Context:
• November 9 is observed annually as National Legal Services Day to commemorate the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 (came into force on 9 Nov 1995), which mandated free legal services to marginalised & disadvantaged sections.
• India is the largest democracy — Constitution guarantees equality before law & equal protection of laws — yet poverty, illiteracy, disasters, financial constraints, crime create access barriers.
• Legal Services Authorities conduct legal awareness camps nationwide on this day.
Key Highlights:
Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 – Institutional Architecture
• Act created a 3-tier institutional framework to ensure no citizen is denied justice on economic/other barriers:
– National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) → headed by Chief Justice of India
– State Legal Services Authorities (SLSAs) → headed by Chief Justice of High Court
– District Legal Services Authorities (DLSAs) → headed by District Judge
Funding Structure – 3 Tier
• National Legal Aid Fund (Central)
• State Legal Aid Fund (Central / State contributions)
• District Legal Aid Fund (State / donations)
Scale of Access – Legal Aid Delivery Performance
• 44.22 lakh people benefited from legal aid (2022–25).
• Applications filing mode → written / oral (PLV helps) / online at NALSA & SLSA portals.
• Regulation 7(2), NALSA (Free & Competent Legal Services) Regulations, 2010 → decision within 7 days.
• Status Communication Modes → physical post / email / portal tracking / CPGRAMS.
Lok Adalats Performance – Alternate Dispute Resolution
• Lok Adalats, Permanent Lok Adalats formed under the Act for amicable settlement (pending & pre-litigation).
• 23.58 crore cases resolved via State + Permanent + National Lok Adalats (2022–23 to 2024–25).
Legal Aid Defense Counsel System (LADCS)
• Scheme for free criminal defence.
• 668 districts have LADCS (as on 30 Sept 2025).
• 7.86 lakh cases disposed of out of 11.46 lakh assigned (2023–24 to 2025–26).
• Outlay ₹998.43 crore (2023–24 to 2025–26).
DISHA Scheme – Tech-enabled Justice Delivery
• Designing Innovative Solutions for Holistic Access to Justice (2021–26).
• 2.10 crore people benefited (as on 28 Feb 2025).
• Outlay ₹250 crore.
Tele-Law – Gender & Caste Break-up (as on 30 Jun 2025)
Gender → 1,13,20,898 registered | 1,11,79,535 advice enabled:
• Female – 39.58% / 39.55%
• Male – 60.42% / 60.45%
Caste Category wise:
• General – 23.76% / 23.69%
• OBC – 31.49% / 31.45%
• SC – 31.16% / 31.22%
• ST – 13.60% / 13.64%
Legal Awareness Programmes
• Total 2022–25: 13,83,349 programmes | 14,96,72,607 persons attended.
• Booklets / pamphlets in simple language distributed.
• LLLAP under DISHA – communication materials in 22 scheduled languages + NE dialects.
• Doordarshan → 56 TV programmes (6 languages); 21 webinars → reach: 70.70 lakh; LLLAP overall reach over 1 crore people.
Fast Track & Special Courts
• Fast Track Courts (FTCs) (14th FC target: 1,800) → 865 FTCs functional (as on 30 Jun 2025).
• FTSCs (for POCSO etc.) → 725 functional (392 exclusive POCSO courts) in 29 States/UTs → 3,34,213 disposed cases since inception.
• Outlay extended till 31 Mar 2026 → ₹1,952.23 crore from Nirbhaya Fund.
Capacity Building & Training
• National Judicial Academy – academic programmes for judges & legal-aid functionaries.
• NALSA – Para-legal Volunteers Scheme (vision of justice → basics of criminal law, labour, juvenile, women, elderly protection).
• NALSA – 4 training modules for legal aid functionaries.
• 2023–24 to May 2024 → 2,315 training programmes for panel lawyers & PLVs.
Conclusion:
India’s legal-aid ecosystem — Lok Adalats, Fast Track Courts, technology-driven DISHA, legal literacy campaigns — has significantly expanded access. The justice delivery network is increasingly time-efficient, decentralised, tech-enabled, gender-responsive, socially inclusive — enabling the poorest to actualise Article 39A — Equal justice & free legal aid.
Relevant Mains Points:
• Legal Services Authorities Act 1987 → statutory legal aid guarantee; operationalises Article 39A DPSP.
• ADR + LADCS + Digital Legal Aid = Access to Justice model aligned to constitutional morality.
• Way Forward: deeper PLV network, decentralised digital kiosks, AI triage for legal queries, scaling FTSCs for crimes against women & children, stronger behavioural legal literacy in schools.
UPSC Relevance:
• GS-II: Polity — Legal Aid, Access to Justice, Article 39A
• GS-II: Welfare Schemes, Vulnerable Sections, Rights-based Governance
• Prelims: NALSA / LADCS / DISHA / Lok Adalats / Gram Nyayalayas / FTSCs / Nirbhaya Fund