Question : National Legal Service Day

(a) whether the Government observed National Legal Service Day in the country recently;

(b) if so, the details thereof along with the steps taken to achieve the aims and objectives of the event along with the details of programmes organized by the Government to mark this occasion;

(c) the norms and guidelines of the legal assistance system for providing free legal aid to the poor and weaker sections of the society and steps taken to open new legal aid clinics especially in Tamil Nadu; and

(d) whether the Government has assessed and evaluated the implementation of legal aid programme for the poor and if so, the details thereof?

MINISTER OF LAW & JUSTICE, COMMUNICATIONS AND
ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
(SHRI RAVI SHANKAR PRASAD)

(a) and (b) National Legal Services Day is observed every year on 9th November to commemorate the commencement of Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 which came into force on 9th November, 1995. On National Legal Services Day, legal awareness camps are held by State Legal Services Authorities across the country to apprise people about the availability of free legal aid. At the national level, commendation ceremony is generally held for acknowledging and awarding exemplary work done in legal aid by Para Legal Volunteers/District Legal Services Authorities/Panel lawyers and State Legal Services Authorities. Due to ongoing pandemic, commendation ceremony could not be held this year. However, 10516 legal awareness programmes were held across the country in November, 2020 which were attended by 6,29,826 citizens.
(c) Persons covered under Section 12 (a) to (g) of the Legal Services Authorities Act (LSA), 1987 are eligible to get free legal services irrespective of income ceiling which include a member of a Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribes, a victim of trafficking in human beings or beggar, a woman or a child, a person with disability, a person under circumstances of undeserved want such as being a victim of a mass disaster, ethnic violence, caste atrocity, flood, drought, earthquake or industrial disaster or an industrial workman or in custody. For persons, not covered under Section 12 (a) to (g) of the LSA Act, the annual income limit for getting free legal aid is prescribed by the Central Government if the case is before the Supreme Court and by the State Government if the case is before the court other than the Supreme Court.
The National Legal Services Authority (Legal Services Clinics) Regulations, 2011 provide for establishment of legal services in jails, courts, Juvenile Justice Board (JJBs), community centres and other places, schools/colleges/universities, villages/rural areas or for a cluster of villages. As on 31.01.2021, 13540 Legal Services Clinics are functioning in the country including 834 in Tamil Nadu.
(d) Three Evaluation and Impact-assessment studies by third party agencies have been taken up covering the following aspects :-
(i) Evaluation and impact assessment of practice and procedure of empanelment, capacity building, engagement and management of Lawyers empanelled with Legal Services Authorities.
(ii) Evaluation of legal aid provided in civil and criminal matters in courts, tribunals, quasi-judicial body & jails.
(iii) Evaluation & impact assessment of Para Legal Volunteers (PLVs).
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