Legal Assistance Establishment ‘Saketham’ Launched In Kerala

Chief Justice of Kerala High Court, Justice N.P. Singh inaugurated the Legal Assistance Establishment- ‘Saketham’ at the office of the Kerala State Legal Services Authority (KeLSA) on 15 August.

Also present at the occasion were Justice Antony Dominic, Executive Chairman of KeLSA and Justice K. Surendra Mohan, Chairman of Kerala High Court Legal Services Committee.

As per an official release, Saketham intends to be a “dedicated multiple services-single point establishment for providing facilities for legal aid seekers under one roof”. It would be stationed at the 1^st floor of Niyama Sahaya Bhavan, High Court of compound, and will function from 10 am to 5 pm on all working days.

Saketham will provide the following services:

1. Helpline No.1516


2. Dedicated landline telephone


3. Dedicated email I.D.


4. Video Conferencing with DLSAs and Jails


5. Mobile phone with dedicated number


6. Internet facility for linking with the website of Supreme Court, Kerala High Court, District Courts, NALSA and other import ant Courts/Tribunals and availing information from website of KeLSA itself


7. Services of a legal aid lawyer to provide legal aid and advice


8. Services of a PLV to assist the legal aid lawyer and to help the litigants in filling up forms for legal aid etc.

“In this way, ‘Saketham’ would seek to further the objective of access to justice at all and justice at doorsteps whereby just by a call or by visiting just one place, a person could have access to all information about legal services or could even discuss his case with his legal aid lawyer,” the release stated.

The idea for institution of Legal Assistance Establishments had been conceived by Justice Dipak Misra, Executive Chairman of the National Legal Services Authority, with a view to facilitate easier access to information regarding legal services. The objective of these establishments is to enable legal aid beneficiaries to obtain quick information about their pending cases in any of the Districts. It would also apprise them of the various schemes formulated by NALSA and the Government, and would facilitate communication to their Advocates through telephone or video conferencing.

The first of such establishments was inaugurated by Justice Misra at the Delhi State Legal Services Authority (DSLSA) on 17 May.  The inauguration saw the presence of Judges of the Supreme Court, Acting Chief Justice of Delhi High Court Justice Gita Mittal, Executive Chairperson of DSLSA Justice S. Ravindra Bhat and various other dignitaries.