Free Legal Aid Under the Legal Service Authority Act 1987

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Free Legal Aid Under the Legal Service Authority Act 1987

We all heard that ‘law is equal for all’ but many people take a step back to file an appeal in any court because of different reasons such as economic, personal disability, and others. To make law equal for all the government constituted a Legal Service Authority Act, 1987 which aims to provide free and competent legal services.

A person who is looking for free legal services in India can approach the concerned authorities or committee through online or offline mode. The process of applying for free legal aid is shared below with complete eligibility. Also, the article answers all your questions regarding the NALSA and how you can avail of its services.

What is the Legal Service Authority Act 1987?

The Legal Services Authority Act 1987 provide free and competent legal services to the weaker sections of the society. It ensures that every citizen will get legal justice and they will not be limited by any economic or other reasons. Lok Adalats are organised to provide equal justice opportunities.

Here NALSA plays an important role, it undertakes the necessary steps in regard to any matter for the weaker sections of society. NALSA full form is the National Legal Service Authority and it is constituted under the Legal Services Authority Act, 1987 to organise Lok Adalats for the amicable settlement of disputes. Also, the Legal Service Authority create legal awareness among people through camps, print media, and digital media. 

What is the Eligibility for Free Legal Aid?

The following persons are eligible for free legal aid:

• A woman is eligible for free legal aid irrespective of her income or financial status. As per the Section 12 (c) of the Legal Service Authority Act, 1987 a woman is eligible for free legal aid.
• A child is eligible for free legal aid till the age of majority (18 years). It is as per the Section 12 (c) of the Legal Services Authority Act, 1987.
• The eligibility of senior citizens’ depends on the Rules framed by the respective State Governments in this regard. For example, In Delhi, senior citizens are eligible for free legal aid subject to a prescribed ceiling of annual income. Any individual above the age of 60 can apply for free legal aid/services.
• Any person who has an annual income of less than the amount prescribed by the respective State Government is eligible for free legal aid. In Delhi, the Income Ceiling Limit is stated below:
  • General – Rs. 1,00,000
  • Senior citizen – Rs. 2,00,000
  • Transgender – Rs. 2,00,000

What is a Procedure for Claiming Free Legal Aid?

The jurisdiction you will approach will depend on the territorial and subject matter jurisdiction, of the below authorities:

• Taluk Legal Services Committee (Court of Taluk)
• District Legal Services Authority (District Court in District Headquarters)
• State Legal Services Authority (panels which are maintained at the state level)
• High Court Legal Services Committee (premises of the concerned High Court)
• Supreme Court Legal Services Committee (for cases handled before the Honourable Supreme Court).

Note: Each District Legal Services Authority, High Court Legal Services Authority, and State Legal Services Authority have a front office where the application can be moved.

Offline Application Process for Legal Aid

For free legal aid, you can apply online or offline. Fill out the ready-made application form available to your nearest Legal Services Authority. If you reside in Delhi, then Legal Aid Application Form PDF is available on the website of DSLSA. 

In this form, you have to fill in the basic details such as your name, address, and nationality along with the following points.

• Select the section regarding which you need legal advice/counselling and attach the proof in support of the selected section.
• Name of your office and address (if available)
• Name and address of the opposite party & telephone number (if available)
• If there is a need to file any case then specify the nature: Matrimonial Dispute/Civil /Criminal/Labour/Service/Criminal/Writ/Other.
• Whether any application has been filed previously before this Authority, if yes, then provide the details.
• Last to fill out the legal aid counsel, write down the summary of the dispute and recommendation of the Legal Aid Counsel.

Note: Submit the application to the Authority physically or post the application to the Authority. 

Online Application Process for Legal Aid

To fill out the online application to get free legal aid visit the official NALSA portal and fill in the necessary details. In the application form, there are 6 sections which you have to fill, and these are as follows:

Legal Aid/ Grievance Application: Choose the authority for which the application is filled.

Legal Aid/ Grievance: Nature of legal aid, summary of the problem for which legal aid is required.

Personal Details: Name, Gender, Mobile, Religion, Email, Address, etc.

Legal Aid/ Grievance Details: Whether the application is filled before or not, name of the opposite party, phone, address, email, and state. 

Case Details: If any other case is filed before, case type, case number, court type, state, district, taluka.

Attach Document: Document such as Aadhar Card, Caste Certificate, Ration Card, Voter ID Card, and others.

Lastly, submit the application after checking all the details are filled in correctly. You can also send the application form by email to NALSA on the mail ID - nalsa-dla@nic.in. The 

Legal Aid Application Form PDF is this.

Note: The application form is completely free and there is no charge for getting an application and submitting it. For obtaining legal advice, you can call or visit the office of the concerned Legal Services Authority.

How to Track Your Application NALSA?

Once your application is selected, then you will be notified about the assignment of a lawyer. A letter of appointment is also issued to the assigned lawyer with a copy to the applicant. After this, the lawyer will contact the applicant as soon as possible. The applicant can also contact the lawyer in the meantime.

But in case you don’t get any notification regarding the NALSA application status then you can check the status of your application through the National Legal Service Authority (NALSA Portal). Select the month, year and registration number.

According to Regulation 7(2) of the NALSA Act 2010, a decision on the application for free legal aid is to be taken immediately and should not take more than 7 days from the date of the receipt of the application.

How the Revert of Application Differ?

Below are the following cases in which the revert of the application depends on how it has been sent to the authority:

1. If the application is submitted at the front office of any India Legal Services Authority then the residence or email address will be noted and any information regarding the application will send to the same.
2. If the application is submitted online on the NALSA portal or to any other Legal Services Authorities then the application number will be generated and the concerned authority will be contacted. The status of the application can be tracked through the portal. 
3. If the application is received from the Government Departments / CPGRAM, then an email is sent to the applicant. The applicant also gets a scanned copy of the application on the CPGRAM website.

An individual seeking free legal aid can approach NALSA anytime between Monday and Friday - from 9:30 am to 6 pm. However, the online application can be filed at any time of the day or night as the website is functional 24*7. The other Legal Services Authorities can also be approached within their office hours which can be checked on their respective websites.

Conclusion

To conclude, if you are looking for free legal services in India then NALSA is the best option for you. Also, you don’t have to incur any expenses at any stage all the expenses such as process fees, drafting fees, typing fees, as well as fees of panel lawyers (during or after the case is completed) are borne by the legal service institutions.

The applicant just has to submit the complete application form to the authority along with full documentation which includes identity proofs, and certificates. This will be the proof of belonging to a particular category to avail free legal services.

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