Justice Is Not a Privilege. If You Cannot Afford a Lawyer , We are Here to Help
Justice Is Not a Privilege.
If You Cannot Afford a Lawyer, PRAN Is Here.
In twenty years of practice, I have sat across from hundreds of people who had every right to fight — and no means to do so.
A daily-wage worker whose employer withheld three months of wages. A widow whose insurance claim was rejected on a technical pretext. A tenant whose landlord forged documents. A consumer who received a defective product and was met with silence.
Each of them had a case. Each of them had rights guaranteed by the law of this land. And each of them walked away — not because the law failed them, but because no one could afford to stand beside them inside a courtroom.
That gap has stayed with me. It is the reason PRAN Foundation exists. And it is the reason we have launched the PRAN Legal Aid Initiative — a structured, volunteer-driven network for citizens who have valid legal concerns but no access to justice.
"Equal justice and free legal aid are not charity extended to the poor. They are a fundamental obligation of the State, guaranteed under Article 39A of the Constitution of India."
— Article 39A, Constitution of India · Directive Principles of State PolicyThe Problem We See Every Day
Legal fees in India are not small. A single consumer forum complaint — with advocate fees, documentation, and travel — can cost more than the disputed amount itself. For a worker earning ₹15,000 a month, that calculation ends before it begins. The law exists on paper. The courtroom remains out of reach.
Most citizens do not know that free legal aid is a constitutional right. Under the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987, every eligible person is entitled to free representation through the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) and District Legal Services Authorities (DLSA). Yet studies consistently show that over 78% of eligible citizens never access this system — because they simply do not know it exists.
Even when citizens are aware of legal aid, the process of navigating NALSA, DLSA, Lok Adalat, or consumer forums is unfamiliar and intimidating. Without someone to guide them through the first steps, most give up. That first step is precisely what PRAN's volunteer network is designed to provide.
What the PRAN Legal Aid Initiative Offers
Our network does four things — clearly, voluntarily, and free of cost:
Voluntary Legal Guidance — Enrolled advocates and law students in our network review your concern and explain your rights, options, and next steps in plain language. No jargon. No fees. No advocate-client relationship created.
Referral to Official Legal Aid Authorities — Where you qualify, we connect you directly to NALSA, your District Legal Services Authority (DLSA), or State Legal Services Committees — who are mandated by law to provide free court representation.
Document Drafting Support — Volunteers may assist in drafting RTI applications, consumer complaints, grievance letters, or awareness notes — subject to capacity and eligibility review.
Rights Awareness — We explain what the law says about your situation, so you can make an informed decision about your next step — whether through a legal aid authority, a consumer forum, or independently.
"Our volunteer bandwidth is not unlimited. It is reserved for the person who has no other door to knock on."
— Adv. Amarjeet Singh, Founder, PRAN FoundationWho This Is For — And Who It Is Not
I want to be honest about this, because honesty protects the people we are trying to serve.
- 👉 You genuinely cannot afford private legal counsel or court fees
- 👉 You are unaware of your rights or where to begin
- 👉 You need guidance on reaching NALSA, DLSA, or consumer forums
- 👉 You need help drafting an RTI, complaint, or grievance letter
- ✖ You can afford a private advocate but prefer not to pay
- ✖ You want free full-case court representation
- ✖ Your matter is a commercial dispute with adequate resources
- ✖ You need immediate emergency or police intervention
If you can afford a private advocate, I respectfully urge you to engage one. The citizens we are here for cannot.
How You Can Help
Submit Your Request — If you or someone you know needs legal guidance and cannot afford it, use our secure digital intake portal at publicrightaction.org/legal-aid. We do not accept case details over public WhatsApp chats. Your intake is reviewed by a trained volunteer and routed to the right panel within 48 hours.
Share With Someone Who Needs It — You may not need this yourself, but you almost certainly know someone who does. A neighbour with a builder dispute. A colleague whose PF has not been settled. A domestic worker who was dismissed without dues. Share this post with them. Share the link. That act alone could change the course of their case.
Join as a Volunteer — If you are an enrolled advocate, law student, retired legal officer, or NGO with legal capacity — PRAN's Legal Aid Network needs you. Two hours a month. One case. One RTI. One session. It costs you very little. For someone on the other side of that conversation, it may mean everything. Be the lawyer someone can't afford →
Our Goal
- ✦ Ensure that every citizen who approaches PRAN with a genuine, unaffordable legal matter is guided to the right institutional channel — NALSA, DLSA, consumer forum, Lok Adalat, or RTI mechanism.
- ✦ Build a distributed volunteer network of 100+ enrolled advocates across all states, with district coordinators in Haryana as a pilot.
- ✦ Increase awareness of NALSA and DLSA entitlements among citizens in low-income communities through legal literacy programmes.
- ✦ Produce and publish plain-language rights guides in Hindi and English on consumer protection, labour rights, RTI, and women's entitlements — freely available on publicrightaction.org.
- ✦ Establish PRAN's Legal Aid Initiative as a trusted, integrity-first referral pathway — not a substitute for professional legal services, but a bridge to them for those who have none.
If you need legal guidance and cannot afford it — or if you want to be part of the network that provides it — both doors are open.