At NALSA’s 30th anniversary event, Justice BR Gavai shared his experiences from Manipur, emphasizing that every part of India is home to all Indians. He highlighted the importance of legal awareness, community outreach, and compassionate support for victims.
At the Western Regional Conference of the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA), held at Ekta Nagar (formerly Kevadia) in Narmada District, Supreme Court judge and Executive Chairman of NALSA, Justice BR Gavai, recalled his emotional experience of visiting rehabilitation camps in conflict-torn Manipur. The event also marked the completion of 30 years of NALSA’s dedicated service.
Justice Gavai shared that ever since he took charge as Executive Chairman of NALSA, he has hardly spent any weekend in New Delhi.
He said,
“We went to Manipur. We have seen in the last two three years, Manipur is riddled with the problem of dispute between two ethnic groups of people… Therefore we went to Kukis and other warring groups of Meiteis. We distributed legal aid material, medical equipment and books to children.”
Justice Gavai spoke warmly about the kind welcome he received from people living in these camps.
He said,
“We were so moved… when we went to the Kuki camp, one senior lady welcomed me and she said ‘welcome to your home’… India is our home. For every Indian who may be a resident of any part of the country, the entire country is home.”
Justice Gavai also spoke about visiting far-flung areas of the North-East, including Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, and Manipur. He highlighted the need to create awareness among the tribal communities about their legal rights.
Justice Gavai said,
“We went to the farthest corners of Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur and we noticed the problems faced by tribals… We came up with the team of Samvad where the tribals would be made aware of the rights available to them and enable them to take recourse to their rights. It is not enough to have rights, it is also necessary that the citizens must know about their rights — their constitutional rights, statutory rights. Unless they are made aware, they will not come forth to enforce them…”
In another touching story, Justice Gavai spoke about a man from a remote village called Piplantri in Rajasthan who took a small step that led to a big change.
Justice Gavai said,
“It is an example of what one man with dedication can do… What started with one tree has turned into a forest of 40 lakh trees…
In order to stop the menace of child marriage, the villagers decided that when a girl child is born, the family will deposit Rs 10,000 and the villagers will donate Rs 21,000 in fixed deposit to provide funds for the girls’ education. (During NALSA visit) We noticed the problem of child marriages, so our team thought it fit to come up with child marriages ASHA SOP…”
Justice Gavai added that celebrating NALSA’s 30 years at the Statue of Unity was very symbolic.
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He said, invoking the spirit of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel,
“There could not have been a better place (than Statue of Unity) to commemorate or celebrate the 30 years of NALSA,” while also drawing “inspiration for the future.”
Justice Gavai then talked about the serious issue of old undertrial prisoners, especially those who are terminally ill. He mentioned that a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) has been filed by NALSA in the Supreme Court to seek the early release of such prisoners.
He further said that with the wide network of State Legal Services Authorities (SLSAs) operating across India, legal services have become much more approachable for common citizens.
On the same occasion, Gujarat High Court Chief Justice Sunita Agarwal also spoke about important changes needed in the legal services system to make it more effective. She stressed on restructuring para-legal volunteer teams and forming conciliation benches to resolve long-pending disputes.
Justice Agarwal recalled a tragic case from Dahod district in Gujarat, where a woman was brutally assaulted by her in-laws and villagers on suspicion of an extramarital affair.
Referring to that, Justice Agarwal said,
“The (Gujarat) High Court took suo motu cognisance… Officials from the District Administration, Police and local governance were roped in and several rehabilitative steps were taken. But I felt that it was insufficient for holistic healing…”
She pointed out that merely giving institutional aid is not enough.
Justice Agarwal said,
“To my mind, victims of such incidents need more than institutional aid. They need empathy, continuous support and building trust. A volunteer rooted in the community can offer that… helping her speak up, rebuild confidence and access psychological and vocational support. I directed the Member Secretary of GSLSA to visit the site, meet the victim and draft a comprehensive roadmap for her rehabilitation, holistic recovery and reintegration into the society…”
Justice Agarwal stressed the need for customized planning that suits the needs of each community.
She said,
“This experience underscored the urgent need to move from general awareness to micro level, community specific planning through justice demands, coordinated efforts between DLSAs, SLSAs government bodies, NGOs, and the people themselves… Lasting impact requires active community involvement, my proposal is to restructure paralegal volunteer teams to reflect local diversity, inclusive of-right minded people as representatives…”
Talking about the success of Lok Adalats and mediation efforts, Justice Agarwal shared that over 10,000 long-pending cases had been amicably resolved with the help of trained mediators.
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She said,
“In the sphere of Lok Adalats and mediation, greater involvement of trained lawyers and mediators is essential to enhance the efficacy of dispute resolution. From our experience in Gujarat, we have found that the formation of conciliation benches comprising one presiding officer and one subject-specific trained mediator has significantly improved the success rate of settlements in long pending matters… It was implemented in the Special Lok Adalat organised for the SC of India… 40 cases were amicably settled out of 286 using this approach.”
Justice Agarwal added,
“Encouraged by this outcome, since September 2024, we have adopted this model across Gujarat to target long-pending matters for settlement, and I would be happy to share that over 10,000 targeted cases have been settled using this approach in the National and Special Lok Adalats…”
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