Parliament Question: National Legal Services Authority in Tamil Nadu

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF LAW AND JUSTICE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO - 3375 TO BE ANSWERED ON FRIDAY, THE 08TH AUGUST, 2025 NATIONAL LEGAL SERVICES AUTHORITY IN TAMIL NADU

3375. SHRI MALAIYARASAN D:

Will the Minister of LAW AND JUSTICE be pleased to state:

(a) the details of the various schemes implemented by the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) across the country, with specific emphasis on Tamil Nadu;

(b) the number of beneficiaries provided free legal aid and assistance under these schemes in Tamil Nadu during the last three years, district-wise, especially in Kallakurichi Lok Sabha Constituency;

(c) whether the Government has conducted any assessment of the effectiveness and outreach of these schemes in rural and urban areas of Tamil Nadu;

(d) the number of Lok Adalats organized in Tamil Nadu in the last three years and the number of cases disposed through them; and

(e) the steps taken to increase legal awareness and access to justice among marginalized communities, women and children in Tamil Nadu? ANSWER 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)

(a) and (b): The National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) was constituted under the Legal Services Authorities (LSA) Act, 1987 to provide free and competent legal services to the weaker sections of the society including beneficiaries covered under Section 12 of the LSA Act, 1987, which aims to ensure that the opportunities for securing justice are not denied to any citizen by reason of economic or other disabilities, and to organize Lok Adalats for amicable settlement of disputes. In addition, NALSA has also formulated various schemes for the implementation of preventive and strategic legal service programmes, which are implemented by the Legal Services Authorities at various levels

(1)i.e. State, District and Taluka level. The State/UT-wise details of beneficiaries under various activities/programmes undertaken by Legal Services Authorities during the last three years are at Annexure - A. However, the district-wise information is not maintained by NALSA.

The Government of India is also implementing a Central Sector Scheme namely; Legal Aid Defense Counsel System (LADCS) Scheme through NALSA since 2023-24, which aims to provide legal aid with regard to criminal cases to the beneficiaries eligible for legal aid under Section 12 of the LSA Act, 1987. As on 30th June 2025, LADC offices are functional in 662 districts across the country. Since inception, Legal Aid Defence Counsels (LADCs) have been assigned with 8,69,243 criminal cases, of which 5,85,255 cases were disposed of.

(c): 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 Committee (MMC) at all tiers i.e.

Supreme Court of India, High Courts, State Legal Services Authorities (SLSAs)/District Legal Services Authorities (DLSAs) and Taluka 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 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 the Hon’ble 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.

(2)(d): The details of Lok Adalats organized in Tamil Nadu in the last three years and the number of cases/issues settled through them are as under:

(i) State Lok Adalat Year State Lok Adalats held Cases settled 2022-23 1295 16369 2023-24 1336 34744 2024-25 565 6943 Total 3196 58056

(ii) Permanent Lok Adalat (Public Utility Services) Y ear Permanent Lok Adalats functioning Sittings held Cases settled 2022-23 32 1121 528 2023-24 32 1119 427 2024-25 32 1067 409 Total 3307 1364

(iii) National Lok Adalat Year Total Cases settled 2022 447536 2023 355762 2024 338520 Total 1141818

(e): The legal awareness programmes are held across the country by Legal Service Authorities in regard to entitlement to free legal aid and various laws and schemes relating to children, labourers, victims of disaster, SC and ST, persons suffering from disability, etc. The Legal Services Authorities also prepare booklets and pamphlets in simple language on various laws, for distribution amongst the people. The details of legal awareness camps/programs organized by Legal Service Authorities across the country (including Tamil Nadu) during the last three years are as under:

Tamil Nadu Across the country (including Tamil Nadu) Year Legal Awareness Persons Legal Awareness Persons programs attended programs attended 2022-23 10,814 13,27,379 4,90,055 6,75,17,665 2023-24 4,408 7,12,534 4,30,306 4,49,22,092 2024-25 6,284 10,10,195 4,62,988 3,72,32,850 Total 21,506 30,50,108 13,83,349 14,96,72,607 *****

(3)Annexure-A Statement referred to in reply to Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 3375 for answer on 08.08.2025 regarding ‘National Legal Services Authority in Tamil Nadu’ Statement containing the details of persons benefited through Legal aid and advice under various activities/programmes undertaken by Legal Services Authorities during the last three years S. No. Name of the State/UT Authority 2022-23 2023-24 2024-25 1 Andaman and Nicobar Islands 134 220 341 2 Andhra Pradesh 9,473 8,265 11,266 3 Arunachal Pradesh 5,559 5,696 9,236 4 Assam 38,335 63,749 82,694 5 Bihar 2,09,809 1,51,413 84,505 6 Chandigarh 2,653 2,822 2,951 7 Chhattisgarh 44,106 62,164 80,874 Dadra and Nagar Haveli 28 55 45 8 Daman and Diu 24 34 119 9 Delhi 96,433 1,21,882 76,526 10 Goa 2,041 1,558 1,889 11 Gujarat 32,422 40,569 50,467 12 Haryana 43,098 76,863 82,194 13 Himachal Pradesh 5,998 7,346 6,222 14 Jammu and Kashmir 7,992 11,396 18,602 15 Jharkhand 1,45,217 2,69,303 3,28,365 16 Karnataka 45,663 53,406 51,245 17 Kerala 23,418 36,498 26,571 18 Ladakh 711 505 324 19 Lakshadweep 0 0 1 20 Madhya Pradesh 1,91,921 2,25,510 2,33,009 21 Maharashtra 36,663 53,756 59,454 22 Manipur 26,929 62,635 99,062 23 Meghalaya 2,769 2,371 2,754 24 Mizoram 5,038 4,801 3,713 25 Nagaland 7,390 4,603 5,012 26 Odisha 11,880 19,289 22,134 27 Puducherry 788 621 616 28 Punjab 56,448 60,361 65,513 29 Rajasthan 13,472 20,290 22,216 30 Sikkim 1,127 1,074 901 31 Tamil Nadu 49,570 45,180 52,528 32 Telangana 12,615 13,193 16,021 33 Tripura 5,055 9,964 10,303 34 Uttar Pradesh 24,890 29,079 22,732 35 Uttarakhand 5,386 21,339 34,208 36 West Bengal 49,714 62,354 92,914 Total 12,14,769 15,50,164 16,57,527