On the occasion of the 71st Constitution Day or Samvidhan Divas, a special function was organized by the Department of Justice. The programme started with reading of the Preamble at 11 AM, led by the President of India via live telecast from RashtrapatiBhawan. A badge was distributed on the occasion containing a quote of Mahatma Gandhi on Duties. Department of Justice also conducted a Crossword quiz competition to mark the occasion.
Preamble reading was followed by a Webinar on ‘Constitution Day’ at 12 noon, during which an iOS Application of ‘Nyaya Bandhu’ (Pro Bono Legal Services Programme) was also e-launched, as well as onboarded on MEITY’s UMANG platform. The Webinar had distinguished legal luminaries such as Shri Ajay Bahl, Managing Partner, AZB & Partners, Shri Sachin Malhan, Co-Founder, Agami Foundation, and Shri Ashok Kumar Jain, Member Secretary, NALSA as key Speakers, in addition to the Secretary (Justice) who was the keynote speaker at the event.
Speaking at the E-Launch of ‘Nyaya Bandhu’ ioS App, the Pro-Bono Legal Services App, ShNiraj Kumar Gayagi, Joint Secretary (Access to Justice), Department of Justice, highlighted the need for creating an institutional framework for probono culture in Indian legal arena. He remarked that Department of Justice had undertaken significant developments in this regard such as the launch of Probono Club Scheme. He also highlighted that launching the App on UMANG would enable pan India accessibility of these apps to the people needing legal services.
Opening the discussion, Shri Ashok Kumar Jain, Member Secretary, NALSA appreciated the efforts made by Department for the mobile Application. He stressed the importance of legal literacy in promoting access to justice in the country.
Shri Ajay Bahl, Managing Partner, AZB & Partners, spoke about giving freedom to Law Firms for providing Pro-Bono services such as selection of cases based on geographical proximity, choice of cases to be left at the discretion of law firms, introduction of incentives to lawyers for Probono services (if any). He further emphasized on this endeavour ushering a model for the rest of the country.
Shri Sachin Malhan, from Agami Foundation, representing the Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), highlighted the supply gap in the Justice system, thereby the need to adopt a better strategy for offering Probono services in the country that would integrate the formal system, engaging CSOs and other intermediaries (community organizations), on-boarding law schools, and have an in-built component for legal literacy at the grass root level for empowering both beneficiaries and intermediaries.
Shri BarunMitra, Secretary (Justice) emphasized on the need to ensure a citizen-centric justice delivery system, and technology as an enabler for the same – especially the Tele-Law Scheme, that connects the marginalized persons with para-legal volunteers and empanelled lawyers through video/tele conferencing. Currently, operational in 29,860 Common Service Centres covering 260 districts across the country, Tele Law has provided legal advice to 4.43 lakh beneficiaries. He further spoke about the Nyaya Bandhu programme of the Department to institutionalize Pro-Bono services amongst the lawyer community, and suggested to organize a workshop on a continuous basis to frame the future roadmap and strategy for Pro Bono lawyering in India.
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RCJ/M