The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : `Make legal services authority a movement'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Aug 16, 2006

Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

`Make legal services authority a movement'

Staff Reporter

Bangalore: Cyriac Joseph, Chief Justice of the High Court of Karnataka, on Tuesday urged members of the Karnataka State Legal Services Authority (KSLSA) to turn the authority into a progressive movement and not let it remain an institution.

The KSLSA was set up to ensure that people from economically backward sections got free and competent legal service; to organise Lok Adalats for speedy settlement of disputes through amicable settlement and to take up legal awareness programmes, he said.

Speaking at the inauguration of the annual conference of the district and taluk legal services authorities, Mr. Cyriac Joseph said a movement drew people in, presupposed a "marching forward" and had a revolutionary aspect that brought about qualitative and quantitative changes.

"It is, therefore, important that we make the KSLSA not only a better organisation but also a mass movement," he said.

Stating that the authority gained more importance during the time of calamities, Mr. Cyriac Joseph said members could create awareness among the affected people about government relief schemes available.

"It would not be a social service but creating awareness about people's rights," he said.

Gopala Gowda, executive chairman of the KSLSA, spoke on mediation, conciliation and arbitration aspects of the authority.

He said long pending cases could be easily settled if the authority motivated lawyers and the public to make use of these facilities.

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