The DISHA scheme aims to provide easy, accessible, affordable, and citizen-centric delivery of legal services through the Tele-Law, Nyaya Bandhu (Pro Bono Legal Services), and Legal Literacy and Legal awareness programme.
Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Law and Justice and Minister of State in the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs Arjun Ram Meghwal said this in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha.
A total of 39.44 lakh people have been provided with free legal services during the last three years from 2022-23 to 2024-25 (up to December 2024), the Rajya Sabha was informed on Thursday.
“The government is also implementing a Central Sector Scheme named “Designing Innovative Solutions for Holistic Access to Justice in India” (DISHA) for a period of five years (2021-2026), at an outlay of Rs 250 crore,” the Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Law and Justice and Minister of State in the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs Arjun Ram Meghwal said in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha.
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The DISHA scheme aims to provide easy, accessible, affordable, and citizen-centric delivery of legal services through the Tele-Law, Nyaya Bandhu (Pro Bono Legal Services), and Legal Literacy and Legal awareness programme.
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Under the DISHA scheme, Tele-Law connects citizens with the lawyers through mobile app “Tele-Law” and Toll-Free number for rendering pre-litigation advice; Nyaya Bandhu (Pro Bono services) facilitates registered beneficiaries to avail pro bono legal representation in courts and under the Legal Literacy and Legal Awareness Programme, citizens are empowered to know, understand and avail their legal rights, duties and entitlements.
Till February 28, the DISHA scheme, through its various programmes, has covered approximately 2.10 crore beneficiaries in the country.
The Government of India is implementing another Central Sector Scheme, the Legal Aid Defence Counsel System (LADCS) Scheme, through the National Legal Services Authority.
The LADCS Scheme aims to provide legal aid with regard to criminal cases only to the beneficiaries eligible for legal aid under Section 12 of the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987.
The approved financial outlay of the LADCS scheme is Rs 998.43 crore for 3 years (FY 2023-24 to FY 2025-26).
As on December 30, 2024, the LADC offices are functional in 654 districts across the country and have engaged 5251 staff, including 3,448 defence counsels. During the year 2024-25 (up to December 2024), the LADCS offices dealt with more than 3.95 lakh criminal cases.
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