UPSC Mains 2023 GS2 Q2: model answer
Who are entitled to receive free legal aid ? Assess the role of the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) in rendering free legal aid in India.
What the question wants
Eligibility under Section 12 of the Legal Services Authorities Act, and an assessment of NALSA.
How to structure it
Intro: Art. 39A and the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987. Body: (1) Entitled persons under Section 12: SC/ST, women and children, trafficking victims, persons with disabilities, disaster victims, industrial workmen, persons in custody, low-income persons; (2) NALSA's role: Lok Adalats, legal aid clinics, LADCS, schemes, awareness, victim compensation; (3) Limits: quality of lawyers, awareness, under-trials. Conclusion: strengthen quality and outreach.
- 1(1) Entitled persons under Section 12: SC/ST, women and children, trafficking victims, persons with disabilities, disaster victims, industrial workmen, persons in custody, low-income persons
- 2(2) NALSA's role: Lok Adalats, legal aid clinics, LADCS, schemes, awareness, victim compensation
- 3(3) Limits: quality of lawyers, awareness, under-trials
Model answer
Article 39A directs the State to ensure equal justice and free legal aid. The Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 created NALSA (functional from 1995) under the Chief Justice of India as Patron-in-Chief.
Who is entitled (Section 12)
- Members of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
- Women and children.
- Victims of trafficking or begar.
- Persons with disabilities, including mental illness.
- Victims of disasters, ethnic or caste violence.
- Industrial workmen.
- Persons in custody.
- Persons with annual income below the limit set by the government.
Role of NALSA
- Lok Adalats, including National Lok Adalats, settle crores of cases each year.
- Legal Aid Defence Counsel System (2022) provides full-time defence lawyers in criminal cases.
- Legal aid clinics in villages, jails and law schools; paralegal volunteers.
- Victim compensation schemes and awareness campaigns.
Gaps: uneven quality of panel lawyers, low awareness and large under-trial numbers.
Legal aid must be good, not just free, to make justice real for the poor.
Keywords, cases and data to drop in
Art. 39A Section 12 Lok Adalat LADCS paralegal volunteers
Where most answers lose marks
- Missing the list of entitled persons.
- No assessment of shortcomings.
Fresh examples from current affairs
Supreme Court: no prior approval under Section 17A needed to probe a bribe demand
In a judgment of 16 October 2026, a Supreme Court Bench of Justices S.V.N. Bhatti and N.V. Anjaria held that investigating a bribe demand by a public servant does not need prior approval under Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act. Asking for a bribe, the court said, is not part of discharging official duties.
UPSC angle: Prelims: Sections 7, 7A, 17A and 19 of the PC Act. · Mains GS-II/GS-IV: honest officers versus accountability.
19 Oct 2026
CJI Surya Kant inaugurates the first permanent High Court bench in Leh
On 18 October 2026 Chief Justice of India Surya Kant inaugurated a permanent bench of the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh in Leh. Until now, a person in Ladakh who wanted to file a writ petition had to travel to Srinagar or Jammu, across high passes and harsh winters. The bench was made possible by a regulation that the President promulgated on 27 August and that came into force on 5 September. It is a simple idea with a big effect: bring the court to the people.
UPSC angle: Prelims: Arts. 214, 231, 241, 226, 39A; common High Court. · Mains GS-II: access to justice, judicial infrastructure.
18 Oct 2026
Three High Court Chief Justices appointed as Supreme Court judges
On 5 October 2026 the President appointed three High Court Chief Justices as judges of the Supreme Court: Justice Sunita Agarwal (Gujarat), Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya (Delhi) and Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh (Telangana). The first two have Allahabad as their parent High Court and the third Jharkhand.
UPSC angle: Prelims: Article 124. · Mains GS-II: judicial appointments.
5 Oct 2026
President at NGT climate conference: community-based adaptation rooted in traditional knowledge
On 20 September 2026 President Droupadi Murmu spoke at the valedictory session of the International Conference on "The Future of Environment and Climate Dynamics", organised by the National Green Tribunal in New Delhi. She called for people-centric, community-based climate adaptation rooted in traditional knowledge, and for afforestation that restores whole ecosystems.
UPSC angle: Mains: Role of traditional knowledge in climate adaptation.
20 Sep 2026Learn the concept
Question text as printed in the official UPSC question paper: https://www.upsc.gov.in/sites/default/files/QP-CSM-23-GENERAL-STUDIES-PAPER-II-180923.pdf The model answer is original Battle IAS work; use it to learn structure, not to memorise.