ANSWER
MINISTER OF LAW & JUSTICE,COMMUNICATIONS AND ELECTRONICS
& INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
(SHRI RAVI SHANKAR PRASAD)
(a) & (b) Central Government provides financial assistance to State Legal Services Authorities (SLSAs) through National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) to carry out the functions as provided under the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987. These functions include providing free legal services to all entitled categories of persons, including poor and undertrial prisoners, under section 12 of the said Act. NALSA allocates funds out of the grants-in-aid received from Central Government to various SLSAs to achieve the objectives of the said Act. In addition, grants or donations could be made to the SLSAs by the respective State Government.
(c) A statement showing funds allocated by NALSA to different SLSAs and funds utilized by SLSAs during the last three years is at Annexure-I.
(d) Does not arise in view of (a) above.
(e) In April, 2017, Government has launched three legal empowerment initiatives, namely, Tele-Law, Pro Bono legal services and Nyaya Mitra. Tele-law scheme has been launched in 1800 gram panchayats in 11 States of the country for providing free legal advice to marginalized persons under section 12 of the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987. Other persons can obtain legal advice on payment of Rs.30 only. The facility is available at Common Service Centres (CSCs) where legal advice is provided through video conferencing or telephone chat with a Panel Lawyer. Tele-Law Mobile Application & Tele-Law Dashboard for facilitating last mile connectivity was launched in February, 2019.
Under Pro Bono legal services scheme, free legal aid including legal representation, is provided to marginalized persons under section 12 of the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987. 533 advocates have been registered for providing pro bono legal services. Nyaya Bandhu Mobile Application to connect registered Pro Bono Advocates with registered Applicants was launched in February, 2019.
In addition, NALSA also provides free and competent legal services to under trial prisoner and convicts through legal services clinics opened in jails. About 11,800 Remand Advocates have been appointed in Magisterial Courts and Session Courts for providing legal services to arrestees in criminal courts. Further, awareness camps / programmes are conducted in jails at regular intervals to make prisoners aware about free legal aid and their legal rights including right to bail. Regular visits are made by functionaries of Legal Services Authorities to jails to identify prisoners who require legal aid and advice. Apart from the above measures, Under Trial Review Committee headed by District Judge have also been set up in all the Districts to review the cases of all under trials who have completed half of the maximum sentence provided for the offences they are charged with.
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Annexure-I
Statement as referred to in reply to Part (c) of Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 688 for 26.06.2019 raised by Shri Ramcharan Bohra, MP regarding Free Legal Assistance to Poor.
Details of funds allocated by National Legal Services Authority to State Legal Services Authorities and utilized during the last three financial years viz 2016-17 , 2017-18 and 2018-19.
S. No Name of the State Authority Amount of Funds Allocated (in lakhs) Rs. Funds utilised (in lakhs) Rs. Amount of Funds Allocated (in lakhs) Rs. Funds utilised (in lakhs) Rs. Amount of Funds Allocated (in lakhs) Rs. Funds utilised (in lakhs) Rs.
2016-17 2016-17 2017-18 2017-18 2018-19 2018-19
1 Andhra Pradesh 400 493.41 400 529.3 400 418.93
2 Arunachal Pradesh 85.83 100 227.32 100 225.34
3 Assam 200 288.7 550 579.36 600 360.33
4 Bihar 123.36 392.71 250 428.73
5 Chhattisgarh 300 284.32 400 511.96 800 794.90
6 Goa 100 69.34 68.35 82.94
7 Gujarat 100 375.54 350 368.81 350 385.58
8 Haryana 732.96 494.46 700 959.09 850 950.43
9 Himachal Pradesh 400 429.34 100 487.86 400 468.18
10 J & K 200 185.52 200 368.43 450 503.50
11 Jharkhand 800 293.57 100 633.24 700 753.56
12 Karnataka 722 322.05 700 828.56 850 984.92
13 Kerala 800 590 800 955.59 1050 1263.18
14 Madhya Pradesh 476.23 400 595.35 300 442.47
15 Maharashtra 700 356.96 100 735.03 600 597.55
16 Manipur 100 235.42 300 425.39 350 333.89
17 Meghalaya 26.56 92.2 25.16
18 Mizoram 250 264.07 200 437.23 400 335.29
19 Nagaland 450 260.26 300 396.61 300 417.19
20 Orissa 530 429.7 800 907.32 700 682.04
21 Punjab 600 563.3 800 999.23 950 1209.85
22 Rajasthan 750 546.35 800 1161.04 1800 1804.04
23 Sikkim 100 28.63 120.55 123.43
24 Tamil Nadu 600 398.75 700 762.35 600 707.98
25 Telangana 250 190.4 200 357.68 200 347.48
26 Tripura 250 327.13 500 445.25 300 444.42
27 Uttar Pradesh 300 295.38 600 550.61 100 349.88
28 Uttarakhand 200 106.16 100 261.32 200 224.16
29 West Bengal 300 245.56 200 549 900 769.78
30 And. & Nico. Islands 8.38 13.66 20.94
31 U.T. Chandigarh 100 68.98 200 162.2 163.54
32 D & Nagar Haveli 3.52 7.86 4.36
33 Daman & Diu 3.02 1.2 3.52
34 Delhi 775 535.28 700 777.92 1000 983.11
35 Lakshadweep 13.61 10.23 9.96
36 U.T.Puducherry 75.92 200 108.04 37.90
TOTAL 11009.96 9495.01 11500 16787.85 15500 17658.46
Note: The unspent grant pertaining to any particular previous financial year is carried forward to the subsequent financial year for its utilisation.
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