In exercise of the powers conferred by Section 29 of the Legal Service Authorities Act, 1987 (39 of 1987) and in pursuance of the provisions in Section 4 of the Act to make available free and competent legal services to the persons entitles thereto under Section 12 of the said Act, the Central Authority hereby makes the following regulations, namely-

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Reg.1. Short title, extent and commencement

1. Short title, extent and commencement.—(1) These regulations may be called the National Legal Services Authority (Free and Competent Legal Services) Regulations, 2010.

(2) They shall be applicable to Supreme Court Legal Services Committee, State Legal Services Authorities, High Court Legal Services Committees, District Legal Services Authorities and Taluk Legal Services Committees in India.

(3) They shall come into force from the date of their publication in the Official Gazette.

Reg.2. Definitions

2. Definitions.—(1) In these regulations, unless the context otherwise requires,—

(a) “Act” means the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 (39 of 1987);

(b) “form” means a Form annexed to these Regulations;

(c) “front office” means a room in the Legal Services Institution where legal services are made available;

(d) “Legal Practitioner” shall have the meaning assigned to it in clause (i) of Section 2 of the Advocates Act, 1961 (25 of 1961);

(e) “Legal Services Institution” means the Supreme Court Legal Services Committee, a State Legal Services Authority, the High Court Legal Services Committee, District Legal Services Authority or the Taluk Legal Services Committee, as the case may be;

Reg.3. Application for legal services

3. Application for legal services.—(1) An application for legal services may be presented preferably in Form I in the local language or English.

(2) The applicant may furnish a summary of his grievances for which he seeks legal services, in a separate sheet along with the application.

(3) An application, though not in Form I, may also be entertained, if reasonably explains the facts to enable the applicant to seek legal services.

(4) If the applicant is illiterate or unable to give the application on his or her own, the Legal Services Institutions may make arrangement for helping the applicant to fill up the application form and to prepare a note of his or her grievances.

(5) Oral requests for legal services may also be entertained in the same manner as an application under sub-regulations (1) and (2).

Reg.4. Legal Services Institution to have a front office

4. Legal Services Institution to have a front office.—(1) All Legal Services Institutions shall have a front office to be manned by *[x x x] one or more para-legal volunteers available during office hours.

*[Provided that persons with the qualification of Masters Degree in Social Work or Diploma or Masters Degree in Psychiatry or Psychology from any recognized institute or university may also be called to the front office as and when necessary.]

*[(2) In the case of Court based legal services, services of a panel lawyer or retainer lawyer may be provided and such lawyer shall, after considering the application, forward the same to the Committee constituted under Regulation 7.]

Reg.5. Proof of entitlement of free legal services

5. Proof of entitlement of free legal services.—(1) An affidavit of the applicant that he falls under the categories of persons entitled to free legal services under Section 12 shall ordinarily be sufficient.

(2) The affidavit may be signed before a Judge, Magistrate, Notary Public, Advocate, Member of Parliament, Member of Legislative Assembly, elected representative of local bodies, Gazetted Officer, teacher of any school or college of Central Government, State Government or local bodies as the case may be.

(3) The affidavit may be prepared on plain paper and it shall bear the seal of the person attesting it.

Reg.6. Consequences of false or untrue details furnished by the applicant

6. Consequences of false or untrue details furnished by the applicant.—The applicant shall be informed that if free legal services has been obtained by furnishing incorrect or false information or in a fraudulent manner, the legal services shall be stopped forthwith and that the expenses incurred by the Legal Services Institutions shall be recoverable from him or her.

Reg.7. Scrutiny and evaluation of the application for free legal services

7. Scrutiny and evaluation of the application for free legal services.—(1) There shall be a Committee to scrutinise and evaluate the application for legal services, to be constituted by the Legal Services Institution at the level of Taluk, District, State and above.

(2) The Committee shall be constituted by the Executive Chairman or Chairman of the Legal Services Institution and shall consist of,—

(i) the Member-Secretary or Secretary of the Legal Services Institution as its Chairman and two members out of whom one may be a Judicial Officer preferably having working experience in the Legal Services Institution; and

(ii) a legal professional having at least fifteen years’ standing at the Bar or Government Pleader or Assistant Government Pleader or Public Prosecutor or Assistant Public Prosecutor, as the case may be.

8. Selection of legal practitioners as panel lawyers.—(1) Every Legal Services Institution shall invite applications from legal practitioners for their empanelment as panel lawyers and such applications shall be accompanied with proof of the professional experience with special reference to the type of cases which the applicant-legal practitioners may prefer to be entrusted with.

(2) The applications received under sub-regulation (1) shall be scrutinised and selection of the panel lawyers shall be made by the Executive Chairman or Chairman of the Legal Services Institution in consultation with the Attorney-General (for the Supreme Court), Advocate-General (for the High Court), District Attorney or Government Pleader (for the District and Taluk level) and the respective Presidents of the Bar Associations as the case may be.

(3) No legal practitioner having less than

Reg.9. Legal services by way of legal advice, consultation, drafting and conveyancing

9. Legal services by way of legal advice, consultation, drafting and conveyancing.—(1) The Executive Chairman or Chairman of the Legal Services Institution shall maintain a separate panel of senior lawyers, law firms, retired judicial officers, mediators, conciliators and law professors in the Law Universities or Law Colleges for providing legal advice and other legal services like drafting and conveyancing.

(2) The services of the legal aid clinics in the rural areas and in the Law Colleges and Law Universities shall also be made use of.

Reg.10. Monitoring Committee

10. Monitoring Committee.—(1) Every Legal Services Institution shall set up a Monitoring Committee for close monitoring of the Court based legal services rendered and the progress of the cases in legal aided matters.

(2) The Monitoring Committee at the level of the Supreme Court or the High Court, as
the case may be, shall consist of,—

(i) the Chairman of the Supreme Court Legal Services Committee or Chairman of the High Court Legal Services Committee;

(ii) the Member-Secretary or Secretary of the Legal Services Institution;

(iii) a Senior Advocate to be nominated by the Patron-in-Chief of the Legal Services Institution.

(3) The Monitoring Committee for the District or Taluk Legal Services Institution shall be constituted by the Executive Chairman of the State Legal Services Au

Reg.11. Functions of the Monitoring Committee

11. Functions of the Monitoring Committee.—(1) Whenever legal services are provided to an applicant, the Member-Secretary or Secretary shall send the details in Form II to the Monitoring Committee at the earliest.

(2) The Legal Services Institution shall provide adequate staff and infrastructure to the Monitoring Committee for maintaining the records of the day-to-day progress of the legal aided cases.

(3) The Legal Services Institution may request the Presiding Officer of the Court to have access to the registers maintained by the Court for ascertaining the progress of the cases.

(4) The Monitoring Committee shall maintain a register for legal aided cases for recording the day-to day posting, progress of the case and the end result (success or failure) in respect of cases for which legal aid is allowed and the said register shall be scrutinised by

Reg.12. Monitoring Committee to submit bi-monthly reports

12. Monitoring Committee to submit bi-monthly reports.—(1) The Monitoring Committee shall submit bi-monthly reports containing its independent assessment on the progress of each and every legal aid case and the performance of the panel lawyer or Retainer lawyer, to the Executive Chairman or Chairman of the Legal Services Institution.

(2) After evaluating the reports by the Committee, the Executive Chairman or Chairman of the Legal Services Institution shall decide the course of action to be taken in each case.

(3) It shall be the duty of the Member-Secretary or Secretary of the Legal Services Institution to place the reports of the Monitoring Committee before the Executive Chairman or Chairman of the Legal Services Institution and to obtain orders.

Reg.13. Financial assistance

13. Financial assistance.—(1) If a case for which legal aid has been granted requires additional expenditure like payment of Court fee, payable to the Court appointed commissions, for summoning witnesses or documents, expenses for obtaining certified copies etc., the Legal Services Institution may take urgent steps for disbursement of the requisite amount on the advice of the panel lawyer or Monitoring Committee.

(2) In the case of appeal or revision the Legal Services Institution may bear the expenses for obtaining certified copies of the judgment and case records.

Reg.14. Payment of fee to the panel lawyers

14. Payment of fee to the panel lawyers.—(1) Panel lawyers shall be paid fee in accordance with the Schedule of fee, as approved under the State Regulations.

(2) The State Legal Services Authority and other Legal Services Institution shall effect periodic revision of the honorarium to be paid to panel lawyers for the different types of services rendered by them in legal aid cases.

(3) As soon as the report of completion of the proceedings is received from the panel lawyer, the Legal Services Institution shall, without any delay, pay the fees and expenses payable to panel lawyer.

Reg.15. Special engagement of senior advocates in appropriate cases

15. Special engagement of senior advocates in appropriate cases.—(1) If the Monitoring Committee or Executive Chairman or Chairman of the Legal Services Institution is of the opinion that services of senior advocate, though not included in the approved panel of lawyers, has to be provided in any particular case the Legal Services Institution may engage such senior advocate.

(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in the State Regulations, the Executive Chairman or Chairmen of the Legal Services Institution may decide the honorarium for such senior advocate:

Provided that special engagement of senior advocates shall be only in cases of great public importance and for defending cases of every serious nature, affecting the life and liberty of the applicant.

Reg.16. Evaluation of the legal aid cases by the National Legal Services Authority and State Legal Services Authorities

16. Evaluation of the legal aid cases by the National Legal Services Authority and State Legal Services Authorities.—(1) The Supreme Court Legal Services Committee shall send copies of the bi-monthly reports of the Monitoring Committee of the Supreme Court Legal Services Committee to the Central Authority.

(2) The High Court Legal Services Committees, the State Legal Services Authorities shall submit copies of the bi-monthly reports of their Monitoring Committees to their Partron-in-Chief.

(3) The District Legal Services Authorities and Taluk Legal Services Committees shall submit copies of the bi-monthly reports of their Monitoring Committees to the Executive Chairman of the State Legal Services Authority.

(4) The State Legal Services Authorities shall also send consolidated half-yearly reports of the Monitoring Committees, indicating the success o