Department of justice launches tele-law mobile app, Nyaya Bandhu
1 min read . Updated: 19 Feb 2019, 05:49 PM IST
Premium- The pro bono legal service was developed to let advocates register and connect with the registered eligible beneficiaries
- The mobile application is integrated with a dashboard to confirm and register the pre-registered cases
Keeping in line with the government’s initiative to ensure empowerment to the common man through technology for access to justice, the law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Tuesday launched a tele-law mobile application that is integrated with a dashboard and an application called Nyaya Bandhu.
The pro bono legal service was developed to accelerate and facilitate practising advocates to register and connect with the registered eligible beneficiaries and thereby, solidify the pro bono culture in the country. The mobile application will enable the para legal volunteers (PLV)’s to perform on field pre-registration of cases with a facility to seek appointment from the panel lawyer on preferred date and time.
“The application will benefit 73,000 PLVs of National Legal Service Authority and State Legal Services Authorities (SLSA) in the country who will be associated under the tele-law service", it was stated.
The mobile application is integrated with a dashboard to confirm and register the pre-registered cases, to enable online interface between the beneficiary and the panel lawyer through video conferencing and telephone facility.
Prasad said that a pilot project in this regard had proved useful and more than 50,000 people have already availed this service. Till January, it resulted in enabling legal advice to 49,192 beneficiaries that include 36,526 (Women), 7049 (SC) and 13970 (ST) in 11 states including Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and all North-Eastern states and the State of Jammu and Kashmir, he said.
The law minister was of the view that pro bono appearances by lawyers should be considered as a criteria for appointment as judges. He was also of the view that there was a need for legal literacy in India.
With more than 39 lakh cases pending in high courts, currently functioning at 60% of sanctioned strength, a difference of opinion between the Supreme Court and the Centre is delaying finalisation of a Memorandum of Procedure (MoP) for judicial appointments.
The MoP for judicial appointments is yet to be finalised and a revised MoP will make judicial appointments transparent, Prasad added.
