Legal aid helpline 1800 000 0000 help@ncgc.in
निःशुल्क कानूनी सहायता Submit your case

Get legal help

Urgent matters go to the helpline, not to this form. If an arrest has taken place or is imminent, call 1800 000 0000 now. Form submissions are read during working hours and cannot meet a twenty-four hour deadline. The NALSA helpline 15100 is also open to you and is not run by us.

Tell us what stage your matter is at and a volunteer from the district panel will call you back. There is no fee for this, and there never will be.

Before you write to us

  1. Get a copy of the FIR. You are entitled to it, and nothing useful can be said about your case without it.
  2. Note the date of remand, if anyone is in custody. Time limits run from that date.
  3. Collect the papers showing the underlying dispute — land records, tenancy or wage papers, employment records, earlier complaints by either side, panchayat records, notices.
  4. Write down the sequence of events with dates, before memory rearranges them.
  5. Do not contact the complainant or any witness. It will be used against you.

Send us your case

[EDIT: paste your Google Form iframe here, then delete this paragraph. Instructions are in the comment block at the top of this page's HTML.]

What happens next

  1. We read the submission and check which district it falls in.
  2. A volunteer calls you on the number you gave, usually within [EDIT: state a realistic figure — two working days is better honoured than same day is broken].
  3. Where a panel advocate is available in your district, we put you in touch. The advocate acts for you on their own professional responsibility, not as an employee of NCGC.
  4. Where no panel advocate is available, we help you apply to the District Legal Services Authority instead. See Free legal aid.

What we cannot do

  • We cannot promise an outcome. Only a court can quash an FIR or grant bail. Anyone who guarantees you a result is lying to you.
  • We cannot appear for you. NCGC is not a law firm. Advocates on our panel appear; we do not.
  • We cannot give legal advice by email. Advice requires someone who has read your papers.
  • We cannot act as an emergency service. For anything happening within twenty-four hours, use the telephone.

What we do with what you send

Your submission is read by the case desk and, where relevant, shared with a panel advocate in your district so that they can call you. We may use the facts of your matter in anonymised form for research and advocacy, with your name, the complainant's name and identifying details removed. We do not sell or trade information, and we do not publish anything that identifies any party.

Full details are in our privacy policy. If you would rather not use a form at all, write to help@ncgc.in or telephone the helpline.

Assistance from NCGC is free. If any person asks you for money in our name, refuse and write to office@ncgc.in with the name and the date.

Know your rights   Arrest, bail and time limits