Which of the following statements with respect to the right to have a legal aid is/are correct? 1. Under the Constitution of India, it is given under the Directive Principles of State Policy. 2. It is the duty of the police to inform the nearest Legal Aid Committee immediately after the arrest of a person. Select the correct answer using the code given below.
- (a)1 only
- (b)2 only
- (c)Both 1 and 2
- (d)Neither 1 nor 2
Correct — C, both 1 and 2. Statement 1 is right on the constitutional text: free legal aid appears in Article 39A, which sits in Part IV among the Directive Principles of State Policy and was inserted by the Constitution (Forty-second Amendment) Act, 1976. It directs the State to secure that the operation of the legal system promotes justice on a basis of equal opportunity, and in particular to provide free legal aid so that no citizen is denied justice by reason of economic or other disability. Statement 2 is right on the case law: in Sheela Barse v. State of Maharashtra, decided on 15 February 1983, the Supreme Court directed that 'whenever a person is arrested by the police and taken to the police lock up, the police will immediately give an intimation of the fact of such arrest to the nearest Legal Aid Committee', which is then to take immediate steps to provide legal assistance at State cost if the arrested person is willing to accept it.
- (a)1 only — It leaves out the police duty, which is a specific and binding direction of the Supreme Court in Sheela Barse v. State of Maharashtra (1983), not merely a recommendation.
- (b)2 only — Statement 1 is correct as a matter of the constitutional text — Article 39A is placed in Part IV, among the Directive Principles.
- (d)Neither 1 nor 2 — Both statements are accurate; one describes where legal aid sits in the Constitution, the other what the police must do on making an arrest.
Legal aid in India has three layers. Article 39A, a Directive Principle inserted in 1976, sets the obligation on the State. Article 22(1), a Fundamental Right, gives an arrested person the right to consult and be defended by a legal practitioner of his choice. The Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 supplies the machinery — the National Legal Services Authority at the top, with State and District Legal Services Authorities below it, and Lok Adalats for settlement — and its Section 12 lists the categories entitled to free legal services, among them women, children, members of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, and persons in custody.
Statement 1 is the one candidates most often get wrong, because they know that free legal aid has been held to be part of the Fundamental Right under Article 21 and so hesitate to call it a Directive Principle. Both things are true. As a matter of where the Constitution puts it, legal aid is in Article 39A in Part IV; as a matter of judicial interpretation, the Supreme Court read it into the fair procedure required by Article 21 in M. H. Hoskot (1978) and Hussainara Khatoon (1979), so a poor accused who is denied counsel can complain of a Fundamental Rights violation. The statement speaks only of where it is 'given under the Constitution', and on that the answer is Part IV. Nothing in this position has moved since the 2024 exam — Article 39A, the 1987 Act and the Sheela Barse direction all still stand.
- Article 39A directs the State to secure equal justice and free legal aid; it is a Directive Principle inserted by the Constitution (Forty-second Amendment) Act, 1976.
- Article 22(1) gives an arrested person the right to consult and be defended by a legal practitioner of his choice.
- Sheela Barse v. State of Maharashtra (1983) directed the police to give immediate intimation of any arrest to the nearest Legal Aid Committee.
- The Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 created NALSA and the State and District Legal Services Authorities to deliver Article 39A.
One statement rests on the constitutional text and the other on a Supreme Court direction; both hold, so the answer is 'Both 1 and 2'.
- Rejecting statement 1 because legal aid has also been read into Article 21; the Constitution's own text places it in Part IV.
- Assuming a Supreme Court direction to the police is only advisory — the Sheela Barse directions are binding.
- Confusing the Legal Aid Committee of the 1980s with today's District and State Legal Services Authorities, which perform the same function under the 1987 Act.
Asked as a two-statement item that pairs a constitutional placement with a case-law duty; know both halves separately.
With reference to National Legal Services Authority, consider the following statements: 1. Its objective is to provide free and competent legal services to the weaker sections of the society on the basis of equal opportunity. 2. It issues guidelines for the State Legal Services Authorities to implement the legal programmes and schemes throughout the country. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- (a) 1 only
- (b) 2 only
- (c) Both 1 and 2
- (d) Neither 1 nor 2
Answer(c) Both 1 and 2 — NALSA provides free and competent legal services to weaker sections and issues guidelines to the State Legal Services Authorities.
The statutory machinery that carries out the Article 39A obligation this item is built on, asked in the same two-statement format.
Which one of the following Directive Principles was inserted by the Constitution (42nd Amendment) Act, 1976?
- (a) The State shall minimise inequalities in income
- (b) Equal justice and free legal aid
- (c) Promotion of co-operative societies
- (d) Provision for early childhood care
Answer(b) Equal justice and free legal aid
Pins down exactly the point statement 1 turns on — that free legal aid entered the Constitution as a Directive Principle in 1976.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Which Article of the Constitution of India directs the State to provide free legal aid to ensure that justice is not denied by reason of economic or other disability?
- (a)Article 21
- (b)Article 22
- (c)Article 39A
- (d)Article 44
Answer(c) Article 39A — a Directive Principle inserted by the 42nd Amendment in 1976, on equal justice and free legal aid.
- practice — not a real PYQ
The National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) was constituted under which enactment?
- (a)The Code of Civil Procedure, 1908
- (b)The Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987
- (c)The Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993
- (d)The Advocates Act, 1961
Answer(b) The Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 — it set up NALSA along with the State and District Legal Services Authorities and the Lok Adalats.