New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday said awareness is the key to the success of functioning of legal aid mechanisms and a robust system should be put in place to ensure that beneficial schemes promoted by legal services authority reach all.
Passing a slew of directions on the issue of providing legal aid to prisoners, a bench headed by Justice B R Gavai said in public places like police stations and bus stands, addresses and phone numbers of the nearest legal aid office should be prominently displayed.
It said the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA), in cooperation with states and district legal services authorities, shall ensure that the standard operating procedure for access to legal aid service to inmates in jail is operated efficiently.
"We have also said that for... success of the functioning of the legal aid mechanism, awareness is the key," the bench said.
"A robust mechanism should be put in place and periodically updated to ensure that various beneficial schemes promoted by legal services authority reaches the nook and corner of the nation and particularly to those whose grievances it has set out to address," it said.
The top court said adequate literature, including in local languages in the states, and appropriate promotional methods should be launched so that consumers of justice to whom the schemes are intended can make the best use of the same. It said promotional campaigns in the local languages be also undertaken through radio and Doordarshan.
The bench said the Centre and the state governments shall continue to extend their cooperation and assistance to the legal services authorities at different levels for the effective implementation of the measures taken. It directed the apex court registry to forward a copy of its judgement to all the high courts.
"The high courts may consider the feasibility of issuing a practice direction to the effect that all courts, including the high courts while furnishing the copies of judgements of conviction, dismissal, reversal of acquittal, dismissal of bail applications may append a cover sheet to the judgement informing the convict about the availability of free legal aid facilities for pursuing higher remedies," it said.
During the hearing in the matter in July, the NALSA had told the top court that around 870 convicts, lodged in jails in 18 states and Union territories, wish to file appeals against their convictions after being informed about free legal aid. The apex court was dealing with a plea on the issue of overcrowding in jails.
