Srinagar: In a significant development, the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) will now provide proactive legal assistance to the families of soldiers. This will provide the soldiers some peace of mind while serving thousands of miles away from their families.
The initiative, titled the NALSA Veer Parivar Sahayata Yojana 2025, is aimed at relieving Indian soldiers from the domestic legal burdens while they serve in harsh terrains and far-flung regions.
The scheme was formally launched on Saturday at a conference in Srinagar by Justice Surya Kant of the Supreme Court and executive chairman, NALSA. Justice Kant is slated to take over as the next Chief Justice of India in November.
Among the others present at the event were Union law minister Arjun Ram Meghwal, Jammu and Kashmir lieutenant governor Manoj Sinha, and the state’s chief minister Omar Abdullah.
The initiative was apparently the brainchild of Justice Surya Kant who was deeply moved by the sacrifices made by the armed forces during Operation Sindoor and began exploring ways in which the judiciary could contribute more directly to their well-being.
Justice Kant has said that the legal fraternity must do its part to ensure that soldiers defending the country are not left alone to handle personal legal crises, sources told NDTV. This thought has since culminated in the NALSA Veer Parivar Sahayata Yojana.
The new scheme is tailored to address a longstanding issue: soldiers deployed in isolated areas often lack the ability to follow through on legal cases involving family property, domestic disputes, or land matters. For example, a soldier stationed in Jammu and Kashmir may have limited access or zero leave to appear in court proceedings back home in Kerala or Tamil Nadu.
Under the scheme, NALSA will intervene to ensure that such cases are properly represented in courts across the country.
The support will also extend to paramilitary personnel, including those from the Border Security Force (BSF), Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), and others who serve in similarly isolated and high-risk conditions.
