New Delhi, The Supreme Court on Thursday expressed concern over poor translation of documents for filing appeals in legal aid matters and directed high courts across the country to seriously examine and decide the issue within four weeks.
A bench of Justices Sanjay Karol and N Kotiswar Singh passed the direction while approving a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for translation and transmission of records for filing legal aid appeals.
“We may observe that the poor quality of translation has engaged the attention of this Court, recently, on quite a few occasions, indicating that some sort of structural change is necessitated in this regard. The respective High Court may seriously examine and take a decision within a time-bound period, i.e., not more than four weeks,” the bench said.
The top court said this SOP is the result of in-depth deliberations conducted by “stakeholders” or “major players in the game”. That being the case, the same deserves consideration by all the high courts, it said.
“It is directed that a copy of this order be placed before the learned Chief Justice of the High Court, for necessary consideration and appropriate action at their end,” the top court said.
The apex court said while implementation of the entire breadth of the SOP is left to the wisdom of the high courts, the timelines mentioned shall be treated as binding.
“This is for the purpose of streamlining the filing of appeals in cases where the respective Legal Services Committees are required to take the lead. This, it is our hope, will go a long way in addressing the structural gaps that had prompted this Court to take forward the present proceedings apart from dealing with the death reference from which they emanated,” it said.
The court also directed that a status report be filed by all concerned institutions, including the National Informatics Centre, by April 30, 2026.
The top court said legal aid rests on the idea that equality before the law must be real and not symbolic.
It said legal aid helps ensure that rights are not confined to those who can afford legal representation, but is available to all, including the poor and marginalised.
“It plays a crucial role in making legal protection meaningful. In India, the concept of legal aid is closely tied to the vision expressed in the Preamble of the Constitution, which promises justice, be it social, economic, and/or political, along with equality of status and opportunity, and affirms the secular character of the State. Social justice, in this context, requires the State to reduce structural inequalities and protect vulnerable groups from exclusion and exploitation.
“Legal aid contributes directly to this goal by enabling disadvantaged individuals to assert their rights and seek remedies against injustice. Political justice, on the other hand, is concerned with ensuring meaningful participation in democratic processes and equal access to institutions of governance.
“Without access to legal advice and representation, many citizens would find it difficult to exercise these rights effectively, whether in matters of voting, representation, or challenging arbitrary state action,” the bench said.
