Chandigarh, Sept. 2 -- In a significant step towards making justice more accessible, inclusive and citizen-centric, Justice Deepak Sibal, Judge, Punjab and Haryana High Court and Executive Chairman, Haryana State Legal Services Authority (HALSA) on Wednesday launched two major initiatives "Nyay Mitra - Justice at Your Doorstep" and an Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for Complaint Redressal, Legal Aid and Protection of Persons with Disabilities, including Prisoners with Disabilities.
The two initiatives reaffirm HALSA's commitment to the vision of "Access to Justice for All" by taking legal services closer to citizens and strengthening institutional mechanisms for protection of vulnerable persons.
Under "Nyay Mitra - Justice at Your Doorstep", Justice Deepak Sibal flagged off four Mobile Legal Services Vans, conceived as mobile extensions of Legal Services Institutions to provide last-mile access to justice.
The vehicles will operate as Mobile Legal Services Clinics through planned 'Justice Circuits' covering the entire State. Special focus will be given to remote and difficult-to-access villages, rural areas, aspirational blocks, industrial clusters, educational institutions and other underserved areas.
The Mobile Legal Services Vans will provide citizens with free legal aid, legal guidance, pre-litigation counselling, assistance in victim compensation claims, ADR services, Tele-Law consultations and assistance in accessing welfare schemes. They will also undertake legal awareness and legal literacy activities, particularly for women, children, senior citizens, industrial workers and other vulnerable sections.
The mobile teams will be supported by Panel Advocates, Para Legal Volunteers and other stakeholders, to ensure effective assistance as well as follow-up.
On the same occasion, Justice Deepak Sibal launched an SOP for Complaint Redressal, Legal Aid and Protection of Persons with Disabilities, including Prisoners with Disabilities, aimed at establishing a uniform, accessible, rights-based and accountable mechanism for addressing complaints relating to abuse, violence and exploitation.
The SOP gives practical effect to Section 7 of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, and seeks to ensure that such complaints are treated as matters involving statutory rights rather than being trivialised as private or interpersonal or family disputes.
It emphasises free and timely legal aid, institutional coordination and sustained legal awareness and capacity-building.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.