Faculty of PIL
University Five Year Law College
University of Rajasthan, Jaipur

This is certify that Mr. Rahul Bagari, student of 4th semester 'A' of University Five Year
Law College, University of Rajasthan has carried out the project titled "Requirement of
Free Legal Aid" under my supervision and guidance.

It is an investigation report of a minor project. The student has completed research Work in my
stipulated time and according to the norms prescribed for the purpose.

Supervision

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT :-

I have written this project, "Requirement of Free Legal Aid" under the supervision
of Dr. Juhi Pawa, Faculty of PIL, University Five Year Law College, University of
Rajasthan, Jaipur. Her valuable suggestions here in not only helped me immensely in making
this work but also in developing an analytical approach this work.

I found no words to express my sense of gratitude for Director Dr. Aruna Chaudhary.

I am grateful to librarian and library staff of the college for the support and cooperation
extended by them from time to time.

Rahul Bagari

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TABLE OF CONTENT :-

CERTIFICATE..............................................................................................................................02

DECLARATION...........................................................................................................................03

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT.............................................................................................................04

CHAPTER-1
FREE LEGAL AID..................................................................................................................06-07

CHAPTER- 2
REQUIREMENT OF FREE LEGAL AID..............................................................................08-09

CHAPTER-3
CONSTITUTIONAL & STATUTORY PROVISIONS..........................................................10-12

CONCLUSION........................................................................................................................13-14

BIBLIOGRAPHY..........................................................................................................................15

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 CHAPTER : 1
FREE LEGAL AID

Legal Services includes providing Free Legal Aid to those weaker sections of the society
who fall within the purview of Section 12 of the Legal Services Authority Act, 1987.
Free legal aid is the provision of free legal services in civil and criminal matters for those poor
and marginalized people who cannot afford the services of a lawyer for the conduct of a case or a
legal proceeding in any Court, Tribunal or Authority. These services are governed by Legal
Services Authorities Act, 1987 and headed by the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA).

Under Section 2(1)(c) of the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 Free legal aid is one of the
fundamental rights guaranteed to all the citizens of the country. Article 21 of the Constitution of
India states:

"No person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to
procedure established by law. Hence ensuring legal aid to everyone is necessary for ensuring
substantive equality."

Furthermore, the principal of free legal aid is stretched in Indian Constitution in the Directive
Principles of the State Policy contained in Part IV which emphasizes the social security character
and hence imposes certain obligations on the State to take positive action to promote the welfare
of the society. According to Article 39-A, it has been directed to the State to ensure that the
mechanism of legal system promote justice on the basis of equal opportunities and shall
compulsorily provide free legal aid to economically backward classes by suitable legislation or
schemes or in any other way.

Consequently, legal aid is not a philanthropic activity, but rather is a constitutional prerequisite
of the state and right of the citizens. In this way, legal aid endeavours to shield that the
constitutional pledge is satisfied in its later and spirit and equal justice is made open to the
intimidated and weaker areas of the general public.

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It is the State's obligation to watch and keep check on the legal framework that emphasizes
justice on the premise of equal opportunity for every one of its nationals. For the provisions of
legal aid, the Government of India had taken massive steps such as setting up of Legal Aid
Boards, Societies, Law Commissions and Law Departments and in the year 1980, Committee for
Implementing Legal Aid Schemes (CILAS) was constituted under the Chairmanship of
Honourable Justice P.N. Bhagwati to regulate legal aid programs all over the country.

Another step was in form of Lok Adalats which is established as a supplementary forum to the
litigants in judicial dispense system of India. In 1987, to give a statutory acknowledgment to
legal aid programs all through the nation the Legal Services Authorities Act was established and
was implemented on 9 November 1995.

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 CHAPTER 2

REQUIREMENT OF FREE LEGAL AID

Free legal services entail the provision of free legal aid in civil and criminal matters for those
poor and marginalized people who cannot afford the services of a lawyer for the conduct of a
case or a legal proceeding in any court, tribunal or before an authority.

Provision of free legal aid may include:

• Representation by an Advocate in legal proceedings.,

• Preparation of pleadings, memo of appeal, a paper book including printing and translation
of documents in legal proceedings;

• Drafting of legal documents, special leave petition etc.

• Rendering of any service in the conduct of any case or another legal proceeding before
any court or other Authority or tribunal and;

• Giving of advice on any legal matter.

Free Legal Services also include the provision of aid and advice to the beneficiaries to access the
benefits under the welfare statutes and schemes framed by the Central Government or the State
Government and to ensure access to justice in any other manner.

Every year, thousands of lawyers are joining the judicial family and obviously, the effort and
hard work must not go unpaid. It’s human psychology unless there is a certain compensation,
none will give their best.

Even to give a proper legal advice, one needs to study the situation to give a proper idea of the
laws regulating that certain case, which requires skills and knowledge. If the total cost of it is
burdened on the Government without any financial discrimination, the total sum shall reach to
thousands of crores.

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Who is Entitled to Free Legal Services?

The sections of the society as enlisted under Section 12 of the Legal Services Authorities Act are
entitled to free legal services, they are:

1. A member of a Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe;

2. A victim of trafficking in human beings or begar as referred to in Article 23 of the

Constitution;

3. A woman or a child;

4. A mentally ill or otherwise disabled person;

5. A person under circumstances of undeserved want such as being a victim of a mass

disaster, ethnic violence, caste atrocity, flood, drought, earthquake or industrial disaster;
or

6. An industrial workman; or

7. In custody, including custody in a protective home within the meaning of clause (g) of
Section 2 of the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956(104 of 1956); or in a juvenile
home within the meaning of clause(j) of Section 2 of the Juvenile Justice Act, 1986 (53
of 1986); or in a psychiatric hospital or psychiatric nursing home within the meaning of
clause (g) of Section 2 of the Mental Health Act, 1987(14 of 1987);or

8. In receipt of annual income less than rupees nine thousand or such other higher amount
as may be prescribed by the State Government, if the case is before a court other than the
Supreme Court, and less than rupees twelve thousand or such other higher amount as may
be prescribed by the Central Government, if the case is before the Supreme Court and
High Court.

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 CHAPTER 3

CONSTITUTIONAL & STATUTORY PROVISIONS

Constitutinal Provisions :-
Legal aid a constitutional right - Articles 21 and 39-A of the
Constitution are as under:-

“21. Protection of life and personal liberty – No person shall be deprived of his life or
personal liberty except according to procedure established by law."

“39A. Equal justice and free legal aid - The state shall secure that the operation of the legal
system promotes Justice on a basis, of equal opportunity, and shall in particular, provide free
legal, aid, by suitable legislation or schemes or in any other way, to ensure that opportunities for
securing Justice are not denied to any citizen by reason of economic or other disabilities”.

Article 21 is a fundamental right conferred under Part III of the Constitution. Whereas Article
39-A is one of the directive principles of the State Policy under Part IV of the Constitution. It has
been held by the Constitution Bench of Supreme Court in Chandra Bhawan Boarding and
Lodging, Bangalore V. –State of Mysore, AIR 1970 SC 2042 at 2050, para 13 that “While rights
conferred under Part III are fundamental, the directives given under part IV are fundamental in
the governance of the country. There is no conflict on the whole between the provisions
contained in Part III and Part IV. They are complementary and supplementary to each other.

Statutory Provisions :-

The Criminal Procedure Code, 1973, contains the idea of free legal aid
under the Section 304, clause (1), which puts an obligation on the Court to appoint a pleader for
the accused, where he is not being able to do so.

The Civil Procedure Code 1908 provides Order XXXII, where when a suit is filed by an Indigent
person, there is no requirement to pay the Court fee and if he requires a pleader then the Court to
appoint the same. The same benefit is applicable to the defendant also, if he is an Indigent
Person.

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 • It is the duty of the State to see that the legal system promotes justice on the basis of
equal opportunity for all its citizens. It must therefore arrange to provide free legal aid to
those who cannot access justice due to economic and other disabilities.
—(Art.39 A of the Constitution of India)
• If the accused does not have sufficient means to engage a lawyer, the court must provide
one for the defense of the accused at the expense of the state.
—(Sec. 304 of Code of Criminal Procedure,1973)
• The Constitutional duty to provide legal aid arises from the time the accused is produced
before the Magistrate for the first time and continues whenever he is produced for
remand.
—(Khatri II Vs. State of Bihar, (1981) 1SCC; 1981 SCC (Cri) 228; 1981 Cri. LJ 470)
• A person entitled to appeal against his/her sentence has the right to ask for a counsel, to
prepare and argue the appeal.
—(Madav Hayavadanrao Hoskot Vs. State of Maharastra (1978)3 SCC 544) (Art. 142 of
the Constitution r/w Articles 21 and 39A of Indian Constitution )

Relevant case laws :-

• Hussainara Khatoon v. State of Bihar,1980 :-

it is the right of every accused person to be represented by a lawyer, if he/she is unable to
do so due to poverty then the state shall provide the person with the required
representative. There have been number of instances, where the provision of providing
free legal aid has been made as a mandatory duty of the state and can nowhere be treated
as a form of charity.

• Khatri v. State of Bihar, 1980 :-

The Supreme Court held that the state is constitutionally bound to provide legal
assistance by hiring a lawyer to an accused person not only at trial stage but also when
they are first produced before the magistrate or remanded time and again and such a right
shall not be denied on the ground of financial or administrative inability or that the
accused did not ask for it. Magistrates and Sessions Judges have the must responsibility
to inform the accused of his rights.

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• Suk Das v. Union Territory of Arunachal Pradesh, 1986 :-
Justice P.N. Bhagwati, highlighted the necessity of the constructing the legal awareness
to the poor as they are unaware of their rights specifically right to free legal aid and
further observed that in India people residing in rural areas are illiterates and are not
aware of their innate legal rights conferred upon them by law. Even literate people are not
knowledgeable of their rights. This absence of legal awareness makes them
unapproachable to a lawyer for consultation.

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 CONCLUSION

Legal Aid is the assistance provided to people, who are otherwise not able to afford legal
representation and access to the court system. In order to provide you with access to justice, legal
aid actually ensures that you have a good and appropriate counsel, as you exercise the right to a
fair trial. Legal aid is essential in guaranteeing a person with an equal access to justice to all.

The main aim of legal aid is to create more equity in the sphere of legal practices, aid offered is
often limited in its quality or its social impact by economic constraints that dictate who can
access these services and where the aforementioned services are geographically located.

A number of delivery models for legal aid have emerged, including duty lawyers, community
legal clinics and the payment of lawyers to deal with cases for individuals who are entitled to
legal aid.

As per Article 14 of the Indian Constitution - “The State shall not deny to any person, equality
before the law, or the equal protection of the laws, within the territory of India.” In essence of the
phrase, “Equal Protection of the Laws”, the Indian Legislation kept in mind, the apprehension of
massive inequality due to financial differences of the parties.

For that, to protect their fundamental rights, Article 39A of the Constitution of India provides for
equal justice and free legal aid to the person, who cannot afford a lawyer and other procedural
costs. It says:

“The State shall secure that the operation of the legal system promotes justice, on a basis of equal
opportunity, and shall, in particular, provide free legal aid, by suitable legislation or schemes or
in any other way, to ensure that opportunities for securing justice are not denied to any citizen by
reason of economic or other disabilities.”

Ensuring a robust publicly funded legal aid system to meet these needs is an important
component of a just society. Society needs to ensure that those who cannot otherwise afford legal
advice or representation have a system of legal aid to assist them with their legal issues when the
need arises.

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This Article emphasises that free legal service is an inalienable element of 'reasonable, fair and
just' procedure, for without it a person suffering from economic or other disabilities would be
deprived of the opportunity for securing justice.

In the civil side, Order XXXIII. R.18 of the Code of Civil Procedure 1908 provided, “the state
and central governments may make supplementary provisions as it thinks fit for providing free
legal services to those who have been permitted to sue as an indigent person. The Legal Services
Authorities Act, 1987 made drastic changes in the field of legal services. It is an Act to constitute
legal services authorities to provide free and competent legal services to the weaker sections of
the society to ensure that opportunities for securing justice are not denied to any citizen by
reason of economic or other disabilities, and to organize Lok Adalats to secure that the operation
of the legal system promotes justice on a basis of equal opportunity.”

On the occasion of National Legal Services Day, “Free Legal Aid And Advice Is Your Right
And NALSA Wants You To Have It”: Justice Madan Lokur, Supreme Court judge and
Executive Chairman of the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA)

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 BIBLIOGRPHY

Site Reference :-
• https://en.wikipedia.org
• https://legalserviceindia.com
• www.myadvo.in/legal-news/who-needs-free-legal-aid-and-why/

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