Our Correspondent
Kohima | April 28
Nagaland’s Secretary for Land Resources and Finance, Y. Kikheto Sema (IAS) today lauded the effort of the Nagaland State Legal Services Authority (NSLSA) for creating awareness among the people on their legal rights and stressed on the need to spread the awareness to the church platform as well.
Speaking at the 2nd All Nagaland Meet of District Legal Services Authorities here at Hotel Cimorb organized under the auspices of NSLSA in collaboration with Government of Nagaland, he encouraged the NSLSA to involve the church workers and see that some part of the matter is included in the syllabus of Sunday preaching so that people will be well aware of their rights.
Kikheto, who is also the ex-officio member of NSLSA, said, “While we appreciate our customary laws, this is the time we need to ascertain whether all our customary laws and practices will be viable or feasible to continue.”
He stressed on the need to coordinate, cooperate and consult each other so that many issues can be solved mutually. “Until we have close relationship, coordination with each other we will not be able to deliver the matters as expected of us by the people.”
He assured that the government will give its full cooperation towards services of the legal profession and also whatever recommendation on Nagaland victim compensation scheme is concerned will be delivered in time.
Justice LS Jamir, judge, Gauhati High Court & executive chairman NSLSA said with the aim to ‘end poverty in all its forms everywhere,’ the National Legal Service Authority (NALSA) launched eight schemes in 2015 followed by additional two schemes in 2016 to cover a wide range of classes of people who need legal aid.
The schemes include legal services to disaster victims, victims of sexual exploitation, victims of acid attacks, victims of drug abuse, besides services to senior citizens, children, tribal, differently abled persons and workers of unorganized sector.
Stating that the respective District Legal Services Authorities have done commendable work under the supervision of NSLSA, he however said, “But we need to reach out, in terms of actual service, to more of our people, especially children, women and the differently abled.”
He noted Article 39-A of the Constitution mandates the State to secure that the legal system promotes justice, on the basis of equal opportunity, including free legal aid, to ensure that opportunities for securing justice are not denied to any citizen by reason of economic or other disabilities.
“As judges, we are bound to ensure and endeavor, that the voiceless and the vulnerable, are not denied the benefit of Article 39-A, either by omission or commission,” he asserted.
In this context, the NALSA spearheaded a programme that all under trial prisoners get representation from the first day of production in court.
Stating that the procedure implemented through State Legal Services Authorities enables a timely interface between the empanelled lawyers of the District Legal Services Authorities and the jail inmates, he said, “This interface must now be speeded up by monitoring criminal cases, in the district courts, with time limits, for expeditious disposal, and for performance assessment on that basis.”
The purpose of legal services authority, he added, is to reform the existing system for legal representation for the under trial prisoners and the convicts who are unable to engage counsels and therefore, the intent is to increase the visits of panel lawyers to jail clinics, confer more responsibility on remand advocates and to see that the counsels who represent the cases are well prepared and have the requisite expertise.
On Lok Adalat, he stated, “We have to adopt multi-fold and diverse strategies to make it more successful, realistic and self-evident.” It has to be cost effective and the effort is to reduce pendency of cases keeping in mind the litigations which are to be targeted, he said.
NSLSA member secretary Mezivolu T Therieh said when legal services authority is focusing on a paradigm shift from awareness to empowerment, the Government of Nagaland has promptly responded to cooperate and coordinate in the flagship programme of conducting legal services camps in all the districts.
“In order to affect paradigm shift from awareness to empowerment, the legal services camps would not only make people aware about their entitlements and procedural aspects but also connect them to the welfare schemes,” she said.
It was informed that opening of Legal Literacy Club in the government schools will continue as a yearlong programme to impart the constitutional vision of equality and equal opportunity.
Also highlighting the NALSA schemes, she said, “We all need to come together and build up our strategies and programmes so that the socially and economically underprivileged section of the society benefits from our services,” she said.
The meet was also marked by release of NSLSA’s first documentary film on ‘Domestic Violence’ by Dreamz Unlimited, release of annual magazine, handing over compensatory grant received under Nagaland victim compensation scheme.
