Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal launched Tele-Law 2.0. The Department of Justice celebrated the feat of providing free legal advice to 50 lakh people across the country through its Tele-Law programme.
The renewed scheme integrates the legal advice service under Tele-Law with legal representation services under the Nyaya Bandhu (Pro Bono) programme. This would enable the common citizens to access legal advice, legal assistance and legal representation through a single registration and single gateway of Tele-Law.
Several cases in which tele-law centres help people get pre-litigation advice end up in courts. Lawyers who are part of the Nyaya Bandhu scheme can take up for free cases of those willing to contest their claims in courts.
Tele-Law programme
• Tele-Law leverages technology to connect the beneficiary with the lawyers in a panel to seek legal advice and consultation for early redressal of their grievance.
• The department of justice partnered with the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) and CSC e-Governance Service India Limited for mainstreaming legal aid to the marginalised communities through Common Services Centers (CSC).
• The Tele-Law scheme was launched on April 20, 2017.
• Tele-Law means the use of communications and information technology for the delivery of legal information and advice. This e-interaction between lawyers and people would be through the video-conferencing infrastructure available at the CSCs.
• The concept of Tele-Law is to facilitate delivery of legal advice through a panel of lawyers stationed at the state Legal Services Authorities (SALSA) and CSC.
• This service aims to reach out to the needy especially the marginalised and disadvantaged.
• Tele-Law initiative has made legal consultation both easily accessible and highly affordable for common citizens.
• Launched as a pilot programme with 1,800 CSCs in 11 states, the programme coverage has scaled up to 2.5 lakh CSCs covering 765 districts across 36 states/UTs in the country.
How does it work?
• Tele-Law service enables anyone to seek legal advice without wasting time and money. The service is free for those who are eligible for free legal Aid as mentioned under Section 12 of Legal Services Authority Act, 1987. For all others a nominal fee of Rs 30 is charged.
• Para Legal Volunteer (PLV) is the first point of contact between rural citizens and lawyers providing legal aid through CSC. They are not lawyers, but have basic understanding of legal process. They hear the grievances of citizens and offer appropriate support/suggestions for legal aid. They also help the citizens understand legal issues and advice given by lawyers.
• It connects people to panel of lawyers via video conferencing/telephone facilities available at CSCs situated at the village level.
• Tele-Law aims to resolve cases at the pre-litigation stage, and offers advice from purely legal matters to cases related to benefits under schemes and other day-to-day matters.
• A dedicated web portal on Tele-Law (http://www.tele-law.in/) is available in 22 regional languages, for wide outreach by people of various and diversified ethnicities across India.
• In 2021, the ministry launched Tele-Law mobile app.
Nyaya Bandhu programme
• The department of justice launched the Nyaya Bandhu (pro bono legal services) programme in April 2017.
• The programme aims to provide free legal assistance and counsel to the persons eligible under Section 12 of Legal Service Authorities Act, 1987.
• The term pro bono, short for “pro bono publico”, is a Latin term which means “for the public good”. In practice, the term is used specifically in the context of the legal profession — referring to the practice of giving voluntary legal advice to individuals and organisations that are unable to afford legal advice and / or cannot access legal aid.
• This service is provided by advocates who are registered with the department of justice to volunteer their time and services to represent the cases of registered applicants/litigants. To ensure seamless connectivity between the registered litigant and registered Pro Bono advocate, a Nyaya Bandhu mobile application has been developed.
