When the lockdown started, Aswini Ramesh, a final-year student at the School of Excellence in Law, Taramani, noticed that a lot of people were looking up information pertaining to law, online.
“There was an increase in demand for details on family and property law, will or testament, and on court proceedings,” says the 22-year-old, over phone from Chennai. She then realised that there are very few reliable resources on law online.
Which is why she decided to launch lawrewired.in, a website that aims at simplifying legal concepts. “The idea is to make people aware of their duties and remedies, so that they do not suffer at a later point in time,” says Aswini.
“Once, a well-educated person who held a position of authority, asked me about divorce alimony; another wanted information on a joint will since their grandfather was unwell; a friend’s brother, who was the family’s sole breadwinner, passed away in an accident and they had no idea about third party insurance claim,” she says.
The constant queries from people around her made her realise that “there was a gap between Indian laws and common people,” and that “there was an urgent need for familiarising and demystifying legal concepts.”
The website, launched this August, has 22 law students behind it, with a core team of four, all of whom worked from home during the lockdown to build it.
“The research is guided by an advisory board that consists of seven people that includes academicians and lawyers,” she says, adding: “We are not-for-profit, and do not have plans to monetise our initiative for now.”
Aswini points out that her team has kept the language on the website simple, so that people from all walks of life can understand law as well as their rights. “There are anecdotes at the beginning of every section so that people can relate to the points discussed. We give examples, and finally, a summary with four to five points that sums it all up,” she says. She hopes that her portal empowers people. “When, as a victim, I have nowhere to go, I need to know what I can avail to save myself.”
For details, visit www.lawrewired.in
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