Former Chairmen

Names From To
Hon'ble Shri. Justice R.V. Raveendran 13.08.1997 30.06.2002
Hon'ble Shri. Justice P. Vishwanatha Shetty 01.07.2002 07.10.2004
Hon'ble Shri. Justice K.L. Manjunath 08.10.2004 24.03.2010
Hon'ble Shri. Justice N.K. Patil 25.03.2010 29.02.2012
Hon'ble Shri. Justice D.V. Shylendra Kumar 01.03.2012 18.06.2013
Hon'ble Shri. Justice H.N. Nagamohan Das 19.06.2013 11.02.2014
Hon'ble Shri. Justice L. Narayana Swamy 12.02.2014 14.11.2018
Hon'ble Shri. Justice Aravind Kumar 27.11.2018 16.10.2019
Hon'ble Mr. Justice Alok Aradhe 17.10.2019 20.10.2021
Hon'ble Mr. Justice K.Somashekar 12.12.2022 26.11.2023
Hon'ble Dr. Justice H.B.Prabhakara Sastry 27.11.2023 03.04.2024

Former Secretaries

Names From To
Sri. T.G. Shivashankare Gowda 24.05.2009 05.08.2009
Sri. M.V. Channakeshava Reddy 05.08.2009 30.12.2010
Sri. Mustafa Hussain S.A. 30.12.2010 21.05.2012
Sri. Shuklaksha Palan 21.05.2012 31.01.2014
Sri. Abhay D. Chougala 03.02.2014 26.05.2015
Sri. Sudesh R.Paradeshi 30.05.2015 28.04.2016
Smt. Sayeedunnisa 28.04.2016 16.01.2019
Sri. Anand P. Hogade 26.02.2019 22.06.2021
Sri Shriram Narayan Hegde 28.06.2021 23.05.2022
Smt.Kaveri 16.06.2022 16.05.2024

LEGAL SERVICES

What is Legal Service ?

The definition of "Legal Service" as stated in Section 2(c) of the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 includes the rendering of any service in the conduct of any case or other legal proceeding before any court or other authority or tribunal and the giving of advice on any legal matter.

Entitlement to Legal Services

The sections of the society as enlisted under Section 12 of the Legal Services Authorities Act are entitled for free legal services, they are :

(a) A member of a Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe;

(b) A victim of trafficking in human beings or beggar as referred to in Article 23 of the Constitution;

(c) A woman or a child;

(d) A mentally ill or otherwise disabled person;

(e) A person under circumstances of undeserved want such as being a victim of a mass disaster, ethnic violence, caste atrocity, flood, drought, earthquake or industrial disaster; or

(f) An industrial workman; or

(g) In custody, including custody in a protective home within the meaning of clause (g) of Section 2 of the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956(104 of 1956); or in a juvenile home within the meaning of clause(j) of Section 2 of the Juvenile Justice Act, 1986 (53 of 1986); or in a psychiatric hospital or psychiatric nursing home within the meaning of clause (g) of Section 2 of the Mental Health Act, 1987(14 of 1987);or

(h) In receipt of annual income less than rupees One Lakh or such other higher amount as may be prescribed by the State Government, if the case is before a court other than the Supreme Court, and less than rupees twelve thousand or such other higher amount as may be prescribed by the Central Government, if the case is before the Supreme Court.

How to apply ?

Any person desiring legal service for bringing or defending any action in the High Court can approach the High Court Legal Services Committee through an application which could either be made by sending in written form or by filling up the forms prepared by the Committee stating in brief the reason for seeking legal aid.











Disposal of Application

(1) On receipt of application for legal service, the Secretary shall first examine and determine or cause to be examined and determined the eligibility of the applicant as per the provisions of the Act and the Rules.

(2) If the applicant satisfies the eligibility criteria, the Secretary shall proceed to examine the merit of his application and if the applicant has merit in his application, the Secretary shall proceed to decide the mode of legal service.

(3) An application for the grant of legal services in any matter, if it is not found meritorious may be rejected, for the reasons to be recorded in writing, by the Secretary.

(4) In case of refusal for the grant of legal services, the Secretary shall inform the applicant in writing of such refusal.

(5) The applicant whose application for grant of legal services has been rejected may prefer an appeal before the Chairman for a decision.








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