Ensure legal aid reaches vulnerable sections on time, L-G tells legal services authorities
Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Saturday addressed the North Zone Regional Conference on “Reaffirming the Constitutional Vision of Justice for Defence Personnel and Tribals: Bridging the Gaps” organised by National Legal Services Authority, High Court of J&K and Ladakh and J&K Legal Services Authority at Srinagar.
Among those who attended the event included Judge, Supreme Court of India, and Executive Chairman, National Legal Services Authority, Justice Surya Kant; Union Minister of State for Law and Justice, Arjun Ram Meghwal; Chief Justice, High Court of Jammu Kashmir and Ladakh, Justice Arun Palli; J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and others.
In his address, the Lieutenant Governor extended his felicitations to the legal luminaries, officials of National Legal Services Authority, High Court of J&K and Ladakh, J&K Legal Services Authority and everyone associated with the conference. He also paid tributes to the bravehearts of Kargil War.
“The Constitution of India guarantees justice — social, economic and political and one of the facets of providing justice is access to justice to all the citizens. It is to be ensured that justice reaches the poorest of poor, who deserves it the most,” he said.
The L-G said the justice system has been deeply rooted in the soul of India and played a pivotal in the nation’s progress.
“In our culture, the court is not merely an office of justice, but a sacred temple of justice, dedicated to ensuring equal justice and access to the legal system for all, without discrimination,” the Lieutenant Governor said.
The Lieutenant Governor called upon the state legal services authorities to ensure that all “possible legal aid reaches the Army personnel, tribal community, deprived and vulnerable sections of society on time so that their lives become easier and their rights granted by the Constitution are protected.”
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah delivered the keynote address. Addressing the audience, the CM said that this regional conference was of great significance to deliberate and collectively reflect on the foundational promise of our republic for realisation of justice—social, economic and political which is enshrined in the Preamble and concretised in Article 39A of our Constitution, which enjoins the State to ensure that access to justice is not curtailed by economic or other disabilities.
On tribal communities, the CM said that they were custodians of rich cultural and ecological heritage. Jammu and Kashmir is home to several Scheduled Tribes, including Gujjars, Bakarwals, Pahadis, Gaddis and Sippis, who have preserved ancient traditions while braving difficult terrains.
He said the government has correspondingly augmented its developmental efforts. This year, the capital expenditure for tribal welfare has been raised to Rs 98 crore.
The CM noted that the Legal Services Authority has commendably operationalised 255 legal aid clinics, including in tribal villages and correctional institutions, supported by 527 panel lawyers and 561 para-legal volunteers.
On the occasion, NALSA Veer Parivar Sahayata Yojana 2025, a dedicated legal services scheme for defence personnel, ex-servicemen and their families, was launched. “The scheme provides for establishing legal services clinics within Rajya and Zila Sainik Boards for rendering legal services and assistance to veer parivar,” the spokesperson said.
J & K