A dynamic and activist legal system needs not just fine courts and competent lawyers but a legally aware citizenry as well. In India, the judiciary has a double function—both as a guardian of justice and also as an instrument of legal awareness generation and education. The Jharkhand High Court, based in Ranchi, has been a leader in this mission since its establishment in the year 2000. Besides dispensing justice, it has done a remarkable job of disseminating legal information and enhancing law literacy in the state.
This blog discusses the multi-faceted role of the Jharkhand High Court in ushering in legal education and legal awareness through activities like legal aid camps, drives of awareness, cooperation with law universities, schemes of training, and judicial outreach among marginalized sections.
1. Legal Education: Beyond the Classroom
The Role of the Judiciary in Legal Education
The Jharkhand High Court has endeavored hard to collaborate with law schools to provide quality legal education. Being aware of the fact that the legal profession is the backbone of justice dispensation, the court encourages intellectual growth among law students and practitioners.
Key Contributions:
- Organizing guest lectures and seminars by judges and veteran advocates in law universities.
- Offering internship schemes for law students in the High Court and subordinate courts.
- Providing judicial exposure to students of universities like the National University of Study and Research in Law (NUSRL), Ranchi.
- Inspiring moot court competitions with real legal cases adjudicated by sitting judges.
This experiential method bridges the gap between study and law enforcement.
2. establishment of Legal Services Authorities
All the states in India have been commanded by the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 to establish legal services institutions. The High Court played a key role in initiating the Jharkhand State Legal Services Authority (JHALSA).
What is JHALSA?
JHALSA is a statutorily constituted organization that operates under the umbrella of the High Court. JHALSA is mandated to:
- Providing free legal aid to eligible citizens
- Organizing legal awareness campaigns in rural areas
- Organizing Lok Adalats (People’s Courts) for prompt disposal of cases
- Legal education to the people about their rights and duties
The Patron-in-Chief of JHALSA is the Chief Justice of the Jharkhand High Court, highlighting direct judiciary participation in legal outreach.
3. Legal Literacy and Awareness Campaigns
One of the greatest roles played by the Jharkhand High Court is imparting legal literacy to all walks of society, especially in tribal and rural areas where there exists a lack of awareness.
Promotion of Legal Awareness:
- Legal Literacy Camps: Held in villages and small towns, these camps give people an awareness about basic rights, consumer rights, laws against women’s security, and many more.
- Street Plays and Nukkad Natak: Legal concepts are explained through traditional modes of communication in local languages.
- School and College Workshops: The High Court promotes awareness programs for young minds.
- Publications and Pamphlets: JHALSA and the High Court release leaflets and brochures on topics like domestic violence, dowry laws, child labor, and cybercrime.
These campaigns are access-oriented, simplicity-oriented, and inclusivity-oriented, so that they reach the illiterate also so that they can understand their rights and make use of accessible legal redress.
4. Legal Aid Clinics in Educational Institutions
Jharkhand High Court has motivated the initiation of legal aid clinics in law colleges, facilitated by technical as well as legal inputs from JHALSA. The clinics are twofold in purpose:
- Provide pro bono legal assistance to the immediate neighborhood
- Enable law students to engage in experiential legal service
By using such clinics, teacher-staffers along with students advise cases like disputes regarding property, tenancy rights, family issues, and civil rights—kept under close guidance of legal practitioners.
Such an approach creates a network of judicial support systems operating at the grass-root level on the strength provided by the judiciary.
5. Lok Adalats and Their Awareness Impact
The Jharkhand High Court has been holding Lok Adalats (People’s Courts) from time to time, which are unofficial courts in which parties resolve disputes amicably.
Effect of Awareness through Lok Adalats:
- The citizen learns about the alternative mechanism of dispute resolution.
- Encourages people to approach the judiciary without fear of undue delay and expense.
- Act as a teaching tool for the community to educate them regarding their rights.
Celebrating National Lok Adalat Days with publicized awareness campaigns is one of the High Court’s proposals to increase the level of participation of citizens in resolving disputes.
6. Special Focus on Marginalized Sections
Jharkhand has a sizeable tribal population and a sizeable rural population. These sections are generally plagued by illiteracy, language differences, and denial of access.
Judicial Outreach to the Marginalized:
- Tribal rights awareness programs
- Legal camps in backward and naxal-affected districts
- Mobile vans carrying legal professionals to remote villages
- Empowering women, children, and the elderly through specialized legal sessions
The Jharkhand High Court makes legal information inclusive and participatory, ensuring equality in justice.
7. Judicial Colloquiums and Capacity Building
The High Court organizes judicial colloquiums—interactive forums where judges, lawyers, scholars, and law enforcement personnel deliberate on significant legal issues. Topics include:
- Gender justice and women’s rights
- Juvenile justice laws
- Cybercrime and digital privacy
- Environmental and forest rights
These forums contribute to the repository of legal knowledge of experts along with usually containing aspects of public awareness in the form of reports and press releases.
8. Public Observance of Legal Days
For further popularizing the law among the people, the Jharkhand High Court observes:
- Legal Services Day (November 9)
- National Consumer Day
- International Women’s Day
- World Environment Day
These observations are preceded by:
- Panel discussions
- Essay writing competitions for students
- Awareness rallies
- Free legal counseling counters
They bring law school into public consciousness, out of the courtroom and into the community.
9. Use of Online Platforms for Legal Literacy
With digital access spreading all across Jharkhand, the High Court and JHALSA have begun using online platforms to reach more people:
- Hosting webinars on legal rights and obligations
- Posting educational videos on YouTube and social media
- Offering legal advice on online chat platforms
- Creating interactive apps for legal assistance
These websites make the law more accessible to people, 24/7 access and simple information dissemination, especially among youth.
10. Paralegal Volunteer (PLV) Training
The High Court offers training and mobilization of Paralegal Volunteers—non-professionals instructed in basic concepts of law to serve poor communities.
Their Work Includes:
- Spreading legal awareness among villagers
- Assisting documentation in legal aid cases
- Accompanying victims to courts and police stations
- Assisting in solving local disputes
The PLV scheme is the High Court’s strongest grassroots programme, extending the court’s reach beyond the walls into areas of convenient access.
11. Awareness By Court Orders
Through rulings in numerous historic cases, the Jharkhand High Court has used its rulings as tools of public awareness. The word choice used in these rulings, the attention it garners from press, and also judicial assertiveness are all tools in bringing to the forefront:
- Basic rights
- Responsibility of government
- Environmental protection
- Children and women’s welfare
Such judicial activism ensures that the court rulings resonate outside the courtroom into society.
12. NGO and Civil Society Coordination
The High Court, through JHALSA, often coordinates with bar associations, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and local governments in order to coordinate legal awareness campaigns.
These unions make legal education more localized as well as culture-sensitive, particularly in areas containing tribal populations or alternative dialects.
Conclusion
The Jharkhand High Court has a powerful impact on legal awareness among the citizens of the state. It does so not just by virtue of its judgments, but through a wide array of awareness and education initiatives.
By financing legal aid clinics, promoting student involvement, bridging the gap with marginalized communities, and embracing technology, the High Court ensures that justice is not merely handed down—but also understood.
In a democratic society, knowledge about rights is as important as the right itself. The Jharkhand High Court’s unflinching commitment to legal education and awareness becomes a foundation stone in building a legally empowered citizenry.
What is the most important role of the High Court?
The majority of the work of the Court is concerned with the hearing of appeals against rulings of other courts. There is no right to have an appeal heard by the High Court and parties who want to appeal must convince the Court at a preliminary hearing that there are special reasons to make the appeal be heard.
What is the rule 159 of the Jharkhand High Court Rules?
Rule 159 of the Jharkhand High Court Rules, 2001 provides that a convicted person shall surrender into the custody of the court prior to making a revision application against his conviction and sentence.
What is the role of the court in providing justice?
To Provide Justice to the people: The initial and prime role of the judiciary is to provide justice to the people, whenever they may seek it. It imposes punishment on the individuals who, after trial, are proved guilty of breaching the laws of the state or the rights of the people.
