Justice Behind Bars: Supreme Court Legal Services Committee's Landmark Initiative Empowers Thousands Of Inmates

The Supreme Court Legal Services Committee (SCLSC), under the visionary leadership of Justice Surya Kant, Chairman, has been undertaking an unprecedented special campaign to provide legal aid to prison inmates across the country. Launched on January 10, 2025, in association with all State Legal Services Authorities (SLSAs) and Prison Departments, the campaign is aimed at ensuring access to justice for those inmates who, despite having viable legal remedies before the Supreme Court of India, remained unrepresented.

The campaign targets specific categories of inmates who were identified as requiring urgent legal intervention: those whose convictions were upheld but no appeal filed, those denied bail despite serving half or more of their sentence, and those whose remission or premature release was rejected and not challenged before the Supreme Court. These cases, falling into clear zones of legal vulnerability, were taken up for intervention by SCLSC on a mission mode.

As a result of extensive coordination between the SCLSC, SLSAs, HCLSCs, and prison authorities, a total of 4,216 such inmates were initially identified. On April 01, 2025, Justice Surya Kant convened a national-level virtual meeting with the Chairpersons of HCLSCs and SLSAs, urging them to constitute special committees to visit prisons and actively encourage identified inmates to avail legal aid under the campaign. This outreach bore exceptional results- by May 05, 2025, nearly 3,800 inmates had formally requested to receive legal assistance from the SCLSC.

In a follow-up review held on May 05, 2025, with all Chief Justices of High Courts and Chairpersons of HCLSCs and SLSAs, Justice Surya Kant reiterated the need to expedite the submission of pending paper books, directing that all hard copies be sent exclusively through Special Messengers, including on weekends and holidays, to avoid delay. HCLSCs have also been directed to designate district-level Nodal Officers to ensure seamless coordination with SCLSC for curing defects, seeking clarifications, and facilitating timely follow-up.

While a small number of inmates declined legal aid, citing reasons such as impending release, engagement of private counsel, or expectations of remission on Independence Day or Republic Day, the overwhelming response reflects the campaign's success. The special initiative, under the stewardship of Justice Surya Kant, has transformed the legal aid landscape and reaffirmed the judiciary's enduring commitment to access to justice for the most underserved.

To date, SCLSC has received nearly 1,000 paper books from across States/UTs, panel advocates have been appointed in nearly 600 matters where documentation is complete and 285 matters have been filed till May 13, 2025 by 12.00 noon.

The initiative marks a historic milestone and is the largest and most cohesive legal aid campaign ever undertaken by SCLSC.