LEGAL ASSISTANCE ESTABLISHMENT
“KANOONI SAARTHI"
PUNJAB LEGAL SERVICES AUTHORITY

Hon’ble Mr. Justice Dipak Misra, Judge, Supreme Court of India and Executive Chairman, NALSA, inaugurated the Legal Assistance Establishment in newly constructed building of Punjab State Legal Services Authority, on dated 9th July, 2017.

Purpose of Legal Assistance Establishment:

• Legal Assistance Establishments are multiple services-single point establishment for providing facilities for legal aid seekers under one roof and at a single location.
• Legal Assistance Establishments are a strategic cornerstone of the Legal Services Authorities as a part of their commitment to update the legal services seekers about their cases and address the grievances of legal services beneficiaries at one stop centre.
• The Legal Assistance Establishment (Kanooni Sarthi) would be manned by Legal Services Advocates on the panel of Punjab Legal Services Authority (PULSA)/District Legal Services Authorities (DLSAs) along with staff of PULSA besides Para Legal Volunteers who would have knowledge about and be in possession of data base of all the activities of PULSA/DLSAs as well as other information that may be required by people mainly who are either legal services beneficiaries or the legal services seekers. The Data Base would include the status of all legal aided cases pending in various courts of Punjab.
• Legal Assistance Establishments are more than delivery points in State Legal Services Authorities. Earlier whenever, a Legal Aid Seeker went to the State Legal Services Authority, he was either asked to approach the District Legal Services Authority or any other forum. With the introduction of the LAE endeavour has been made to connect a person at State Legal Services Authority with District Legal Services Authority Secretary or the Panel Advocate as the case may be. The facility of video conferencing would help the under-trial in jail to connect and brief his counsel provided by Legal Services Institutions.

The Legal Assistance Establishments would provide to the beneficiaries, viz.

1. quick information about their case status pending in any of the districts,
2. legal aid & advice, and information about various schemes of NALSA, Central/State Governments, etc.

The Legal Assistance Establishment which is called “KANOONI SAARTHI” in Punjab will provide the following facilities:

1. Helpline No.1968;
2. Dedicated landline telephone- +91-172-2216690
3. Dedicated email: lae[dot]punjab[at]pulsa[dot]gov[dot]in
4. Video Conferencing with District Legal Services Authorities and Jails;
5. Mobile phone with dedicated number- +91-8284866885
6. Internet facilities for linking with the website of Supreme Court, Punjab and Haryana High Court, Punjab District Courts, NALSA and other important Courts/Tribunals and availing information from website of PULSA itself.
7. Services of a legal aid lawyer to provide legal aid and advice.
8. PLV to assist the legal aid lawyer and to help the litigants in filling up forms for legal aid etc.
9. The dedicated Helpline No. 1968 of PULSA would be operated from the Centre itself during working hours and thereafter access to it would be possible through the phone facility provided to Legal Aid Counsel assigned duties for the said activity.
10. Video Conferencing facility provided in this Centre may be used by litigants as well as by PULSA/DLSAs for proper response in respect of inquiry about any activity of respective DLSAs or to facilitate communication of parties including jail inmates with their legal aid counsels or the concerned DLSA.

The legal aid beneficiaries may approach “KANOONI SAARTHI” for
the purposes of:

1. getting information about the activities of PULSA/DLSAs,
2. for knowing about the status of their case pending in or disposed of by different courts,
3. for legal aid anywhere in Punjab,
4. for seeking legal aid and advice. Beneficiaries may also approach for information about Schemes of NALSA and PULSA and if they needed help in availing benefits under the different Government Schemes.