As per section
12 of the Act of 1987 read with Rule 19 of the HSLSA Rules of 1996,
the following categories of persons are entitled to free legal
services:
1.
Any citizen of India belonging to general category whose
annual income from all sources does not exceed Rs.
75,000/- (if the matter is at the Sub-Divisional level,
District level or in High Court) and does not exceed Rs.
50,000/- (if the matter is in the Supreme Court of
India).
2.
Members of the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes or
Backward Classes*.
3.
Victims of trafficking in human beings, or ‘begar’
(forced labour) as is referred to in Article 23 of the
Constitution.
4.
Women.
5.
Child i.e. a person who has not attained the age of 18
years (or upto 21 years if he is under the guardianship
of some person as per the provisions of the Guardians
and Wards Act, 1980).
6.
Mentally ill or otherwise disabled persons such as those
suffering from blindness, low vision, hearing
impairment, mental retardation, locomotor disability and
also leprosy-cured patients.
7.
Persons under circumstances of undeserved want such as
being victims of mass disaster, ethnic violence, caste
atrocity, flood, drought, earthquake or industrial
disaster.
8.
Industrial Workmen.
9.
Persons in custody, including custody in a protective
home within the meaning of clause (g) of section 2 of
the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956 or in a
Children’s Home, Observation Home, Shelter Home and
Special Home within the meaning of clauses (e), (o), (u)
and (v) respectively of Section 2 of Juvenile Justice
(Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000.
10.
Persons in a psychiatric hospital or nursing home within
the meaning of clause (q) of Section 2 of the Mental
Health Act, 1987.
11.
Ex-serviceman, and the families of such persons who have
died in action; or
12.
Victims, and the families of such persons as well as
terrorist victims and families of such persons; or
13.
Person in case of public interest litigation."
14.
To
freedom fighters."
BESIDES THE
ABOVE CATEGORIES, free legal services can also be provided in
the under mentioned situations:-
(i)
In
a test case, the decision of which is likely to effect
cases numerous other persons belonging to the poor and
weaker sections of the society; or
(ii)
To
a person in a special case, who, for reasons to be
recorded in writing, is considered otherwise deserving
of legal service where the means test is not satisfied;
(iii)
Persons in favour of whom our High Court or the Supreme
Court directs grant of legal service;
(iv)
To
a person in case of genuine public interest
litigation.(*Only in the State of Haryana & in the
Punjab and Haryana High Court).
WITHHOLDING OF LEGAL SERVICE
By virtue
of section 13(1) of the Act of 1987 all or any of the various
categories of persons specified in section 12 of the Act of 1987 and
read with the Rule 19 of HSLSA Rules of 1996 are entitled to free
legal service provided that the concerned Authority is satisfied
that such persons has prima facie caseto prosecute or to
defend. Furthermore, as per Rule 23(4) of HSLSA Rules of 1996, no
legal service can be granted, or continued after the legal service
has been granted, if the Authority/Committee is satisfied that:
a.
The applicant has knowingly made false statement or
furnished false information as regards his means or
place or residence; or
b.
In
proceedings (other than the one relating to criminal
prosecution ) where there is no prima facie case to
institute, or as the case may be, to defend the
proceedings; or
c.
The application is frivolous and fictitious; or
d.
The applicant is not entitled to the same under Rule 19
of the HSLSA Rules of 1996 or any other provision of the
rule; or
e.
Having regard to all the circumstances of the case, it
is otherwise not reasonable to grant it.
APPLICATIONS FOR LEGAL SERVICES:
- can
be made either on a plain paper in Hindi, or in any other vernacular
language of the region, or even in English, containing necessary
particulars and accompanied with an affidavit of person(s) belonging
to the general category regarding his/their annual income from all
sources being less than Rs. 50,000/-. The requisite information can
also be filled up in the proforma set out in
Annexure-‘A’.
Every such proforma which is in the shape of an
application-cum-affidavit is also required to be accompanied with a
Vakalatnama (Power of Attorney) and a caste certificate (in case the
applicant belongs to schedule caste/tribe or backward class). There
are three different types of Vakalatnamas as set out in Annexures –
‘B’, ‘C’ and ‘D’.
To
be submitted by a person who is in custody and desires
free legal service at district level and sub-divisional
level.
NOTE:
1.
Proformae of above specified category “D” of Power of
Attorney (Vakalatnama) to be executed by applicants who
are in custody can also be secured from the
Superintendents of Jails in the State of Haryana.
2.
Any convict who desires free legal service for applying
to the Hon’ble High Court for parole is also required to
fill in the requisite particulars in the proforma set
out in
Annexure-‘E’. These forms have also
been supplied to all the jails in the State of Haryana
and these can be collected by the applicant convicts
form the Superintendent of the respective jail whereinthey may be in custody.
