Create Awareness About Free Legal Aid, Inform Convicts Of Their Right To Appeal : Supreme Court Issues Guidelines

In a significant judgment affirming the convicted prisoners' right to legal aid, the Supreme Court has passed a slew of directions on the aspect of awareness. It has been held that in the success of the functioning of the legal aid mechanism, "awareness is the key".

A robust mechanism needs to be put in place and should be periodically updated to ensure that the various beneficial schemes promoted by the Legal Services Authorities reach the "nook and corner of the nation".

A bench of Justices B.R. Gavai and K.V. Viswanathan observed: "The most important task in any legal service is spreading of its awareness to the needy. The status report of NALSA indicates that convicts were made aware about the availability of free legal services, availability of the right to file Appeals/SLPs and the process of filing the same. This guarantees and effectuates Article 21 inasmuch as for the convict in custody too, who is virtually incommunicado with the outside world, is positively made aware about his rights in the nature of the existence of a right of appeal and the facility available for availing free legal services."

To ensure awareness, the Court has directed that adequate literature including in the local languages of the State and appropriate promotional methods should be launched so that the consumers of the justice to whom the schemes are intended can make the best use of the same. 

In this regard, the Court has directed: 

1. In public places like police stations, post offices, bus stands, railway stations etc. boards in prominent places be displayed furnishing the address for contact and the phone numbers of the nearest legal aid office. This should be done in the local language and in English. 

2. Promotional campaigns in the local language be undertaken through Radio/All India Radio/Doordarshan. This will be in addition to the promotional measures undertaken through the digitalization process – like hosting of websites and prominent mention thereon on the landing page of the legal services authority wherever permissible.

3. To create complete awareness about the existence of legal aid schemes, promotional campaigns may include such other creative measures including organization of street corner plays (nukkad natak) in rural areas so that the poor rural masses comprehend the facility available to them through the legal aid scheme. These should be undertaken without dislocating the normal life of citizens. Further, these measures will not only create awareness about legal aid to the accused but will also create awareness for the victims and for those whose civil rights have been infringed. 

Other directions include:

1. The Legal Services Authorities will periodically review and update SOP-2022 for the Undertrial Review Committee [UTRC]. 

2. The huge gap between total number of persons identified by the UTRC and the number of persons recommended for release should be looked into and adequate corrective measures be taken. Similarly, the difference between the number of prisoners/inmates recommended for release and the number of bail applications filed should be particularly looked into by NALSA/SLSAs/DLSAs and adequate corrective measures taken.

3. The “Early Access to Justice at Pre-arrest, Arrest and Remand Stage Framework” established by NALSA for pre-litigation assistance should be diligently pursued and the work undertaken under the framework be periodically reviewed.

4. Interaction by the Legal Service Authorities at different levels with convicts who had not preferred appeals should be periodically undertaken and the convicts be informed of their right to free legal aid. 

5. Periodic interaction should be held with Jail Visiting Lawyers (JVLs) and Para Legal Volunteers (PLVs). This is to ensure updation of their knowledge so that the system functions efficiently as a whole.

6. Steps for continuing education of lawyers involved in prelitigation assistance and those associated with the Legal Aid Defence Counsel set-up should be provided by Legal Services Authorities. Apart from this, it should also be ensured that adequate law books and access to online libraries are available to lawyers engaged at the pre-litigation assistance stage and those involved with the Legal Defence Counsel set-up.

7. Periodic reports should be submitted by the DLSAs to the SLSAs and the SLSAs to the NALSA, if not already done. NALSA should digitise the whole process whereby at the central level NALSA can, on the click of a button, get details of the updates done by SLSAs and DLSAs on regular basis.

8. The Union of India and the State Governments shall continue to extend their cooperation and assistance to the Legal Services Authorities at different levels for the effective implementation of the measures taken by them.

Case Details: Suhas Chakma v Union of India & Ors. WP (C) No. 1082/2020

Citation : 2024 LiveLaw (SC) 828