What happened: Government expands disability-responsive legal aid and accessible e-justice
The Ministry of Law and Justice reports measures to strengthen accessible legal services for persons with disabilities and to improve inclusive access in courts through accessible ICT. The Government links legal aid entitlements under the Legal Services Authorities (LSA) Act, 1987 with NALSA’s NALSA (Legal Services to Persons with Mental Illness and Persons with Intellectual Disabilities) Scheme, 2024, and it reports accessibility-focused ICT provisions under eCourts Project Phase III, including support through the S3WaaS platform.
Background and earlier position: Free legal aid entitlement under the LSA Act; disability-specific legal service delivery
The Legal Services Authorities (LSA) Act, 1987 provides free and competent legal services to weaker sections of society, including persons with disabilities. Under Section 12(d) of the LSA Act, 1987, a person with disability is entitled to free legal aid. The disability definition used in the entitlement refers to clause (i) of section 2 of the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1955.
NALSA supports disability-specific legal service delivery through an institutional scheme focused on persons with mental illness and persons with intellectual disabilities. The Government report highlights the NALSA scheme for these two groups and the specialized delivery units created under it.