Free Legal AID

Supreme Court of India has been consistently urging the State that the poor people who cannot afford to institute or defend a case in a court of law should be given free legal aid at all levels of courts. Giving this information in written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha, Shri Salman Khurshid, Minister of Law & Justice, said that the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 enables all the persons who are eligible under section 12 of the said Act to obtain legal aid at all levels including in appeals. The applicant for legal aid has to file an application to the District Legal Services Authority, High Court Legal Services Committee or Supreme Court Legal Services Committee, as the case may be, depending on the court in which he/ she wished to file his/ her appeal.