Srinagar/New Delhi, July 23: More than 7.63 lakh pre-litigation legal consultations have been provided in Jammu and Kashmir under the Centre’s Tele-Law initiative, with the Union Government extending the legal aid programme as DISHA 2.0 for another five years following a positive independent impact assessment.
Replying to a question in the Rajya Sabha, Union Minister for Law and Justice Arjun Ram Meghwal said the erstwhile DISHA Scheme (2021-26) had been independently evaluated by the Quality Council of India (QCI), which found the scheme relevant. Based on the assessment, the government has approved DISHA 2.0 for nationwide implementation from 2026 to 2031, including in Jammu and Kashmir.
The minister said that as of June 30, 2026, 7,63,148 pre-litigation legal advice sessions had been delivered in the Union Territory by five panel lawyers through the Tele-Law platform, with services facilitated via Common Service Centres (CSCs) at the panchayat level.
He said eight Nyaya Sahayaks, deployed across 10 Aspirational Blocks in Jammu and Kashmir, had also registered 1,222 calls to strengthen legal service delivery at the grassroots.
The Tele-Law service enables citizens to seek free pre-litigation legal advice from panel lawyers through a mobile application, the toll-free number 14454, and video conferencing facilities available at CSCs.
Under the Nyaya Bandhu programme, which promotes pro bono legal services, 197 advocates registered with the Bar Council of Jammu and Kashmir were enrolled on the portal as of June 30, 2026, to provide free legal assistance to eligible beneficiaries.
The minister said DISHA 2.0 will continue to provide technology-enabled legal services through its four components—Tele-Law, Nyaya Bandhu, Legal Literacy and Legal Awareness Programme, and VIDHI-Sanjeevani, an integrated digital dashboard designed to monitor programme implementation and service delivery in real time.
The VIDHI-Sanjeevani platform will also integrate with the Nyaya Setu AI Chatbot to provide AI-enabled legal assistance, with the Centre targeting outreach to 50 lakh beneficiaries across the country during the 2026-31 period.
