Syllabus: GS2/Polity & Governance
Context
- India’s legal aid infrastructure remains underpowered and underfunded, despite being mandated to serve nearly 80% of India’s population.
India’s Legal Aid System
- Legal aid is not a privilege—it’s a constitutional promise.
- Article 39A [Introduced by the 42nd Amendment, 1976]: It directs the State to ensure that the legal system promotes justice on the basis of equal opportunity and mandates free legal aid to prevent denial of justice due to economic or other disabilities.
- Article 21: The Supreme Court has interpreted the right to life to include the right to legal representation and a speedy trial (Khatri II v. State of Bihar, 1981).
- Preamble: Commits to securing justice – social, economic, and political — for all citizens, forming the philosophical bedrock of legal aid.
Statutory Framework
- Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987:Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987: It establishes National Legal Services Authority (NALSA), State Legal Services Authorities (SLSAs), District Legal Services Authorities (DLSAs), and Taluk Legal Services Committees (TLSCs) to deliver free legal services.
- Target Beneficiaries: As per Section 12 of the Act, legal aid is available to women, children, SC/ST communities, victims of trafficking, persons with disabilities, and those in custody or poverty.
- It empowers authorities to organize Lok Adalats, legal literacy camps, and aid programs.
Challenges in Realizing the Constitutional & Statutory Vision
- Limited Outreach Despite Rising Numbers: Between April 2023 and March 2024, only 15.50 lakh people accessed legal aid – a 28% increase from the previous year’s 12.14 lakh.
- These services are offered through front offices attached to local courts, prisons, and juvenile justice boards, and through legal aid clinics in rural areas.
- According to the India Justice Report 2025, there is only one legal service clinic for every 163 villages.
- Severely Undersized Budget Allocation: Legal aid receives less than 1% of the total justice budget.
- While total allocation grew from ₹601 crore in 2017-18 to ₹1,086 crore in 2022-23 (across 25 states), this rise came entirely from increased State allocations, which jumped from ₹394 crore to ₹866 crore.
- NALSA’s funds declined from ₹207 crore in 2017–18 to ₹169 crore in 2022–23, with utilization dropping from 75% to 59%.
- According to NALSA Manual (2023), expenditures are capped with a breakdown:
- 50% for legal aid and advice;
- 25% for awareness and outreach;
- 25% for Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) and mediation;
- Limited Reach: Only about 15.5 lakh people received legal aid between April 2023 and March 2024-far below the scale envisioned for 80% of the population.
- There is one legal aid clinic for every 163 villages, highlighting rural access gaps.
- Manpower Shortages: Para-legal volunteers (PLVs) dropped by 38% between 2019 and 2024 – from 5.7 to 3.1 per lakh population.
- In 2023–24, though 53,000 PLVs were trained, only 14,000 were deployed, reflecting a stark underutilisation.
- Many states pay PLVs below minimum wage, affecting recruitment and retention.
- Stagnant and Uneven Spending Across States: Since 2019, India’s national per capita legal aid spending has doubled from ₹3 to ₹7.
- In 2022–23, Haryana led with ₹16 per capita, while Bihar (₹3) and West Bengal (₹2) remained far below the national average.
- Low & Unadjusted Honorariums:22 States pay ₹500, 3 States pay ₹400, and 3 others (Gujarat, Meghalaya, Mizoram) offer just ₹250.
- Kerala pays the highest daily honorarium at ₹750.
- Law School Legal Aid Cells: A Supreme Court study found that only 11% of law colleges have functioning legal aid cells.
- Challenges include lack of supervision, funding, and meaningful case engagement.
Reinforcing the Constitutional Promise
- Legal Aid Defence Counsel Scheme: NALSA launched the Legal Aid Defence Counsel (LADC) scheme in 2022 to ensure dedicated representation for accused persons, aiming to reduce burden on the assigned counsel system.
- It is now operational in 610 of 670 districts, and received a full ₹200 crore allocation in 2023–24, but it was reduced to ₹147.9 crore in 2024–25.
- Upholding Constitutional Spirit of Articles 21 and 39A:
- Increase funding and ensure flexible, need-based allocation.
- Expand outreach through mobile clinics and digital platforms.
- Empower PLVs and lawyers with fair compensation and training.
- Integrate legal aid into law school curricula for experiential learning and community service.
- Simplify legal language to make laws more accessible to the public.
Conclusion
- India’s legal aid framework holds immense potential but is held back by structural and resource limitations.
- To transform intent into impact, greater financial investment, increased personnel deployment, and administrative autonomy are essential.
- Without these, the promise of accessible justice for all, enshrined in the Constitution, remains unfulfilled.
| Daily Mains Practice Question [Q] Critically examine the challenges facing India’s legal aid system in fulfilling its constitutional mandate. How can boosting its capacity contribute to equitable access to justice? |
