Justice Surya Kant Calls for Legal Aid Overhaul, Warns India’s Justice System Must Evolve or Fade

Delivering the inaugural BASL Human Rights Oration on the theme “Strengthening a Legal Aid System to Achieve Human Rights of Marginalised and Minorities: The Indian Case Study,” Justice Kant highlighted the central role of legal aid in reinforcing the democratic conscience of India.

Describing justice as a “living promise,” he said, “The story of India’s legal-aid movement is, at its heart, the story of a democracy’s conscience. It proves that even in a vast and complex society, justice can be made real when vision is matched by institutional will.”

Justice Kant emphasised that while India has made significant strides in legal-aid provision, new societal challenges require continuous innovation. “Justice must evolve with society, or it risks becoming its shadow,” he said, underlining the importance of modernising outreach and deepening inclusion to ensure legal protections reach the last person first.

He drew attention to practical impacts of India’s legal-aid system, noting that each instance of a prisoner regaining freedom through a legal-aid petition, a widow receiving her pension, or a child being rehabilitated reinforces the Constitution’s promise. “Access to justice is not a privilege of the powerful, but a sacred duty of the State and society alike,” he remarked.

Justice Kant said India’s legal-aid experience offers inspiration, not imitation, for countries across the Commonwealth. “Every nation must craft systems anchored in local realities but inspired by the conviction that legal aid is the first line of defence against erosion of human rights,” he said.

The judge cited landmark rulings, including Hussainara Khatoon v. State of Bihar, which recognised free legal representation as part of the right to life, describing such judgments as transforming ideals into living realities and making legal aid a cornerstone of India’s democratic framework.

Elaborating on India’s institutional mechanisms, Justice Kant detailed the expansive reach of the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA), established under the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987. The network comprises 37 state authorities, 709 district authorities, over 2,000 taluka committees, and more than 50,000 trained paralegal volunteers.

He also highlighted the active role of young lawyers and law students, engaged through legal-aid clinics, paralegal training, and the Panel Lawyer system, which currently includes over 34,000 lawyers. “India’s youth have embraced legal aid not as charity, but as responsibility,” he said, noting that this inter-generational commitment ensures that “the Constitution’s promise breathes anew every time a citizen’s rights are restored.”

Justice Kant concluded by asserting that legal aid is integral to protecting human dignity and upholding the promise of freedom, and called for continual innovation to ensure justice remains accessible to all, regardless of wealth, status, or social disadvantage.