Now Reading: Delhi High Court asks to prefer 3rd-year law students as PLVs
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Delhi High Court asks to prefer 3rd-year law students as PLVs
The Delhi High Court has directed the District Legal Services Authority (DSLSA) committee to consider giving preference to third-year law students in the selection of Para-Legal Volunteers (PLVs), noting they will soon…
The Delhi High Court has directed the District Legal Services Authority (DSLSA) committee to consider giving preference to third-year law students in the selection of Para-Legal Volunteers (PLVs), noting they will soon graduate. Justice Jasmeet Singh requested the committee to conclude the selection process at the earliest, so that second and third-year law students can be selected.
The court was hearing a plea by two law students from Delhi University's Faculty of Law who challenged a DSLSA communication dated April 21 regarding the PLV training programme. They sought time-bound training for provisionally selected students and fresh guidelines for PLV induction. The students argued that the NALSA scheme allows law students to be inducted as PLVs, and that over 600 PLV vacancies exist with DSLSA.
DSLSA's counsel noted the NALSA scheme permits PLV selection from ten streams, including students and law students, with no fixed quota for any stream. The court directed the committee to complete the selection within one month, keeping in mind that third-year students are about to pass out.
Indian Opinion Analysis
The core issue is the chronic delay in filling over 600 PLV vacancies at DSLSA, which hampers legal aid delivery to the poor in Delhi courts. PLVs are grassroots volunteers who assist litigants with case filing, court procedures, and referrals. The court has nudged the committee to prioritize law students, but the scheme gives DSLSA wide discretion across ten feeder categories. Whether the committee actually follows this preference or uses its discretion to select non-student candidates remains to be seen. The next concrete signal is whether DSLSA issues a fresh training schedule within the one-month timeline set by the court.
Source: livelaw.in
This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
