NALSA: India’s Free Legal Aid Machinery

India promises free legal aid to anyone who cannot afford a lawyer. NALSA is the machine that delivers on that promise, all the way down to the district level. In a single day it can help settle over two crore disputes.

1Part 1: What NALSA Is and How It Is Built

Must Know

What NALSA is

• The National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) was constituted under the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987.
• That Act came into force on 9 November 1995, after 1994 amendments.
• Its job is to make the constitutional promise of free legal aid real.
• Its basis is Article 39A, a Directive Principle. It directs the State to provide equal justice and free legal aid to the poor.
• NALSA plans and funds legal-aid programmes. It coordinates the State and District Legal Services Authorities that deliver them.

Leadership

• The Patron-in-Chief is the sitting Chief Justice of India, currently Justice Surya Kant.
• The Executive Chairman is a sitting or retired Supreme Court judge, appointed by the President. Justice Vikram Nath has held the role since 24 November 2025, succeeding Justice Surya Kant.
• Judges at the top tie legal aid to the judiciary’s credibility, so it is not seen as a government handout.

The three-tier structure

• National: NALSA sits at the top and coordinates policy and programmes.
• State: State Legal Services Authorities, headed by High Court Chief Justices, run legal aid within each State.
• District: District Legal Services Authorities, headed by District Judges, deliver legal services on the ground.
• This design reaches every district through the existing court hierarchy, with no parallel machinery.
• See The Judiciary: Structure and Appointments.

2Part 2: Who Gets Aid, and Lok Adalats

Good to Know

Who qualifies for free legal aid

• Section 12 grants free aid to members of SC and ST, women, children, persons with disabilities, and victims of trafficking, begging or disaster. There is no income test for them.
• Others qualify only below an income ceiling. The old page gave ₹1,00,000 a year for a general-category person, and a higher limit for a transgender person. State governments may set their own limits.
• Vulnerable groups are eligible by status, since their disadvantage is social, not just financial.
• Common traps: OBC status alone is not a listed category. Not every senior citizen is automatically eligible.
• Anchor every answer to Section 12’s two buckets: automatic by status, or means-tested by income.
• See Legal Services Authorities Act: Free Legal Aid Eligibility.

Lok Adalats

• Lok Adalats are people’s courts organised for the speedy, amicable settlement of disputes.
• They clear huge backlogs outside the formal trial system, by mutual consent.
• Awards are enforceable and final.
• A single National Lok Adalat can settle over two crore cases in one day.
• Link them to the wider family of arbitration, mediation and conciliation. See Alternative Dispute Resolution Mechanisms.

Key milestones

• 1987: Parliament enacted the Legal Services Authorities Act.
• 2014: in NALSA v. Union of India, the Supreme Court legally recognised transgender people as a third gender with constitutional rights. This judgment is a recurring exam question.
• 24 November 2025: Justice Vikram Nath became Executive Chairman.
• Between 2023 and 2025, twelve National Lok Adalats disposed of around 26 crore cases.
• Legal aid also reaches prisoners. See Prison Administration in India.

3Part 3: Newer Directions

Great to Know

Legal aid for persons with disabilities

• NALSA runs the Legal Services to Persons with Mental Illness and Persons with Intellectual Disabilities Scheme, 2024.
• Its ‘Manonyay’ Legal Services Units now operate in every State and UT except Lakshadweep.
• NALSA served over 15,280 persons with disabilities in FY 2025-26, up from 8,313 the year before.
• Under eCourts Phase III, the government set aside ₹27.54 crore for accessible ICT and ₹6.35 crore for the S3WaaS accessible-website platform.
• Accessibility is now a recognised dimension of free legal aid, not just a poverty measure.

DISHA 2.0

• The Union Cabinet approved DISHA 2.0 on 22 June 2026. It is a Central Sector Scheme with a ₹255 crore outlay for 2026-31.
• It adds technology and pro-bono lawyers to the court-based system.
• Four components: Tele-Law (free pre-litigation advice via Common Service Centres and toll-free 14454), the Nyaya Bandhu pro-bono programme, a Legal Literacy programme, and VIDHI-Sanjeevani, a monitoring dashboard.
• Pro-bono panels exist in 23 High Courts. VIDHI-Sanjeevani targets outreach to 50 lakh beneficiaries over five years.
• The Nyaya Setu AI chatbot, launched 29 March 2026, answers legal questions in 22 Indian languages. It uses a Retrieval-Augmented Generation model grounded in statutory texts.
• The old page named no source link for these 2026 figures.

National Lok Adalats 2026

• The 1st National Lok Adalat of 2026, on 14 March, resolved over 2.84 crore cases in a day, worth ₹10,920.47 crore.
• The 2nd, on 9 May, settled 2.07 crore cases: 1.87 crore pre-litigation and over 20 lakh pending. They were worth ₹3,440.81 crore.
• These records show how much of India’s backlog is resolved by consent, not trial.

4Part 4: An Error Fixed

Great to Know

• The old page of this article carried an “Exam Angle” box about the Gandhi Peace Prize jury. It had nothing to do with NALSA, and has been removed.

Quick Q&A

• Which Article is the basis of free legal aid? Article 39A.
• Who is NALSA’s Patron-in-Chief? The Chief Justice of India.
• Who heads a District Legal Services Authority? The District Judge.
• Which Section lists free-aid categories? Section 12.
• Cabinet scheme of June 2026? DISHA 2.0.