Legal Ethics Project

8/13/2019 Legal Ethics Project

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ADVOCATES DUTY TOWARDS SOCIETY AND

OBLIGATION TO RENDER LEGAL AID

Made By:-

Pranab Mahay

00216503809

B.A.LLB (H)


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Learn. Participate. Engage. Lead. These are tenets central to a lawyers duty to the profession.

But what is a duty? And what is this profession such that a duty can arise to it?

Duty is rooted in the idea of obligation, to serve or give something in return. Cicero said that one

of the sources of a citizens duty arises in an organized society with rendering to every man his

due, and with the faithful discharge of obligations assumed.Duty conveys a sense of ethical and

intellectual commitment to someone or something. The commitment is the sort that requires a

deliberate choice and results in action; it is not a matter of passive feeling or mere recognition.

Once a duty is acknowledged and embraced, that person commits himself/herself to the cause

involved without considering the self-interested courses of actions that may have been relevant

previously. Performing and fulfilling ones duty therefore may require sacrifice but it inevitably

enriches the lives and community of those who benefit from the discharge of the duty and also

that of the one who fulfills the obligation.

Law is a classic example of a profession. The term embraces a set of attitudes, skills, behaviours,

attributes and values which are expected from those to whom society has extended the privilege

of being considered a Professional. The underlying assumptionthat necessitates professionalism

in law is the understanding that practicing law (in thebroadest sense of the term) is an endeavor

central to the operation of a just society. Inthe service of that noble and challenging endeavor, a

lawyer is required to bring to bear a rigorous application of scholarly and ethical standards in

combination with skills training and the ability to advocate for individuals in need of

representation. A memberof the legal profession is expected to:

1. have mastered a body of knowledge and skills, and this knowledge and training is to be used

in the service of others;

2. uphold the highest standards of ethical and professional behaviour in all their actions and

activities; and

3. maintain the compact of trust between client and lawyer, and society and lawyera compact

that enables the profession to regulate itself and members to govern themselves accordingly.


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Membership in this profession has its privileges and they are many. Members in this

profession, accordingly have duties and obligations to it. These duties to the profession can be

said to include dedication to honesty, integrity and self-improvement commitment to

compassion, empathy, and altruism, and deliberate action that models these traits for others

and/or those new in the profession. These duties are not a burden but an opportunity, in their

faithful discharge, to serve and to mark gratitude.

It has been argued that the defining feature of a profession is a commitment to promote and

preserve the public good. The need to honour such a conception at all flows from the nature of

the ideal social compact between society and the profession. It has been argued that the interests

of society are advanced by the existence of a genuine legal profession rather than a legal industry

in which lawyers operate businesses in the Law.

If lawyers wish to remain part of a true profession, then their response to the community should

be an unambiguous declaration of allegiance to the overriding principle of public service. Fine

declarations will then need to be matched by evidence of decisions taken that involve some

willing cost to the profession. There are many occasions when the interests of lawyers and the

broader community (of which lawyers are a part) coincide. However, there is a suspicion that

when a choice is to be made, then in practice the interests of the profession override all others.

In the current social environment there are many who would argue that a genuine commitment to

ethics is an unrealizable ideal. Many think that sound ethical principles are fine in theory but that

they can't really be applied in practice. To try to do so is to be nostalgic. They say that to

promote virtue is to be old fashioned, to hark back to ideas only useful in a different era. They

ask us to be 'realistic' and to embrace the 'modern' way of doing things.

This plea is often nothing more than an ill disguised plea to allow for the survival of the fittest.

Perhaps such people are right. Perhaps a dog-eat-dog world will be the most efficient. And

perhaps efficiency is the only value that we need to embrace in the search for a worthwhile life.

Or perhaps efficiency is only one of a number of important values that we must learn to juggle

across an unpredictable landscape.


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Those members of the legal profession who are serious about meeting their ethical obligations

must face up to this challenge. After all, what if their critics in the market place are right? What

if the prime (and exclusive) objective really is to 'run a business in the law? One can only reply

that an authentic commitment to professional ethics may require lawyers to live a life that makes

only partial sense in a world dominated by an orientation to markets.

The full sense of such a commitment might only be appreciated when viewed against a

background of community. That is, the relevance of professions probably depends on the prior

existence of a society and not just an enterprise association.

Justice to people can be given through law. Law rules the universe. The operation of law

discovers truth and dispels the falsehood. Hence advocate is a person who stands committed to

help justice done to individuals, nations and to the world as a whole. The whole effort is intended

to seek truth for the benefit of the individual and the society. Hence, it is held, the profession of

law is a noble one. This nobility has to be the aim and promoted by all means by persons

belonging to the legal profession. K.T. Thomas once said Persons belonging to the legal

profession are the elite of society. They have always been in the path of progress and

development.

The advocate has the duty to find out the facts, must not support the falsehood if any and to

discard the same in order to proceed to the point of truth. Admitted by, the advocate in no event

should compromise with anything incorrect. No responsible lawyer should indulge in mollified

practices to deprive his client from justified claim.

There is a saying The preacher prays for all, the lawyer pleads for all, the doctor prescribes for

all, the plain citizen pays for all. The essence of such a statement is that the prayer of the

preacher intended to lead everybody on the right path, pleading of the lawyer is to bring the truth

in all cases for which he pleads, the doctor prescribes medicines to cure the disease of his

patients and the plain citizen pays to the state with sense of duty because the states duty is to

ensure security to its citizens. The lawyer is expected to be aware of the implication which hints

at the truthfulness, kindness, simplicity and serenity of the persons concerned.

While the sensibility of advocacy for establishing the genuine claim of the client is the first and

foremost requirement, the experience shows that at times the clients change their advocates if


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they are not satisfied with their performance. In a case a question arose whether a lawyer or a

chartered accountant could retain his clients papers because the client did not pay the fees. The

Supreme Court held the view that it was not proper on the part of an advocate to retain clients

papers on the ground that his fee was not paid and it was essence that the client must always be

free to go to another professional.

Conflict between interest and duty is a point at the center of professional ethics. One must be

careful not to take up a brief where there is possibility of conflict even if it is lucrative. What is

essential is total transparency in dealing and a deep sense of commitment, if the advocate has

accepted the brief he must be present in the court to argue and not to be tempted by any attractive

offer to go elsewhere.

All professions germinate in the society to cater to the needs of people who live therein. Hence,

professionals of a particular profession have obligation towards their profession and the society

which they belong. The primary responsibility of the professional is to maintain secrets of his

client and defend them by applying all legal methods and practices. To the clients a professional

owes duty to supply services for which he is paid. Negligence in delivering services in time may

cause damage to the claims of the clients. The courts behave with the professionals with respect,

the professionals in return should work in the right conduct in order to keep the dignity of the

profession in high magnitude.

Legal Aid implies giving free legal services to the poor and needy who cannot afford the services

of a lawyer for the conduct of a case or a legal proceeding in any court, tribunal or before an

authority. The earliest Legal Aid movement appears to be of the year 1851 when some enactment

was introduced in France for providing legal assistance to the indigent. In Britain, the history of

the organized efforts on the part of the State to provide legal services to the poor and needy dates

back to 1944, when Lord Chancellor, Viscount Simon appointed Rushcliffe Committee to

enquire about the facilities existing in England and Wales for giving legal advice to the poor and

to make recommendations as appear to be desirable for ensuring that persons in need of legal

advice are provided the same by the State.

One need not be a litigant to seek aid by means of legal aid. Legal Aid is available to anybody on

the road. Justice Blackmun in Jackson v. Bishop says that; "The concept of seeking justice


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cannot be equated with the value of dollars. Money plays no role in seeking justice."

Article 39A of the Constitution of India provides that 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 disability. Articles

14 and 22(1) also make it obligatory for the State to ensure equality before law and a legal

system which promotes justice on a basis of equal opportunity to all. Legal aid strives to ensure

that constitutional pledge is fulfilled in its letter and spirit and equal justice is made available to

the poor, downtrodden and weaker sections of the society.

Since 1952, the Govt. of India also started addressing to the question of legal aid for the poor in

various conferences of Law Ministers and Law Commissions. In 1960, some guidelines were

drawn by the Govt. for legal aid schemes. In different states legal aid schemes were floated

through Legal Aid Boards, Societies and Law Departments. In 1980, a Committee at the national

level was constituted to oversee and supervise legal aid programmes throughout the country

under the Chairmanship of Hon. Mr. Justice P.N. Bhagwati then a Judge of the Supreme Court of

India. This Committee came to be known as CILAS (Committee for Implementing Legal Aid

Schemes) and started monitoring legal aid activities throughout the country. The introduction of

Lok Adalats added a new chapter to the justice dispensation system of this country and

succeeded in providing a supplementary forum to the litigants for conciliatory settlement of their

disputes. In 1987 Legal Services Authorities Act was enacted to give a statutory base to legal aid

programmes throughout the country on a uniform pattern. This Act was finally enforced on 9th

of November 1995 after certain amendments were introduced therein by the Amendment Act of

1994.

The linkage between Article 21 and the right to free legal aid was forged in the decision in

Hussainara Khatoon v. State of Biharwhere the court was appalled at the plight of thousands

of undertrials languishing in the jails in Bihar for years on end without ever being represented by

a lawyer. The court declared that "there can be no doubt that speedy trial, and by speedy trial, we

mean reasonably expeditious trial, is an integral and essential part of the fundamental right to life

and liberty enshrined in Article 21." The court pointed out that Article 39A emphasized that free


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legal service was an inalienable element of reasonable, fair and just procedure and that the right

to free legal services was implicit in the guarantee of Article 21. In his inimitable style Justice

Bhagwati declared:

"Legal aid is really nothing else but equal justice in action. Legal aid is in fact the delivery

system of social justice. If free legal services are not provided to such an accused, the trial itself

may run the risk of being vitiated as contravening Article 21 and we have no doubt that every

State Government would try to avoid such a possible eventuality".

Further in the case of Hussainara Khatoon & Ors. (V) v. Home Secretary, State of Bihar, Patna

Justice Bhagwati held that: "its the constitutional right of every accused person who is unable to

engage a lawyer and secure legal services on account of reasons such as poverty, indigence or

incommunicado situation, to have free legal services provided to him by the State and the State is

under a constitutional mandate to provide a free lawyer to such accused person if the needs of

justice so require. If free legal services are not provided to such an accused, the trial itself may

run the risk of being vitiated as contravening Article 21 and it is hoped that every State

Government would try to avoid such a possible eventuality."

Two years thereafter, in the case of Khatri & Ors. (II) v. State of Bihar & Ors. , the court

answered the question the right to free legal aid to poor or indigent accused who are incapable ofengaging lawyers. It held that: "the state is constitutionally bound to provide such aid not only at

the stage of trial but also when they are first produced before the magistrate or remanded from

time to time and that such a right cannot be denied on the ground of financial constraints or

administrative inability or that the accused did not ask for it. Magistrates and Sessions Judges

must inform the accused of such rights. The right to free legal services is an essential ingredient

of reasonable, fair and just procedure for a person accused of an offence and it must be held

implicit in the guarantee of Article 21 and the State is under a constitutional mandate to provide

a lawyer to an accused person if the circumstances of the case and the needs of justice so require,

provided of course the accused person does not object to the provision of such lawyer. The State

cannot avoid this obligation by pleading financial or administrative inability or that none of the

aggrieved prisoners asked for any legal aid at the expense of the State. The only qualification

would be that the offence charged against the accused is such that on conviction, it would result


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in a sentence of imprisonment and is of such a nature that the circumstances of the case and the

needs of social justice require that he should be given free legal representation. There may,

however, be cases involving offences such as economic offences or offences against law

prohibiting prostitution or child abuse and the like, where social justice may require that free

legal or child abuse and the like, where social justice may require that free legal services need

not be provided by the State."

He reiterated this in Suk Das v. Union Territory of Arunachal Pradesh and said "It may

therefore now be taken as settled law that free legal assistance at State cost is a fundamental right

of a person accused of an offence which may involve jeopardy to his life or personal liberty and

this fundamental right is implicit in the requirement of reasonable, fair and just procedure

prescribed by Article 21." This part of the narration would be incomplete without referring to theother astute architect of human rights jurisprudence, Justice Krishna Iyer. In M.H. Hoskot v.

State of Maharashtra,he declared: If a prisoner sentenced to imprisonment is virtually unable

to exercise his constitutional and statutory right of appeal inclusive of special leave to appeal (to

the Supreme Court) for want of legal assistance, there is implicit in the Court under Article 142

read with Articles 21 and 39-A of the Constitution, power to assign counsel for such imprisoned

individual for doing complete justice.

In Khatri & Others v. St. of Bihar & others Bhagwati J. observed: Right to free legal aid, just

and reasonable procedures is a fundamental right (Khatoons Case). It is elementary that the

jeopardy to his personal liberty arises as soon as the person is arrested and is produced before a

magistrate for it is at this stage that he gets the 1st opportunity to apply for bail and obtain his

release as also to resist remain to police or jail custody. This is the stage at which and accused

person needs competent legal advice and representation. No procedure can be said to be just, fair

and reasonable which denies legal advice representation to the accused at this stage.

In, State of Haryana v. Darshana Devi, the Court said that: "the poor shall not be priced out of

the justice market by insistence on court-fee and refusal to apply the exemptive provisions of

Order XXXIII, CPC. The State of Haryana, mindless of the mandate of equal justice to the

indigent under the Magna Carta of Republic expressed in Article 14 and stressed in Article 39A

of the Constitution, has sought leave to appeal against the order of the high court which has


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rightly extended the 'pauper' provisions to auto-accident claims. Order XXXIII will apply to

tribunals, which have the trappings of the civil court.

The court should expand the jurisprudence of access to justice as an integral part of social justice

and examine the constitutionalism of court-fee levy as a facet of human rights highlighted in

nation's constitution. If the state itself should travesty this basic principle, in the teeth of articles

14 and 39A, where an indigent widow is involved, a second look at its policy is overdue. The

court must give the benefit of doubt against levy of a price to enter the temple of justice until one

day the whole issue of the validity of profit-making through sale of civil justice, disguised as

curt-fee, is fully reviewed by the supreme court. Before parting with this point the court must

express its poignant feeling that no state has, as yet, framed rules to give effect to the benignant

provision of legal aid to the poor in order xxxiii, rule 9A, civil procedure code, although severalyears have passed since the enactment. Parliament is stultified and the people are frustrated.

Even after a law has been enacted for the benefit of the poor, the state does not bring into force

by willful default in fulfilling the condition sine qua non. It is a public duty of each great branch

of government to obey the rule of law and uphold the tryst with the constitution by making rules

to effectuate legislation meant to help the poor. It is a public duty of each great branch of

government to obey the rule of law and uphold the tryst with the constitution by making rules to

effectuate legislation meant to help the poor.

Justice Bhagwati while delivering the judgement in the case of Kara Aphasia v. State of Bihar,

where the petitioners were young boys of 12-13 years when arrested, and were still languishing

in jail for over 8 years. They also alleged to have been kept in leg irons and forced to do work

outside the jail, directed that the petitioners must be provided legal representation by a fairly

competent lawyer at the cost of the State, since legal aid in a criminal case is a fundamental right

implicit in Article 21.

In Centre for Legal Research & Anr. v. State of Kerala, Chief Justice Bhagwati took a step

further and laid down norms or guide-lines laid down for State to follow in giving support and

cooperation to voluntary organizations and social action groups in operating legal aid

programmers and organizing legal aid camps and Lok Adalats or Niti Melas.


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While delivering the judgment Bhagwati, C.J., stated that the writ petition raised a question as to

whether voluntary organizations or social action groups engaged in the legal aid programmed

should be supported by the State Government and if so to what extent and under what conditions.

"There can be no doubt that if the legal aid programme is to succeed it must involve public

participation. The State Government undoubtedly has an obligation under Article 39-A of the

Constitution which embodies a directive principle of State policy to set up a comprehensive and

effective legal aid programme in order to ensure that the operation of the legal system promotes

justice on the basis of equality. But we have no doubt that despite the sense of social

commitment which animates many of our officers in the Administration, no legal aid programme

can succeed in reaching the people if its operations remains confined in the hands of the

Administration. It is absolutely essential that people should be involved in the legal aidprogramme because the legal aid programme is not charity or bounty but it is a social entitlement

of the people and those in need of legal assistance cannot be looked upon as mere beneficiaries

of the legal aid programme but they should be regarded as participants in it. If we want to secure

people's participation and involvement in the legal aid programme, we think the best way of

securing it is to operate through voluntary organizations and social action groups. These

organizations are working amongst the deprived and vulnerable sections of the community at the

grass-root level and they know what are the problems and difficulties encountered by these

neglected sections of Indian humanity. It is now acknowledged throughout the country that the

legal aid programme which is needed for the purpose of reaching social justice to the people

cannot afford to remain confined to the traditional or litigation oriented legal aid programme but

it must, taking into account the socio-economic conditions prevailing in the country, adopt a

more dynamic posture and take within its sweep what we may call strategic legal aid programme

camps, encouragement of public interest litigation and holding of Lok Adalats or Niti Melas for

bringing about settlements of disputes whether pending in courts or outside. The assistance of

voluntary agencies and social action groups must therefore be taken by the State for the purpose

of operating the legal aid programme in its widest and most comprehensive sense, and this is an

obligation which flows directly from Article 39A of the Constitution. It is also necessary to lay

down norms which should guide the State in lending its encouragement and support to voluntary

organizations and social action groups in operating legal aid programmes and organizing legal


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aid camps and Lok Adalats or Niti Melas. We are of the view that the following norms should

provide sufficient guidance to the State in this behalf and we would direct that the State

Government shall, in compliance with its obligations under Article 39A of the Constitution

extend its cooperation and support to the following categories of voluntary organizations and

social action groups in running the legal aid programme and organizing legal aid camps and Lok

Adalats or Niti Melas."

In M.H Hoskot v. State of Maharashtra, the Supreme Court laid down some banning

prescription for free legal aid to prisoners which are to be followed by all the courts of India,

such as furnishing of free transcript of judgment in time, to the sentences; where the prisoner

seeks to file an appeal for revision, every facility for exercising such right shall be made

available by the jail administration and if a prisoner is unable to exercise his statutory andconstitutional right of appeal including special leave to appeal for want of legal assistance, there

is implicit in the court under Article 142, read along with Article 21 and 39-A of the

Constitution, the power to assign counsel to the prisoner provided he does not object to the

lawyer named by the court

Lok Adalats: Lok Adalats are judicial bodies set up for the purpose of facilitating peaceful

resolution of disputes between the litigating parties. They have the powers of an ordinary civil

court, like summoning, examining evidence etc. Its orders are like any court orders, but the

parties cannot appeal against such orders. Lok Adalats can resolve all matters except criminal

cases that are non-compoundable. Either one or both the parties to litigation can make an

application to the court for transferring the case to a Lok Adalat. Where no compromise or

settlement is made by the Lok Adalat, such a case is transferred to the court and that court deals

with the litigation from the stage the Lok Adalat had reached.

Lok Adalats have proved to be an effective mechanism for resolution of disputes through

conciliatory methods. Up to 31 December 1997, about 17633 Lok Adalats have been held in

different parts of the country where about 68.86 lakh cases were settled. In about 349710 motor

vehicles accident claims cases, compensation amounting to over 1,160.07 crore rupees were

awarded. Under the Legal Services Authorities Act, Lok Adalat has been given the status of a

Civil Court and every award made by Lok Adalat is final and binding on all parties and no


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appeal lies to any court against its award. Under Chapter VI-A of the Legal Services Authorities

Act, 1987 there is the provision of Lok Adalats. Up to December 2004, over 2 lakh 52 thousand

Lok Adalats have been organized which have settled over 1 crore 74 lakh cases. For more

effective use of provisions of this act, the conference will deliberate on the feasibility of setting

up permanent Lok Adalats in the states.

The constitution of the Committee for the Implementation of Legal Aid Schemes (CILAS) in

1980 was a major step in institutionalizing legal aid. The Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987,

displaced the CILAS and introduced a hierarchy of judicial and administrative agencies. The

LSAA began to be enforced only eight years later, under the directions of the Supreme Court. It

led to the constitution of the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) at the Centre and a

State Legal Services Authority in the States to give effect to its directions.

National Legal Services Authority (NALSA): The National Legal Services Authority is a

statutory body which has been set up for implementing and monitoring legal aid programs in the

country. The legal aid program adopted by NALSA include promoting of legal literacy, setting

up of legal aid clinics in universities and law colleges, training of paralegals, and holding of legal

aid camps and Lok Adalats. National Legal Services Authority is the apex body constituted to

lay down policies and principles for making legal services available under the provisions of the

Act and to frame most effective and economical schemes for legal services. It also disburses

funds and grants to State Legal Services Authorities and NGOs for implementing legal aid

schemes and programs.

National Legal Services Authority was constituted on 5th December, 1995. His Lordship Hon.

Dr. Justice A.S. Anand, Judge, Supreme Court of India took over as the Executive Chairman of

National Legal Services Authority on 17the July, 1997. Soon after assuming the office, His

Lordship iNitiated steps for making the National Legal Services Authority functional. The first

Member Secretary of the authority joined in December, 1997 and by January 1998 the other

officers and staffs were also appointed. By February 1998 the office of National Legal Services

Authority became properly functional for the first time. A nationwide network has been

envisaged under the Act for providing legal aid and assistance.


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NALSA has also called upon State Legal Services Authorities to set up legal aid cells in jails

so that the prisoners lodged therein are provided prompt and efficient legal aid to which they are

entitled by virtue of section 12 of Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987. The Government has

sanctioned Rs 4 crores as grant-in-aid for NALSA for 1998-99 for allocating funds to the State,

District authorities, etc. The NALSA is also monitoring and evaluating the implementation of

the legal aid programs in the country. Up to December 1997 about 23.88 lakh persons were

benefited through court-oriented legal aid programs provided by the State Legal Aid and Advice

Boards/ State Legal Services Authorities. Of them, 3.73 lakh persons belonged to the scheduled

castes, about 2.14 lakh to the scheduled tribes, 240485 were women and 8578 were children.

Supreme Court Legal Services Committee:The Supreme Court Legal Services Committee has

been enacted under the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 for the effective rendering of justicein the apex court. If a person belongs to the poor section of the society having annual income of

less than Rs. 18,000/- or belongs to Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe, a victim of natural

calamity, is a woman or a child or a mentally ill or otherwise disabled person or an industrial

workman, or is in custody including custody in protective home, he/she is entitled to get free

legal aid from the Supreme Court Legal Aid Committee. The aid so granted by the Committee

includes cost of preparation of the matter and all applications connected therewith, in addition to

providing an Advocate for preparing and arguing the case. Any person desirous of availing legal

service through the Committee has to make an application to the Secretary and hand over all

necessary documents concerning his case to it. The Committee after ascertaining the eligibility of

the person provides necessary legal aid to him/her.

Persons belonging to middle income group i.e. with income above Rs. 18000/- but under Rs.

120000/- per annum are eligible to get legal aid from the Supreme Court Middle Income Group

Society on nominal payments.

Taluk Legal Services Committee:Sections 11-A and 11-B were inserted by the Act 59 of 1994

whereby provisions relating to Taluk Legal Services were added in the Legal Services

Authorities Act, 1987. The Taluk Legal Services Committee works under the rules made by the

different States. Relating to its composition, conditions of services in certain States, additional

functions have also been assigned, e.g. in Andhra Pradesh where the functions are subject to


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superintendence of the District and the State Authority. Apart from the abovementioned four-tier

machinery the Legal Services Authorities Act also provides for the Supreme Court Legal

Services Committee to perform functions as may be determined by the Central Authority and

State Authority respectively.

Legal Aid under C.P.C and Cr.P.C

S. 304(1)"Lays down that when accused facing a trial is very poor, then he can get legal aid. In

the absence of lawyer, the entire trial becomes vitiated and then case has to be remanded back to

the trial court. The Court has to ask the accused whether he has means to engage a lawyer or not.

If not, the court is bound to give him a lawyer from the bar who should be well versed with the

law and has to be get paid for by the State Government. The lawyer must be a competent one. He

"is amicus curiae (friend of court).

Order 33 C.P.C

Suits may be instituted by indigent person. -Subject to the following provisions, any suit may

be instituted by an indigent person.

Explanation I: A person is an indigent person,

(a) if he is not possessed of sufficient means (other than property exempt from attachment in

execution of a decree and the subject matter of the suit) to enable him to pay the fee prescribed

by law for the plaint in such suit, or

(b) where no such fee is prescribed, if he is not entitled to property worth one thousand rupees

other than the property exempt from attachment in execution of a decree, and the subject matter

of the suit.

Explanation II: Any property which is acquired by a person after the presentation of his

application for permission to sue as an indigent person, and before the decision of the

application, shall be taken into account in considering the question whether or not the applicant

is an indigent person.


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Explanation Ill: Where the plaintiff sues in a representative capacity, the question whether he is

an indigent person shall be determined with reference to the means possessed by him in such

capacity.

The new responsibilities of the Bench and the Bar must be assessed in the context of mass

discontent and the dynamic rule of law as its answer. The Judiciary is a reverenced institution.

Our judicial tryst with social destiny can only be redeemed by a spread out and institutionalized

legal services project adjusted to the conditions of our society.

It is also clear in the highly stratified Indian Society that the sources of poverty is not merely an

economic phenomenon and it is linked up with a variety of complex social relationships

aggravated by long period of colonial rule. Any program for using the law in at least reducing the

effects of poverty will, therefore, necessarily require knowledge on who, the poor are, what their

problems are, and how they are related to the existing law and legal services.

Conclusion

The focus of Legal Aid is on distributive justice, effective implementation of welfare benefits

and elimination of social and structural discrimination against the poor. It works in accordance

with the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 which act as the guideline of the rendering of free

justice.

It will be interesting to know the special problems of the rural poor and the urban poor separately

and also to find how they compare with the legal problems of the non-poor living in rural and

urban India. An efficient organization of a legal services delivery system may have to take

account of all these differences in legal needs of the poor and design the program accordingly.

Except sketchy impressionistic references in the reports of the various legal aid committees,

there has been a very little attention given to the analysis of the legal problems of the poor at the

academic, official or professional level.

The discomfort of the bureaucracy arising out of the policing role of legal aid is understandable.

In a Welfare State, the Government cannot be made available for litigation against itself to

vindicate the legal rights of the poor. The criticism that legal aid litigation, aims at law reform


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thereby making the judiciary usurps the functions of the legislature is illogical and does not carry

conviction in common law jurisprudence.

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