See Full Document Text
Ministry of Law and Justice
FREE LEGAL AID SERVICES
प्रव तथ: 29 JAN 2026 8:39PM by PIB Delhi
The Government has set up National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) under the Legal Services
Authorities (LSA) Act, 1987 to provide free and competent legal services to the poor and marginalised
sections of the society to ensure that opportunities for securing justice are not denied to any citizen by
reason of economic or other disabilities, and to organize Lok Adalats to secure that the operation of the
legal system promotes justice on the basis of equal opportunities.
In order to reach out to the citizens in every corner of the country, the legal services authorities have been
setup from the Taluk level up to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court Legal Services Committee
(SCLSC) functions at the Supreme Court whereas, there are 38 High Court Legal Services Committees
(HCLSCs), 37 State Legal Services Authorities (SLSAs), 707 District Legal Services Authorities (DLSAs)
and 2440 Taluk Legal Services Committees (TLSCs). The activities/programmes undertaken by Legal
Services Authorities include Legal Aid and advice; Legal Awareness Programmes; Legal Services Clinics;
Legal Literacy Clubs; Lok Adalats and implementation of Victim Compensation Scheme.
State/UT and year-wise details of number of persons benefitted through free legal services under Legal
Services Authorities Act during the last five financial years are at Annexure - A. However, the district and
case-wise data is not maintained by NALSA.
The National Legal Services Authority (Free and Competent Legal Services) Regulations, 2010
provide for a robust framework for monitoring and evaluating legal aid services through the
Monitoring and Mentoring Committees (MMCs) at all tiers i.e. Supreme Court of India, High Courts,
State Legal Services Authorities (SLSAs)/District Legal Services Authorities (DLSAs) and Taluk
Legal Services Committees (TLSCs). These committees are responsible for overseeing court-based
legal aid delivery, monitoring the progress of assigned cases, and guiding panel lawyers and Legal Aid
Defense Counsels (LADCs) in providing quality legal services.
The MMCs maintain registers to track the day-to-day progress and final outcomes of legal aid cases.
They obtain periodic reports from legal aid lawyers, assess their performance, and advise concerned
authorities to take corrective steps when progress is unsatisfactory. This continuous follow-up
mechanism ensures accountability, transparency, and quality control in legal services. The MMCs also
evaluate lawyer’s performance to identify underperformance or misconduct. Moreover, performance
of each human resource engaged under LADCS is evaluated every six months by the SLSA under the
guidance of Executive Chairman of the SLSA. Additionally, monthly reporting of casework by the
LADCs is done by the SLSAs to NALSA, ensuring real-time oversight and data-driven evaluation at
the national level.
(d) The data related to pending legal aid cases is not maintained by NALSA. However, quality of
disposal and their rates are regularly monitored through various level as detailed under
para (c) above.(e) The details of funds released and utilized by NALSA for implementation of various legal aid
services and programmes under the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987, during the last five financial
years are as under:
Financial Year Grant-in-Aid (in Rs.)
Funds Released Funds Utilised
2021-22 145,00,00,000 145,00,00,000
2022-23 190,00,00,000 190,00,00,000
2023-24 400,00,00,000 399,31,50,685
2024-25 200,00,00,000 197,10,67,183
147,92,50,000 114,66,93,380*
(under LADCS Scheme)
2025-26 200,00,00,000 144,65,24,026
(upto 18.01.2026)
195,84,00,000 194,17,18,000
(under LADCS Scheme)
* Due to some technical glitches under newly introduced TSA/TSA Hybrid module of PFMS, SLSAs and
DLSAs could not utilise completefund during F.Y. 2024-25 under the Scheme of Legal Aid Defense
Counsel System (LADCS).
Annexure - A
Statement showing the number of persons benefited through Legal Services provided under
Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 during the financial years2021-22 to 2025-26 (upto
November, 2025)
S.No. Name of State/UT 2021-22 2022-23 2023-24 2024-25 2025-26
Authority
(upto
November,
2025)1 Andaman & Nicobar 79 134 220 341 278
Islands
2 Andhra Pradesh 6,371 9,473 8,265 11,266 9,069
3 Arunachal Pradesh 2,657 5,559 5,696 9,236 6,696
4 Assam 1,10,254 38,335 63,749 82,694 66,567
5 Bihar 16,89,158 2,09,809 1,51,413 84,505 51,333
6 Chandigarh 1,781 2,653 2,822 2,951 2,202
7 Chhattisgarh 42,394 44,106 62,164 80,874 55,547
8 Dadra & Nagar Haveli 27 28 55 45 61
Daman & Diu 17 24 34 119 92
9 Delhi 79,055 96,433 1,21,882 76,526 48,922
10 Goa 1,101 2,041 1,558 1,889 2,359
11 Gujarat 21,953 32,422 40,569 50,467 60,168
12 Haryana 23,260 43,098 76,863 82,194 85,858
13 Himachal Pradesh 4,806 5,998 7,346 6,222 4,442
14 Jammu & Kashmir 8,870 7,992 11,396 18,602 16,966
15 Jharkhand 6,49,481 1,45,217 2,69,303 3,28,365 2,95,398
16 Karnataka 32,794 45,663 53,406 51,245 41,089
17 Kerala 16,895 23,418 36,498 26,571 24,175
18 Ladakh 2,408 711 505 324 181
19 Lakshadweep 0 0 0 1 14
20 Madhya Pradesh 33,43,800 1,91,921 2,25,510 2,33,009 1,65,804
21 Maharashtra 22,595 36,663 53,756 59,454 40,93522 Manipur 22,651 26,929 62,635 99,062 54,743
23 Meghalaya 2,346 2,769 2,371 2,754 3,378
24 Mizoram 3,201 5,038 4,801 3,713 2,427
25 Nagaland 7,750 7,390 4,603 5,012 7,418
26 Odisha 8,849 11,880 19,289 22,134 12,286
27 Puducherry 884 788 621 616 362
28 Punjab 36,404 56,448 60,361 65,513 55,037
29 Rajasthan 13,833 13,472 20,290 22,216 19,454
30 Sikkim 986 1,127 1,074 901 814
31 Tamil Nadu 38,181 49,570 45,180 52,528 37,759
32 Telangana 6,712 12,615 13,193 16,021 13,909
33 Tripura 2,671 5,055 9,964 10,303 7,943
34 Uttar Pradesh 1,32,629 24,890 29,079 22,732 20,861
35 Uttarakhand 3,775 5,386 21,339 34,208 35,333
36 West Bengal 29,015 49,714 62,354 92,914 72,350
Total 63,69,643 12,14,769 15,50,164 16,57,527 13,22,230
This information was given by MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) OF THE
MINISTRY OF LAW AND JUSTICE; AND MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF
PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS Shri Arjun Ram Meghwal in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha
today.
***
Samrat/
(रलीज़ आईडी: 2220508) आगंतुक पटल : 191