Introduction
The thesis presented herein under the title “ Legal Aid and State Obligation in Criminal Justice” deals with the Legal Assistance given to the down-trodden persons, who are unable to engage counsels for defending them in both civil as well as criminal cases. Poverty is the mother of many evils. Today one of greatest evil rampant in society is that the poor do not have easy access to the Courts and remain deprived of Justice. The present costly adversarial form of administration of Justice is not quite suitable to the present condition of our Indian society. To majority of the people who are living below the poverty line, Justice has become a costly luxury. Legal provisions and procedures are also very complicated and cumbersome. In these circumstances the down trodden and the vulnerable masses of our society hardly have an easy access to the Court of Law, When paramount duty to provide free Legal Aid to those who fail to get Justice due to poverty. It is heartening to note that after Independence, the Government of India as well as State Government has made vigorous efforts to provide Legal Aid to needy persons and have launched a nationwide Legal Aid programmed. A new Article 39-A has been added in the Constitution of India by Forty second Amendment as one of the Directive Principles of State Policy which directs the State to ensure that opportunities for securing Justice are not denied to any Citizen by reason of economic or other disabilities and should provide free Legal Aid by suitable Legislation or Schemes. The provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure and the Code of Civil Procedure have also been amended for providing Legal Aid in Criminal and Civil Cases. Growing realization and active participation by the Judiciary, Legal Profession, Law Schools, Social Workers etc., have given a further impetus to Legal Aid movement in India Dr. S.S. Sharma has done study on the Subject of Legal Aid, which is one of the most burning need our nation today. The right to Equality, Liberty and Justice became the prime concern of the political and legal writers. The State continued to adhere to the policy of Laissez Fair so far as economic activities with in the State were concerned. State was supported to interfere in all spheres, social, economic, education, health etc., for the welfare of the general public. It was also realized that the special protection or aid of the State should be providing to those persons who are unable to protect their interest. State being a welfare organ of society, it is a primary duty of State to provide for an atmospheres in which every man gets an opportunity for the development of his faculties. It should endeavor to ensure Justice and happiness for all by regulating the dealing of Citizen with one Another, by checking disorder and high-handedness of one class of people over others, and by maintaining all those rights which are Fundamental to the existence and enlistment of common man. To protect the weak against the strong is the modern interpretation of the maintenance of order and consequently, it is an essential function of the State. It means that the policies of the Government should be so determined and it’s Laws so formulated that equal opportunity is provided to all to grow and expand and no one is denied his basic necessities. To express it in the words of President Roosevelt the State should strive to establish a social order which should ensure “freedom from wants” and “freedom from fear” for all. These for welfare functions and a Government, which claims to be responsive to the needs of the people, cannot afford to ignore them. But the most important function of the Welfare State is the creation of conditions, which assure social Justice by removing social inequalities created by capitalism. Poverty has been a problem in all times. This problem did not become less acute with the advancement of civilization. Hence there is a great responsibility on the shoulder of socialistic State of assure social Justice to the poor masses of the society. The eradication and control of poverty is essentially the function of modern Welfare State. But the present system of administration of Justice is not favourable to the down trodden and vulnerable masses of the community. It suffers from various defects more specifically those of delay and expense. People are priced out of Judicial system not only be reason of its expensiveness but also because of the nature and the condition of the Legal and Judicial process. Judicial process has become cumbersome, pleadings in it have become formal and there by Law it self has become alien to the majority of Civil Population. Judicial proceedings are so complicated that the poor people can hardly understand them. They sit in Court as helpless spectators in their own cases. They are completely mystified by the ceremonious formalities of Court Proceedings and this to a large extent alienates them from Law, the Legal system and judicial process. Thus, the Court are being used mostly for the purpose of vindication the rights of the wealthy and affluent section because they alone process the golden key to unlock the doors of Justice, while the rights of the poor go unprotected. There is a constitutional prescription of Justice: social, political and right to equality, yet one can hardly expect equal Justice under present Legal system unless and until at provides additional support to weaker persons. The Courts are temples of Justice but they are rather like Five Star Hotels and one can hardly hope to have an access to them without having ample money in the pocket and the reservoir of spare time for completing unwanted judicial formalities. The Legal Aid is very essential for the survival of healthy democracy, which is founded on the equality, dignity and worth of man as alive and valuable component of society. As such the brotherhood of man is the solid bases of a democratic society riddled with social and economic inequalities are undemocratic. Democratic today has become a social democracy. Which aims at the welfare of all its classes, for want of appropriate system of administration of Justice, social Justice is not available to all; we cannot keep our political democracy on the path of social progress and economic development. If we have people living with immense wealth as well as those living in abject poverty then our society becomes full of contradictions and disparities, if democracy is more than a form of Government, and it is a way of life recognizing the dignity and both of individual human being as well as a way of realization of man’s responsibility towards society we can ill-afford to tolerate unjust conditions of social and individual life. The rule of Law, without Legal Aid is nothing but a Pseudo slogan and a juristic myth. Equal access to Justice for the rich and the poor alike must be seen as an essential part of the maintenance of the rule of Law. The concept of Legal Aid is the very sprite of equality and its movement is dedicated to the principle of equal Justice to the poor. Equal Justice of fair treatment within the purview of judicial process implies an easy access to Courts and other Governmental agencies on the basis of equality. Equality Justice requires a systematic approach in response to the prevailing inequalities and injustice existing in our society. Legal Aid is a vital limb of our Constitution and becomes for the reason, an interpretative doctrine reflecting the desired fulfillment of the basic objectives of equality. Equal Justice is corrective of inequalities, which create social imbalance without which Justice in society cannot be established in truth. If a large a section of society is prevented from exercising its legal power for protection of their rights and security if an honorable existence, there can be either equality not Justice in such society. Legal Aid in modern legal political and social theory is organically related to the urge for social Justice. This idea dawned upon human consciousness after the French revolution and the declaration of the liberty, equality and fraternity as the guiding principle of social and political life. The term social Justice is comprehensive of social, economical and political facets of life and its aim is to remove imbalances prevailing in the society amongst people particularly in social and economical spheres, and to ensure a reasonably equal and conductive situation for all round development of all people, social Justice represents then a great humanistic aspiration in the world which is fully of oppression, inequality and antagonism. Legal Aid provides equal opportunities in the administration of Justice and to some extent removes social inequalities. In this way Legal Aid has become an important limb of social Justice. Similarly one of the Principles of Natural Justice i.e. audialteriem partem in absence of Legal Aid may become a mere formality or procedural requirement and can be used as a subtle device to hoodwink Justice. The truth of the dicta that no one shall be condemned unheard is depended upon adequate and proper legal representation to ensure proper hearing. The opportunity of being heard is not available to a large section of society on account of poverty. The right of being heard without a provision of vocal chord of Legal Aid is sheer formality and an illusion devoid of reality. The concept of Legal Aid should not be considered as extraneous and foreign to our legal system but as an essential part of it, it is neither a charitable sentiment nor an idle dream or a utopian project. It is an organic and real function of the administration of Justice. It is an effective mode of imparting social Justice, which means real Justice in society. Legal Aid movement has become a social movement and its ultimate aim is to establish social righteousness by mitigating and ameliorating legal incapacities and hardships of weaker sections of the society. It is to be treated as a part of a programmed to secure social Justice to the poor. It is also an indispensable part of equipment of streamlining and removing the defects of the working of present legal system. Therefore, the scope of Legal Aid cannot be circumscribed to the limited skirmishes of exemption of Court fee, process fee or making provision for providing counsel or legal assistance in Court but will lead ultimately to a comprehensive and complete socialization of legal process and conversion of legal doctrine into a welfare scheme to uplift the poor.
The thesis presented herein under the title “ Legal Aid and State Obligation in Criminal Justice” deals with the Legal Assistance given to the down-trodden persons, who are unable to engage counsels for defending them in both civil as well as criminal cases. Poverty is the mother of many evils. Today one of greatest evil rampant in society is that the poor do not have easy access to the Courts and remain deprived of Justice. The present costly adversarial form of administration of Justice is not quite suitable to the present condition of our Indian society. To majority of the people who are living below the poverty line, Justice has become a costly luxury. Legal provisions and procedures are also very complicated and cumbersome. In these circumstances the down trodden and the vulnerable masses of our society hardly have an easy access to the Court of Law, When paramount duty to provide free Legal Aid to those who fail to get Justice due to poverty. It is heartening to note that after Independence, the Government of India as well as State Government has made vigorous efforts to provide Legal Aid to needy persons and have launched a nationwide Legal Aid programmed. A new Article 39-A has been added in the Constitution of India by Forty second Amendment as one of the Directive Principles of State Policy which directs the State to ensure that opportunities for securing Justice are not denied to any Citizen by reason of economic or other disabilities and should provide free Legal Aid by suitable Legislation or Schemes. The provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure and the Code of Civil Procedure have also been amended for providing Legal Aid in Criminal and Civil Cases. Growing realization and active participation by the Judiciary, Legal Profession, Law Schools, Social Workers etc., have given a further impetus to Legal Aid movement in India Dr. S.S. Sharma has done study on the Subject of Legal Aid, which is one of the most burning need our nation today. The right to Equality, Liberty and Justice became the prime concern of the political and legal writers. The State continued to adhere to the policy of Laissez Fair so far as economic activities with in the State were concerned. State was supported to interfere in all spheres, social, economic, education, health etc., for the welfare of the general public. It was also realized that the special protection or aid of the State should be providing to those persons who are unable to protect their interest. State being a welfare organ of society, it is a primary duty of State to provide for an atmospheres in which every man gets an opportunity for the development of his faculties. It should endeavor to ensure Justice and happiness for all by regulating the dealing of Citizen with one Another, by checking disorder and high-handedness of one class of people over others, and by maintaining all those rights which are Fundamental to the existence and enlistment of common man. To protect the weak against the strong is the modern interpretation of the maintenance of order and consequently, it is an essential function of the State. It means that the policies of the Government should be so determined and it’s Laws so formulated that equal opportunity is provided to all to grow and expand and no one is denied his basic necessities. To express it in the words of President Roosevelt the State should strive to establish a social order which should ensure “freedom from wants” and “freedom from fear” for all. These for welfare functions and a Government, which claims to be responsive to the needs of the people, cannot afford to ignore them. But the most important function of the Welfare State is the creation of conditions, which assure social Justice by removing social inequalities created by capitalism. Poverty has been a problem in all times. This problem did not become less acute with the advancement of civilization. Hence there is a great responsibility on the shoulder of socialistic State of assure social Justice to the poor masses of the society. The eradication and control of poverty is essentially the function of modern Welfare State. But the present system of administration of Justice is not favourable to the down trodden and vulnerable masses of the community. It suffers from various defects more specifically those of delay and expense. People are priced out of Judicial system not only be reason of its expensiveness but also because of the nature and the condition of the Legal and Judicial process. Judicial process has become cumbersome, pleadings in it have become formal and there by Law it self has become alien to the majority of Civil Population. Judicial proceedings are so complicated that the poor people can hardly understand them. They sit in Court as helpless spectators in their own cases. They are completely mystified by the ceremonious formalities of Court Proceedings and this to a large extent alienates them from Law, the Legal system and judicial process. Thus, the Court are being used mostly for the purpose of vindication the rights of the wealthy and affluent section because they alone process the golden key to unlock the doors of Justice, while the rights of the poor go unprotected. There is a constitutional prescription of Justice: social, political and right to equality, yet one can hardly expect equal Justice under present Legal system unless and until at provides additional support to weaker persons. The Courts are temples of Justice but they are rather like Five Star Hotels and one can hardly hope to have an access to them without having ample money in the pocket and the reservoir of spare time for completing unwanted judicial formalities. The Legal Aid is very essential for the survival of healthy democracy, which is founded on the equality, dignity and worth of man as alive and valuable component of society. As such the brotherhood of man is the solid bases of a democratic society riddled with social and economic inequalities are undemocratic. Democratic today has become a social democracy. Which aims at the welfare of all its classes, for want of appropriate system of administration of Justice, social Justice is not available to all; we cannot keep our political democracy on the path of social progress and economic development. If we have people living with immense wealth as well as those living in abject poverty then our society becomes full of contradictions and disparities, if democracy is more than a form of Government, and it is a way of life recognizing the dignity and both of individual human being as well as a way of realization of man’s responsibility towards society we can ill-afford to tolerate unjust conditions of social and individual life. The rule of Law, without Legal Aid is nothing but a Pseudo slogan and a juristic myth. Equal access to Justice for the rich and the poor alike must be seen as an essential part of the maintenance of the rule of Law. The concept of Legal Aid is the very sprite of equality and its movement is dedicated to the principle of equal Justice to the poor. Equal Justice of fair treatment within the purview of judicial process implies an easy access to Courts and other Governmental agencies on the basis of equality. Equality Justice requires a systematic approach in response to the prevailing inequalities and injustice existing in our society. Legal Aid is a vital limb of our Constitution and becomes for the reason, an interpretative doctrine reflecting the desired fulfillment of the basic objectives of equality. Equal Justice is corrective of inequalities, which create social imbalance without which Justice in society cannot be established in truth. If a large a section of society is prevented from exercising its legal power for protection of their rights and security if an honorable existence, there can be either equality not Justice in such society. Legal Aid in modern legal political and social theory is organically related to the urge for social Justice. This idea dawned upon human consciousness after the French revolution and the declaration of the liberty, equality and fraternity as the guiding principle of social and political life. The term social Justice is comprehensive of social, economical and political facets of life and its aim is to remove imbalances prevailing in the society amongst people particularly in social and economical spheres, and to ensure a reasonably equal and conductive situation for all round development of all people, social Justice represents then a great humanistic aspiration in the world which is fully of oppression, inequality and antagonism. Legal Aid provides equal opportunities in the administration of Justice and to some extent removes social inequalities. In this way Legal Aid has become an important limb of social Justice. Similarly one of the Principles of Natural Justice i.e. audialteriem partem in absence of Legal Aid may become a mere formality or procedural requirement and can be used as a subtle device to hoodwink Justice. The truth of the dicta that no one shall be condemned unheard is depended upon adequate and proper legal representation to ensure proper hearing. The opportunity of being heard is not available to a large section of society on account of poverty. The right of being heard without a provision of vocal chord of Legal Aid is sheer formality and an illusion devoid of reality. The concept of Legal Aid should not be considered as extraneous and foreign to our legal system but as an essential part of it, it is neither a charitable sentiment nor an idle dream or a utopian project. It is an organic and real function of the administration of Justice. It is an effective mode of imparting social Justice, which means real Justice in society. Legal Aid movement has become a social movement and its ultimate aim is to establish social righteousness by mitigating and ameliorating legal incapacities and hardships of weaker sections of the society. It is to be treated as a part of a programmed to secure social Justice to the poor. It is also an indispensable part of equipment of streamlining and removing the defects of the working of present legal system. Therefore, the scope of Legal Aid cannot be circumscribed to the limited skirmishes of exemption of Court fee, process fee or making provision for providing counsel or legal assistance in Court but will lead ultimately to a comprehensive and complete socialization of legal process and conversion of legal doctrine into a welfare scheme to uplift the poor.
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