The Secretary, DLSA or TLSC may assign one or more POS to operate the legal services offices. Reasonable expenses incurred by paralegal volunteers, e.g. bus/train costs, postage, telephone charges, etc., may be reimbursed by TLSC/DLSA/SLSA upon presentation of evidence. Travel expenses limited to the lowest grades by road, train or steamboat to legal aid recipients provided by volunteer paralegals may also be reimbursed at the discretion of the Chair. Paralegal volunteers who assist with legal literacy classes and camps. POS are not only supposed to raise awareness of the laws and the legal system, but they must also be trained to self-advise and amicably resolve simple disputes between parties at the source. This could avoid those affected having to go to the legal services authority or alternative dispute resolution centres. If the dispute is of such a nature that it cannot be resolved at source with the help of the LCVs, they could refer these parties to the alternative dispute resolution centres, where they could be referred to the Lok Adalat or mediation centre with the assistance of the relevant secretary, or legal assistance could be provided for the decision before a court; depending on the nature of the problem. If the POS receives information about the arrest of a person on the spot, it goes to the police station and ensures that the arrested person receives legal assistance, if necessary through the nearest legal aid structures.
In view of the illiteracy of much of the Community, the Western concept of “paralegals” cannot be fully transferred to Indian conditions: the hours of training that apply to a regular academic course cannot be covered. It should be more of a bridging course, designed in a simple, needs-based module. POS must be trained in the basics of various laws that are at the local level in terms of daily life, the subtle nuances applied in the work of a judicial system and the functioning of various other interest groups such as the police, officials of the Ministry of Social Affairs, the Department of Women and Child Welfare and other departments dealing with various useful systems of central and state governments. including the protection officers concerned. with laws on domestic violence and juvenile justice. Although the NALSA POS training program initially included the Legal Brotherhood of Lawyers, experience later showed that this was not feasible due to conflicts with the lawyers` professional status. The fact that marginalized people living in remote locations do not benefit from lawyers` POS has also contributed to the cessation of the practice and NALSA has decided that lawyers should not be recruited or hired as POS. Paralegal volunteers ensure that publicity material about legal services activities is posted in prominent locations within their area of practice. VLPs report child rights violations, child labour, missing children and trafficking in girls to the nearest legal aid centres or to the Child Welfare Board. VLPs visit prisons, prisons, psychiatric hospitals, children`s homes/observation homes with appropriate permission from the DLSA/TLSC and determine prisoners` needs for legal services and inform the relevant authorities of the lack of basic necessities, with particular emphasis on hygiene.
The District Legal Services Department maintains a registry of paralegal volunteers, which is regularly updated. The directory contains the contact details of volunteer paralegals of the district authority and taluk/mandal/subdivision committees, their names, addresses, telephone/mobile phone numbers, electronic identifier (if available), number and expiry date of the issued identity card. POPs that bring legal aid applicants from remote villages to taluk/district level legal aid centers and district ADR centers are also entitled to a fee for that day at the same rate. In 2009, the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) launched a program called the Para-Legal Volunteers Scheme, which aimed to provide legal training to selected volunteers from different settings to ensure that legal aid reached all populations through the Paralegal Volunteers Program process. Ultimately, barriers to access to justice will be removed. Paralegal volunteers (POS) are supposed to act as intermediaries to bridge the gap between ordinary people and legal service institutions to remove barriers to access to justice. Ultimately, the process is intended to ensure that legal service institutions reach the people at their doorsteps and not the people who turn to those legal service institutions. Paralegal volunteers assist DLSA/TLSC in organizing legal awareness camps in their area of operation. POS, in consultation with the nearest legal aid structures in the area where they operate, organize microlegal literacy camps by organizing legal literacy classes for small groups of people, including workers, women, children who are members of SC/ST, etc.
It is the duty of POS to distribute information brochures and other legal services publications The experience gained so far in operating the system after 2009 and the realities on the ground identified by paralegals in the respective jurisdictions have shown us that the whole case needs to be reinvestigated and who could best fit into the role of a volunteer paralegal. Initially, the POS training program lasted only two to three days. Since LGV obligations are inherently extended, the duration of training for LGVs should be extended. At the same time, the POS training plan adopted by NALSA cannot be such that it trains POS to become full-fledged lawyers. POS are not expected to behave like lawyers. The focus of the training should be on core human qualities such as compassion, empathy, and a sincere concern and willingness to prolong volunteering without expecting financial gain. Then, the dividing line between POS and professional lawyers should be kept eagerly. Paralegal volunteers provide information about SLSA/DLSA/TLSC/HCLSC/SCLSC legal services activities to people in their area and share their addresses with people so that they can use the free services provided by the above organizations to eligible individuals. district ADR centres.
If no alternative dispute resolution centre has been established in the district, legal aid institutions take steps to organize an appropriate alternative dispute resolution mechanism such as lok adalat, mediation, arbitration, etc. in the village itself, in coordination with POS. POS that submit such cases to the ADR procedure are entitled to the prescribed fee on the day on which this procedure takes place. Legal aid institutions at the state, district and taluk levels work in coordination with the National Committee for Paralegal Education and Legal Aid Activities established by the Chief Justice of India. All instructions given by the Honourable President of the National Committee for Paralegal Education and Legal Aid Activities are binding on all legal services in the country. The training that would be provided to LCVs would be consistent with the NALSA-mandated curriculum and would take the form of: Under the supervision of the President of DLSA, POPs would undergo a training program that would be fully under the control of the Secretary of Membership. Training will take place at an appropriate location at the discretion of the DLSA President. The number of POS to be trained in a training program at any given time cannot exceed 50. Wherever the State Judicial Academy has training facilities, they can be used.