Engagement Of Bar, Bench And Law Universities In Developing Pro Bono Culture In India

Paulami Chatterjee, Assistant Professor, George School of Law, University of Calcutta

"Justice has always evoked ideas of equality, of proportion of compensation. Equity signifies equality." - Dr. B.R. Ambedkar.

Introduction

Though theoretically the door of justice is open for each and every one of the society, the fact is that due to lack of awareness, ignorance and various other causes justice is not accessible to the underprivileged ones. After getting independence various government programs focused on community service, have continuously tried to build up national volunteering forums for the people of India. The history of Legal Aid in India has been influenced by several legislations and above all the Constitution of India. The state funded programs have also played an important role in the development of pro bono culture in the legal system of India. The increasing legal needs of the low and moderate income section of the society calls for an extensive systematic pro bono legal structure in India. Though a number of individual advocate, law firms and NGOs are trying their bestto make the justice system accessible to the poorer, marginalized section of the society, it still remains insufficient with respect to the ever growing complexities of legal requirements and ever new challenges in today's legal field.