New Delhi, Apr 1 (PTI) Supreme Court judge Justice Surya Kant on Tuesday interacted with chairpersons of state legal services authorities and high court legal services committees in a meeting held as a follow-up of a campaign to identify prisoners in need of legal aid.
Justice Kant, who is also chairman of the Supreme Court Legal Services Committee (SCLSC), interacted with them via videoconferencing.
The SCLSC said the campaign was launched in January in all jails by involving directors general or inspectors general and high court legal services committees (HCLSCs) of all states.
It said the three-month exercise in jails was to identify inmates whose criminal appeals were dismissed by high courts, who had served more than half their sentences and whose prayers for bail were rejected by high courts, and those who were denied the benefit of remission and challenges in high courts were also rejected.
"The meeting was held as a follow-up of the campaign launched by the chairman SCLSC in January 2025 to identify the prisoners in need of legal aid and to provide them legal aid to file appeals or SLPs (Special Leave Petitions) in the Supreme Court of India," the SCLSC said in a statement.
It said more than 4,200 prisoners in need of legal aid to file SLPs in the apex court and willing to avail legal services from the SCLSC as part of the initiative had been identified.
In the meeting, Justice Kant impressed upon the chairpersons of state legal services authorities (SLSAs) and high court legal services committees to send paper books, including certified copies of impugned orders or judgments, to the SCLSC immediately so that appeals or SLPs might be filed without delay.
The SCLSC said Justice Kant stressed that this should not be a one-time affair but all state legal services authorities and high court legal services committees should conduct such campaigns on a regular basis to identify inmates in need of legal aid from legal services institutions.
"Justice Surya Kant laid out his vision to bring about a robust system where the moment a person enters jail, he or she must get all the information as to their right to legal services and how to avail the same from the concerned legal services institution. Such inmates must get legal services on day one in the jail," it said.
Justice Kant asked the chairpersons to monitor the campaign till the last document was sent by their respective state legal services authorities or high court legal services committee.
