Contracts of LADCS counsel will not be renewed further: NALSA after Punjab lawyers’ strike

The National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) Tuesday announced that contracts of counsel appointed under the Legal Aid Defence Counsel System (LADCS) Scheme will not be renewed after September in Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh.

Further, it has been directed that contracts of Legal Aid Defence Counsel in others States and Union Territories shall not be renewed upon completion of their existing contractual tenure.

"The District Judges of the concerned districts shall assign legal aid matters to the members of the Bar, preferably young lawyers," NALSA said in a communication to the State Legal Services Authorities.

Lawyers, particularly in Punjab, had been on strike for nearly a month against LADCS, alleging that the scheme created a parallel State-funded criminal defence system which was affecting the practice of independent advocates.

The decision to not renew contracts of LADCS counsel any further comes a day after the Bar Council of Punjab & Haryana, along with leaders of various Bar associations from Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh and Himachal Pradesh, met Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and Justice Vikram Nath, Executive Chairman of the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA).

CJI is reported to have assured the lawyers that a fresh scheme would be formulated after due consultation.

"It was further announced that the allocation of legal aid cases would thereafter be made by the District & Sessions Judges to members of the Bar in consultation with the Bar Council of Punjab & Haryana and the concerned Bar Associations, until a new framework is put in place," the Bar Council of Punjab and Haryana said on Monday.

Pertinently, Punjab and Haryana High Court Bar Association also had joined the striking lawyers last week and suspended work at the High Court. Lawyers also staged protests at the high court to express solidarity with the trial court lawyers.

The strike, which was initially limited to Punjab, also spread to many district of Haryana and Chandigarh last week. Various meetings were held between the Bar bodies and high court judges to end the lawyers' strike. The High Court last month issued a circular to address some of the grievances highlighted by the protesting lawyers.

In order to end the stalemate, it was finally decided that members of the joint action committee, the Bar Council of Punjab and Haryana and the representatives of the High Court Bar Association would meet the CJI.

Considering the latest developments, the High Court Bar Association resumed work from August 03.

The district bar bodies also last week announced that they would suspend the strike on August 03 and decide the future course of action on basis of the outcome of today's meeting with CJI.

With the process for fresh appointments of counsel under the LADCS put on hold, courts in the region have resumed normal functioning.