Failing Legal Aid System in India: Possible Solutions

It is undoubtedly true that access to justice is not available to everyone in our country and remains elusive for many given the socio-economic disparities along with the complexities of the judicial system of India. Legal aid is the tool which serves as a bridge, seeking to ensure a judicial system which is fair and offers equal level of access to everyone. The Constitution of India makes way for a mandate for the nation to provide for legal aid to make certain that there is no denial of access to the judicial system to any of the citizens of the country by means of motive of financial or different disabilities. However, in spite of the laudable framework in place for provision of legal aid in India, the system is failing- diseased by a number of demanding situations which make it a difficult task for such system to fully realize its potential and act as an essential pillar of an equitable and just society. The present paper seeks to shed light on the legal aid system which is feeling and goes into the depths of the reasoning behind such failure. Further, we would be delving deeply into the impact which falls onto the vulnerable groups due to such failure of the legal aid system. This would help the reader analyse alternative solutions by looking at the problems faced by the said vulnerable groups. More importantly, the present paper would seek to present workable solutions to revive the legal aid system of India and ensure that justice is made equally accessible to all.