But it is not enough to give people the necessary support to access and exercise their rights, as provided for in the law, it is also important that they are aware of these rights. Because legal knowledge is power and helps self-realization. But it`s a great irony that a law student pays a lot of money to learn what everyone should have the right to know for free. Especially in India, the world`s largest democracy, it is important that its citizens know their rights so that they can live in accordance with the true imperatives of democracy and the rule of law, they should be educated at least beyond the primary level of law. In the absence of this, we often see a particular situation in which the accused does not learn the law until after committing the crime. This raises the question that if people are not aware of the law at all, how will those laws govern their behaviour in society? But the responsibility for this cannot be blamed solely on the government, because people are also responsible for their perception that the law is too complex to even understand. [5] This makes them vulnerable to subpoenas and court communications. All this, including the lack of resources and knowledge, leads to a sad reality of a legally illiterate India or an India that cannot afford justice. [17] Legal Service India, Legal Aid in India (legalserviceindia.com, (last accessed March 20, 2021) The 14th report of the Law Commission of India suggested that the government should provide free legal aid to disadvantaged people. The report stresses the responsibility of the legal community in the administration of the legal aid system. The Union government introduced a national legal aid program in 1960, but ran into financial difficulties. In the second phase, the Union Government set up a committee to develop a system of legal aid for states chaired by Justice Krishna Iyer.
The committee created a decentralized strategy with mutual legal assistance committees at each county, state, and state level. To implement the Mutual Legal Assistance Plan, a Judicial Committee was formed under the chairmanship of Justice P. N. Bhagwati. The legal advisory body has the right to invite legal professionals with the necessary expertise to indicate the types of cases that can be assigned to them. The panel is composed of the Executive Chairman of the Legal Services Institution in cooperation with the Prosecutor General (for the Supreme Court), the Advocate General (for the Supreme Courts), the President of the Government (for the districts/taluks) and the President of the Bar Association. • The service is free of charge for those entitled to free legal aid, as mentioned in section 12 of the Legal Services Authority Act 1987. For all others, a fee of Rs 30 will be charged. • A State Legal Services Authority (SLSA) has been formed in each state and a High Court Legal Services Committee has been formed in each High Court.
District Legal Services Authorities (DLSA), Taluk Legal Services Committees have been trained in districts and most taluks to implement NALSA policies and instructions and provide free legal services to the population and conduct Lok Adalats in the state. • On December 12, the national Lok Adalat settled 10,42,816 cases, of which 5,60,310 were in the pre-litigation phase and 4,82,506 were pending in court, the Justice Ministry said. The details, as provided by the states on the National Legal Services Authority portal, suggest that the settlement amount was nearly Rs 3,227.99 crore. A total of 8,152 benches were trained by 31 state legal service agencies to hold the Adalat national locomotive virtually and physically across the country on December 12. Nowadays, lawyers struggle to get adequate representation because they are not interested in providing free legal services and expect to be paid for their work. Accordingly, the remuneration paid to lawyers by the courts or the government for free screening or defense of the accused should be increased. But before really helping disadvantaged people to knock on the doors of justice, it is important that they are aware of their legal rights, because without this awareness, they would not even know that there is such a mechanism that would do them justice, they would not even know that their rights have been violated. not to mention seeking legal aid against her. This could be achieved through the process of jurisdiction. Legal literacy means raising awareness of the laws. The myth of the complexity and difficulty of understanding the law is perhaps one of the main reasons why cases are pending before our courts, especially in rural areas.
Legal competence involves acquiring primary legal knowledge, and if a marginalized and disadvantaged person comes to know the law, they can face injustices more vigorously. The need for legal education is strongly felt in India, as 35% of our population is illiterate and the majority of them live in rural areas. While literacy is essential to an individual`s effective social and economic participation, those who are illiterate will only feel confused and powerless when their rights are violated to contribute more to the growth of themselves and their country. Although the government has consistently tried to distribute legal competence among disadvantaged sections of society through various programmes and initiatives, this alone may not be able to break the barrier of illiteracy in rural areas. Article 2 of the Constitution of India states that the State shall ensure that „the legal system operates on the basis of equality of opportunity”. It calls on the State to provide free legal aid and to ensure that justice is not denied on economic grounds and disability. [19] If the majority of people were aware of their rights and duties, it would become much easier to ensure justice and uphold the rule of law. It can also lead to transparent and accountable government, swift justice, and reduced exploitation of marginalized people. Article 14[6] of the Constitution of India guarantees its citizens equality before the law and equal protection against the law. The term „equal protection of laws” means that persons in similar situations should be treated equally by the law.
This right to equal treatment is therefore the basis for free legal aid, since poor litigants who do not have access to the court to resolve their complaints are a category of their own, and therefore a difference in treatment for them by free legal aid is also justified under Article 14. Under paragraph 2(1)(a) of the Act, a person may receive legal aid in a matter that may give rise to an action or other legal proceeding.[14] In accordance with Article 2(1)(c), the legal service shall include the provision of a service in the conduct of a case or proceeding before a court or tribunal, as well as advice on a legal question[15]. Under the Act, legal aid is granted after the applicant`s suitability has been assessed and it has been ensured that the prima facie case is in his or her favour.