Government’s Tele-Law program offers free legal advice to over 50 lakh people

50.33 lakh beneficiaries served and legal aid at 2.50 lakh CSCs, the Law Ministry reported on Friday.

New Delhi: Over 50.33 lakh beneficiaries have received advice and legal aid services expanded to 2.50 lakh Common Service Centres (CSCs), the Law and Justice Ministry said on Friday.

Last week, during the launch of Tele Law 2.0, Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal appreciated the functionaries providing legal advice services under Tele-Law with legal representation services under the Nyaya Bandhu (Pro Bono) program.

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The event also witnessed the felicitation of the frontline functionaries who are the grassroots soldiers and ensure the delivery of legal services at its doorstep. Tele-Law programme, an e-interface platform, was launched on April 20, 2017, to strengthen the pre-litigation mechanism in the country. Law and Justice Ministry stated that the objective of the initiative is to connect the beneficiary with the Panel Lawyer to seek legal advice and consultation for an early redressal of their grievance through video conferencing and telephone.

The vast network of Common Service Centres (CSC) at the Panchayat level is used to connect the disadvantaged, marginalized, vulnerable, and unreached groups and communities with Panel Lawyers for seeking timely and valuable legal advice, stated the Ministry.

In 2017, three key legal aid and empowerment programmes were launched namely Tele-Law, Nyaya Bandhu promoting pro bono legal service and Nyaya Mitra facilitating reduction of pendency of 10 years +old cases.

The Tele-Law 2.0 initiative was launched on August 25, 2023, marking an important chapter in the evolution of the Tele-Law program. This ground-breaking program, operating under the DISHA (Designing Innovative Solutions for Holistic Access to Justice in India) Scheme, has achieved a significant milestone by delivering 50 lakh legal consultations, reinforcing its unwavering dedication to ensuring justice reaches every corner of the nation.

This version entails the fusion of Tele-Law Services with Nyaya Bandhu pro bono legal services, a merger to further enhance citizen accessibility to legal aid.