The Union Department of Justice (DoJ) in association with the National Law University Odisha (NLUO), Cuttack, and the implementing partner Shadow Advertising and Communications conducted a ‘State Level Consultation on Legal Literacy and Legal Awareness’ here on Monday at the NLUO.
The panel was chaired by eminent experts in the legal space including Programme Manager, Access to Justice, Department of Justice, Government of India Sneha Sharma, Vice Chancellor, NLUOProfessor Ved Kumari, Registrar, NLUO Dr Yogesh Pratap Singh, Assistant Professor of NLUO, Director, Centre for Access to JusticeDr Kuntirani Padhan, Assistant Professor of Law, NLUONikita Pattajoshi, Biranchi Padhy, Nyaya Mitra, Cuttack, Programme Coordinator, Shadow Advertising and Communications Pvt Ltd Dhiraj Behera and officials from CSC and lawyers.
Earlier, Department of Justice (DoJ) has launched comprehensive, holistic, integrated and systemic solution on access to justice at pan India level through DISHA being implemented from 2021-26. All the Access to Justice Programmes such as TELE law, Naya Bandhu (Pro Bono Legal services), Naya Mitra and Legal Literacy and Legal Awareness have been merged under DISHA scheme and up-scaled to all India level.
Aimed at implementing pro bono legal services across the country, a first of its kind Pro Bono club under the DISHA scheme was also inaugurated during the workshop. Constituted of several stakeholders in legal and law space, the Pro Bono Club will act as a voluntary facilitator of legal services to the public who vulnerably seem to be in a legal blind spot of the society.
Around 50 stakeholders from several fields connected to legal services participated in the event.