Justice Lalit Urges Senior Advocates To Voluntarily Take Up At Least 3 Pro-Bono Cases Every Year

Supreme Court judge Justice U. U. Lalit conceded that while in the last 25 years, we have taken large and very strong strides, yet legal aid and legal awareness have not reached every nook and corner, every village in the country.

Justice Lalit, the Executive Chairman of the National Legal Services Authority, was speaking at the launch of pan-India Awareness and Outreach Campaign on 2nd October, 2021 from Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi.  The President of India Ram Nath Kovind was the Chief Guest. The Chief Justice of India N V Ramana also graced the occasion. The Programme also witnessed the presence of the Union Minister for Law and Justice Kiren Rijiju, Justice U. U. Lalit,Executive Chairman, NALSA, and Justice A. M. Khanwilkar, Chairperson,Supreme Court Legal Services Committee.

"Of all the pending cases, just about 1% are cases are with the legal services committees all over the country. Why? Is there any lack of confidence or we are lacking in reaching out to the people? Therefore, this pan-India legal awareness programme has been initiated, to continue for more than a month, with the endeavour to reach out to every marginalised section in the country. We have a large backbone of state legal services Authorities, district authorities, taluka authorities, which have their own apparatus, paralegal volunteers and panel advocates. Our endeavour will be to leave a footprint in every village at least thrice in these 45 days so that people are aware of the concept of legal aid and the fact that they are entitled as a matter of right to free legal aid services", told Justice Lalit.

Justice Lalit urged all senior advocates to voluntarily take up pro bono work as a way of giving back to the society.

"But will that be enough? According to me, legal awareness is needed, yes. But at the same time, the court-based legal services need to be of such order that people have inherent confidence in a legal aid machinery. That confidence will be built when court-based litigation will come from a good quality legal aid which is actually extended to every section of the people. And that good quality assistance will be available if competent, senior and established advocates take it as a cause and some kind of a return which is due to the society and if they come up and start doing pro bono legal work. Then perhaps I think we will have excellent assistance coming through legal aid that will build the confidence in the eyes of the people and the element of trust that they can actually rely on a legal services committee across the country. This is true and it is through this we will be able to achieve our goal. So my request or plea to all the members of the bar is to please do three matters a year on pro bono basis. We wanted to felicitate all the senior counsel who have done pro bono work in the last three years and we could get very, very few number of people. That is a reflection on that perhaps the system is not reaching out because the senior advocates or their assistance is not being solicited for some reason or the other. Please do pro bono work on your own. This is how we give back to the society!"

"Number two, we have medical colleges, dental colleges where internship is a matter of compulsion. We don't want to compel anybody, but law colleges must undertake that the students also give back to  the society in the form of maybe acting as paralegal volunteers or a link between providers of legal aid and the seekers of legal aid. If we have this contingent that law colleges adopt maybe two or three talukas in the same region, then perhaps there will be a regular stream of students who will be devoted to the cause of legal aid. These are two areas which we will be looking forward to and stepping in those directions and try to have the support of the advocates and students. I am already in touch with the Bar Council of India and they have assured us that perhaps all the law colleges will be extending this kind of support", reflected Justice Lalit.