Legal aid clinics were opened on behalf of the Vellore District Legal Services Authority (DLSA) in 11 panchayats in Vellore block - Alamelu Mangapuram, Perumugai, Venkatapuram, Abdullapuram, Anpoondi, Melmonavoor, Keezhmonavoor, Karugambuthur, Sekkanur, Ussoor and Palamathi on Friday.
These clinics, which will function on all Wednesdays between 2 p.m. and 6 p.m., will be manned by a lawyer and a volunteer, who will provide not only legal assistance but also other forms of assistance to the public, such as writing petitions, solving a family dispute, or providing legal opinion on purchase of land, free of cost.
Inaugurating the legal aid clinic at Alamelu Mangapuram village panchayat office in Vellore block, Pon. Kalaiarasan, Principal District and Sessions Judge, Vellore and president of Vellore DLSA, said out of 87 village panchayats in Vellore, Anaicut and Kaniyambadi blocks in Vellore taluk, legal aid clinics would be opened in 34 village panchayats in the first phase.
The legal aid clinic that was opened in Alamelu Mangapuram is the first such clinic to be opened in Vellore district and Tamil Nadu.
Mr. Kalaiarasan said the DLSA would depute a lawyer and a volunteer belonging to a non-governmental organisation to the clinic to hear the grievances of public, write petitions on their behalf or counsel them to solve their problems.
If possible, their problems would be solved out of court. Otherwise, they would be taken to the DLSA again for an out-of-court settlement. If it becomes inevitable, the matter would be taken to court.
The lawyers and volunteers manning the legal aid clinics would help the public by writing petitions on their behalf not only in legal matters, but also non-legal matters.
The legal aid clinic would conduct a pre-litigation Lok Adalat and give a decree, which would have the effect of a court judgment, he said.
G. Karunanidhi, Sub-Judge, Vellore and Secretary of the DLSA, said the legal aid clinics would be located in village panchayat offices. The clinics would help the public in issuing legal notices, or replying to legal notices, settling disputes among people in the beginning stage itself, preparing cards under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme, and in general providing all kinds of help involving intervention of government offices and officials.
Mr. Karunanidhi said lawyers deputed to the legal aid clinics would be given honorarium of Rs.500 a day, while the volunteers would be given Rs.250 a day. Village panchayats should provide infrastructure required for the clinics such as furniture, he said.
A.G. Vilvanathan, president of Alamelu Mangapuram village panchayat, welcomed the gathering. K. Ramanathan, Sub-Judge/Taxation Appeal Tribunal, Vellore Corporation, S. Subhadevi, District Judge (Training), K.S. Ravikumar, president, Vellore Bar Association, V. Jothiram and C. Suguna, advocates, participated. C. Elizabeth, Block Development Officer, Vellore, proposed vote of thanks.
