Free legal aid fundamental right even for those who don't seek it: SC

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday said the right to counsel for a prisoner is a fundamental right traceable to Article 21 of the Constitution and the legal aid to the poor should not be poor legal aid.

A bench of Justices B R Gavai and K V Vishwanathan underscored free legal assistance for the poor and indigent at the cost of the State is a fundamental right of a person under Article 21 of the Constitution even if the person does not seek legal assistance on his own.

In its judgment on a PIL filed by activist Suhas Chakma, the apex court issued a slew of directions under the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 to fortify the rights of the prisoners, either undertrial or convicts, to get free legal assistance.

"A robust mechanism should be put in place and periodically updated to ensure that the various beneficial schemes promoted by the Legal Services Authorities reaches every nook and corner of the nation and particularly to those whose grievances it has set out to address," the bench said.

It said adequate literature including in the local languages of various States and appropriate promotional methods should be launched so that the consumers of justice to whom the schemes are intended can make the best use of it.

In public places like police stations, post offices, bus stands, railway stations, etc, boards in prominent places should be displayed furnishing the address for contact and the phone numbers of the nearest legal aid office, the court directed. This should be done in the local language and in English, it said.

The court also directed the Union and the state governments to continue to extend their cooperation and assistance to the Legal Services Authorities at different levels for the effective implementation of the measures taken by them.

The court said the High Courts may consider the feasibility of issuing a practice direction to the effect that all courts including the High Court while furnishing the copy of the judgment of conviction or dismissal or reversal of acquittal and dismissal of bail applications, may append a coversheet to the judgment informing the convict about the availability of free legal aid facilities for pursuing higher remedies.

The petitioner sought directions to ensure that no prisoner is subjected to torture, cruel, inhumane, and degrading treatment or punishment because of living in overcrowded and unhygienic conditions in jail. He also sought a direction for creating a permanent mechanism to decongest the overcrowded prisons.

The court heard senior advocates Vijay Hansaria and K Parameshwar, both acting as amicus curiae, and others, to note that NALSA has been doing commendable work in this regard.

"There are a total of 1,265 Jails (including sub jails and women jails), 1,256 PLACs (Prison Legal Aid Clinics) and 6,663 Jail Visiting Lawyers. As of 2023-24, NALSA has interacted with 4,56,798 inmates and provided legal assistance to 3,24,867 inmates," it noted.

The Undertrial Review Committee meetings have resulted in the recommendation for release of 3,13,888 prisoners and the actual release of 1,52,570 prisoners across India, it noted.

The court recorded that the NALSA has taken corrective steps acknowledging that there could be unintended lapses in the identification of prisoners.

The judgment dealt with the aspect of access to free legal aid for prison inmates and kept the issue of “Open Correctional Institutions” to hear and consider separately.

It noted a pioneering measure adopted by NALSA since the year 2021-22 is the introduction of the Legal Aid Defense Counsel System with a view to strengthen and professionalise legal services delivered.

"At present, as per the report, around 611 of the 703 districts in the country have the Legal Aid Defense Counsel System in place. Just as there is a prosecuting office for prosecution, this is an institutionalised method of providing defense counsel assistance in legal aid matters," it said.