Legal Aid means giving lawyers’ services to those who cannot afford them, and thereby making access to justice equally available to all, irrespective of their financial capacity.

Free legal service giving to the poor is an essential aspect of justice and it is implicit in the fundamental right to life and liberty in Article 21.

While the Constitution guarantees this right, it also directs the State under Article 39-A, to translate this right into reality through suitable schemes for legal laid. Till 1980, the only way this was done, was through a provision of the Code of Civil Procedure which allowed an indigent person to institute a suit in forma pauperis without paying court fees. But it became apparent that due to the delay involved, justice was not really accessible. Therefore, 1980, the Government set up a committee for Implementing Legal Aid Schemes (CILA) under the chairmanship of Justice P. N. Bhagwati to formulate a comprehensive and dynamic legal aid program. Among the functions of the Committee are to promote legal literacy and awareness of legal rights, setting up of legal advice board at State level creating a cadre of barefoot lawyers, legal aid clinics, sensitizing the legal profession to the ultimate goal of social change, etc. and make use of the mass-media, conduct sociololegal surveys etc.

A survey of the work done by these legal aid cells, however, shows that they have the following drawbacks :

1. They are manned by persons appointed on the basis of political affiliations, rather than commitment:
2. They don’t have any radical ideology to bring about a structural change in society. Therefore, they do not aim to bring about any substantial change in the lives of the weaker sections;
3. Financially they are dependent on State Government which delays sanctioning of funds;
4. Very few socially conscious lawyers who are motivated to invest their time and energy in it;
5. Most of the legal aid centres are in towns and cities;
6. Majority of rural poor are ignorant of the availability of such services.

Thus the legal aid programme has been reduced to a mere court oriented program giving legal aid through assistance for litigation and not the kind of change that Justice Bhagwati envisaged: "Preventive legal service...requires a qualitative and radical change in the functioning of the legal service program...It does not regard litigation as playing an important role...it is more concerned with the problems of the poor as a class, and is calculated to help organise the poor , so that they may be able to act on the realisation that real political power rests with them, and....shape the destiny of the country."

A dynamic legal aid program is one which can provide justice to the poor, initiate reforms in the legal and judicial system, raise th legal and political consciousness of the masses of and give strength to the poor/weaker sections in their organised struggle for justice. See Appendix 1 for a case study of a lady activist, Mercy Mathew, who, through raising legal awareness among villagers in a remote tribal area, sought to promote social change in the area while personally undergoing harrowing experiences --enmity of persons whose interests were at stake, the lassitude of some government officials, corrupt practices among some Forest Officials, reluctance and a deep seated fear in the villagers themselves to assert their rights and even threats to their person and life.

One field of Legal Aid which has received the most attention and has therefore been very successful is that of Public Interest Litigation. The following section is devoted to a discussion of Public Interest Litigation, or PIL as it is known.

Public Interest Litigation

One of the best avenues for seeking justice through the courts in recent years, has been the development of PIL. Until the emergence of PIL, a petition for justice could be made only by a person who was a victim of some illegal act committed upon by him, or at the most by a relative, on his behalf. But now under PIL, Articles 32 and 226 of the Constitution guarantees public spirited persons, lawyers, social workers, journalists and voluntary organisations the right to file petitions on behalf of the poor or weaker sections or society. This has been possible because of the new meaning given by the Supreme Court to the concept of locus standi.1 According to this new concept, if the legal rights of an individual or class of persons are violated, and if by reason of poverty or disability, they cannot approach the court for judicial redress, any public spirited person or institution, acting in good faith (and not out of personal vengeance) can move the court for judicial redress.

In the early 1980s, the Supreme Couret realised that protection of law was more easily acccessible to the rich and politically powerful, while in the case of the vast majority, civil and political rights of the people remained largely on paper. So, in order to make redress for violation of rights more accessible to the majority, the Supreme Court, under Justice P. N. Bhagwati, initiated this new trype of litigation. Since its introduction, several individuals and institutions have made PIL petitions, with successful results. Letters and post cards addressed to the Supreme Court and the High Courts by citizens and groups have been in fit cases, treated as Writ Petitions. See box below. a unique distinguishing feature of PIL is that it is usually treated on a top priority basis.

Mode of Filing PIL Cases

Much of the PIL in the initial period (1981-82) arose out of letters written by social workers, journalists, law teachers, lawyers and civil liberty activists directly to Chief Justice Bhagwati. To date, in most of the cases, the Supreme Court has acted on such reports and passed orders to giveinterim/permanent relief to the petitioners. Awareness has spread regarding the use of PIL as a form of intervention which can be used to ameliorate misery arising from repression, government lawlessness and administrative negligence and indifference. Court decisions based on PIL have exposed the failure of the State Governments to deliver the goods to the poor. Through its orders and directions, it seeks to improve the administration and make it more responsive and sensitive to the needs of the people.

Points to remember when sending a petition for PIL

1. Discuss the legal issue with the affected people thoroughly.

2. Find out whether the matter infringes on the fundamental rigfhts of the people.

3. Help the people to decide whether legal action must be taken, either to enforce their rights, or present their violation.

4. Write out a petition with all the facts, details, dates etc.

5. Specify in the petition, the type of relief wanted by the people, and get their signatures, if possible.

6. Collect all the available documents, paper clippings, photographs, investigation reports, certificates, affidavits, etc. related to the issue.

7. Send the registered petition to the Chairman, Committee for Implementing Legal Aid Schemes, Supreme Court, New Delhi 110001, or the Chief Justice of the respective High Court.

8. If possible , consult a socially conscious lawyer,or any member of a legal aid society, before sending the petition, and do not remit any moneywith the petition.

1. Although usually the Supreme Court immediately passes interim orders for relief, rarely is a final verdict given, and in most of the cases, the follow-up is poor.
2. Secondly, there are factions among judges and lawyers, regarding the measure of importance and priority to be given to PIL writ petitions.
3. And lastly, if PIL is resorted to too much, they will also, in time, be reduced to the status of ordinary cases, which collect dust in the courts.

Several voluntary agencies are making use of it, as a support in their social action. See Table 1, for names of some individuals and voluntary organisations promoting PIL.

Conclusion

A knowledge and awareness of laws and legal matters is very essential if we wish to enhance our lives and socities and use this knowledge to bring about social justice and peace, and in general, to make this world a better place in which to live.

The need of the hour is to establish Legal Aid Societies, geared to helping the poor with their legal problems and stimulating reflection and action among them, to help them regain their social and political power. This can be done with the help of sociallycommitted lawyers, journalists and social workers, activists-- in fact anybody who is interested in improving our society and adopting appropriate value changes towards that goal. One doesn’t need to be scared of the technical jargon found in law books. But if one feels the need to get more ideas on othe laws, and how to start a legal aid society or social justice cell, one can attend short conducted courses conducted by the Indian Social Institute in different parts of the country. Contact: Director, P. D. Mathew, Indian Social Institute, Lodi Road, New Delhi 110003. Ph.622379. Also contact : The Legal Aid Cell, S.N.D.T. Women’s University, Department of Continuing and Adult Education, Patkar Hall, 1st floor, New Marine Lines, Churchgate, Bombay-400020. Ph.291879. Existing State and local level Legal Aid Committees should also be strengthened, leading to greater accessibility of law and justice, to all the people.

Table 1 Individuals & Voluntary Organisations Promoting PIL
Anand Niketan Ashram P.O. Rangpur, Via.Kosindra Dist. Vadodara, Gujarat.	Peoples Union for Civil Liberties, F-67 Bhagat Singh Market, New Delhi 110 001
AWARE 1-1-298/4, Ashoknagar Hyderabad 500 020	Peoples’ Union for Democratic Rights 213, Jor Bagh, New Delhi 110 003
Banwasi Seva Kendra C/o Mr. Prembhai Govindnagar, Via Turra Mirzapur, U.P.	Public Interest Law Service Society, C/o Dr. Vincent Panikulangara 10, Panampilly Nagar Cochin 682016, Kerala
Free Legal Aid Group c/o. Shri Jaiswal, 402 Layout, Jamshedpur 831011	Social Work Research Centre Tilonia, Madanganj, Ajmer Rajasthan 305812
Free Legal Aid Society Near Civil Court Rajpipla Dist Bharuch, Gujarat	Womens’ Development Unit Seva Mandi Udaipur Rajasthan 313 001
Indian Social Institute Lodi Road New Delhi 110003.	Mr. Avadesh Kaushal 21, E.C.Road, Dehradun 248 001
Lawyers’ Collective C/0 Ms. Indira Jaising Room 818, 8th floor Stock Exchange Towers Dalal Street,Bombay 400023	Mr. Francis V.J. 120, Lawyers Chamber Supreme Court Compound New Delhi 110 003
Movement for Protection of Human Rights of Marginalised Communities C/0 Mr. David 5/1, Battai Street, Velapadi Vellore, N.A. Tamilnadu 632 000	Mr. Gobinda Mukhoty 213, Jorbagh New Delhi 110 003
	Mr. Soli Soranjee (Sr.) 134, Sunder Nagar New Delhi 110 003
Mr. Jose Verghese 51/23, Old Rajinder Nagar New Delhi 110 60	Justice V.M. Tarkunde B-17, Maharani Bagh New Delhi 110 065
Source : P. D. Mathew, Ibid, pp. 20-22