Centre For Legal Aid, Awareness and                                 Youth

Introduction :-

The primary aim of our organisation is to provide free legal aid and spreading of legal awareness. It is well established fact that one of the primary reasons why people are unable to take advantage of various programs, policies and legislations meant for general welfare is lack of awareness about the entitlements, access to legal help and capabilities to ensure implementation of rights including legal rights. The unscrupulous elements take advantage of this situation and helpless poor stand deprived and exploited. Our hierarchical society makes things worse for the uninformed and poor population. There is an urgent need therefore for organising legal awareness at large scale, provide legal aid to needy and promote a self-sustaining system of heightened legal awareness and enjoyment of rights.

Justification :-

i) Providing Legal Awareness and Legal Aid is Constitutional Obligation:

Article 39A of the Constitution of India provides that State shall secure that the operation of the legal system promotes justice on the 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.

ii) Legal Aid under Cr.P.C. and C.P.C. :

S. 304(1) of Cr.P.C. - Legal aid to accused at State expense in certain cases -
Where, in a trial before the Court of Session, the accused is not represented by a pleader, and where it appears to the court that the accused has not sufficient means to engage a pleader, the court shall assign a pleader for his defence at the expense of the State.

Supreme Court on Legal Aid –
Hussainara Khatoon v. State of Bihar
Khatri & Ors. (II) v. State of Bihar & Ors; (1981) 1 SCC
Suk Das v. Union Territory of Arunachal Pradesh; (1986) 2 SCC 401
M.H. Hoskot v. State of Maharashtra (1978) 3 SCC 544

Objectives:

To spread legal literacy amongst the people of Rajasthan, especially, the weak, down-trodden and poor, irrespective of race, caste, sex, colour or creed. Make people aware about the various legal provisions, programme and governmental schemes which are made for their benefits.

Programmes:

• Awareness programmes: Under this program, we will organise legal aid camps for spreading the awareness among the poor, uninformed and weaker section. The camps will be organised at remote areas, slum, villages and panchayats.
• Animator programmes: Two in number- one for slums and other for rural area: Each of the training program would be for a group of about 30-40 participants selected from different localities and at least 5 person from each slum/Panchayat. This group would take a lead in sustained awareness and advocacy so as to realise the broad objectives of the project. This group would be the back-bone of the project delivery.
• Rendering advice for prevention of disputes and encouraging amicable settlement of disputes through Lok Adalat and Mediation: We will encourage the people to settle the dispute outside the courts by way of mediation or other ADR methods which would also reduce the burdon from the courts and aggrieved party also get the remedy.
• Aware the people about the recent government policies and scheme which are made for benefits and assisting them as how to take benefits of all the schemes.
• Rehabilitation and Conciliation Centre for settling of disputes outside the courts: We will create conciliation centers where the people may come and submit their problem, and then the attempt should be made to solve the problems through mediations with the help of experienced advocate, once in every month.
• Monitoring the follow up actions in the matters in which legal assistance has been provided.