Uttarakhand State Legal Services Authority :

Article – 39A of the Constitution of India speaks for Equal Justice and Free Legal Aid. It states that “The State shall secure that the operation of the legal system promotes justice, on a basis of equal opportunity, and shall, in particular, provide free legal aid, by suitable legislation or schemes or in any other way, to ensure that opportunities for securing justice are not denied to any citizen by reason of economic or other disabilities.”

To fulfill this mandate of Article 39-A of the Constitution and establishing a nation-wide network for providing free and comprehensive legal services to the weaker sections of the society and also to secure and promote the philosophy of justice to all, the Legal Services Authorities Act was enacted in the year 1987. 

History :

The Uttarakhand State Legal Services Authority was constituted on March 20, 2002 under Section 6 of the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987. The establishment of the Uttarakhand State Legal Services Authority is temporarily being run from the High Court premises, Nainital. Hon’ble the Chief Justice of the Uttarakhand High Court is the Patron-in-Chief, while Hon’ble Senior Judge, of the Uttarakhand High Court is the Executive Chairman of the State Authority. A person belonging to the Uttarakhand Higher Judicial Service, not lower in rank than that of a District Judge, functions as the Member Secretary of the State Authority, to exercise such powers and perform such duties, as may be prescribed by the Government or as may be assigned to him by the Executive Chairman of the Authority.

Subordinate Parts :

•  High Court Legal Services Committee
•  District Legal Services Authorities
•  Tehsil Legal Services Committees

High Court Legal Services Committee, District Legal Services Authorities and Tehsil Legal Services Committees are the subordinate parts of the State Authority. Subject to the general superintendence and control of the State Authority, the abovementioned subordinate parts perform and exercise such functions as may be formulated and required by the Central Authority and the State Authority.

Criteria for free legal services :

Every person who has to file or defend a case shall be entitled to free legal services from State Legal Services Authority, High Court Legal Services Committee, District Legal Services Authority or Tehsil Legal Services Committee as the case may be, under the Section-12 of the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 & Section-16 of the Uttaranchal State Legal Services Authority Rules, 2006, if that person is-

• A member of Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe;.
• A victim of trafficking in human beings or beggar as referred to in Article 23 of the Constitution;
• A woman or a child;
• A mentally ill or otherwise disable person;
• A person under circumstances of undeserved want such as being a victim of a mass disaster, ethnic violence, caste atrocity, flood, drought, earthquake or industrial disaster;
• An industrial workman;
• In custody, including custody in a protective home within the meaning of clause (g) of section 2 of the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956, or in a juvenile home within the meaning of clause (j) of section 2 of the Juvenile Justice Act, 1986 or in psychiatric hospital of psychiatric nursing home within the meaning of clause (g) of section 2 of the Mental Health Act, 1987;
• Ex-service man;
• Persons from Transgender Community;
• Senior Citizen;
• HIV/AIDS infected persons;
• In receipt of annual income from all sources less than rupees 3,00,000/- or such other higher amount as may be prescribed by the State Government, if the case is before a court other than the Supreme Court.

Functions :

1.  To provide free legal aid & service of free Advocates to the eligible masses.
2. To organise Lok Adalats for providing the efficacious, inexpensive and expeditious justice to all.
3. To give a fertile focus to the policies of Central Authority (NALSA) under the joint auspices of High Court Legal Services Committee, District Legal Services Authorities & Tehsil Legal Services Committees.
4. To augment the wide legal awareness amongst the flouted public at large through Legal Literacy & legal aid camps and make them aware about their rights and duties.
5. To ensure that motto “Access to Justice for All” is made accessible to the poor and oblivious masses.
6. To organize Symposiums, Seminars, Conferences in order to settle disputes as well as to make the people aware about legal system.