Bar Council seeks rollback, review of Legal Aid Defence Counsel System, says scheme hurting independent Bar

4 min readChandigarhJul 14, 2026 08:20 PM IST

The decision was taken at the Bar Council’s General House meeting held at Law Bhawan in Chandigarh on July 13. (Image generated using AI)

The Bar Council of Punjab and Haryana has sought an immediate review and rollback of the Legal Aid Defence Counsel System (LADCS), contending that its present structure has created a “parallel State-funded criminal defence mechanism” that is diverting criminal litigation away from the independent Bar and disproportionately affecting young advocates.

The decision was taken at the Bar Council’s General House meeting held at Law Bhawan in Chandigarh on July 13. Members unanimously reaffirmed their commitment to providing free and effective legal aid as a constitutional obligation while expressing serious concerns over the implementation of the scheme.

In a resolution passed at the meeting, the Bar Council said the existing LADCS framework has “created a parallel State-funded criminal defence mechanism” by diverting substantial criminal work, particularly in smaller districts, to salaried legal aid defence counsels. It said the system has reduced opportunities for independent practitioners, concentrated legal aid work among a limited number of salaried counsels and diminished the role of the traditional legal aid panel system.

According to the resolution, the Legal Aid Defence Counsel System is currently handling around 10-18 per cent of the criminal cases instituted annually in several districts of Punjab, with thousands of criminal matters each year being represented by salaried legal aid defence counsels.

“The House observed that this has resulted in a substantial diversion of criminal litigation away from the independent Bar, disproportionately affecting young advocates who traditionally build their practice through trial court work,” the resolution stated.

The Bar Council further noted that, in the absence of any stipend or financial support mechanism for advocates during their formative years of practice, the existing LADCS framework has had a severe adverse impact on the livelihood and professional growth of young lawyers.

The resolution also raised concerns over institutional advantages available under the scheme, the process of eligibility verification, concentration of ancillary criminal work and the absence of meaningful consultation with Bar Councils and Bar Associations before its implementation.

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The General House resolved to pursue the matter with the concerned authorities and sought an immediate review and rollback of the existing framework. It recommended withdrawal of the present structure after comprehensive consultations with Bar Councils and Bar Associations and called for restoration and strengthening of the traditional panel advocate system with rotational inclusion of young advocates. It also sought equitable distribution of legal aid work among practising advocates while preserving effective access to justice.

A sub-committee comprising Karanjit Singh, Karamjeet Singh, Sharmila Sharma, Gurtej Singh Grewal, Dr Vijender Singh Ahlawat, Dayal Pratap Singh Randhawa, Rajni Nanda, Amarjit Kaur, Rakesh Gupta, Amit Rana and Harpreet Singh Multani has been constituted to pursue the matter before the appropriate authorities.

Following the General House meeting, members of the sub-committee met Acting Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court Justice A.K. Mishra and apprised him of the concerns raised by the legal fraternity.

The Legal Aid Defence Counsel System, introduced by the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA), provides free legal representation in criminal cases to persons eligible under Section 12 of the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987. Modelled on the public defender system, it appoints full-time salaried lawyers through District Legal Services Authorities to exclusively handle criminal legal aid matters from the stage of arrest to appeals and prison visits. The scheme was launched as a pilot project in 2020 and expanded nationwide under the Modified LADCS Scheme, 2022. According to the Bar Council, it is currently operational through around 680 district Legal Aid Defence Counsel offices across 37 States and Union Territories.