How to Get Free Legal Aid in India?

Free legal aid is one of the constitutional provisions that aimed to provide equal opportunity to have justice irrespective of one’s financial status. However, it is exclusive legislated and framed for the people who are poor, marginalized, or victims of natural disasters. To make it successful, government’s run legal aid clinics and some NGOs have exclusive system to provide free legal aid services to the individuals who are unable to afford their legal representation.

Free legal aid plays a crucial role in upholding the principle that justice should not be contingent on financial means. Likewise, the provision promotes fairness and equal protection under the law for all members of society on equality basis.

Institutions That Provide Free Legal Services

Following are the key institutions that provide free legal services at different levels −

• National Level − At national level, the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) is established under the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987, to administer the free legal aid. The Chief Justice of India serves as its Patron-in-Chief.

• State Level − At state level, the High Court Legal Services Committee which is located in the premises of the concerned High Court plays crucial role. It is headed by the Chief Justice of the State High Court, and he acts as its Patron-in-Chief.

• District Level − At district level, the District Legal Services Authority, which is located in the premises of the District Court in the District Headquarters, plays crucial role in providing free legal aid. The District Judge of the District serves as its ex-officio Chairman.

• Taluka/Sub-Division Level − At Taluka/sub-division level, Taluka/Sub-Divisional Legal Services Committee plays important role in providing free legal aid. It is Led by a senior Civil Judge.

Procedure and Mechanism to Get Free Legal Aid

Any person who is in crisis and need free legal aid service, he/she needs to follow the following steps −

• Identify the Issue − Prima facie, needy person needs to identify his or her issues for which he or she needs legal service.

• Locate Legal Aid Services − Secondly, you need to locate the legal aid center available in your area. You can visit nearest Taluka or even you can visit District headquarters where the district court is located. In the court premises, you can get legal aid clinic. Beside, you can also find relevant NGO available in your area, who provides free legal service to needy people.

• Meet and Discuss Your Issues − At the legal aid center, meet the law expert and discuss your issues. Keep pen and paper and note down the important aspects. And, based on their suggestion, you can move forward.

• Income Eligibility Check − All such legal aid centers required your income proof; so, you need to ensure that you meet the eligibility criteria for free legal aid.

• Document Verification − As per the requirements, collect all relevant documents related to your case, such as ID proof, income proof, property documents (if applicable), and any other supporting documents for the legal matter and show to your lawyer.

• Application Submission − With the support of legal aid center, fill the form adequately and attached all asked documents along with affidavit and then submit to file a case.

• Legal Aid Committee Review − After submission, the legal aid committee, usually comprising of lawyers and officials, will review your application to assess the merit of your case and accordingly, they will proceed.

• Allocation of Counsel − Once your merit is determined, the legal aid committee will allocate an advocate to represent you.

• Legal Proceedings − Now, your advocate will guide you through the legal proceedings and give you all related information with some essential instructions to follow.

• Filling Case − As per the requirements, the case will be filled in the respective court, tribunal, or other such legal forum for further proceedings. However, in civil cases, the legal aid center may suggest for mediation with the consent of both the parties.

• Arrangement of Mediation − If the case goes for mediation, then both parties need to participate in mediation proceedings actively. And, if both or any of the parties not satisfied with mediation process or if mediation fails, then the case can be filled in the competent court or other such legal forum.

• Court Representation − Once the case is filled, now your advocate will represent you in the court and argue your matter. During entire legal proceedings, you are required to support your advocate and participate actively in the court hearing.

• Judgement and Decision of the Court − Depending upon the nature and strength of your case, the court’s judgement will be delivered. If it is in your favor, then your issue is resolved; however, it is not in your favor or you are not satisfied with the court’s decision, then you can request your advocate to appeal in the higher court.

Mode of Applying for Free Legal Aid

Usually, there are two modes to apply for the free legal aid −

• Offline Application − This is the conventional mode, you need to identify the address of legal aid center and need to visit the place in person and fill and submit the application form.

• Online Application − Secondly, if you are comfortable and know how to use computer with internet, email, browsing websites, etc. then you can submit your application online. Every state has the legal aid website; so, you can apply through the website of the State Legal Services Authorities or else you can apply on the online portal of NALSA.

Some other ways to submit the application are −

• You can even make an application in writing on a simple piece of paper with the necessary details such as your name, gender, residential address, employment status, nationality, whether SC/ST (with proof in support), income per month (with affidavit), the case for which legal aid is required, reason for seeking legal aid, etc. and submit it physically or send by post; or

• Another option is to send the application online i.e. by email to NALSA (at nalsa-dla@nic.in); or

• You can also make your application orally - a paralegal volunteer or an officer of the concerned Legal Services Authority will assist you in documenting your case.

Legal Aid Helpline

In addition to these, in many of the states, there are legal aid helplines. You can search their calling number on internet and call them to seek initial guidance on legal matters and get information on accessing legal aid services.

Cases Excluded from Legal Aid

As discussed, free legal service can be provided for all types of cases, including civil case, criminal case, matrimonial cases, etc. but following are the types of cases for which legal aid center cannot assist you −

• Defamation, Malicious Prosecution, Contempt of Court, Perjury − Legal aid is generally not available for these types of cases.

• Election Proceedings − Cases related to election matters are not covered under legal aid.

• Fine Amount − Proceedings in respect of offenses where the fine imposed is not more than Rs.50/-.

• Economic Offenses and Social Laws − Cases falling under economic offences or offences against social laws may not be eligible for legal aid, such as the Protection of Civil Rights Act,1955.

• Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act − Cases related to the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956 unless in such cases the aid is sought by the victim.

Conclusion

The process of getting legal aid in India is pretty simple and flexible, as there are different modes to apply. However, for the people who do not know how to read and write may face difficulty in filing the case. But any such people, who feels difficult in filing the request for free legal aid, can visit the nearest legal aid center to personal assistance.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q1.Who are eligible for free legal aid in India?

Ans.All those individuals who cannot afford the services of a lawyer due to financial constraints, e.g. children, women, victims of natural disasters, people of marginalized group, etc., all are eligible for free legal aid in India.

Q2.Do One needs to pay any charge/fee for acquiring and submitting an application form for free legal aid?

Ans.No, there is no charge or fee at all for getting an application form for free legal aid. There is no need to spend any money for both getting and submission of the application. For obtaining legal advice, you can call or visit the office of the concerned Legal Services Authority located in your area.

Q3.How can I apply for free legal aid?

Ans.You can apply for free legal aid by approaching the legal aid center, District Legal Services Authorities (DLSA), or State Legal Services Authorities (SLSA) in your area. They often have application forms available for this purpose. Besides, you can also apply online.

Q4.What types of cases are covered under free legal aid?

Ans.Free legal aid is usually available for almost all types of civil and criminal cases, including issues related to family disputes, land disputes, labor matters, and criminal defense. However, there are some cases, such as Defamation, Malicious Prosecution, Contempt of Court, Perjury, etc. does not fall under this category; hence excluded from the list.

Q5.How do legal aid authorities assign lawyers?

Ans.Legal aid authorities have a panel of lawyers, where qualified lawyers give their name suo moto. So, as per requirements of the individual, types of cases, and availability of respective advocate, they assign lawyers.

Q6.Can I choose my lawyer under free legal aid?

Ans.This is really difficult to get the lawyer of your choice through legal aid center. It is the respective authority who based on given criteria and availability of advocates, decide, who is going to be your legal representative.

Q7.What documents do I need to provide when applying for free legal aid?

Ans.Some documents are essentially required before applying for free legal aid, such as financial status proof, income proof, your ID proof, or any such documents demanded by free legal aid center.

Q8.Is free legal aid available at all stages of a legal proceeding?

Ans.Yes, free legal aid is usually available at all stages of legal proceedings, starting from giving legal advice to filing a case to representation in court.