State Legal Services Authority proposes free legal aid for marginalized communities

IMPHAL, February 15: “PLHIV, Transgender, sex worker and drug users will be given recognition as specific vulnerable communities entitled to access legal services and free legal aid under the Manipur State Legal Services Authority,” said A Guneshwor Sharma, member secretary, Manipur State Legal Services Authority (MASLSA).

He made this announcement during a Consultation “Strengthening the delivery of legal entitlements of marginal communities” organized by MASLSA, Manipur State AIDS Control Society (MACS), Project ORCHID and Centre for Advocacy and Research (CFAR) in Imphal today.

MASLSA will propose its board for inclusion of people living with HIV/AIDS, Transgenders, sex worker and drug users in the list of people eligible for accessing free legal aid in a meeting tomorrow in Imphal.

Vulnerable communities like People who Use Drugs (PUD), People Living with HIV/AIDS (PLHIV), Men who have Sex with Men (MSM), and Transgender (TG) representing the Community Network for Empowerment (CoNE), Manipur Network of Positive People (MNP+), All Manipur Nupimanbi Association (AMANA), Social Awareness and Service Organisation (SASO), Dedicated Peoples Union (DPU) from various parts of the state took part in the interaction and shared their experiences. They narrated incidents of violation of their rights in inheritance, abuse from law enforcement and sought justice.

Speaking to the gathering, Guneshwor Sharma said that the Manipur State legal Services Authority  has been set up with an aim to protect the constitutional rights of all human beings, vulnerable communities in particular. They can approach MASLSA in Imphal or District Legal Services Authorities (DLSA) in districts concerned for grievance redressal.

“The government provides free legal aid services to the marginalized and vulnerable populations across the state. Apart from providing free legal aid, the organization will also strive for legal literacy among the needy,” he added.

Dr. Shailesh Kumar Chourasia, Project Director, Manipur State AIDS Control Society, emphasized the need for a concerted effort, “All stakeholders need to work together so that vulnerable communities access legal aid without difficulty and that their rights respected”. Underlining  difficulties faced by communities in accessing legal aid, Dr. Chourasia suggested setting up of ‘nodal points’. NGOs, community networks and agencies working with these communities can serve as nodal points to bridge the legal services-community gap, he added.

Speaking on the occasion Lalboi from CoNE narrated how he was being deprived of his share to his ancestral property. “My father passed away before I was born and my mother remarried when I was a kid. My paternal uncle has sold our ancestral land and settled in a different locality. I have been  denied a share to the land on the pretext that I am a drug user and will be looked after. Today I stay with my maternal relatives”.

Sharing during the consultation a transgender said, “A police team picked up two of us while we  were coming back after a NGO related survey in 2006. It was already dark. We were taken to their barrack in Imphal and made to dance. We were later dropped at the place  from where we were picked up after being sexually abused”.

Responding to incidents of rights violation by police personnel, a police officer who took part in the consultation said that the police department has stringent measures in place to address this issue.

Encouraging members of vulnerable communities to approach the police in such cases he informed that personnel involved in such activities are booked depending on severity of the crime one has committed.

Tombi (name changed), deprived of her right to inheritance and living with HIV/AIDS learnt that  her brother-in-law had mortgaged her homestead without informing her. “I came to know of it 4/5 years after it was mortgaged. Every time I raise this issue I face hostility and indifference from my brother and sister-in-law. I don’t have any document to claim my right. I am afraid and want to  settle this amicably”.

The community representatives emphasized that stigma and their identity of being drug users, transgendered people or People living with HIV either criminalized them or made them vulnerable to stigma and discrimination. In these circumstances, accessing legal redress is a challenge.

Key recommendations emerging from the Consultation include- MASLSA recommend action against any official or person not complying with the law or direct government to implement its  programmatic commitments made to marginal communities to secure right to health and life, give appropriate directives to the law enforcement and take cognizance of cases of violence faced by the marginalized communities, direct drug rehabilitation centers and other healthcare facilities  to ensure human rights are respected, patients are not forced or abused during treatment and treatment is accordance with the guidelines established by the Department of Social Welfare, initiate interactions between marginalized communities and legal aid centres across the districts in  Manipur, provide timely access to legal counseling for these marginalized communities through legal aid cells, under the leadership of MASLSA initiate training for members of the community in legal rights across the districts of Manipur, include members of the marginalized communities into the Peer Legal Volunteer initiative so that communities are able to access timely legal aid.

The Manipur State Legal Services Authority started functioning in 1995. Under MASLSA there are presently four Legal Aid Clinics in Manipur- LMS Law College, Imphal, Royal Academy of Law, Oinam, Chierap court complex, Imphal, and in Malom.