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Legal aid, making available to the weaker sections of the community
Zafar Bhat. Dated: 7/21/2017 8:55:44 AM
Zafar Bhat
Jammu, July 20
After independence, a prime step which the government ought to undertake to assuage the difficulties of the poor so as to enable them to obtain justice and vindicate their rights is to initiate some scheme of legal aid to the needy and poor litigants who want to establish their rights claims.
Remarkably, it is no use maintaining a legal machinery if it is beyond the means of an average citizen to take recourse to it when he suffers a wrong.
Categorically a noteworthy step has been taken now to provide legal aid to the poor. Parliament has passed the Legal Service Authorities Act, 1987, to provide for the formation of statutory legal service authorities at the national, state and district level to provide for effective monitoring of legal aid programmes.
However, a scheme to grant assistance and aid to poor in prosecuting their claims will reinforce respect for law which a great advantage in a democratic society.
Whereas, free legal aid to persons of inadequate means is a obligatory complement to the competent and equal administration of justice. It is a service which the modern welfare states owes to its citizen and the state must therefore accept this obligation and make necessary funds available for the poor.
It is the need of hour to outline effective economic and economical schemes for providing legal services; commence social justice litigation with regard to consumer protection, environmental protection or any other matter of special concern to the weaker sections of the society; widen legal literacy and legal awareness among the people, etc.