- Legal aid in India, though mandated for nearly 80% of the population under the Legal Services Authorities Act (1987), remains ineffective for vulnerable groups due to weak outreach & poor service quality.
Structural and Financial Gaps
- Budget Share: Legal aid gets less than 1% of the total justice budget, limiting service delivery and operational strength.
- Funding Disparity: While State contributions nearly doubled between 2017-18 and 2022-23, NALSA’s allocation fell from ₹207 crore to ₹169 crore.
- Utilisation dropped from 75% to 59%, revealing procedural and regulatory bottlenecks.
- Rigid Spending Norms: The NALSA Manual (2023) restricts spending on staff, outreach, or equipment without prior approval, hindering flexible & localised responses.
- Poor Access & Awareness: One legal aid clinic serves every 163 villages (India Justice Report 2025), insufficient for rural populations.
- Lack of Quality Control: No clear performance metrics or feedback mechanisms for legal aid lawyers reduce accountability.
Weakening Frontline Capacity
- Para-Legal Volunteers (PLVs): PLVs serve as the bridge between communities and legal aid. However, their numbers fell by 38% between 2019-2024.
- Below Minimum Wages: Despite being a core workforce, PLVs are paid as little as ₹250-₹500/day in many States, discouraging retention and deployment. Only Kerala pays ₹750/day.
- Deployment Gaps: Of 53,000 PLVs trained in 2023-24, only 14,000 were deployed, marking an inefficient use of training investments.
Way Forward
- Budget Enhancement: Increase fiscal allocation for legal aid, earmarking at least 2-3% of the total justice budget.
- Fiscal Autonomy: Empower State Legal Services Authorities (SLSAs) & District Legal Services Authorities (DLSAs) with greater flexibility in fund utilisation.
- LADC Expansion: Scale the LADC scheme through performance audits, independent evaluations, & integration with prison legal services.
- Competitive Benchmarking: Create legal aid benchmarks in the India Justice Report to promote competitive federalism.
Article 39A mandates equal justice irrespective of economic barriers, but weak outreach and poor infrastructure undermine it. Only bold reforms can turn this promise into practice for India’s marginalised.
Reference: The Hindu
PMF IAS Pathfinder for Mains – Question 271
Q. Despite being a constitutional mandate, legal aid in India remains largely ineffective for vulnerable sections. Critically examine the structural and financial shortcomings of the legal aid system. Suggest concrete reforms to bridge these gaps and ensure accessible, quality justice for all. (250 Words) (15 Marks)
Approach
- Introduction: Write briefly about the legal aid in India and mention current facts about the fund crunch.
- Body: Write structural and financial shortcomings of the legal aid system, its consequences and concrete reforms to bridge these gaps.
- Conclusion: Emphasis on substantive equality & rule of law through inclusive reforms.
