Context
Legal Services Institutions, under the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987, aim to provide free legal aid to ~80% of India’s population, but reach remains modest — only 15.5 lakh people benefited between April 2023 and March 2024 (a 28% increase from the previous year).
Relevance : GS 2(Judiciary – Reforms)
Infrastructure
- Front offices attached to courts, prisons, and juvenile justice boards provide legal help via empanelled lawyers.
- Legal aid clinics operate in rural areas — 1 clinic for every 163 villages (India Justice Report 2025).
Funding Constraints
- Legal aid budget is <1% of the total justice budget (includes police, prisons, judiciary).
- Total allocation (2017-18 to 2022-23):
- States’ share rose from ₹394 cr to ₹866 cr
- NALSA’s share fell from ₹207 cr to ₹169 cr
- Utilisation of NALSA funds dropped from 75% to 59%
- NALSA guidelines (2023) restricted fund usage without prior approval — e.g., staff hiring, victim compensation, equipment.
Per Capita Legal Aid Spending (2022–23)
- India average: ₹6
- Highest: Haryana ₹16
- Lowest: WB ₹2, Bihar ₹3, UP ₹4
Shrinking Frontline Workforce
- Para-legal volunteers (PLVs):
- Create awareness and resolve disputes.
- Drop by 38% (2019–2024) – now only 3.1 PLVs/lakh (WB & UP: 1 PLV/lakh).
- Poor honorariums: Kerala highest (₹750/day), most States pay ₹500 or less.
Legal Aid Defence Counsel Scheme (LADC)
- Started in 2022 — dedicated legal aid to accused persons only, modeled on the public defender system.
- Operational in 610 of 670 districts.
- ₹200 cr allocation in 2023–24 (fully used), but dropped to ₹147.9 cr in 2024–25.
- Early potential noted, but too soon to assess long-term success.
Key Challenges
- Underfunding, underutilization, and manpower shortage.
- Low trust, inconsistent service quality, and lack of accountability persist.
- Without resource investment, legal aid falls short of the constitutional promise of justice for all.
