ବିନିମୟ – Odisha State Legal Services Authority

{Published in the Orissa Gazette, Extraordinary, dated the 30th December, 1996 (No.1406)}

NOTIFICATON The 19th December,1996

S.R.O No.990/96-In exercise of the powers conferred by section 29-A of the Legal Services Authorities act, 1987 (39 of 1987), the Orissa State Legal Services Authority hereby makes the following regulations for the purposes of giving effect to the provisions of the said Act, namely:-

The Orissa State Legal Services Authority Regulation, 1996

CHAPTER I
PRILIMINARY

1. Short title and commencement:

These regulations may be called the Orissa State Legal Services Authority Regulations, 1996.
They shall came into force on the date of their publication in the Orissa Gazette

2. Definition:
(1) In these regulations, unless the context otherwise requires:-

“Act” means the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 (39of 1987).
“Committee” means the High Court Legal Services Committee ;
“High Court” means the High Court of Orissa;
“Rules” means the Orissa State Legal Services Authority Rules, 1996.

(2) All other words and expressions used in these regulations, but not defined herein, shall have the same meanings as are respectively assigned to them in the Act or the Rules.

CHAPTER II
HIGH COURT LEGAL SERVICES COMMITTEE

3. Number, experience and qualifications of members of the Committee under clause (b) of sub-section (2) of section 8-A of the Act.:-

The Committee shall have not more than eleven members including the Chairman thereof.
The following shall be ex officio members of the Committee:-
- a sitting Judge of the High Court, (to be nominated by the Chief Justice of the High Court)
- the Chairman, Orissa Administrative Tribunal;
- the President, High Court Bar Association;
- the Chairman, Orissa State Bar Council; and
- the Secretary to the Committee appointed as such by the Chief Justice of the High Court under sub-section (3) of section 8-A of the Act.
The Chief Justice of the High Court may nominated other members (not exceeding five) from among those possessing the experience and qualification provided in sub-regulation (4).
A person shall not be qualified for nomination as a member of the Committee, unless he is-
- an eminent Social Worker who is engaged in the up-liftment of the weaker sections of the people, including Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, women , children , rural and urban labour; or
- an eminent person in the field of law; or
- a person of repute who is specially interested in the implementation of the Legal Services Schemes.

4. Terms of office and other conditions of appointment of members of the Committee-

The term of office of the members of the Committee nominated under sub-regulation (3) of regulation 3 shall be three years and they shall be eligible for re-nomination.
A member of the Committee nominated under sub-regulation (3) of regulation 3 may be removed by the Chief Justice of the High Court, if the member-
- fails, without sufficient cause, to attend three consecutive meetings of the Committee; or
- has been adjudged an insolvent ; or
- has been convicted of an offence, which in the opinion of the State Authority , involves moral turpitude ; or
- has become physically or mentally incapable of acting as a member ; or
- has so abused his position as to render his continuance in the Committee prejudicial to the public interest ;
A member may , by writing under his hand addressed to the Chairman, resign form the Committee and such resignation shall take effect from the date on which it is accepted by the State Authority or on the expiry of thirty days form the date of tendering resignation, whichever is earlier.
If any member nominated under sub-regulation (3) of regulation 3 ceases to be a member of the Committee for any reason, the vacancy shall be filled up in the same manner as the original nomination and the person so nominated shall continue to be a member for the remaining term of the member in whose place he is nominated.
Subject to the provisions of sub-regulation (6) all members nominated under sub-regulation (3) of regulation 3 shall be entitled to payment of travelling allowance and daily allowance in respect of journey performed in connection with the work of the Committee and shall be paid by the Committee at the rates admissible to the first grade officers of the State Government under the Orissa Travelling Allowances Rules.
If a member is a Government employee, he shall be entitled to draw travelling allowance and daily allowance at the rates to which he is entitled to under the Travelling Allowance Rules applicable to him and shall draw from the Department in which he is employed and not from the Committee.
It shall be the duty of the Committee to give effect to the policy and directions of the State Authority.
Without prejudice to the generality of the functions referred to in sub-regulation, (1) the Committee shall , for the High Court, in consultation with the Executive Chairman, State Authority, perform all or any of the following functions, namely:-
- Provide legal services to persons who satisfy the criteria laid down under the Act and the Rules;
- conduct Lok Adalats for High Court Cases ; and
- encourage the settlement of disputes by way of negotiations, arbitration and conciliation.
The Secretary shall be the custodian of all assets, accounts records and funds placed at the disposal of the Committee and shall work under the supervision and direction of the Chairman of the Committee.
The Secretary shall maintain or cause to be maintained true and proper accounts of the receipts and disbursements of the funds of the Committee.
The Secretary shall convene meetings of the Committee with the previous approval of the Chairman and shall be responsible for maintaining a record of the minutes of the proceedings of the meetings.
The Committee shall ordinarily meet once a month on such date and at such place as the Secretary may, in consultation with the Chairman, decide.
The Chairman, and in the absence of the Chairman, a person chosen by the members present from amongst themselves shall preside at the meeting of the Committee.
The procedure at any meeting of the Committee shall be such as the Committee may determine.
The minutes of the proceedings of each meeting shall be truly and faithfully maintained by the Secretary and such minutes shall be open to inspection at all reasonable times by the members of the Committee. A copy of the minutes shall, as soon as may be after the meeting, be forwarded to the State Authority.
The quorum for the meeting shall be fix including the Chairman or the member presiding over the meeting.
All questions at the meeting of the Committee shall be decided by a majority of the members present and voting and in case of a tie the person presiding shall have a second or casting vote.
The funds of the Committee shall consist of such amounts as may be allocated and granted to it by the State Authority as also such amounts as may be received by the Committee , form time to time , either by way of donations or by way of costs, charges and expenses recovered from the legal aided persons or the opposite party or other wise.
The funds of the Committee shall be maintained in a Scheduled Bank.
For the purpose of meeting, the incidental minor charges such as court fee, stamps and expenditure necessary for obtaining copies of documents , etc., a permanent advance of rupees three thousand shall be placed at the disposal of the Secretary of the Committee.
All expenditure on legal aid and advice, provision of other legal services as also expenditure necessary for carrying out the various functions of the Committee, shall be met out of the funds for the Committee. Secretary shall operate the bank accounts of the Committee in accordance with the directions of the Chairman.
The Committee shall cause to be kept and maintained true and correct accounts of all receipts and disbursements and furnish quarterly returns to the state Authority. The accounts of the Committee shall be subject to audit under the Orissa Local Fund Audit Act, 1948, at least once a year, and any expenditure incurred in connection with such audit shall be paid by the Committee.
The Secretary of the District Authority appointed under sub-section (3) of section 9 of the Act, shall act, exercise and perform the duties of the Secretary of the District Authority in addition to the duties to be discharged by him as a Judicial Officer.
The Secretary shall be the principal officer of the District Authority and shall be custodian of all assets, accounts records and funds placed at the disposal of the District Authority.
The Secretary shall maintain or cause to be maintained true and proper accounts of the receipts and disbursements of the funds of the District Authority.
The Secretary shall convene meetings of the District Authority with the previous approval of the Chairman and shall also attend meetings, and shall be responsible for maintaining a record of the minutes of the proceedings of the meetings.
The District Authority shall ordinarily meet once a month on such date and at such place, as the Secretary may, in consultation with the Chairman, decide.
The Chairman, and in the absence of the Chairman, a person chosen by the members present from amongst themselves shall preside at the meeting of the District Authority.
The procedure at any meeting of the District Authority shall be such as the District Authority may determine.
The minutes of the proceedings of each meeting shall be truly and faithfully maintained by the Secretary and such minutes shall be open to inspection at all reasonable times by the members of the District Authority. A copy of the minutes shall, as soon as may be after the meeting, be forwarded to the Chairman of the District Authority.
The quorum for the meeting shall be three including the Chairman or the member presiding over the meeting.
All questions at the meeting of the District Authority shall be decided by a majority of the members present and voting and in case of a tie the person presiding shall have a second or casting vote.
The funds of the District Authority established under section 17 of the Act, shall be maintained in a Scheduled Bank.
For the purpose of meeting the incidental minor charges such as court fee, stamps and expenditure necessary for obtaining copies of document, etc., a permanent advance of rupees two thousand shall be placed at the disposal of the Secretary of the District Authority.
All expenditure on legal aid and advice, provisions of other legal services as also expenditure necessary for carrying out the various functions of the District Authority, shall be met out of the funds of the District Authority and in accordance with such rules as may be made by the District Authority with the prior approval of the State Authority. The Secretary shall operate the bank accounts of the District Authority.
The District Authority shall cause to be kept and maintained true and correct accounts of all receipts and disbursements and furnish quarterly return to the State Authority. Such accounts shall be audited in accordance with the provisions of section 18 of the Act.
The Junior Clerk-Cum-Typist of the office of the person performing the functions of the Chairman of the Taluk Legal Services Committee shall act, exercise and perform the duties of the Secretary of the Taluk Legal Services Committee.
The Secretary shall be the custodian of all assets, accounts, records and funds placed at the disposal of the Taluk committee.
The Secretary shall maintain or cause to be maintained true and proper accounts of the receipts and disbursements of the funds of the Taluk Committee.
The Secretary shall, with the previous approval of the Chairman, convene meetings of the Taluk Committee and shall also attend meetings and shall be responsible for maintaining a record of the minutes of the proceedings of the meetings.
The Taluk Committee shall ordinarily meet once a month on such date and at such place, as the Chairman may decide.
The Chairman and, in the absence of the Chairman, a person chosen by the members present from amongst themselves shall preside at the meeting of the Taluk Committee.
The procedure at any meetings of the Taluk Legal Services Committee shall be such as the Taluk Committee may determine.
The minutes of the proceedings of each meeting shall be truly and faithfully maintained by the Secretary and such minutes shall be open to inspection at all reasonable times by the members of the Taluk Committee. A copy of the minutes shall, as soon as may be after the meeting, be forwarded to the District Authority as well as State Authority
The quorum for the meeting shall be three including the Chairman or the member presiding over the meeting.
All questions at the meeting of the Taluk Committee shall be decided by the majority of the members present and voting and, in case of tie, the person presiding shall have a second or casting vote.
The funds of the Taluk Committee shall consist of such amount as may be allocated and granted to it by the State Authority as also such amounts as may be received by the Committee form time to time either by way of donations or by way of costs, charges and expenses recovered from the legal aided persons or the opposite-party or otherwise.
The funds of the Taluk Committee shall be maintained in a Schedule Bank.
For the purpose of meeting the incidental minor charges such as court fee, stamps and expenditure necessary for obtaining copies of documents, etc., a permanent advance of rupees two thousand shall be placed at the disposal of the Secretary of the Taluk Committee.
All expenditure on legal aid and advice, provisions of other legal services as also expenditure necessary for carrying out the various functions of the Taluk Committee shall be met out of the funds of the Taluk Committee. The Secretary shall operate the bank accounts of the Committee in accordance with the directions of the Chairman.
The Taluk Committee shall cause to be kept and maintained true and correct accounts of all receipts and disbursements and furnish quarterly returns to the State Authority. The accounts of the Taluk Committee shall be subject to audit under the Orissa Local Fund Audit Act,1948 at least once a year, and any expenditure incurred in connection with such audit shall be paid by the Taluk Committee.
payment of the court fees, process fees, expenses of witnesses and all other charges payable or incurred in connection with any legal proceedings;
representation by a legal practitioner in legal proceedings ;
supply of certified copies of judgements , orders, notes of evidence and other documents in legal proceedings;
preparation of Appeal Paper Book , including printing and translation of documents , in legal proceedings; and
drafting of legal documents.
*Organizing Lok Adalats, Legal Aid Camps, Legal literacy camps and the like by the Authorities and Committees under the Act and the Rules.
defamation ; or
malicious prosecution,
Proceedings relating to any election.
Proceedings incidental to any proceedings referred to in items (1) and (2).
Proceedings in respect of offences punishable with fine only.
Proceedings in respect of economic offences and offences against social laws, such as the Protection of Civil Rights Act,1955 , and the Suppression of Immoral Traffic in Women and Girls Act,1956.
Where a person seeking legal aid-
- is concerned with the proceedings only in a representative or official capacity ; or
- is concerned with the proceedings jointly with some other person or persons whose interests are identical with his and such person or any of such persons is adequately represented in the proceedings ; or
- is a formal party to the proceedings, not materially concerned in the outcome of proceedings and his interests are not likely to be prejudiced on account of the absence or proper representation.
Any person desiring legal aid or advice may make an application in Form A addressed to the Secretary of the Authority/Committee. But if the applicant is illiterate or not in a position to fill in the particulars required in the application, the Secretary or any other officer of the Committee or any legal practitioner whose name appears on the panel of legal aid lawyers of the Authority/ Committee, as the case may be, or any person authorized by the applicant, shall gather the necessary particulars from the applicant and prepare the application on his behalf and after reading it out and explaining it to him, obtain his signature or thumb mark on it.
The Authority/Committee shall maintain a Register of applications wherein all applications for legal aid and advice shall be entered and registered and the action taken on such applications shall be noted against the entry relating to each such application.
On receipt of an application for legal aid or advice, in the case of High Court Committee or District Authority , the Secretary and in the case of Taluk Committee the Chairman of the Taluk committee shall scrutinize the application for the purpose of deciding whether the applicant is deserving of legal aid in accordance with the provisions of these regulations and for the purpose of arriving at such decision, he may require the applicant to submit further information as may be necessary and also discuss the matter personally with the applicant. The application shall be processed as early as possible and preferably within one week.
The Legal Services Authority/ Committee to which application is made shall consider the application and decide desirability of granting application and its decision to give or refuse legal aid shall be final.
Where it is decided not to give legal aid to an applicant, the reasons for not doing so shall be entered in the Register of applications maintained by the Authority/ Committee and information in writing to that effect shall be communicated to the applicant.
No application for legal aid and advice shall be allowed, if the Authority/ Committee is satisfied that-
- the applicant has knowingly made false statement or furnished false information as regards his means or place or residence ; or
- in a proceeding, other than the one relating to criminal prosecution, there is no prima-facie case to institute or, as the case may be, to defend the proceeding; or
- the application is frivolous or fictitious; or
- the applicant is not entitled to the same under regulation 16 or any other provision of these regulations ; or
- having regard to all the circumstances of the case, it is otherwise not reasonable to grant it.
Where an application for legal aid or advice is allowed, the Secretary of the Authority /Committee shall issue a certificate of Eligibility in Form B to the applicant entitling him to legal aid or advice in respect of the Proceeding concerned.
The Certificate of Eligibility shall stand cancelled if the legal aid is withdrawn and the lawyers to whom the case of the applicant is assigned as also the court before which the case is pending shall be informed accordingly in writing.
(1) Subject to the approval of the State Authority, the Legal Services Authority/Legal Services Committee shall prepare for a period of two years, a panel of legal practitioners who are prepared to represent or prosecute the cases on behalf of the legal aided persons under these regulations. The legal practioners on the panel shall be paid honorarium as set out in the Schedule:
Provided that where the matter is disposed of in less than five effective hearings, the fee payable shall be 1/2 of the fee prescribed in the Schedule.
it shall be the duty of the legal practitioner so engaged to inform the fact of his engagement to the concern Authority/ Committee, and
the provision of these regulations shall apply to such legal practitioner as they apply to a legal practitioner on the panel.
A person seeking legal aid or advice shall comply with any requisition or direction that may be made upon him by the Authority/Committee from the date the application for legal aid or advice is made till the completion or cessation of legal aid or cancellation of the Certificate of Eligibility.
Every such person shall execute an agreement in From C agreeing in the event of the Court passing a decree or order in his favour awarding costs to him or other monetary benefit or advantage, to repay by way of reimbursement to the Committee all costs, charges and expenses incurred by the Committee in giving him legal aid. For facilitating such reimbursement he shall execute an irrevocable Power of Attorney in Form D authorizing the Member-Secretary/Secretary of the Authority/Committee to do all such acts and things as may be necessary for recovery or realization of the amount decreed or ordered to be paid to him. The costs, charges and expenses which may be recovered by the Authority/Committee as aforesaid shall be credited to the State Government.
Every aided person or his representative shall attend the office or the Authority/Committee as and when required by the Authority/Committee or by the legal practitioner rendering legal aid to him and shall furnish full and true information and shall make full disclosure to the legal practitioner concerned and shall attend the Court, as and when required, at his own expenses.
in the event of being found that the aided person was possessed of sufficient means or the Certificate of Eligibility was obtained by misrepresentation or fraud;
in the event of any material change in the circumstances of the aided person;
in the event of any misconduct, misdemeanour or negligence on the part of the aided person in the course of receiving legal aid;
in the event of the aided person not co-operating with the Authority/Committee or with the legal practitioner assigned by the Committee/Authority/Court;
in the event of the aided person engaging a legal practitioner other than the one assigned by the Committee/Authority unless the engagement is under the direction of any Court;
in the event of death of the aided persons, except in the case of civil proceedings where the right of liability survives;
a report has been received from the Advocate assigned to the legally aided person that the legally aided person is not co-operating with the Advocate assigned to him or is guilty of misconduct towards the Advocate and such report has been verified by the Chairman of the Legal Services Committee/ Authority ;
in the event of externment under any law for the time being in force, of the aided person, from the area or place of his residence or business:
Provided that no such Certificate of Eligibility shall be cancelled Without giving due notice thereof to the aided person or to his legal representatives in the event of his death, to show cause as to why the Certificate should not be cancelled.
The ex officio Members of the State Authority including the Patron-in-Chief and the Executive Chairman shall be entitled to draw their Travelling Allowance and Daily Allowance from the State Legal Aid Fund established under section 16 of the Act for performing the functions of the State Authority, at the rate applicable to them under the rules governing their conditions of service.
The other persons, who are required by the State Authority to participate in the Lok Adalats or legal aid programmes of the State Authority, shall be entitled to the payment of Travelling Allowance and Daily Allowance from the State Legal Aid Fund in respect of journeys performed by them in connection therewith, at the rate applicable to them under the rules governing their conditions of service:
- Provided that where no rule is applicable to any such persons, the participating person shall be entitled to Travelling Allowance and Daily Allowance at the rate applicable to the 1st Grade Officers of the State Government.
No Travelling Allowance and Daily Allowance shall be admissible under this rule to any Member or other person referred to in sub-rules(1) and (2) if he draws Travelling Allowance and Daily Allowance from any other source for performing the same journey.
All expenditures from the State Legal Aid Fund shall require the approval of the State Authority.
Where any expenditure is incurred without such approval to meet any urgent requirement, the Member-Secretary shall place the matter before the State Authority at its next meeting held immediately after the expenditure so incurred, for ratification.