Recalling the experience of visiting rehabilitation camps in conflict-torn Manipur as part of the outreach programme of the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA), Supreme Court judge Justice BR Gavai on Saturday said that the “entire country is home” to any resident of India residing in any part of it. Justice Gavai, who is the Executive Chairman of NALSA, was speaking at the Western Regional Conference, which also marked 30 years of NALSA’s inception, in Ekta Nagar (formerly Kevadia) in Narmada District. Sharing the experience of travelling “the farthest corners of the country” as part of NALSA, Justice Gavai said he had “hardly spent any weekend in New Delhi” since taking over as the Executive Chairman.
Story continues below this ad Recalling his travels to the North-Eastern states, Justice Gavai shared his experience of visiting camps of the warring ethnic groups of Manipur and receiving a warm welcome. Justice Gavai said, “We went to Manipur. We have seen in the last two three years, Manipur is riddled with the problem of dispute between two ethnic groups of people… Therefore we went to Kukis and other warring groups of Meiteis.
We distributed legal aid material, medical equipment and books to children.” He further said, “We were so moved… when we went to the Kuki camp, one senior lady welcomed me and she said ‘welcome to your home’… India is our home. For every Indian who may be a resident of any part of the country, the entire country is home.” Justice Gavai spoke of witnessing problems faced by tribals in the North-East and emphasised on creating awareness about legal rights. Justice Gavai said, “We went to the farthest corners of Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur and we noticed the problems faced by tribals… We came up with the team of Samvad where the tribals would be made aware of the rights available to them and enable them to take recourse to their rights.
It is not enough to have rights, it is also necessary that the citizens must know about their rights — their constitutional rights, statutory rights. Unless they are made aware, they will not come forth to enforce them…” Justice Gavai also recalled the example of a man from a remote village of Piplantri in Rajasthan, who initiated a move to plant trees each time a girl child is born and said, “It is an example of what one man with dedication can do… What started with one tree has turned into a forest of 40 lakh trees… In order to stop the menace of child marriage, the villagers decided that when a girl child is born, the family will deposit Rs 10,000 and the villagers will donate Rs 21,000 in fixed deposit to provide funds for the girls’ education. (During NALSA visit) We noticed the problem of child marriages, so our team thought it fit to come up with child marriages ASHA SOP…” Story continues below this ad Invoking the contribution of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel in unifying India, Justice Gavai said there “could not have been a better place (than Statue of Unity) to commemorate or celebrate the 30 years of NALSA”, while also drawing “inspiration for the future”.
Justice Gavai highlighted the problem of aged undertrial prisons, particularly those with terminal illness and said that a PIL filed by NALSA in the SC seeks release of such prisoners on priority basis. Justice Gavai said that with a wide network of State Legal Service Authorities operating in all states and union territories, legal services are now “approachable”. On the occasion, Gujarat High Court Chief Justice Sunita Agarwal emphasised on the need for restructuring of para-legal teams to create a lasting impact in legal community service as well as for appointment formation of conciliation benches to ensure settlement in long-pending disputes.
Story continues below this ad Citing the incident of February this year when a woman in tribal district of Dahod was brutally assaulted by her in-laws and villagers on suspicion of an extra-marital affair, Justice Agarwal said, “The (Gujarat) High Court took suo motu cognisance… Officials from the District Administration, Police and local governance were roped in and several rehabilitative steps were taken. But I felt that it was insufficient for holistic healing…” Justice Agarwal further said, “To my mind, victims of such incidents need more than institutional aid. They need empathy, continuous support and building trust.
A volunteer rooted in the community can offer that… helping her speak up, rebuild confidence and access psychological and vocational support. I directed the Member Secretary of GSLSA to visit the site, meet the victim and draft a comprehensive roadmap for her rehabilitation, holistic recovery and reintegration into the society…” Stating the need for micro-level community specific planning, Justice Agarwal said, “This experience underscored the urgent need to move from general awareness to micro level, community specific planning through justice demands, coordinated efforts between DLSAs, SLSAs government bodies, NGOs, and the people themselves… Lasting impact requires active community involvement, my proposal is to restructure paralegal volunteer teams to reflect local diversity, inclusive of-right minded people as representatives…” Justice Agarwal also said that over 10,000 cases of long-pending disputes had been amicably settled using the approach to involve trained mediators in Lok Adalats. Justice Agarwal said, “In the sphere of Lok Adalats and mediation, greater involvement of trained lawyers and mediators is essential to enhance the efficacy of dispute resolution.
From our experience in Gujarat, we have found that the formation of conciliation benches comprising one presiding officer and one subject-specific trained mediator has significantly improved the success rate of settlements in long pending matters… It was implemented in the Special Lok Adalat organised for the SC of India… 40 cases were amicably settled out of 286 using this approach.” Story continues below this ad She further said, “Encouraged by this outcome, since September 2024, we have adopted this model across Gujarat to target long-pending matters for settlement, And I would be happy to share that over 10,000 targeted cases have been settled using this approach in the National and Special Lok Adalats…”
