Chief Justice calls for coordination between government offices and legal services authority

Kerala High Court Chief Justice Nitin Jamdar has stressed the need for coordination between government offices and the legal services authority.

Delivering the inaugural address at ‘Legal Services Summit 2025’ organised by the Thiruvananthapuram District Legal Services Authority (TDLSA) here on Saturday, the Chief Justice said the Kerala State Legal Services Authority (KELSA) was formed under the Legal Services Authorities Act that was enacted to provide access justice to the most vulnerable sections of society. Each of KELSA’s schemes was mirrored in statutory enactments that placed responsibility on government offices to perform the same work as the National Legal Services Authority or KELSA schemes did. The Legal Services Summit was important as it brought together all those working towards a common cause, he said.

“The synergy between legal services authority and statutory authority is not optional; it is a necessity,” the Chief Justice said.

Almost all schemes of the legal services authority worked in the same areas as government departments did. For these schemes to succeed, KELSA could not work in isolation. And without proper coordination, even the best schemes could not reach the people who need them the most, he said.

Giving the example of Samvada or other schemes to help children in trouble or in need of protection, he said these would find their mirror in the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, and the Right to Education Act. The Women and Child Development department and the Education department played a major role in this area.

Giving many more examples, he underlined that the schemes were well planned and there were strong laws, but what was needed was proper coordination and sharing of information by departments with each other and with the legal services authority so that people were not denied justice that they were desperately seeking for.

Justice, he said, could not be delivered in isolation. The promise of access to justice would require multi-pronged action, the Chief Justice said.

High Court judge and KeLSA executive chairman A. Muhamed Mustaque and High Court judge Raja Vijayaraghavan V. spoke. Nazeera S, principal district and sessions judge and chairperson of TDLSA presided. S. Shamnad, senior civil judge and secretary of TDLSA, welcomed the gathering.

Awards were given away to individuals and institutions for their contributions to legal services.

A legal awareness session on ‘Gender sensitisation and women-centric laws’ and ‘Free and competent legal services – an overview’ was held as well as an interactive session.

A legal awareness play scripted by the TDLSA and the Kerala Police was also staged.