The Central Government, in consultation with the Chief Justice of India, has nominated former Chief Justice of the Orissa High Court, Dr. Justice S. Muralidhar, as a Member of the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA).
Additionally, the Centre has nominated senior advocate Siddharth Agarwal, a judge of the High Court of Punjab and Haryana, and Executive Chairman of the Haryana State Legal Services Authority, Justice Arun Palli, as Members of the National Legal Services Authority.
As per the official notification issued on October 31 by the Department of Justice, Ministry of Law and Justice, several distinguished individuals have also been nominated as Members of the National Legal Services Authority. These include senior advocate Meenakshi Arora, Dr. Mrinal Satish, Professor of Law at the National Law School of India University, Bangalore, Siddharth Luthra, senior advocate, Manan K. Mishra, senior advocate and Chairman of the Bar Council of India, Professor Debasish Basu, Professor and Head of the Department of Psychiatry at PGI, Chandigarh, and Professor Asha Bajpai, Founder Dean of the School of Law at Tata Institute of Social Sciences.
The National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) was established under the Legal Services Authorities Act of 1987, with the mission of providing free legal services to the marginalized sections of society and organizing Lok Adalats for the amicable resolution of disputes. Chief Justice of India, Justice DY Chandrachud, serves as the Patron-in-Chief.
In each state, a State Legal Services Authority is established to implement the policies and directives of NALSA and to offer free legal services to the public while conducting Lok Adalats within the state. The State Legal Services Authority is presided over by the Chief Justice of the respective High Court, who also serves as the Patron-in-Chief. Additionally, the most senior judge of the High Court is designated as the executive chairman of the State Legal Services Authority.
At the district level, the District Legal Services Authority is constituted to execute Legal Services Programs within the district. These district-level authorities are located within the district courts complex and are chaired by the District Judge of the respective district. A Civil Judge Cadre Judicial Officer is appointed as a full-time secretary for these authorities.
