THE NEED TO MOBILIZE COLLEGE/UNIVERSITY LEGAL AID

CENTRES TO AFFECT ACCESS TO JUSTICE

As postulated by criminal jurisprudence, demography and backdrop has extensive influence on a

person’s behaviour, as does the society he resides in. In the discourse of human co-existence, all
actions of a person have a reflection on someone else, which leads to a general comprehension of
what a person ought to do and ought not to do in order to maintain a peaceful harmony and a an
environment of congruence where everyone can live with a sense of security and dignity.
Criminal Jurisprudence seeks to protect the rights of the last standing man of a society in order to
uphold the ideals of equality, liberty and fraternity of our Constitution.

“The landmark features that form the edifice of the Indian Legal system are ensuring social,
economic and political justice, which is critical for humanity as it restores a sense of equal
citizenship.”1 Due to certain unavoidable reasons such as lack of financial resources, awareness
and knowledge on how to access the legal system, marginalized sections find themselves in
complex and damaging situations. The provision of early access to legal aid contributes to a fair,
humane and efficient criminal justice system, as well as contributes to human development.

The expression “legal aid” has been outlined in the chapter of United Nations Principles and
Guidelines. It can be simplified as: “Legal aid includes legal advice, assistance and
representation for persons detained, arrested or imprisoned, suspected or accused of, or charged
with a criminal offence and for victims and witnesses in the criminal justice process that is
provided at no cost for those without sufficient means or when the interests of justice so require.
Furthermore, “legal aid” is intended to include the concepts of legal education, access to legal
information and other services provided for persons through alternative dispute resolution
mechanisms and restorative justice process.”

The Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987, (the Act) lays down some basic directives on legal aid
in India, it connotes as- “the responsibility of providing free legal services to the marginalized
sections of the society has been entrusted to the Legal Services Institutions (LSIs) constituted

1
Handbook of Formats: Ensuring Effective Legal Services, NALSA 2020
under the Act. The categories of persons entitled to free legal services are enumerated in Section
12 of the Act.”2 The governance is basically supervised judicial authorities at all levels and the
facilities of litigation and legal aid is provided mainly through paralegal volunteers who are
appointed through notification and a panel of lawyers.

"Access to legal aid, especially in the early stages of the criminal justice process, is a central
component of ensuring access to justice for poor and disadvantaged groups, who often have less
access to information and are less aware of their rights and entitlements.”3

Legal Aid Clinics established at College/University

The Legal Aid Clinics mandated to be established at each University/college providing Legal
courses in India, if mobilized and equipped efficiently can act as a valuable method in providing
legal awareness and spreading consciousness among people regarding their basic rights. The
basic disadvantage which the indigent and marginalized people face, when wound up in criminal
justice system, is the lack of attentiveness and cognizance about their basic rights which
ultimately leads to encroachment by the State.

The Legal Aid Clinics can act as a catalyst to legally endow more sanction to the marginalized,
indigent, backward and excluded groups of the society by providing them effective legal literacy
and awareness and also legal representation,.

The Bar Council of India (BCI), while regulating legal education, made it compulsory for each
law college/university to study legal aid and have a legal aid clinic in 1997. It was mandated that
the clinic shall be overseen by a senior faculty member, the administration and managing of
these clinics shall be done by the final-year students of law.

“Each institution shall establish and run a Legal Aid Clinic under the supervision of a Senior
Faculty Member who may administer the Clinic run by the Final year students of the Institution
in cooperation with the Legal Aid Authorities with list of voluntary lawyers and other Non-

2
Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987
3
BAR COUNCIL OF INDIA, 2008 Part –IV Rules of Legal Education, Sch. 3, Rule 11
Government Organizations engaged in this regard in the locality generally from which the
student community of the Institution, hail from.”4

The Legal Services Authorities Act, by notification made the regulation that law students of any
law college may mutatis mutandis establish Legal Aid Clinics as that by District Legal Services
Authority.5 This follows that the Legal Aid Clinics of any University/College exercise the same
powers and duties as conveyed to a Legal Aid Clinic established by District Legal Services
Authority.

The Law students enrolled under various degree courses across India study criminal justice
system as a part of their curriculum and hence have an insight over the administration of justice,
legal aid in the criminal justice system, mental health, torture, death penalty and such subjects.
Henceforth, it is a matter of apparent discretion to involve law students in criminal justice and
access to justice systems. Their standing as being more closely related to the ground reality,
having access to more empirical research is extremely expedient in providing legal aid to the
marginalized sections and spreading awareness.

AREAS IN WHICH LEGAL AID CLINICS SHOULD BE MOBILIZED TO WORK-

1. Organize Awareness Camps- The Legal Aid Clinics can be mustered to establish
Awareness Camps in schools, Police Stations, Villages, and other public spaces of their
area to spread knowledge about various government schemes and make people conscious
about their basic rights and duties. The Legal Aid Clinics of College/university can
organize Gender Sensitivity Camps, Menstrual Health Camps, Pride Awareness Parades,
and Blood Donation Camps to gather support from the general Public on these significant
agendas. Workshops can be conducted to spread awareness about basic rights and duties
of a person; rights in case of detainment, property rights of a person; rights of a female
person at workshop and remedies available to them in case of harassment of any other
form of mental or physical annoyance.
Legal Aid Clinics run by Law Students are best suited to establish these Awareness
Camps.

5
NATIONAL LEGAL SERVICES AUTHORITY (LEGAL SERVICES CLINICS) REGULATIONS, 2011*
NOTIFICATION
 2. Village Adoption- Law students of the law colleges or law universities may adopt a
village, especially in the remote rural areas and organize legal aid camps in association
with the [legal services clinic or Village Legal Care and Support System Care]
established under these regulations.6 The law students may, with the assistance of the
para-legal volunteers engaged in the legal services clinic, conduct surveys for identifying
the legal problems of the local people regarding information such as any existing
litigation or unresolved pre-litigation disputes. The surveys may also focus on the
grievances of the local people which would enable the National Legal Services Authority
to take necessary steps by way of social justice litigation.
3. ADR- ADR or Alternative Disputes Redressal is substitute way to resolve dispute and is
a fast track system of dispensing justice, is workable and fair, that provides a congenial
atmosphere and a less formal and less complicated forum for various types of disputes.
Legal Aid Clinics established at College/university may have an ADR center such as a
mediation Centre or a negotiation center, wherein they can mediate between parties as a
way of inexpensive, flexible and rapid judicial remedy further avoiding stress of a
conventional trial. The law students in the final year class may render legal services in
such legal services clinic under the supervision of the faculty member of their institution.
4. Aid in Prisons- Law Colleges and Law students are under the innate responsibility of
ensuring minimum levels of legal awareness among the persons in custody and as well as
inmates. Furthermore, to eschew miscarriage of Justice in prisons, District Legal Services
Authority may consider any such collaborative work by university/college legal aid
clinics.7 The students may assist the panel lawyers in providing legal research for their
legal aid matters. They can also be appointed as volunteers to assist the Legal Services
Institutions in bridging gaps with geographically remote locations to ensure access to

6
NATIONAL LEGAL SERVICES AUTHORITY (LEGAL SERVICES CLINICS) REGULATIONS, 2011*
NOTIFICATION
7
NALSA Standard Operating Procedures on Access to Legal Aid Services to prisoners and Functioning of the
Priosn Legal Aid Clinics, 2022
 justice. Assistance of lady members of the district legal aid committee shall be made
available to women prisoners to help them with their procedural and legal problems.8

Access to justice and the lacunas of the criminal justice system is a serious problem faced by
India today. Poverty, unawareness and unapproachability of knowledge about one’s own basic
rights pose a great threat to the very foundation of our constitution. Legal Aid Clinics of the
college/university if furnished and trained proficiently can be a landmark way to spread
awareness among people and making them more alert about their rights and duties. It is the need
of the hour in this long battle for access to justice to make sure that the last man standing has full
cognizance of his rights and duties, the dignity assured to him and the justice guaranteed under
our Constitution. It is imperative to mobilize college/university legal aid centers to be run by law
students for their holistic development and also for assisting in upholding the rule of law in the
country.

-Kavyanjali Singh, University of Lucknow, Faculty of Law

8
MODEL PRISON MANUAL FOR THE SUPERINTENDENCE AND MANAGEMENT OF PRISONS IN
INDIA: Prepared By Bureau of Police Research and Development Ministry of Home Affairs Government of India
New Delhi 2003