New Delhi: The Parliament was informed that 45,859 Supreme Court judgments have been translated into various vernacular languages and made available on the e-SCR portal, with 36,335 of those translations in Hindi. Additionally, as of September 27, 2024, 12,629 judgments from nine High Courts have also been translated into Hindi, while 18,315 judgments are available in other local languages on their respective High Court websites.
In response to a query about the government’s efforts to ensure accessible justice for citizens, Minister of State (Independent Charge) of Law and Justice, Arjun Ram Meghwal, mentioned the approval of a new Central Sector Scheme called the Legal Aid Defence Counsel System (LADCS) on March 12, 2024. This initiative aims to provide legal aid specifically for criminal cases, with a financial budget of Rs 998.43 crore set for three years (FY 2023-24 to FY 2025-26).
As of September 30, 2024, LADCS offices have been established in 653 districts, employing 4,674 personnel, including 3,167 Defense Counsels. In the year leading up to September 2024, these offices handled over 2.54 lakh criminal cases.
The Minister also highlighted the establishment of the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) under the Legal Services Authorities (LSA) Act of 1987, aimed at providing free legal services to underprivileged groups as outlined in Section 12 of the Act. Legal Services Authorities engage in legal aid and advice, awareness programs, empowerment camps, clinics, literacy clubs, Lok Adalats, and the implementation of victim compensation schemes.
Furthermore, MoS Meghwal spoke about the DISHA scheme launched in 2021 with a total budget of Rs 250 crore over five years (2021-2026). This initiative focuses on creating a more accessible and citizen-friendly legal service delivery system through Tele-Law, the Nyaya Bandhu (Pro Bono Legal Services) program, and legal literacy initiatives.
As of January 2025, the Tele-Law Service has been implemented in 2.5 lakh Gram Panchayats across 785 districts in 36 States and Union Territories, providing pre-litigation legal advice to 10,685,242 beneficiaries.