Legal Aid in India | 11 Nov 2025

Source: IE 

Why in News?

The Chief Justice of India stressed that “legal aid is not charity but a moral duty” and “a crucial aspect of governance, ensuring the rule of law reaches every corner of the country”. He made these remarks at the National Conference on Strengthening Legal Aid Delivery Mechanisms. 

• The event was held on National Legal Services Day ( 9th November 2025), which marks the enactment of the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987, that came into force on 9^th November 1995 and led to the creation of institutions providing free legal aid.

What is the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987? 

• Constitutional Responsibility, not Mere Charity: The Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 puts into action the constitutional vision of equal justice and free legal aid.  
  • It draws strength from the Directive Principles of State Policy (DPSP) under Article 39A, which directs the State to provide legal aid so that justice is not denied on economic grounds, and complements the guarantee of equality before the law under Article 14.  
  • It also reflects the spirit of Article 21, where the right to life and personal liberty includes fair legal procedures, and Article 22, which protects the rights of arrested persons with access to legal counsel. 
  • Together, these provisions reinforce the Act’s purpose of making justice accessible for individuals facing poverty, social marginalisation, or other disadvantages. 

• Eligibility: Free legal services under the Act are available to members of Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST) communities, victims of trafficking or begar, all women and children, persons with mental illness or disabilities, and those affected by disasters or caste and ethnic violence.  
  • Industrial workmen and individuals in custody, including in protective homes, juvenile homes, or mental health institutions, are also covered.  
  • People with annual income below the notified limit (generally between Rs 1 lakh and Rs 3 lakh for lower courts), and below Rs 5 lakh for cases before the Supreme Court are also eligible. 

Institutional Framework 

• Legal Services Authorities: The Act establishes a three-tier structure of legal aid authorities: 
  • National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) (headed by the Chief Justice of India). 
    • The National Legal Aid Fund supports NALSA through central grants and donations. 
  • State Legal Services Authorities (headed by the Chief Justice of the High Court). 
    • The State Legal Aid Fund receives central or state contributions. 
  • District Legal Services Authorities (headed by the District Judge).  
    • The District Legal Aid Fund is supported by state funding and local donations. 
  • Between 2022-23 and 2024-25, more than 44.22 lakh people received free legal aid and advice through these authorities. 
• Lok Adalats: The Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 gives the statutory recognition to Lok Adalats and Permanent Lok Adalats to facilitate amicable and speedy settlement of disputes at both pre-litigation and pending stages. 
  • From 2022–23 to 2024–25, more than 23.5 crore cases were settled through national, state and permanent Lok Adalats, reflecting their central role in clearing pendency and reducing litigation costs. 

What are the Key Initiatives/Institutes Supporting the Vision of Accessible Legal Aid?

Key Initiatives 

• Legal Aid Defense Counsel System (LADCS) Scheme: The LADCS scheme by NALSA provides free legal defense in criminal cases for eligible beneficiaries under the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987. 
  • As of September 2025, it operates in 668 districts, disposing of 7.86 lakh of 11.46 lakh assigned cases.  
• Designing Innovative Solutions for Holistic Access to Justice (DISHA): The Department of Justice is implementing the five-year DISHA scheme (2021–26) to advance the constitutional promise of justice through programmes like the Legal Literacy and Legal Awareness Programme (LLLAP).  
  • Its key components include Tele-Law, Pro Bono Legal Services (Nyaya Bandhu), and legal literacy initiatives, while leveraging technology and simplified Information, Education and Communication (IEC) material to improve legal awareness and outreach. 
  • About 2.10 crore people (as of February 2025) received pre-litigation advice, pro bono services, legal representation, and awareness under DISHA.

Institutions Supporting the Vision  

• Fast-Track Courts (FTCs): Created to speed up trials in heinous offences and sensitive civil matters involving women, children, senior citizens, persons with disabilities, and long-pending property cases. 
  • 14^th Finance Commission recommended 1,800 FTCs during 2015-20, 865 FTCs are currently functional as of June 30, 2025. 
• Fast-Track Special Courts (FTSCs): Established under a Centrally Sponsored Scheme (2019) to try serious sexual offences, including cases under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012. 
  • 725 FTSCs, including 392 exclusive POCSO courts, functional across 29 States/UTs (June 2025). 
• Gram Nyayalayas: Established under the Gram Nyayalayas Act, 2008 as grassroots courts for quick, affordable justice in rural areas.  
  • 488 Gram Nyayalayas functional as of March 2025. 
• Nari Adalats: It is a component of the "Sambal" sub-scheme under Mission Shakti, it aims to provide women with an alternate Grievance Redressal Mechanism. 
  • They function at the Gram Panchayat level to resolve domestic and gender-based violence through negotiation, mediation, and reconciliation. 
  • Operating in Assam and J&K, and being piloted across multiple states and UTs. 
• Exclusive Special Courts (SC/ST Act): Created under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 to deal exclusively with offences against SC/ST communities.

What are the Challenges in India’s Legal Aid Delivery? 

• Weak Continuity in Policy and Fragmented Implementation: Legal aid initiatives often change direction with new executive chairpersons at NALSA and SLSAs, limiting sustained, long-term progress.  
  • Absence of institutionalised advisory mechanisms affects planning stability. 
• Quality Gaps in Representation: Many free legal aid lawyers treat cases as formality work due to low remuneration and weak incentives, leading to poor-quality defence and low client confidence, weakening trust and case outcomes. 
  • Free legal aid lawyers are often generalists with limited or no training in specialised domains (POCSO, SC/ST atrocities, immigration) reduces effectiveness in sensitive cases. 
• Weak Grassroots Integration: Para-legal volunteers and legal clinics exist, but coordination with local administration, police stations, and community organisations remains inconsistent, limiting reach. 
• Societal Hesitation and Stigma: Fear of police, social pressure, and distrust of state institutions discourage victims, especially in domestic and caste-based cases, from seeking help. 
• Low Legal Awareness: Many eligible individuals simply do not know that free legal aid exists or how to access it, especially women, migrants, and marginalised groups. 
  • Campaigns remain formal and urban-centric with limited tailoring for marginalised groups, dialects, or vulnerable workers (migrants, gig workers). 
• Data and Outcome Tracking Deficits: Evaluation is largely quantitative (number of cases, camps) rather than outcome-based (quality, success rate, user satisfaction), limiting course correction.

What Reforms are Needed to Advance Legal Aid Delivery in India? 

• Expand Capacity-building: The National Judicial Academy’s programmes for judges and legal-aid personnel should be scaled up to build stronger subject expertise and deepen sensitivity to vulnerable groups. 
  • Introduce performance-linked honorariums and clear evaluation metrics for legal aid lawyers. 
• Vision-Based Institutional Planning: Create advisory committees at NALSA/SLSAs, including incoming executive heads, to ensure stable, long-term policy direction. 
  • Develop multi-year action plans with regular monitoring and public reporting. 
• Deepen legal literacy: The LLLAP under DISHA demonstrates the value of targeted communication through regional bodies. Expanding such partnerships can help bridge cultural and linguistic barriers. 
  • The outreach achieved through Doordarshan’s legal awareness broadcasts shows the potential of coordinated multimedia communication, which can be further strengthened by leveraging mainstream streaming platforms. 
• Improve Coordination Across Institutions: Foster joint action between judiciary, executive, legal services authorities, and civil society to ensure smoother referral, counselling, and rehabilitation. 
• Focus on Outcomes over Numbers: Move beyond counting disposed cases and awareness camps. Introduce user-feedback systems, quality audits, and periodic impact evaluations to measure dignity, fairness, and satisfaction. 

Conclusion 

India aims to make justice accessible for all. Free legal aid, Lok Adalats, fast-track courts, and awareness drives have helped crores of people, especially the vulnerable, seek timely and affordable justice.