📷 Image: Wikimedia Commons / Ministry of Law and Justice
National
National Legal Services Day Highlights Constitutional Promise of Free Legal Aid
✍️ SCC Online
🗓 10 Nov 2026, 07:37 AM
👁 13
On National Legal Services Day, the government underscored its commitment to providing free legal aid, tracing the initiative from Bhagalpur to the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA).
On 23 March 2024, India observed National Legal Services Day, marking the anniversary of the landmark 1995 Supreme Court judgment that mandated free legal aid for vulnerable groups.
The day was celebrated across the country, with seminars and workshops organized by NALSA and state legal services authorities. The theme highlighted the constitutional guarantee under Article 39-A and the role of NALSA in ensuring access to justice.
Officials noted that the initiative began in Bhagalpur, where a pilot program in the 1980s demonstrated the feasibility of providing legal aid to the poor. Since then, the scheme has expanded to cover all states and union territories.
The government reiterated its commitment to strengthening the legal services infrastructure, including increasing the number of legal aid clinics and training more lawyers under the NALSA scheme.
The day was celebrated across the country, with seminars and workshops organized by NALSA and state legal services authorities. The theme highlighted the constitutional guarantee under Article 39-A and the role of NALSA in ensuring access to justice.
Officials noted that the initiative began in Bhagalpur, where a pilot program in the 1980s demonstrated the feasibility of providing legal aid to the poor. Since then, the scheme has expanded to cover all states and union territories.
The government reiterated its commitment to strengthening the legal services infrastructure, including increasing the number of legal aid clinics and training more lawyers under the NALSA scheme.