NEW DELHI: The Delhi State Legal Services Authority (DSLSA), the body which provides free legal aid to public, will now get a fresh panel of senior advocates, who have an experience of above 10 years.
The legal organisation—which is funded by the Delhi High Court, National Legal Services Authority and Delhi government—steps in when the accused is unable to afford a lawyer to represent him/her in criminal cases or when they are unable to get their due because of complications in a civil case.
From January to September last year, of the total 17,505 beneficiaries who got legal aid, 12,750 cases were represented by lawyers from DSLSA panel. It currently has around 800 lawyers on its panel. The number will go up now.
“We have initiated the process of creating the new panel, which will have members who have been practising for a minimum of 10 years. Currently, the advocates in DSLSA have maximum five years of experience, which, many times, is not sufficient while dealing with cases of life imprisonment and death. The fee of the new lawyers is also expected to be higher,” said Sanjeev Jain, member secretary, DSLSA.
In terror and murder cases, the quality of lawyers matter. The new panel will deal with criminal cases with an imprisonment of 10 years or above, and also in case of civil suit with penalties of above Rs 20 lakh.
“It is not that the current panel is not good, but there is a need to strengthen ourselves. This effort is being made to improve the quality and competence of the DSLSA,” said Naveen Gupta, DSLSA secretary.
The legal body will provide the fee for the senior advocates in the new panel. Also, a platform is being created for advocates to provide services pro-bono, Gupta said.