STATE LEGAL SERVICES AUTHORITY

SECTOR: 9 D, CHANDIGARH

SUMMER INTERNSHIP REPORT

(2nd JULY 2018 TO 16th JULY 2018)

SUBMITTED TO: SUBMITTED BY:

RAJESHWAR SINGH PREETI BANSAL

(LEGAL OFFICER) INTERN

SLSA CHANDIGARH UILS, PUSSGRC, HOSHIARPUR

1
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

On completion of this valuable experience under the Sate legal service

authorities, Chandigarh. I would like to express my gratitude to the officials of
the State Legal Services Authority, Chandigarh who gave me this opportunity to
do give a small contribution towards the poor people and to research on various
topics and institutions covering various legal authorizes. It was a great experience
to being able to see and understand the dynamics of some of the prestigious
government machineries realising the words of law and administering the UT of
Chandigarh with great efficiency. It helped me enhance my communication skills
and move beyond the theoretical approach of education and proceed towards the
practical one. All this helped me get a real and honest perspective on the issues
affecting people.
It is my privilege to carry out this research under the superior guidance of
Rajeshwar Singh (Law Officer, SLSA). I convey my deep sense of gratitude for
his continuous support, encouragement and guidance during the entire course of
the internship and in the manuscript of this research. I am thankful for his
insightful suggestions and continuous guidance.
I am also grateful to Sh. Mahavir Singh (Member Secretary, SLSA), Mr.
Amarinder Sharma (Secretary, DLSA) and Sh. V.K. Kapoor (Chief Coordinator
of NALSA Schemes) and all the other members of SLSA.
A sincere vote of thanks to all the officials.

By:
Preeti Bansal
B.A. L.L.B. (Hons.)
7th semester
University Institute of Laws, Panjab University S.S.G. Regional Centre,
Hoshiarpur.

2
 DECLARATION

Place: Chandigarh Date: 16.07.2018

I, do hereby declare that this report as compiled by me under my summer

internship programme is based on my own experiences & observations to the best
of my knowledge and understanding in its duration and the same which is
submitted therefore to the State Legal Services Authority, UT- Chandigarh is a
reliable document and is of bona fide nature.

3
 STATE LEGAL SERVICE AUTHORITY

First, talking about the State Legal Service Authorities and looking at the
establishment, history, setup and dynamics of these authorizes which gave us the
prestigious opportunity to work with them while analyzing its working from the
inside.

There are twenty eight States and seven Union Territories comprising the Union
of India and each State and also each Union Territory has a separate Legal
Services Authority, constituted as such under the State Legal Services Authority
Act, 1987.

Chandigarh being one of the Union Territory of India the State Legal Services
Authority (hereinafter referred to as SLSA) was constituted under Legal Services
Authorities Act, 1987 which came into force i.e. 19th January 1998.

In order to achieve aims and objective of the Act and to settle the disputes
between the parties amicably and expeditiously, Permanent Lok Adalat was
established in the District Courts Complex, Chandigarh on 07.08.1998, which
happened to be first Permanent Lok Adalat in the country. Pursuant to
implementation of the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 (hereinafter referred
to as the "Act of 1987") with effect from 9.11.1995, the Administrator Union
Territory, Chandigarh in consultation with Hon´ble Chief Justice of Punjab and
Haryana High Court constituted the rules namely Chandigarh Legal Services
Authority Rules 1997 (hereinafter referred to as the "SLSA Rules of 1997") which
now govern the functioning of this Authority.

Currently, Hon´ble Mr. Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul, Chief Justice of Punjab and
Haryana High Court, Chandigarh is its Patron-in-Chief and Hon´ble Justice
Hemant Gupta, Punjab and Haryana High Court is its Executive Chairman.

Hussainara Khatoon V. State of Bihar

The linkage between Article 21 and the right to free legal aid was forged in the
decision in Hussainara Khatoon v. State of Bihar [AIR 1979 SC 1360] where the
court was appalled at the plight of thousands of under trials languishing in the
jails in Bihar for years without ever being represented by a lawyer or produced in

4
a Court of Law. The court declared that "there can be no doubt that speedy trial,
and by speedy trial is an integral and essential part of the fundamental right to life
and liberty enshrined in Article 21." The court pointed out that Article 39-A
emphasized that free legal service was an inalienable element of 'reasonable, fair
and just' procedure and that the right to free legal services was implicit in the
guarantee of Article 21. In his inimitable style Justice Bhagwati declared: Legal
aid s really nothing else but equal justice in action. Legal aid is in fact the delivery
system of social justice. If free legal services are not provided to such an accused,
the trial itself may run the risk of being vitiated as contravening Article 21 and so
every State Government would try to avoid such a possible eventuality".

Sukh Das v. Union Territory of Arunachal Pradesh

He reiterated this in Sukh Das v. Union Territory of Arunachal Pradesh [AIR

1986 SC 991] and said "It may therefore now be taken as settled law that free
legal assistance at State cost is a fundamental right of a person accused of an
offence which may involve jeopardy to his life or personal liberty and this
fundamental right is implicit in the requirement of reasonable, fair and just
procedure prescribed by Article 21."

Khatri & Others v. St. Of Bihar & others

Justice Bhagwati observed; "Right to free legal aid, just, fair and reasonable
procedures is a fundamental right. It is elementary that the jeopardy to his
personal liberty arises as soon as the person is arrested and is produced before a
magistrate for it is at this stage that he gets the 1st opportunity to apply for bail
and obtain his release as also to resist remain to police or jail custody. This is the
stage at which an accused person needs competent legal advice and
representation. No procedure can be said to be just, fair and reasonable which
denies legal advice, representation to the accused at this stage. Thus, state is under
a constitutional obligation to provide free Legal Aid to the accused not only at
the stage of...... Every individual of the society are entitled as a matter of
prerogative."

5
 DAY 1

Place of Reporting 1: State Legal Services Authority, U.T Chandigarh, Sector 9

Place of Reporting 2: Juvenile Home, Sector 25
Date: July 2, 2018

State Legal Services Authority, U.T Chandigarh

 On the first day, we reported at the State Legal Services Authority, U.T,
Chandigarh. We were addressed by the coordinator. Mr Shiv Kumar who
did an incredible job throughout the course of the internship programme,
told us about the State Legal Services Authority Chandigarh, and the
working mechanism. Along with this, he also enlightened us about
National Legal Services Authority (NALSA), its schemes and way of
functioning. He explained why there is a need to establish an authority of
this nature- for the justice and dignity of the less privileged class & social
welfare.
 Then we were addressed by the Chief Judicial Magistrate and Member
Secretary of the State Legal Services Authority and Mr V.K Kapoor (Retd.
DGP Haryana, now Patron-in-chief NALSA) who shared with us their
valuable experiences and taught us how to develop our skills and work with
SLSA.
 We were also told about the schedule of our internship programme and the
places we would be visiting.

JUVENILE HOME, SECTOR 25

 Here we met the juveniles who had committed some crime or the other.
We interacted with them through the officials of the Juvenile Home and
found out there were provisions for their education which was probably the
best feature of this place.
 Prior to this, we interacted with the Judges of the Juvenile Justice Board
who told us the way they dealt with such cases.
 I myself got chance to interact with group of 5 boys who were 15 and 16
year old who were alleged of misbehaving with girl.

6
 DAY 2

Place of Reporting 1: State Legal Services Authority, ADR Building, District

Courts Complex, Sector 43, Chandigarh
Place of Reporting 2: Snehalya, Maloya
Date: July 3, 2017

Lectures on Mediation as an Alternative Dispute Resolution

Mrs Seema Pasricha gave us a thorough understanding of the process of
Mediation as an Alternative Dispute Resolution method. She also gave
information about the other forms of ADR’s such as Judicial Settlement,
Reconciliation, and Arbitration & Lok Adalats.
It was an enlightening and interactive session since it gave us practical
knowledge.
She gave us insight view of;
 The Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1990 pertaining to Mediation
 Need for ADR and Mediation
 Stages of Mediation that are:
 Introduction
 Opening statement
 Joint session
 Separate session
 Closing
 Suitable civil and matrimonial cases for Mediation
 Unsuitable cases for Mediation
 Advantages of Mediation
 Difference between the judicial proceedings, arbitration and Mediation.

Visit to Snehalya, Maloya

 We visited Snehalya, Maloya to get a first-hand information and practical

knowledge about the various programmes undertaken by the government
to check the violation of children’s rights.

7
 We checked their standards of living, measures taken for the children’s
education, etc. in the Snehalya premises.
 In the evening we visited CCPCR and had an interactive session with
Madam Harjinder Kaur. She gave an overview of the working of the
commission.
 She discussed it under the following heads-
 Their jurisdiction and the ambit of the commission
 Members- a Chairperson and 6 other members
 The emergence of child rights in the International Convention 1989
 Rights of the children – right to be heard, right to participate
 POCSO Act.

8
 DAY 3

Place of Reporting 1: State Legal Services Authority, ADR Building, District

Courts Complex, Sector 43, Chandigarh.
Place of Reporting 2: Legal Aid Clinic In Government Senior Secondary School,
Sector 45
Date: July 4, 2017

LECTURE ON LOK ADALATS (PUBLIC UTILITY SERVICES)

 We were told about the functioning of the Lok Adalats (PUS) and where
these could take cognizance or action. The judges also held an interactive
session asking questions to see if we were clear with the information they
had shared and we also asked them ‘n’ number of questions which they
answered liberally and also gave us examples of recent cases and how the
Lok Adalat (PUS) dealt with it to give us a better understanding of the
working of the body.
 We were also told about the criteria for being a Lok Adalat (PUS) Judge.
We were lucky to witness the actual proceedings of a Lok Adalat (PUS)
for about an hour and a half which helped us gain practical knowledge on
the third day of internship.
 At first we were given an inclusive overview of the working of PLA PUS,
by the respectable Chairman of the court Mr VK Gupta under the following
heads-
 Establishment of the permanent Lok Adalat under The Legal
Services Act, 1987
 The fields under which one can file a case in PLA PUS-
Banking, hospitals, insurance, telephone services, water
companies, transport companies, electricity
 Jurisdiction – under 1 crore
 Appeal – no appeal lies against the order of this court. Only a
writ petition can be filed in the High Court.

 Also witnessed the proceedings of Mediation headed by respectable H.C

Modi (Retd. Sessions judge).

9
Visit To Legal Aid Clinic In Government Senior Secondary School,
Sector 45

 Later during the day, were taken to the Legal Aid Clinics of the State
Legal Services Authority. We were told why the Legal Aid Clinics
are positioned in such localities, i.e. because most of the violations
of basic rights of a person take place in such areas, so to spread
awareness about these issues and help the victims or grieved
persons.

10
 DAY 4

Place of Reporting 1: State Legal Services Authority, ADR Building, District

Courts Complex, Sector 43, Chandigarh.
Place of Reporting 2: DART- Disability Assessment Rehabilitation Triage
Date: July 5, 2017

LECTURE BY V.K KAPOOR ON STRESS MANAGEMENT

We were given a lecture by V.K KAPOOR sir on STRESS MANAGEMENT in
The ADR centre. It was a very brilliant session where sir gave us pointers to
succeed in life as-
 be confident
 Have a few friends
 be courteous
 Movement is important
He also shared some of his encounters with influential people and some hilarious
anecdotes and his own life experiences.

DART- Disability Assessment Rehabilitation Triage

 We were made to observe the building by the Para Legal Volunteer.
 She told us that some patients come for regular check-ups while some stay
in the hostels. Their age varies from 7 yrs. to 60 yrs.
 Legal guardian is appointed by the court for differently mentally abled
persons.
 Then, they get help through the SLSA. There is a legal aid clinic in DART.
 There are different vocational activities for the patients which are carried
under the diligent supervision

11
 DAY 5

Place of Reporting 1: State Legal Services Authority, ADR Building, District

Courts Complex, Sector 43, Chandigarh
Place of Reporting 2: Snehalya, Maloya
Date: July 6, 2017

FAMILY WELFARE COMMITTEE

We were given a lecture by Mrs Devi Sarohi, Chairperson, and Family Welfare
Committee. It was an interactive session. She delivered a comprehensive lecture
on women rights and the working of FWC and explained us:
 The history of women in India
 The problems faced by women in India
 The need of FWC 4. Members – at least 3members
 Ambit of the committee
 Roles of the committee- Counselling, Checking the validity of the
case and sending the report to police.
PARA LEGAL VOLUNTEER
Mrs Manjit Kaur, the first person to get the best PARA LEGAL VOLUNTEER
award in INDIA.
She is also the recipient of the Red Cross award.She told us her beautiful
experience and satisfaction she gets in helping people which was a great thing
she do without anything in return.
VISIT TO SNEHALYA, MALOYA
 We visited Child Welfare Committee, Snehalya, Maloya to get a first-hand
information and practical knowledge about the various programmes
undertaken by the government to check the violation of children’s rights.
 We checked their standards of living, measures taken for the children’s
education, etc. in the Snehalya premises.
 Child Welfare Committee.
 The committee has four members and it handles abandoned
children
12
  It is also responsible for deciding which children need the
maximum care and protection
 The committee has tenure of 3 yrs
 Children under the committee are provided with skill
development programmes and kept till the age of 18 yrs. and
21 yrs. in some special cases
 The committee follows a hierarchy while handling children which entails-
 Adoption in country or outside the country and kin.
 Fostering
 Sponsorship
 Institutional care
Out of these, institutional care remains the most sought after method of
care and protection to children.

13
 DAY 6

Place of Reporting: Legal Aid Clinic, Government Senior Seconary School,

Sector 45, Chandigarh

Date: July 7, 2017

LEGAL AID CLINIC

We visited legal aid clinics and went in areas of sector 45 and asked people to tell
the grievances they are having. In the survey we asked the grievances they were
having. We told them that they should visit the legal aid clinic on Wednesday and
Saturday from 3:00 pm to 5:30 pm where the Para Legal Volunteers there would
try to solve their grievances.

14
 DAY 7

Place of Reporting 1: Old Age Home, Sector: 15, Chandigarh

Place of Reporting 2: District Protection Child Society
Date: July 9, 2017

OLD AGE HOME, CHANDIGARH

 Here also we met the officials of the Home and interacted with the women
inmates of the Old Age Home.
 They told us about the various issues because of which they landed up in
the Home which were very sad to know.
 Some of them were not having very good health and therefore they had the
facility of an in-house doctor also.
 We asked them if there were any problems they would like to tell us about
which they were going through but the inmates seemed to be satisfied with
the way things are dealt by the officials at the Home.

PROTECTION FOR RUN AWAY COUPLES

In evening we went for the visit of the District Protection Child Society.
Here were given knowledge about the run-away couples and the minor girls
and children helpline number. The union territory of District Protection
provides protection these run away couples. And the minor girls are kept
there until they attain their maturity. Till now around 300 couples were
given shelter.

15
 DAY 8

Place of Reporting 1: State Legal Services Authority, Sector 9, Chandigarh

Place of Reporting 1: Nari Niketan
Date: July 10, 2017

DEBT RECOVERY TRIBUNAL

 In the morning, we visited the Debt Recovery Tribunal whose Presiding

officer was respectable Mr Harcharan Singh.
 The court was very speedy and efficient as I witnessed over 60 cases
proceedings in front of me for the short period of time I was there.
 He gave an excellent overview of the working of the court by explaining:
 Recovery of Debt Act and the Securitisation Act
 The reason for rapidity- Affidavit of the witness rather than
testimony
 Appeal- The appeal can be made against the orders of the
court in Debt Recovery Appellate Tribunal, then in the High
Court and then in the Supreme Court
 The court has executive powers
 Court notice is sent to the parties through- registered post, by
hand, affixation and publication
 The decree of the court is called Recovery Certificate
 Every case has to be disposed of within 6 months from its
filing
 Other than this, Sir also shared some insights into a successful life
 He conveyed through his words, the importance of one’s motherland and
mother tongue.
 He told the students to follow their hearts in whatever they want to do in
life.

16
 NARI NIKETAN

 We visited Nari Niketan, a home for destitute women.

 We were made to go through the building by the staff and they told about
them.
 The women came there through the orders of the court and could only
leave by the orders of the court.
 The women there were from different states, some of them are mentally
retarded and missing cases.
 As no male member were allowed in the building. So, the entire staff-
Supervisor, Police official, Nurse, Cook and the Cleaning person were
females.
 Apart from all the facilities, the women there were also given vocational
training.
 Doctors of different departments visited the home regularly.

17
 DAY 9

Place of Reporting 1: State Legal Services Authority, Sector 9, Chandigarh

Place of Reporting 2: Legal Aid Clinic, Government Senior Seconary School,
Sector 45, Chandigarh
Date: July 11, 2017

RAILWAY CLAIMS TRIBUNAL

The working of the tribunal was explained as:
 Territorial jurisdiction- Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh,
Jammu and Kashmir and Chandigarh
 Maximum compensation- 8 lakhs to the family of deceased.
 Handles goods cases as well
 Deals with the cases involving a person falling down from the
train, getting injured etc.
 The person injured must be a bona fide passenger of the train
in order to be eligible for the compensation.

LEGAL AID CLINICS

We visited legal aid clinics and went in the areas of sector 45 for asked people to
tell the grievances they are having. We told them that they should visit the legal
aid clinic on Wednesday and Saturday from 3:00 pm to 5:30 pm where the Para
Legal Volunteers will try to solve their grievances.

18
 DAY 10
Place of Reporting 1: State Legal Services Authority, Sector 9, Chandigarh
Place of Reporting 2: Aashiyana, Sector 15
Date: July 12, 2017

WOMEN CELL
 The SHO was Mrs Reema Yadav.
 We were given a tour of the premises which consisted- ANTI human
Trafficking cell, different cabins of ASIs and SIs.
 We were made to interact with Mrs Reema Yadav and she told us that the
main area of expertise is Matrimonial disputes and their first step is
counselling.
 If the parties don’t settle, then their case is filed.
 The cell, in this regard, has an 80% disposal rate. Anyone can file a case
but the supporting evidence of the victim is necessary.
 Any rape case in the Union Territory is also reported to the women cell and
the women cell helps the victim in getting her rights through SLSA.

Aashiyana, Sector 15
 All the girls we went to Aashiyana where the girls from age 1 to 18 were
living. Most of them were orphans and some were left by their parents who
couldn’t take care of them.
 We interacted with them and introduced ourselves to them, played games
with them and some girls presented dance to us which was taught to them
by their dance teacher. We too danced with them. It was a most brilliant
experience and full of satisfaction that we can bring smile on their faces.
At last we gave them candy and chocolate which made them happier.
 It was great to see them happy and much strong to deal with the situation
they had in their life which is a good lesson to everyone “that life is not
meant to count sorrows rather it is meant to celebrate happiness”.

19
 DAY 11

Place of reporting: Children Traffic Park

Date: July 13, 2018

Children Traffic Park

 We were taken to the Child Traffic Park to attend a seminar on the
importance of Safety while driving.
 We were given a lecture on the importance of wearing helmet.
 Many accidental cases were discussed before us by negligence of people
by not wearing helmets.
 We girls were asked to come forward and share our experience of seeing
any case where we ourselves haven’t obeyed the traffic lights or not wore
the helmet and promise that from next time we will wear helmet while
driving two wheelers.
 After the lecture, the students were taken to traffic lights to award all the
female drivers wearing helmets with umbrellas.
 This was done in the hopes of motivating others to wear helmets for their
safety on road.

20
 DAY 12

Place of Reporting: National Lok Adalat, District Court Complex, Sector 43,
Chandigarh
Date: July 14, 2018

NATIONAL LOK ADALAT

 We reported at the District Courts Complex at Sector 43 and we were
assigned to sit and view the proceedings of the National Lok Adalat under
Additional district court judge Aaradhana Sahwney. We saw the
proceedings and that helped us gain an in-depth practical knowledge of the
functioning of National Lok Adalats. It helped us move beyond bookish
knowledge that we had prior to this experience.
 Also, we came to know that most of the cases were matrimonial cases.

21
 DAY 13

Place of Reporting: GRIID, Sector 31, Chandigarh

Date: July 16, 2018
Government Rehabilitation Institute for Intellectual Disabilities, Sector 31,
Chandigarh

We learned that more than 250 Rehabilitation professionals has been trained
and working in various government, semi govt., NGO and Private Sectors for
the welfare of children with special needs. The professionals were of the
opinion that screening a pregnant mother is vital especially if she’s had a
previous baby with Dysmorphic features, metabolic disorder or a defined
genetic syndrome.
We learned that the main aims and objectives of the institution were:
 Comprehensive training and education to 1000 children with special
needs
 Empowerment of parents and guardians of Chilren with special need.
 Genetics screening & counselling for prevention of disability
 Vocational Training, Job Placement & Social Integration in sheltered
employment
 Implementation of provision of persons with disability act (1995) & NTA
(1999)
 To Carry out research in the area of mental retardation for early detection
and prevention of disability
 To create Infrastructrure for human resource development in the area of
intellectual disability
 Rehabiliation clinic & Theraupetic intervention at OPD level of children
with intellectual disability, autism, cerebral palsy, multiple disabilities
 To set up resource center for providing day to day technical support to
regular school having special section for the children with special needs
Finally, the message that we should always remember that “Every Child Has the
Potential to Do Better”, we need to discover the hidden potential and support it
was clear and inspirational.

22
 A WARM AND SINCERE NOTE OF
THANKS TO
STATE LEGAL SERVICES
AUTHORITY, CHANDIGARH

Overall it was a brilliant experience to work with state legal services authority,
Chandigarh. I want to thank each and everyone in the internship for being so co-
operative and kind. These 13 days were full of knowledge and interest. And this
will remain an overwhelming experience for life.

Conclusively, we understood that, in this country, we gave to ourselves the

Constitution, which guarantees economic and political justice. Awakening of
the collective consciousness is the need of the day. Right to Justice is a
fundamental right of every citizen of India as granted by the Constitution of
India. And the NALSA, SLSAs, DLSAs are working tirelessly to achieve this
constitutional mandate, making lives easier day by day and bringing justice
where its due.

23