TELE-LAW SERVICE Mainstreaming Legal Aid through Common Services Centers (CSCs) Department of Justice Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) Government of India
Tele-law will fulfill our commitment to ensure access to justice & empowerment of the poor. The Common Services Centers and Para Legal Volunteers will offer easy legal advice to litigants in rural India making them digitally and financially inclusive. Hon Minister Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad
Message I am happy to be associated with the Tele-law initiative that provides access to legal aid and justice for citizens living in rural areas, particularly from marginalized communities. The initiative comes as a major technological advancement in the domain of law. Through the online system specifically created for the service, citizens can have access to legal aid from any part of the country through the network of CSCs. The service is expected to foster social and digital inclusion among the citizens in rural areas. The service will also boost employment avenues in villages as people will be trained as Para Legal Volunteers (PLV) and deployed at CSCs to engage with the community and create awareness on legal issues and further enable access to legal aid. Moreover, 1000 women Para Legal Volunteers will be trained and deployed in CSCs of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar in the pilot phase. This would promote women s participation in the programme and also empower them. I hope the CSCs, PLVs and panel of lawyers would work together in making Tele-law programme a success and enable access to justice for the vulnerable and marginalized sections of our society! (Ravi Shankar Prasad)
Common Services Centers Revolutionizing Rural Entrepreneurship The Common Services Centers (CSCs) are an integral part of the Government s flagship Digital India Programme and provide the last mile access to various e-governance services through digital connectivity. A pan-india network, CSCs offer access to e-services, delivering essential government and public utility services, social welfare schemes, financial inclusion services, health care and agriculture services, apart from a host of B2C services. CSCs have also been trying to bridge the gaps in digital literacy and skills of rural citizens through a range of literacy initiatives focused on digital, financial and legal literacy and e-learning and skill development courses. CSCs contribute to Government s mandate of a digitally, socially and financially inclusive society by improving access to governance and services in rural and remote areas. The growing bouquet of services offered through partnerships with Government departments and private entities have transformed CSCs into hubs of economic activity, encouraging rural entrepreneurship and empowering communities in rural areas. Under the CSC 2.0 scheme initiated by the Ministry of Electronics & IT in 2015, at least one CSC is to be rolled out in each and every 2.5 lakh Gram Panchayats across the country. The Common Services Centers (CSCs) are an integral part of the Government s flagship Digital India Programme and provide the last mile access to various e-governance services through digital connectivity.
Village Level Entrepreneur (VLE) The CSC operator, also known as Village Level Entrepreneur (VLE), is the key stakeholder. The essence of CSC scheme is that it is managed and operated by a local person whose acceptability is higher within the community she/he serves. The success of the Scheme depends largely on his ability, zeal and passion for setting up a sustainable social enterprise within the existing constraints of rural India. CSC e-governance Services India Limited CSC e-governance Services India Limited is a Special Purpose Vehicle set up by the Ministry of Electronics & IT to oversee implementation of the CSC scheme. CSC SPV provides a centralized collaborative framework for delivery of services through CSCs, besides ensuring sustainability of the Scheme. Department of Justice Department of Justice, under the Ministry of Law & Justice, oversees policy measures for judicial reforms and legal aid to poor and access to justice, implements important schemes for development of subordinate judiciary and computerization of courts through e-court project. Other functions include service matters related to the Chief Justice of India, judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts.
Tele-law Service A Unique Initiative through CSC Ministry of Electronics & IT has partnered with the Department of Justice, under Ministry of Law & Justice to provide citizens living in rural areas, particularly the marginalized communities, access to tele-legal consultations through the network of CSCs. Guiding Principle of Tele-law Transparency Commitment Accountability Under the Tele-law service, citizens can access legal advice through Para-Legal Volunteers (PLV) stationed at CSCs, who would connect them to a panel of lawyers through video conferencing facility. 6. Tele-consultation by expert 5. Citizens arrives at specific data and time for consultation 7. Receipt by lawyer How Tele-law Works 4. Registration of Case+ schedule appointment for consultation + payment receipt the process of tele-law services 8. Case closed 3. CSC Centre 1. Para Legal Volunteer 2. Citizen
Who Can Avail Tele-law Service Marginalised communities like SC/ ST/ OBC, persons with disabilities Women Senior citizens Industrial workers Victims of trafficking and commercial and sexual exploitation Victims of acid attack Victims of drug abuse Victims of disaster, ethnic violence, caste atrocity, earthquake or industrial disaster Persons in custody Persons with low income Tele-law Pilot in Uttar Pradesh & Bihar In the pilot phase, Tele-law service is being launched across 500 CSCs each in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar and 800 CSCs in Jammu & Kashmir and the north-eastern States to identify the challenges and undertake necessary measures to improve the outcomes before the Scheme is scaled up and rolled out across the country in a phased manner. CSCs covered under Tele-law service No States No. of CSCs 1 Assam 450 2 Arunachal Pradesh 29 3 Bihar 500 4 Jammu & Kashmir 150 5 Meghalaya 42 6 Manipur 19 7 Mizoram 12 8 Nagaland 48 9 Sikkim 10 10 Tripura 40 11 Uttar Pradesh 500 Total 1800
Tele-law service falls under the Access to Justice Project for Marginalized Persons, being implemented by the Department of Justice and United Nation Development Programme (UNDP). CSC SPV had earlier partnered with the Department under the Access to Justice Project to provide legal literacy through the network of CSCs in three districts of Jharkhand and 11 districts of Rajasthan. Under the programme, select VLEs in both the States were trained on social justice legislations such as Fundamental Rights, Right to Information, citizen rights vis-à-vis policing, gender laws, child rights and labour laws to further train and empower the community on their rights and duties. Key Elements of Tele-law Model VLE VLE will provide space for PLV to sit at CSC Prepare a list of citizens availing services Upload details of aggrieved persons on the CSC portal Upload action taken by the applicant/or benefit to the applicant after receiving legal advice CSC PLV Nyaya Mitras Provide technical support to the entire programme in the all nine States Design an Online Monitoring Application to monitor the programme Preferably woman to be deployed at the CSC Facilitate tele-consultation with the lawyer through video conferencing at CSC Keep a track on progress of applicant s case/ grievance and maintain its record Submit records maintained every week to CSC SPV / DLSA (District Legal Services Authority) District Facilitation Centres to be set up at CSCs to reduce pendency of 10-year-old cases CSCs to have access to Nyaya Mitras in 27 districts of northeastern states and Jammu &Kashmir
Para Legal Volunteer Para Legal Volunteer (PLV) is the first point of contact between rural citizens and lawyers providing legal aid through CSC. They are not lawyers, but have basic understanding of legal process. They hear the grievances of citizens and offer appropriate support/suggestion for legal aid. They also help the citizens understand legal issues and advice given by lawyers. A trained PLV is available in a CSC for minimum ten days in a month under the Scheme. Roles & Responsibility of PLV Stage Stage Stage Stage 1 2 3 4 Outreach and dissemination of Tele-law model Identification of citizens/ cases for legal advice Connecting them to lawyers for legal advice Track progress of case/ follow up with lawyers The scheme promotes women s empowerment by encouraging them to get trained as PLVs. Eighteen hundred citizens, preferably women are being engaged as PLVs in CSCs of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.
Nyaya Mitra Nyaya Mitras are Facilitation Centres set up at CSCs across districts to reduce pendency of 10-year-old cases. Nyaya Mitra will serve under Ministry of Electronics & IT and will be headed by a retired judicial/ executive officer with legal background. Nyaya Mitra will be set up across 227 districts, including 27 districts of north-eastern states and Jammu and Kashmir. STATES NUMBER OF DFCs Uttar Pradesh 70 Bihar 30 Gujarat 30 Maharashtra 20 Rajasthan 20 Odisha 20 West Bengal 10 Assam 17 STATES NUMBER OF DFCs Arunachal Pradesh 01 Meghalaya 01 Mizoram 01 Tripura 01 Nagaland 01 Manipur 01 Sikkim 01 Jammu & Kashmir 03
Role of Nyaya Mitra Actively identify cases pending for over ten years Provide assistance to litigants in speedy disposal of their cases Provide access to justice by connecting litigants with legal authorities, CSC Tele-law service, government agencies and civil society organizations Refer applicants from marginalized communities to Lok Adalats for dispute resolution Facilitate legal aid to under trial prisoners
For updates, visit: Portal: http://www.tele-law.in/ Facebook: www.facebook.com/tele-law-1360705710662263/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/tele_law Department of Justice For more information, please contact: CSC e-governance Services India Limited Electronics Niketan, 3rd Floor, 6, CGO Complex, Lodhi Road, New Delhi 110003 Tel: +91-11-24301349 Web: www.csc.gov.in Department of Justice Ministry of Law and Justice Jaisalmer House, 26, Mansingh Road, New Delhi-110011.