Legal system too expensive for most: Study

According to the nationwide ''Access to Justice'' survey, legal system in India is too expensive to access for most citizens in the country.

• The survey was conducted across 305 locations in 24 States between November 2015 and February 2016 to hear the voice and explore the profile of people making use of judicial system in India.

Important observations made:

• 90% of the litigants earn less than Rs. 3 lakh per annum and the median expected cost of litigation for this group is around Rs. 16,000.
• For most, the judicial system of our country is shut because they cannot access lawyers in the first place and the quality of legal aid is poor.
• Though legal aid aims to provide free legal services to the weaker sections who otherwise can't afford it, the survey found that that just 1% of the respondents make use of this service.
• Accountability of legal aid lawyers towards their clients and lack of communication between the two are serious concerns plaguing the system.
• The financial barrier is not just limited to accessing courts. The main reason individuals could not meet the conditions of bail was found to be lack of funds. Also, around half the litigants cited expense as a major deterrent for filing appeals in the High Court if their cases were not resolved in their favour.