1. PRISONERS/ PERSONS IN CUSTODY
STATUS
OF LEGAL AID
FOR
PRISONERS/ PERSONS IN CUSTODY

2. CHRI’s Work On Legal Aid
Setting up of Legal Aid Clinics
B. Training of Paralegal Volunteers
C. Training of Legal Aid Lawyers
D. Advocacy with the DLSA’s & SLSAs
E. Evaluating Implementation of the schemes

3. Why should we evaluate the Status of Legal Aid ?
To understand the extent of the problem
B. To compare the extent of the problem in different geographies
C. To compare the changes in the extent of the problem over years
D. To look for solutions and strategically advocate for specific solutions

4. How do we evaluate the Status of Legal Aid ?
What should be the parameters/indicators?
B. Can these parameters be quantified?
Where is the information on these parameters?
Parameters vs Mandate

5. PARAMETERS NUMBER OF BENEFICIARIES 2. STAGE OF ACCESS TO LEGAL AID
3. QUALITY OF LEGAL AID
LEGAL AID BUDGETS
5. STATUS OF THE INFRASTRUCTURE AND PROCESSES

6. STATUS OF LEGAL AID
NUMBER OF BENEFICIARIES :
Since the 1987 Act was enacted, out of the total list of 1.77 crore beneficiaries of various schemes of the legal services authority, only 4.68 lakh persons in custody have been provided with legal aid. So prisoners form less than 3% of the persons benefitted through legal aid schemes. Moreover, prisoners in Delhi form almost a quarter of these 4.68 lakh prisoners.( Supreme Court Annual Report 2015)
2. STAGE OF ACCESS TO LEGAL AID
AT TRIAL, AT CHARGESHEET, AT SUBSEQUENT REMAND, AT FIRST PRODUCTION, AT ARREST, PREVENTING CONFLICTS
3. QUALITY OF LEGAL AID
PRESENCE OF LAWYER IN COURT, DEFENDS THE CLIENT, VISITS HIM IN JAIL
4. LEGAL AID BUDGETS
OTHER EXPENDITURES

7. STATUS OF LEGAL AID IN RAJASTHAN

8. STATUS OF LEGAL AID IN RAJASTHAN
NUMBER OF ARRESTS IN RAJASTHAN IN THE LAST TEN YEARS: 24,36,533
NUMBER OF PERSONS IN CUSTODY PROVIDED LEGAL AID IN THE LAST TEN YEARS: 17,505
SO, ON AVERAGE, IN A YEAR- 2,40,000 PERSONS WERE ARRESTED IN RAJASTHAN. ONLY 1750 OF THEM WERE PROVIDED LEGAL AID .
THIS MEANS LESS THAN 1% ( 0.72%) OF THOSE ARRESTED ARE PROVIDED LEGAL AID
( SOURCE: Crime In India , NCRB and Rajasthan SLSA Website)
Four  Legal Aid Clinics in West bengal and One in Rajasthan in collaboration with the SLSA and DLSA where we interviewed prisoners , referred their cases to the DLSA and HCLSC, followed up with the DLSA,  ensured their appointment and trained the paralegals and worked with them.
Worked on implementation of legal aid schemes for persons in custody- NALSA Regulations on 2010 & 2011; and the RSLSA R&B Scheme based on NALSA's Model Scheme
NALSA 2010 Regulations has been formulated to provide quality legal services by creating a panel of legal aid whose work is overseen by a monitoring committee.  NALSA 2011 Regulations were formulated to  constitute legal aid clinics manned by the paralegals and visited by lawyers,  at places with barriers to access legal aid institutions. The Model Scheme mandates lawyers to be attached to each magistrate court so that no inmate goes undefended in court. This is a scheme developed in 1990's and is not a regulation therefore the status of its presence / implementation  and form needs to be enquired. CHRI has written to all the SLSA's in this regard. 
CHRI has made an effort to improve the implementation of these schemes in Rajasthan and WB by working closely with the SLSA and DLSAs, by training lawyers and PLVs and undertaking studies to help the institution identify the gaps in the implementation. 

9. THREE NALSA SCHEMES IN RAJASTHAN
CHRI’s STATUS REPORT ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF
THREE NALSA SCHEMES IN RAJASTHAN

10. Number of Prisons: 9 Central Jails 24 District Jails 60 Sub Jails
RAJASTHAN PRISON : PROFILE
Number of Prisons: 9 Central Jails District Jails 60 Sub Jails
3 Reformatories 28 Open Camps 1 High Security Jail
Number of Prisoners : 20,391
Number of Undertrials : 14,551 ( More than 70%)
Demographics: 82% Inmates are either SC, ST or OBC
Four  Legal Aid Clinics in West bengal and One in Rajasthan in collaboration with the SLSA and DLSA where we interviewed prisoners , referred their cases to the DLSA and HCLSC, followed up with the DLSA,  ensured their appointment and trained the paralegals and worked with them.
Worked on implementation of legal aid schemes for persons in custody- NALSA Regulations on 2010 & 2011; and the RSLSA R&B Scheme based on NALSA's Model Scheme
NALSA 2010 Regulations has been formulated to provide quality legal services by creating a panel of legal aid whose work is overseen by a monitoring committee.  NALSA 2011 Regulations were formulated to  constitute legal aid clinics manned by the paralegals and visited by lawyers,  at places with barriers to access legal aid institutions. The Model Scheme mandates lawyers to be attached to each magistrate court so that no inmate goes undefended in court. This is a scheme developed in 1990's and is not a regulation therefore the status of its presence / implementation  and form needs to be enquired. CHRI has written to all the SLSA's in this regard. 
CHRI has made an effort to improve the implementation of these schemes in Rajasthan and WB by working closely with the SLSA and DLSAs, by training lawyers and PLVs and undertaking studies to help the institution identify the gaps in the implementation. 

11. LEGAL AID FOR PERSONS IN CUSTODY
NALSA (FREE AND COMPETENT LEGAL SERVICES) REGULATIONS 2010
NALSA (LEGAL AID CLINICS) REGULATIONS, 2011
NALSA’S 'MODEL SCHEME FOR LEGAL AID COUNSEL IN ALL COURTS OF MAGISTRATES’ AND RSLSA’S LEGAL ASSISTANCE TO PERSON IN CUSTODY SCHEME GUIDELINES 2012
Four  Legal Aid Clinics in West bengal and One in Rajasthan in collaboration with the SLSA and DLSA where we interviewed prisoners , referred their cases to the DLSA and HCLSC, followed up with the DLSA,  ensured their appointment and trained the paralegals and worked with them.
Worked on implementation of legal aid schemes for persons in custody- NALSA Regulations on 2010 & 2011; and the RSLSA R&B Scheme based on NALSA's Model Scheme
NALSA 2010 Regulations has been formulated to provide quality legal services by creating a panel of legal aid whose work is overseen by a monitoring committee.  NALSA 2011 Regulations were formulated to  constitute legal aid clinics manned by the paralegals and visited by lawyers,  at places with barriers to access legal aid institutions. The Model Scheme mandates lawyers to be attached to each magistrate court so that no inmate goes undefended in court. This is a scheme developed in 1990's and is not a regulation therefore the status of its presence / implementation  and form needs to be enquired. CHRI has written to all the SLSA's in this regard. 
CHRI has made an effort to improve the implementation of these schemes in Rajasthan and WB by working closely with the SLSA and DLSAs, by training lawyers and PLVs and undertaking studies to help the institution identify the gaps in the implementation. 

12. LEGAL SERVICES INSTITUTION JAIL VISITING LAWYER & PARALEGAL VOLUNTEER
MONITORING COMMITTEE
FIRST PRODUCTION
LEGAL AID
APPLICATION
FORM 2
FORM 1
LEGAL SERVICES INSTITUTION
JAIL VISITING LAWYER & PARALEGAL VOLUNTEER
SCRUTINY & EVALUATION COMMITTEE
PERSON IN CUSTODY

13. EARLY AND EFFECTIVE LEGAL AID
THE RIGHT PERSON AT THE RIGHT PLACE AT THE RIGHT TIME DOING THE RIGHT THING
THE RIGHT PERSON
1. CREATION OF PANEL OF COMMITTED ACCOUNTABLE TRAINED LAWYERS AND PARALEGALS
2. ALLOCATION OF CASES BASED ON QUALIFICATIONS
AT THE RIGHT PLACE
1. LEGAL AID AT POLICE STATION
2. LEGAL AID AT COURT
3. LEGAL AID AT JAIL
AT THE RIGHT TIME
ARTICLE 22(1) OF THE CONSTITUTION VERSUS GUIDELINE 7(4) OF NALSA 2010
DOING THE RIGHT THING
1. VISITS OF LAWYERS AND PARALEGALS AT JAILS AND POLICE STATIONS
2. ENSURE SMOOTH WORKING OF THE LEGAL AID CLINICS IN JAIL AND POLICE STATIONS
3. SAFEGUARD THE RIGHTS OF THE ACCUSED AT THE POLICE STATION, PRISON AND COURT
A. Panel Lawyers : Duties of the Panel lawyers 
B. Selection of Retainer Lawyers - Numbers  defined   
     Regulation - They are supposed to work exclusively, remuneration ,000. So role clarity, some exclusive hours
C. Appointment of R&B Lawyers: Is the role limited to opposing remand for first production, or subsequent remand,  or only till PC remand  or till Chargesheet. Also their role vs the role of the panel lawyers.  CHRI recommends it role to be of a stop-gap arrangement. They should represent inmates in custody until the LSI appoints someone.
D.  JVL:  JVL are panel lawyers who are expected to visit the legal aid clinics in jails and provide legal awareness, identify people who need legal assistance and ordinate with PLVs to provide them legal aid. As the entire legal aid delivery mechanism involves multiple stakeholders,  regular visits of the JVLs to inform about the status at LSA, progress of the case, information from other lawyers, other bodies are received in time. NALSA scheme does not specify a time- frame, as per Raj Scheme- twice a month, CHRI- twice a week. 
E. PLVs: PLVs every six month( to check)  Gap in appointments,   CHRI recommends Training should involve : handing over, register maintenance. 
ALLOCATION OF CASES BASED ON QUALIFICATIONS: When an application for legal aid is received and the LSI has to appoint a lawyer, what is the basis on which he chooses which lawyer from the list should be chosen? The NALSA mandate provides that separate may should be made based on the kind of cases handled by the lawyer. In our experience, the LSI appoint lawyers according to "Serial Number". So considerations like whether the lawyer takes civil/criminal cases; can the person take up NDPS cases, FNP cases, Excise Act cases, preventive detention cases are not made at all.  CHRI recommends that it should be "shall" 

14. REMAND AND BAIL LAWYERS
THE RIGHT PERSON
AT THE RIGHT PLACE
PARALEGAL VOLUNTEERS
POLICE STATION
REMAND AND BAIL LAWYERS
PANEL LAWYERS
RETAINER LAWYERS
COURT
Right Place – At the police station
a) Constitutional Mandate – The Right to Lawyer at arrest- Article 22(1) of the constitution
b) Statutory Mandate- Section 12(g) of the Legal Services Authorities Act 1987 clearly mandates that “persons in custody” are entitled to legal aid.
c) Schematic provision- NALSA’s revised paralegal scheme also requires the PLVs to be informed when the arrest of a person in the locality takes place.
BUT it falls short as enabling provisions are missing:
No Obligation on police officers to inform the PLV or LSI upon arrest
No Obligation on police officer to inform the accused of his right to legal aid lawyer
No Mechanism for filing legal aid application at the police station
Recommendations: Legal Aid Clinics should be constituted in Police Stations. There can be two models:
Where the PLV is stationed at the police station and as soon as an unrepresented arrestee enters the police station, the PLV informs the person of his rights including right to legal aid, and if the arrestee requires LA, the PLV calls the Remand & Bail Lawyer assigned to the police station
Whenever an unrepresented person enters the police station, the designated officer intimates the Legal Services Institutions which in turn inform the PLV/ Lawyer to visit the prison. Technology could make this process quicker where interlinkages in the platforms in prison and legal services institutions would ensure automatic updates to the DLSA and eventually the lawyers.
PARALEGAL VOLUNTEERS
JAIL VISITING LAWYERS
JAIL

15. MANDATE GAP RECOMMENDATIONS AT THE RIGHT TIME
Time delays in approval of legal aid application : Guideline 7(4) of NALSA :”The Committee shall scrutinise and evaluate the application and decide whether the applicant is entitled to the legal services or not within a period of eight weeks from the date of receipt of the application. “
GAP
Rendering the accused unrepresented for eight weeks which essentially means continued detention for the said period merely to decide whether the person is eligible for legal aid is unreasonable and against the principle of liberty guaranteed under Article 21
RECOMMENDATIONS
Legal aid lawyer should be appointed the same day the legal aid application is received from prison, and the legal services institution should ensure that the lawyer visits the inmate in prison within 24 hours. Any verification from the prison or the court should be done right away.
Individuals in custody shall not be required to submit an application for the purpose of receiving legal aid during the early stages of the criminal justice process - Article 31.2 of Draft Model UN Law

16. REPRESENT THE CLIENT EFFECTIVELY IN COURT
DOING THE RIGHT THING
PROVIDE LEGAL AID AND REPORT TO THE LEGAL SERVICES INSTITUTIONS
LEGAL AID LAWYERS
REPRESENT THE CLIENT EFFECTIVELY IN COURT
MEET THE CLIENT IN POLICE STATION, COURT AND PRISON
REPORTING TO THE LEGAL SERVICES INSTITUTIONS
INFORMING PROGRESS TO PRISONER & PRISON
PARALEGAL VOLUNTEERS
ENSURE REGULAR WORKING OF THE CLINIC
PROVIDE LEGAL ASSISTANCE TO THE ACCUSED
CO-ORDINATE WITH THE JAIL VISITING LAWYER
REPORTING TO THE LEGAL SERVICES INSTITUTIONS

17. (FREE AND COMPETENT LEGAL SERVICES) REGULATIONS 2010
NALSA
(FREE AND COMPETENT LEGAL SERVICES) REGULATIONS 2010
The Scheme has been formulated to provide quality legal services by creating a panel of legal aid lawyers to take up legal aid cases which would be monitored by the legal services institutions.

18. THE MONITORING COMMITTEE
CONSTITUTION OF THE COMMITTEE
LSA TO SEND FORM II TO THE MC
MAINTAIN REGISTERS FOR PROCEEDING
SEPARATE STAFF
CALL REGISTERS & REPORTS FROM THE LAWYER
SEND BI-MONTHLY REPORT TO THE SLSA
SLSA TO SUGGEST NEXT COURSE OF ACTION TO THE MC
MONTHLY REPORTS FROM THE LAWYER
REGULATION 12
REPORTS ABOUT JAIL VISITS
ONLY 8 DISTRICTS CONSTITUTED A MC
NO FORM II WERE SENT
REGISTERS MAINTAINED IN ONLY 2 MC
1 MC HAD A SEPARATE STAFF
BI-MONTHLY REPORT WAS SENT FROM ONE DISTRICT
SIKAR, HANUMANGARH, JHUNJUNU, AJMER, BANSWARA, BIKANER, DHOLPUR, JODHPUR
JHUNJUNU
SIKAR, HANUMANGARH
SIKAR

19. NALSA (LEGAL AID CLINICS) REGULATIONS, 2011 & RSLSA GUIDELINES 2012
Scheme mandates establishment of legal aid clinics where there are barriers to access legal services institutions. The Rajasthan SLSA in 2012 have formulated guidelines based on the NALSA Scheme which includes establishing legal aid clinics in jails

20. CLINICS IN JAILS & POLICE STATIONS
WORKING OF THE JAIL LEGAL AID CLINIC
CONSTITUTION OF THE CLINIC
WORKING OF THE CLINIC
APPOINTMENT OF PLVS & TRAINING
APPOINTMENT OF JVLS & VISITS
MAINTAINING REGISTERS
MONTHLY REPORTS
ACTION TAKEN COLUMN
PERIODICITY
CLINICS IN JAILS & POLICE STATIONS
FACILITIES
MONTHLY REVIEW
JLAC IN 44 OF 93 JAILS
3 AS PER THE MANDATE
10- NOT OPERATIONAL
APPOINT.- 12 OF 44 JLAC
TRAINING- 6 OF 12 JLAC
APPOIN OF 44 JLAC (SJ-5)
5- NEVER VISITED
3 VISITED AS PER MANDATE
REGISTERS MAINTAINED IN ONLY 14 JLAC
REPORT SENT BY ONLY ONE JLAC (AJMER)

21. RSLSA’s LEGAL ASSISTANCE TO PERSON IN CUSTODY SCHEME GUIDELINES 2012
This Rajasthan SLSA scheme is based on NALSA’s Model Scheme For 'Legal Aid Counsel' In All Courts of Magistrates. The scheme mandates appointment of lawyers to be attached to each magistrate court to oppose unnecessary remand and apply for bail for unrepresented inmates

22. THE WORKFLOW OF REMAND &BAIL LAWYERS SCHEME
APPOINTMENT OF R&B LAWYERS
OPPOSITION OF REMAND
SUBMITTING MONTHLY REPORT
ISSUANCE OF ATTENDANCE CERTIFICATES
MONTHLY CERTIFICATES & REPORTS TO LSA
SUBMISSION OF QUARTERLY REPORTS TO SLSA
FIXING REMAND HOURS
TIME BOUND SUBMISSION
ACTIONS
SIKAR WORK REPORT
ATTENDANCE REGISTERS
EXE. MAGISTRATE COURT
RELEASES
CHRI COMMON FORMAT
ORIENTATION
Regularly- 5
Jodhpur Practice
Only 7 out of 33
Only 11 out of 33
Mostly 3 or 6monthly Submitted after the term
Only 2
(Chittorgarh & Hanumangarh)

23. RECOMMENDATIONS IN COMMON FOR ALL THREE SCHEMES: TOWARDS ACHIEVEMENT OF ARTICLE 22(1)
A. ORIENTATION OF DUTY HOLDERS
B. DETAILED APPOINTMENT LETTERS OF THE ACTORS
C. RESPONSIBILITY NOTE FOR THE ACTORS
D. FEEDBACK FROM THE CLIENT
E. STANDARDISED FORMATS
F. USE OF TECHNOLOGY : INTERLINKAGES IN THE PLATFORMS
Orientation of Duty Holders: It has been our experience that duty holders - be it lawyers, magistrates or even the LSI are usually unaware of their specific duties  under each scheme. CHRI  conducted orientation sessions for remand and bail lawyers in Jodhpur and Alwar and the feedback was encouraging. 
Appointment Letters of the Actors: The appointment letters of the actors can be a source where all the information relating to their responsibility under the scheme can  be put together for quick reference of the actors
Responsibility Note for the Actors: While the appointment letter would be specific to the role of the actor, responsibility notes help actors have a better understanding of the role of each actor and thus the scheme. 
Feedback from the Client: For  the quality of legal aid delivery to improve, there needs to be shift from understanding the inmate to be just a  'beneficiary' to an actor with 'agency'  who has the right to choose his lawyer and give feedback about the quality of lawyering.
Standardised Formats: In our experience,  without a standardised format; work reports, registers, certificates are maintained poorly and important  indicators are missed. CHRI has already created some formats, and it would be more than happy to create formats for all the monitoring and reporting mechanisms. 
Tracking Mechanisms for the SLSA:  SLSAs are entrusted with the responsibility to monitor multiple schemes. Each scheme involves multiple actors and processes which need to take place periodically. The only way to ensure this is by having tracking mechanisms with alerts in place. Also there should be standardisation in the dates of appointments of actors and submission of documents- Like an activity plan. Without this it is extremely difficult to track these parameters in each district.
Use of Technology: With the interlinkages in the role of various actors/institutions, use of technology becomes important to ensure timely access to information to all the stakeholders so that each actor can perform its function in time and thus ensure early and effective access to legal aid. For Example: The moment an unrepresented person enters a police station, it is entered in the portal which is updated with the DLSA on a real time basis. The information is then directed to the corresponding Legal Ai lawyer via a text message with case details. 
G. CALENDARS AND TRACKING MECHANISM FOR THE SLSA – DASHBOARD

24. DASHBOARD- TEMPLATE DISTRICT PANEL LAWYERS REMAND & BAIL LAWYERS
JAIL VISITING LAWYER
PRISONER PARALEGAL VOLUNTEER
LEGAL AID CLINICS
MONITORING COMMITTEE
Ajmer
08-Jan-16
 15-Feb-16
 NOT APPOINTED
CONSTITUTED
Alwar
12-Jan-16
 11-Feb-16
Banswara
09-Jan-16
 3-Feb-16
Barmer
18-Jan-16
NOT APPOINTED
Baran
15-Jan-16
 18-Feb-16
Bharatpur
Bikaner
NOT CONSTITUTED
Bhilwara
 12-Jan-16
 30Feb-16
Bundi
 20-Feb-16
Churu
 19-Feb-16
Chittorgarh
Dausa
 09-Feb-16
Dholpur
Dungarpur
 16-Feb-16

25. MONTHLY PROGRESS REPORT TEMPLATE – JANUARY 2016
NALSA 2010 REGULATIONS
NALSA 2011 REGULATIONS
NALSA MODEL SCHEME
DISTRICT
INMATES REPRESENTED
BI-MONTHLY REPORTS FROM MC TO SLSA
REPORTS FROM PANEL LAWYERS TO MC
MONTHLY REPORT FROM JAIL PLV
MONTHLY REPORT FROM JVL
WORK REPORTS FROM R&B LAWYERS
ATTENDANCE CERTIFICATES FROM R&B LAWYERS
Ajmer 23 2 7 1 11 6
Alwar 24
Banswara 3 12
Barmer 4 5
Baran 16
Bharatpur 9 34 32
Bikaner 14
Bhilwara
Bundi
Churu
Chittorgarh 22
Dausa 13
Dholpur
Dungarpur 21

26. THE DEVIL LIES IN
THE
DETAILS

30. SNAPSHOT OF
LEGAL AID DELIVERY IN
WEST BENGAL

31. Visits to correctional homes
In 33 out of the 39 Correctional Homes a representative from the DLSA visits the correctional homes. 92 per cent of the correctional homes (CH) in West Bengal, District Legal Services Authorities have their presence
Designation of DLSA representative visiting correctional home
Of the 36 CHs in 30 CHs visits were made by either the chairman or secretary DLSA. In remaining 6 the visits are made by panel lawyers who are assigned the task to visit CH
Frequency of visits
In those CHs visited by DLSAs, the frequency of visits varies considerably.
In 15 CHs -DLSA visits once a month,
In 13CHs- DLSA visits are made rarely,
In 3 CHs- Visits are weekly
Intimation to CHs about appointment of lawyers
In 29 CHs the DLSAs intimate the correctional homes regarding appointment of lawyers, however in 5 no intimations are sent.

32. Constitution of Legal Aid Clinics in Correctional Homes
In accordance with the SLSA directives of 2013 Permanent Legal Aid Clinics have been established in 32 CHs. However 6 CHs even after two years the PLACs have not been setup.
Year of establishment of PLAC
Of the 32 PLACs, majority (16) were established by 2013 whereas in some CHs PLACs have been setup fairly recently.
Appointment of jail visiting lawyer
Out of the 39 CHs, in 29 CHs panel lawyers have been appointed which visit correctional homes. 10 CHs responded that no lawyer has been appointed till date.
Frequency of visits
Among the 29 CHs where panel lawyers are appointed for visiting correctional homes, in 11 CH weekly visits are supposed to made, in 5 fortnightly visits are made, in 2 monthly visits are to be made and in 1 CH daily visits are made. 10 CHs did not provide any specific response to the query.
Whether paralegal assigned
Out of the 32 CHs where PLAC has been setup, paralegal volunteers have been assigned in only 24 CHs, while in 5 CHs PLVs need to be appointed in order to make the PLACs functional. Among the 24, in 6 CHs convicts have been appointed as the para legals.
Number of cases taken up and releases effectuated
Since appointment 2589 cases have been taken up by panel lawyers who visit correctional homes. Of these there are 383 reported cases of releases in cases taken up by the panel lawyers.

33. SOME SOLUTIONS NORMS 2. INFORMATION TO THE PRISONER
3. GREVIANCE REDRESSAL