TN Legal Services Authority has now 16 legal aid clinics for HIV positives

Legal aid clinics for the HIV infected is catching up well in the State that 11 clinics were opened on Wednesday, making 16 clinics in 16 districts of the State well served by free legal services and counseling for the positive persons.

Tamil Nadu Legal Services Authority, in association with the Tamil Nadu State AIDS Control Authority inaugurated 11 centres on Wednesday, inaugurated by the Chief Justice of the Madras High Court H L Gokhale, Patron-in-Chief, TN State Legal Authirity.

Mr. Justice Elipe Dharmarao, Executive Chairman of the Legal Services Authority, Mr. Justice Jeyapaul, Member, Lok Adalat, Mr. Justice T. Mathivanan, Member-Secretary, State Legal Services Authority and Health Secretary V K Subburaj and others participated.

The 11 centres -- at Chennai, Dharmapuri, Villupuram, Krishnagiri, Salem, Tiruchi, Tirupur, Karur, Theni, Tuticorin and Kanyakumari-- inaugurated will be manned by an advocate and counsellor appointed by the Legal Services Authority. Each clinic will be set up at a cost of Rs.2 lakh, received as funding from the National AIDS Control Organisation.

Earlier five clinics were set up in Namakkal, Dindigul, Madurai, Cuddalore and Tirunelveli districts and they have so far received a total of 1,913 non-legal and 432 legal petitions. Of these, 270 legal petitions and 1,011 non-legal cases have been settled, according to official figures.

A substantial percentage of the clients at the legal aid clinics were women. In several instances, disputes have been settled at the mere instance of the counsellor, even before taking the legal route. Completely free services will be provided at these clinics, said Mr. T. Mathvanan, Member-Secretary, Tamil Nadu Legal Services Authority.

The Legal aid clinics are meant to directly address issues of people living with HIV/AIDS, especially widows, destitute women and children, with sensitivity. They are a step in the direction of providing easy access to legal services wherever anyone has been wronged, or there is a denial of services, according to the policy note.

There has been a great demand from the districts for such clinics, especially since the first five clinics were able to redress the grievances of people who were infected with HIV and could not afford legal services,” S. Vijayakumar, Project Director, TANSACS, said.

Mostly, cases concerning property disputes, alimony and inter-familial disputes come up at the clinics.

- Asian Tribune -