Free legal aid
Free legal services from the State are a statutory entitlement, not a favour and not charity. If you cannot afford an advocate, this is the route that exists for you, and it works better than most people expect. This page explains who qualifies and how to apply.
The legal basis
Article 39A of the Constitution requires the State to secure equal justice and to provide free legal aid so that no citizen is denied justice by reason of economic or other disability. The Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 puts that into effect through a structure of authorities: NALSA at the national level, State Legal Services Authorities, District Legal Services Authorities, and Taluk Legal Services Committees.
Who is entitled
Section 12 of the Act lists the categories entitled to free legal services. The two that matter most to people reading this page are:
- Every person in custody. Anyone in custody is entitled to free legal services, whatever their income and whatever their community. There is no means test for this.
- Anyone within the prescribed income limit. The limit is fixed by each State Government and differs from state to state, so check your own state's figure rather than a number you read online.
Other categories in Section 12 include women, children, members of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, persons with disability, industrial workmen, and victims of trafficking or of a mass disaster.
A point that is often misunderstood. A person from the general category is not excluded from free legal aid. Entitlement comes through custody or through the income limit, and both are open to everyone. If someone tells you that legal aid is only for reserved categories, they are wrong.
Legal Aid Defence Counsel
NALSA has been establishing Legal Aid Defence Counsel offices in district courts, staffed by full-time defence advocates who handle criminal matters for legal aid applicants rather than the older system of assigning panel advocates case by case. Where such an office exists in your district, ask for it by name at the District Legal Services Authority. Continuity of counsel is worth a great deal in a criminal trial.
[EDIT: Check whether the districts you work in have a Legal Aid Defence Counsel office and say so here. Local specifics are what make this page useful rather than generic.]
How to apply
- Go to the District Legal Services Authority. It sits in the district court complex, usually with a front office marked DLSA. There is no fee and you do not need an appointment.
- Ask for the legal aid application form. It is short. Staff are obliged to help you fill it if you cannot.
- Carry what you have: the FIR copy, any court papers, an identity document, and proof of income if you are applying on the income ground. If you are applying because a family member is in custody, carry whatever shows that, including the arrest memo or remand papers.
- Ask for an acknowledgement with a date on it. Keep it.
- Follow up. If nothing has happened in a week, go back and ask. Persistence is unfortunately part of the process.
If you are in custody, you do not have to do any of this yourself. Tell the Magistrate at the time of production that you cannot afford a lawyer and want legal aid. The court is obliged to act on that.
Lok Adalat and mediation
Many matters that end up as criminal complaints started as a dispute over land, wages, a boundary or a family arrangement. Where the underlying dispute is capable of settlement, the Legal Services Authorities also run Lok Adalats and mediation centres, which are free and much faster than a trial. Ask the DLSA whether your underlying dispute can go that route, even while the criminal matter continues separately.
How NCGC helps
We will help you fill the application, tell you which documents to carry, and follow up with you afterwards. Where a panel advocate in your district is available, we will connect you to them at no fee. What we cannot do is grant legal aid ourselves; that decision belongs to the Legal Services Authority.
Write to help@ncgc.in or start at Get legal help.