Chief Justice, Gauhati High Court Justice Vijay Bishnoi inaugurated the Legal Services Clinic (LSC) at Kohima Science College, Jotsoma on December 5. Also seen is Justice Manish Choudhury, Commissioner and Secretary Y Kikheto Sema, Advocate General Nagaland N Balgopal among others.
Legal Services Clinic inaugurated at Kohima Science College
KOHIMA, DECEMBER 5 (MExN): Chief Justice, Gauhati High Court and Patron-in-chief of Nagaland State Legal Services Authority, Justice Vijay Bishnoi inaugurated the Legal Services Clinic (LSC) at Kohima Science College, Jotsoma on December 5.
In his address, Justice Bishnoi called for concerted efforts of stakeholders and a holistic approach to empower people to enjoy fruit of the schemes which they are entitled to while keeping in mind that every region has certain specific socio-cultural issues, which may vary from region to region.
He said the focus should not be limited to making people aware of various schemes of NALSA, welfare schemes as well as various laws, but concerted effort should be made by all stakeholders to empower people so that they could actually enjoy the fruits of the schemes which they are entitled of. "Hence, a holistic approach needs to be adopted which includes both awareness and which empowerment," he pointed out.
Justice Bishnoi opined that without adequate legal awareness among the masses, the goal of equal access to justice cannot be a reality. "Equal access to justice for all even to the last man standing in the queue, is the foundation for a robust administration of justice," he underscored.
He also maintained that for successful implementation of awareness programmes, it needs to be kept in mind that every region has certain specific socio-cultural issues, which may vary from region to region.
In this regard, in Nagaland, he urged the stakeholders to put more focus on spreading awareness of those schemes which are relevant to the State of Nagaland.
Justice Bishnoi also commended NSLSA for taking up various schemes which are relevant to the State of Nagaland according to the social and cultural realities, and that it will continue to render free and competent legal services to all who are in need of legal aid.
‘Only 47 LSC functioning in NE’
Justice Manish Choudhury, Judge, Gauhati High Court also spoke at the event, highlighting the ongoing challenge of ensuring access to justice for all citizens. He emphasized that, despite the constitutional guarantee of equality before the law, many barriers still prevent people from accessing justice. These barriers include a lack of legal awareness and limited access to legal support services, particularly in less-developed and remote areas.
Sharing the information provided by the Minister of State, Law in the Parliament in a written reply on 26 July, 2024, the Judge noted that only 47 Legal Services Clinics were found functioning in 2023-2024 in the North-East Region, and they provided legal assistance to only 615 individual. The figure was much worse for the year 2024-2025 as assistance was provided to only 156 persons with 45 functioning LSCs.
Nationally, 11,384 LSCs were functioning in the country during the year 2023- 2024 and these Legal Services Clinics provided legal assistance to 10,35,040 persons. For the year 2024-2025, as per data available up to May, 2024, 11,574 Legal Services Clinics were functioning in the entire country and these LSCs were able to provide legal assistance to 1,97,119 number of persons.
The Judge expressed how setting up of more LSC in this part of the country is the need of hour so as to penetrate into more areas to create awareness among the citizens about the rights, benefits and facilities available.
"The North-East Region including the State of Nagaland, has more barriers and bottlenecks be it geographical, economic or social than the other parts of the country," he said.
Earlier, the welcome address was delivered by Dr Temjenwabang, Principal, Kohima Science College, Jotsoma and Apila Sangtam, Retainer Lawyer, NSLSA chaired the programme.
The programme was also attended by Y Kikheto Sema, Commissioner and Secretary, Department of Law and Justice, K.N Balgopal, Advocate General Nagaland, NSLSA Member Secretary, Neiko Akami, NJS and judges, registrar of Gauhati High court and judicial officers.
