Legal Aid

The preamble of the Indian constitution aims to secure to the people of India justice – socio economic and political. Article 38 and 39A of the Indian constitution are notable. Article 38(1) states- the State shall promote the welfare of the people by securing and protecting the social order including justice and Article 39-A of the constitution states that the state shall in particular, provide free legal aid, by suitable legislation or schemes, to ensure that opportunities for securing justice are not denied to any citizen.

Obstacles To Legal Assistance

At present the legal aid movement in India is unorganized, diffused and sporadic. There is lack of co-ordination in it. The ideal of equal access and availability of legal justice has reached almost breakdown point. There is a wide gap between the goals set and met. PRAYAS TRUST recently commented in a survey, We no longer do pro bono work; we are too busy trying to survive. Lawyers don’t engage themselves in pro bono activities because of various reasons:-

• There is lack of financial resources.
• The legal education imparted earlier did not provide social education.

Therefore they do not understand or accept their obligation to do so; also the members of the profession do not regularly come into contact with members of the community who need legal assistance.

OUR SOLUTIONS

• PRAYAS TRUST is dedicated to the cause of protecting public interest, spreading legal literacy, taking up causes of general public importance for legal redressal and turning lawyers into socially responsible professionals.
• PRAYAS TRUST run and managed voluntarily by Lawyers and students of law to help the poor, deprived, needy, downtrodden and the handicapped people to protect their rights as well as to generate awareness among people about issues that concern everyone, from civil liberties to environment to legal literacy.