India’s Legal Aid System

Despite a constitutional and statutory mandate, India’s legal aid infrastructure continues to face significant implementation deficits in reach, resources, and responsiveness.

Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 and the State of Free Legal Aid in India

1. Background and Constitutional Mandate

• Article 39A of the Indian Constitution (Directive Principles of State Policy) mandates free legal aid to ensure that opportunities for securing justice are not denied to any citizen due to economic or other disabilities.
• The Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987institutionalised this obligation by creating a three-tier system — National Legal Services Authority (NALSA), State Legal Services Authorities (SLSAs), and District Legal Services Authorities (DLSAs).

2. Current Status of Legal Aid Reach and Utilisation

• In FY 2023–24, only 5 lakh people received legal aid — far below the potential beneficiary pool of ~80% of India’s population.
• This was only a 28% increase over the previous year (12.14 lakh), indicating marginal improvement.
• As per the India Justice Report 2025, there is one legal aid clinic per 163 villages, limiting accessibility in rural and remote areas.

3. Budgetary Allocation and Utilisation

• Legal aid receives less than 1% of the total justice expenditure (comprising police, judiciary, prisons, legal aid).
• NALSA’s budget decreased from ?207 crore (2017–18) to ?169 crore (2022–23), with utilisation dropping from 75% to 59%.
• Meanwhile, State allocations improved — increasing from ?394 crore (2017–18) to ?866 crore (2022–23).
• Despite higher State allocations, restrictions on NALSA funds (e.g., hiring staff, vehicles, or honorarium payments) limit flexibility and impact service quality.

4. Human Resources and Para-Legal Volunteers

• Para-legal volunteers (PLVs) act as critical ground-level intermediaries, but their number fell by 38% between 2019 and 2024.
• As of 2023, there were only 3.1 PLVs per lakh population, with West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh having just 1 PLV/lakh.
• Daily honorariums are inadequate: Only Kerala pays ?750/day; 22 States pay ?500, and 3 pay as low as ?250/day (below minimum wage levels).
• Training-to-deployment mismatch: In 2023–24, of 53,000 PLVs trained, only 14,000 were deployed.

5. Legal Aid Defence Counsel (LADC) Scheme

• Launched in 2022, the LADC scheme is a Central Sector Scheme modelled on the public defender system, focused exclusively on defending accused persons.
• It operates in 610 of 670 districts; ?200 crore was fully utilised in FY 2023–24. However, allocation fell to ?147.9 crore in FY 2024–25.
• The scheme reduces the burden on empanelled lawyers and seeks to ensure specialised, quality defence representation.
• It is still at a nascent stage, and long-term success will depend on structural support and funding stability.

6. Structural and Systemic Concerns

• Inconsistent quality of service, absence of accountability, and low public trust in free legal aid services remain systemic problems.
• Stringent financial norms hinder flexibility and innovation.
• No uniform revision of honorariums, low per capita spending, and a shrinking cadre of PLVs and empanelled lawyers hamper outreach and effectiveness.

Way Forward

• Fiscal Strengthening and Flexibility
  • Increase legal aid allocations to at least 2–3% of the total justice expenditure, considering its constitutional significance.
  • Grant greater autonomy to SLSAs and DLSAs in utilising funds, especially for hiring staff and local outreach.
• Strengthening Human Capital
  • Standardise and raise PLV honorariums above statutory minimum wages to ensure motivated deployment.
  • Institutionaliseregular training, monitoring, and performance-based incentives for PLVs and empanelled lawyers.
• Infrastructure and Accessibility
  • Increase the density of legal aid clinics, particularly in rural, tribal, and underserved areas.
  • Promote mobile legal aid units, especially in difficult terrain regions like the Northeast, hill states, and forested zones.
• Quality and Accountability Mechanisms
  • Introduce digital dashboards for real-time data on legal aid delivery, grievance redressal, and service quality audits.
  • Set up independent oversight bodies at the State level to ensure transparency and service improvement.
• Strengthen the LADC Scheme
  • Ensure consistent year-on-year funding and integration with existing public defence mechanisms.
  • Use tech-enabled tools to streamline case management and coordination between LADCs and the judiciary.