Parliament Question: Free Legal Aid through National Legal Services Authority

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF LAW AND JUSTICE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3257 TO BE ANSWERED ON FRIDAY, THE 07TH AUGUST, 2026 FREE LEGAL AID THROUGH NATIONAL LEGAL SERVICES AUTHORITY

3257. DR. KALANIDHI VEERASWAMY:

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

(a) the details of persons who have received free legal aid through the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA), State Legal Services Authorities (SLSA) and District Legal Services Authorities (DLSA) during the last three years and the current year, category-wise, including women, Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, senior citizens, persons with disabilities and economically weaker sections, State-wise;

(b) the number of beneficiaries who received free legal aid in Tamil Nadu during the said period, district-wise;

(c) details of legal aid clinics, legal awareness programmes and Lok Adalats conducted during the said period, along with the number of beneficiaries covered;

(d) whether the Government has undertaken any assessment of the accessibility and effectiveness of free legal aid services and, if so, the details thereof; and

(e) the steps taken by the Government to strengthen legal aid delivery, improve outreach in rural and underserved areas and ensure timely access to justice for eligible persons, including those 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 State/UT-wise and category-wise details of persons who have received free legal aid through the Legal Services Authorities, including Tamil Nadu during the last three years (2023-24, 2024-25 and 2025-26) are at Annexure-A1, A2 and A3 respectively. National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) does not maintain district-wise data of beneficiaries.

1(c): The details of Legal Services Clinics functional, Legal Literacy/Awareness Camps/Programmes organized and Lok Adalats conducted in the Country and the number of persons provided legal assistance through these Legal Services Clinics during the said period are

as follows: - Legal Services Clinics Financial Number of Legal Services Number of Persons provided Year Clinics functional Legal Assistance 2023-24 11,384 10,36,040 2024-25 12,019 13,41,986 2025-26 14,813 19,68,005 Legal Literacy/Awareness Camps/Programmes Number of Financial Camps/Programmes Number of Persons attended Year Organised 2023-24 4,30,306 4,49,22,092 2024-25 4,62,988 3,72,32,850 2025-26 5,88,014 4,74,12,862 Lok Adalats National Lok Adalats is organised by NALSA simultaneously across the country on quarterly basis on a single day, from the States/UTs down to the Taluk levels. The number of

cases disposed of by National Lok Adalats during the last three years is as follows: - Year Pre-litigation Cases Pending Cases Total Cases 2024 8,70,19,059 1,75,07,060 10,45,26,119 2025 12,65,89,535 2,18,35,515 14,84,25,050 2026 3,46,87,917 59,51,139 4,06,39,056 (upto March, 2026) State Lok Adalats are organised regularly by the respective State Legal Services Authorities within the State. The State Authorities are free to schedule and organise State Lok Adalats, as per requirements. The number of cases disposed of by various State Lok Adalats

during the last three years is as follows:- Financial Pre-litigation Cases Pending Cases Total Cases Year 2023-24 2,19,230 9,87,873 12,07,103 2024-25 8,05,731 5,39,083 13,44,814 2025-26 4,69,914 5,11,431 9,81,345 2Permanent Lok Adalats are permanent establishments set up by the State under Section 22-B of the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987, to provide compulsory pre-litigative mechanism for settlement of disputes related to Public Utility Services. The number of cases

disposed of by various Permanent Lok Adalats in the Country is as follows:- Financial Year Total Cases Disposed Of 2023-24 2,32,763 2024-25 2,37,980 2025-26 2,70,685

(d) and (e): The National Legal Services Authority (Free and Competent Legal Services) Regulations, 2010 provides for a robust framework for monitoring and evaluating the quality and progress of legal aid services through the constitution of Monitoring and Mentoring Committees (MMCs). The Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice also assesses the working of Legal Aid under the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987.

The assessment of accessibility and effectiveness of free legal services is done under the aegis of NALSA from time to time, both virtually and physically. NALSA is consistently working to enhance the accessibility and outreach of legal aid services pan-India, including Tamil Nadu by incorporating technology-driven initiatives to ensure that legal assistance reaches those in need. Proactive steps are taken to publicize its toll-free helpline number, 15100, across the country. This initiative involved placing the number in various public spaces to maximize visibility and ensure that individuals, particularly those from marginalized communities, could easily seek legal assistance. NALSA continues to provide ongoing support to SLSAs and DLSAs to enable them to fulfil their responsibilities under the Legal Services Authorities Act,

1987.

In 2023-24, a Central Sector Scheme, namely, Legal Aid Defense Counsel System

(LADCS) Scheme has been launched to provide legal services in criminal cases from early stage to appellate stage at district level to the persons eligible under Section 12 of Legal Services Authority (LSA) Act, 1987. NALSA has also created a web portal to file applications online for legal assistance in Ten (10) different languages.

***** 3Annexure – A1 Statement referred to in reply to Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 3257 for answer on 07.08.2026 regarding ‘Free Legal Aid through National Legal Services Authority’.

The number of persons received Free Legal Services provided by Legal Services Authorities (LSAs) under Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 during financial year 2023-24 Victims of Mass General Disaster (whose Victim of Persons Violence, annual Trafficking S. In with Industrial Trans Flood, income Name of the LSA SC ST Women Children in Human Others Total No. custody Disabilit Workmen gender Draught, does not beings or y Earthquake exceed the Begar and prescribed Industrial limit) Disaster 1 Andaman & 0 0 42 0 64 8 0 0 0 0 14 92 220 Nicobar Islands 2 Andhra Pradesh 318 75 983 61 2,220 24 1 1 0 0 1,128 3,454 8,265 3 Arunachal Pradesh 628 2,006 1,453 84 1,440 4 17 0 0 0 41 23 5,696 4 Assam 1,254 3,098 6,168 2,366 17,711 188 1,286 1 2 813 8,922 21,940 63,749 5 Bihar 7,306 1,270 15,307 6,889 34,778 163 429 21 0 549 2,575 82,126 1,51,413 6 Chandigarh 15 0 1,355 238 418 8 0 1 0 0 692 95 2,822 7 Chhattisgarh 6,884 12,701 9,621 544 14,601 10 12 1 5 21 8,489 9,275 62,164 8 Dadra & Nagar 2 6 21 0 15 0 11 0 0 0 0 0 55 Haveli Daman & Diu 4 2 14 1 7 0 2 0 0 0 4 0 34 9 Delhi 1,705 16 22,631 2,761 24,794 342 1,538 13 912 32,940 12,984 21,246 1,21,882 10 Goa 6 4 790 4 232 38 0 0 0 0 480 4 1,558 11 Gujarat 3,825 2,716 11,560 565 10,184 123 101 0 3 62 7,981 3,449 40,569 12 Haryana 1,568 0 7,818 468 35,367 137 7 3 0 26,611 3,151 1,733 76,863 13 Himachal Pradesh 547 143 3,195 90 725 81 0 8 13 553 897 1,094 7,346 14 Jammu & Kashmir 757 398 4,082 510 1,184 145 1 3 0 32 2,759 1,525 11,396 4Victims of Mass General Disaster (whose Victim of Persons Violence, annual Trafficking S. In with Industrial Trans Flood, income Name of the LSA SC ST Women Children in Human Others Total No. custody Disabilit Workmen gender Draught, does not beings or y Earthquake exceed the Begar and prescribed Industrial limit) Disaster 15 Jharkhand 21,387 27,451 47,687 14,730 19,352 770 5,266 664 34 59 2,534 1,29,369 2,69,303 16 Karnataka 6,751 3,876 11,955 932 8,647 340 314 39 2 0 3,210 17,340 53,406 17 Kerala 2,789 441 15,812 3,899 5,653 225 137 54 85 49 5,822 1,532 36,498 18 Ladakh 29 333 105 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 35 505 19 Lakshadweep 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 20 Madhya Pradesh 30,163 25,563 41,291 19,955 58,171 1,444 1,110 0 1 5 20,759 27,048 2,25,510 21 Maharashtra 2,298 635 17,566 964 20,687 287 158 52 389 17 5,823 4,880 53,756 22 Manipur 751 8,585 7,621 2,487 282 129 17 26 686 38,304 2,881 866 62,635 23 Meghalaya 27 716 490 68 865 0 0 0 0 3 81 121 2,371 24 Mizoram 4 2,528 537 62 599 218 0 0 0 0 62 791 4,801 25 Nagaland 373 2,342 557 137 628 56 0 0 0 0 510 0 4,603 26 Odisha 1,375 1,073 3,264 39 4,473 6,020 15 100 11 4 1,967 948 19,289 27 Puducherry 26 0 181 256 71 0 1 0 0 0 49 37 621 28 Punjab 5,287 28 13,714 419 24,764 243 101 6 1 447 9,968 5,383 60,361 29 Rajasthan 333 132 1,337 6,274 11,000 19 36 0 0 0 938 221 20,290 30 Sikkim 32 118 553 18 218 2 0 0 0 0 127 6 1,074 31 Tamil Nadu 1,881 782 10,962 178 8,989 135 90 6 11 32 7,186 14,928 45,180 32 Telangana 131 66 2,066 334 4,258 12 0 0 0 0 3,198 3,128 13,193 33 Tripura 795 831 3,732 286 1,115 41 0 38 24 0 1,610 1,492 9,964 34 Uttar Pradesh 2,776 83 2,487 1,654 7,328 231 89 251 0 1 4,964 9,215 29,079 35 Uttarakhand 626 215 2,358 846 14,701 47 49 2 0 32 1,570 893 21,339 36 West Bengal 5,020 2,590 14,423 1,404 18,383 101 111 18 69 7 18,516 1,712 62,354 1,07,673 1,00,823 2,83,738 69,526 3,53,924 11,591 10,899 1,308 2,248 1,00,541 1,41,892 3,66,001 15,50,164 Total ****** 5Annexure – A2 Statement referred to in reply to Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 3257 for answer on 07.08.2026 regarding ‘Free Legal Aid through National Legal Services Authority’.

The number of persons received Free Legal Services provided by Legal Services Authorities (LSAs) under Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 during financial year 2024-25 Victims of Mass General Disaster (whose Victim of Violence, annual Persons Trafficking S. In Industrial Trans Flood, income Name of the LSA SC ST Women Children with in Human Others Total No. custody Workmen gender Draught, does not Disability beings or Earthquake exceed the Begar and prescribed Industrial limit) Disaster 1 Andaman & 0 0 120 20 3 1 42 0 0 0 28 127 341 Nicobar Islands 2 Andhra Pradesh 234 47 1,162 107 3,289 8 1 3 0 0 1,437 4,978 11,266 3 Arunachal Pradesh 1,658 3,946 1,979 237 1,330 8 30 2 1 0 33 12 9,236 4 Assam 1,536 6,183 9,000 3,130 25,489 276 1,464 122 2 8 12,126 23,358 82,694 5 Bihar 4,673 1,399 10,374 6,550 31,677 162 585 48 0 618 2,647 25,772 84,505 6 Chandigarh 30 0 1,330 106 780 7 0 0 0 0 667 31 2,951 7 Chhattisgarh 10,815 14,336 12,068 607 21,610 109 0 6 0 4 11,868 9,451 80,874 8 Dadra & Nagar 1 4 28 0 7 0 5 0 0 0 0 0 45 Haveli Daman & Diu 10 10 39 4 24 3 12 1 1 1 14 0 119 9 Delhi 1,652 163 19,060 2,942 18,630 336 955 7 510 0 10,869 21,402 76,526 10 Goa 17 20 892 14 314 15 0 0 0 0 569 48 1,889 11 Gujarat 3,882 8,271 12,828 1,404 10,862 173 83 0 0 8 7,999 4,957 50,467 12 Haryana 1,689 0 7,766 572 66,229 65 7 2 0 0 3,936 1,928 82,194 13 Himachal Pradesh 545 88 3,159 112 703 86 8 1 0 3 835 682 6,222 14 Jammu & Kashmir 1,269 573 5,592 1,730 1,299 705 1 5 1 40 6,159 1,228 18,602 6Victims of General Mass (whose Disaster Victim of annual Violence, Persons Trafficking income S. In Industrial Trans Flood, Name of the LSA SC ST Women Children with in Human does not Others Total No. custody Workmen gender Draught, Disability beings or exceed Earthqua Begar the ke and prescribe Industrial d limit) Disaster 15 Jharkhand 41,537 42,987 72,003 30,572 33,281 3,560 3,703 194 78 173 5,741 94,536 3,28,365 16 Karnataka 6,051 3,329 12,167 790 8,972 254 191 32 9 9 7,659 11,782 51,245 17 Kerala 1,362 724 12,741 2,330 3,473 176 85 31 73 37 3,794 1,745 26,571 18 Ladakh 0 80 192 9 43 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 324 19 Lakshadweep 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 20 Madhya Pradesh 22,764 23,211 35,058 18,240 93,264 669 2,908 0 0 241 15,748 20,906 2,33,009 21 Maharashtra 3,351 1,620 20,167 1,230 20,535 374 240 21 2 36 6,248 5,630 59,454 22 Manipur 346 6,989 7,697 1,504 498 159 48 19 0 78,868 2,433 501 99,062 23 Meghalaya 20 710 544 86 877 1 0 11 6 0 233 266 2,754 24 Mizoram 26 2,145 696 20 676 0 0 0 0 0 0 150 3,713 25 Nagaland 608 2,365 604 432 499 52 0 0 0 0 452 0 5,012 26 Odisha 1,609 1,111 3,957 221 11,536 179 5 40 7 468 2,027 974 22,134 27 Puducherry 31 0 155 240 100 0 0 0 0 0 53 37 616 28 Punjab 5,516 2 14,762 526 33,615 86 38 0 0 0 9,879 1,089 65,513 29 Rajasthan 333 103 1,812 5,755 13,064 27 2 1 0 0 1,109 10 22,216 30 Sikkim 18 118 464 25 167 1 0 0 0 0 103 5 901 31 Tamil Nadu 2,214 357 12,479 323 12,088 201 197 15 0 59 11,110 13,485 52,528 32 Telangana 323 189 2,586 158 5,635 31 0 0 0 0 3,053 4,046 16,021 33 Tripura 829 621 3,348 192 1,588 61 36 115 0 1,460 1,244 809 10,303 34 Uttar Pradesh 1,799 5 2,091 616 6,979 176 32 107 0 0 5,315 5,612 22,732 35 Uttarakhand 1,974 704 4,174 2,332 19,420 204 378 8 47 8 2,922 2,037 34,208 36 West Bengal 10,680 6,029 23,057 4,394 24,398 148 1,722 53 56 124 19,523 2,730 92,914 1,29,402 1,28,440 3,16,151 87,530 4,72,954 8,313 12,778 844 793 82,165 1,57,833 2,60,324 16,57,527 Total ******* 7Annexure – A3 Statement referred to in reply to Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 3257 for answer on 07.08.2026 regarding ‘Free Legal Aid through National Legal Services Authority’.

The number of persons received Free Legal Services provided by Legal Services Authorities under Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 during financial year 2025-26 Victims of Mass General Disaster (whose Victim of Violence, annual Persons Trafficking S. In Industrial Trans Flood, income SLSAs SC ST Women Children with in Human Others Total No. custody Workmen gender Draught, does not Disability beings or Earthquake exceed the Begar and prescribed Industrial limit) Disaster 1 Andaman & Nicobar Islands 0 0 141 38 53 6 42 0 3 0 36 125 444 2 Andhra Pradesh 351 96 1,969 205 3,728 31 0 0 0 0 2,487 4,492 13,359 3 Arunachal Pradesh 1,562 3,423 2,016 174 1,053 43 115 0 1 6 53 775 9,221 4 Assam 3,085 5,417 10,645 5,295 28,004 105 3,406 61 50 50 13,911 29,992 1,00,021 5 Bihar 2,740 1,099 10,354 8,715 31,326 266 850 36 0 957 2,945 17,073 76,361 6 Chandigarh 15,299 15,442 14,140 1,082 22,786 29 0 0 0 1 11,786 13,317 93,882 7 Chhattisgarh 0 7 63 0 9 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 83 8 Dadra & Nagar 7 4 64 3 18 0 30 0 0 0 25 13 164 Haveli Daman & Diu 1,709 66 19,698 3,443 19,886 368 305 8 2 0 9,467 17,602 72,554 9 Delhi 23 38 2,501 7 297 17 0 0 0 0 1,088 312 4,283 10 Goa 7,809 17,685 22,593 15,485 16,824 679 254 56 0 29 13,994 19,244 1,14,652 11 Gujarat 1,819 2 10,505 835 1,13,459 205 54 2 0 0 5,772 3,122 1,35,775 12 Haryana 628 101 3,131 113 785 91 18 0 233 43 952 417 6,512 13 Himachal Pradesh 1,712 2,030 5,182 2,775 3,165 1,029 9 3 0 620 8,201 1,604 26,330 14 Jammu & Kashmir 49,418 53,577 1,21,543 49,663 33,731 3,827 3,747 118 62 1 11,485 1,16,585 4,43,757 8Victims of Mass General Victim of Disaster (whose Traffickin Violence, annual Persons S. In Industrial Trans g in Flood, income Name of the LSA SC ST Women Children with Others Total No. custody Workmen gender Human Draught, does not Disability beings or Earthqua exceed the Begar ke and prescribed Industrial limit) Disaster 15 Jharkhand 6,752 3,846 15,644 1,018 12,871 167 188 83 2 5 8,493 16,450 65,519 16 Karnataka 1,464 564 16,471 1,501 6,684 151 311 8 6 0 5,140 3,868 36,168 17 Kerala 5 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 14 18 Ladakh 17,587 18,706 44,609 20,900 84,331 360 2,341 2 5 2 17,399 24,859 2,31,101 19 Lakshadweep 3,340 1,105 20,346 2,736 20,322 1,220 270 29 74 101 7,915 7,607 65,065 20 Madhya Pradesh 390 6,589 8,937 2,082 1,016 240 174 39 0 51,190 2,162 2,329 75,148 21 Maharashtra 26 1,880 667 308 652 1 0 0 0 5 167 1,203 4,909 22 Manipur 2 3,026 1,160 78 84 1 0 0 15 0 35 388 4,789 23 Meghalaya 1,757 3,296 1,813 2,002 680 532 0 0 11 8 1,252 0 11,351 24 Mizoram 1,500 1,123 4,032 362 7,844 135 10 12 21 25 1,910 775 17,749 25 Nagaland 29 0 159 145 130 0 0 0 0 0 50 23 536 26 Odisha 8,360 6 16,704 645 42,114 1,062 101 6 0 0 13,502 2,628 85,128 27 Puducherry 564 158 2,871 6,528 16,135 58 5 0 0 0 2,729 133 29,181 28 Punjab 29 113 619 25 167 7 0 0 0 0 169 14 1,143 29 Rajasthan 2,005 425 12,619 551 13,828 200 71 26 3 2 12,578 13,666 55,974 30 Sikkim 572 457 2,864 626 8,183 31 0 0 0 0 3,303 5,068 21,104 31 Tamil Nadu 1,005 898 3,195 214 1,453 42 0 36 0 0 1,057 2,282 10,182 32 Telangana 9 8 1,455 126 727 7 0 0 0 0 1,005 34 3,371 33 Tripura 2,325 313 3,712 1,793 9,776 797 289 486 0 0 5,165 7,092 31,748 34 Uttar Pradesh 2,553 1,178 7,493 4,618 24,724 1,722 739 6 0 0 4,700 4,326 52,059 35 Uttarakhand 10,884 5,137 24,765 3,905 30,895 1,851 597 55 65 52 23,415 6,263 1,07,884 36 West Bengal 0 108 115 0 32 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 255 Total 1,47,320 1,47,932 4,14,795 1,37,996 5,57,772 15,280 13,930 1,072 553 53,097 1,94,348 3,23,681 20,07,776 ******* 9