Legal awareness camps for the military community in the offing in India

Hon. Virender Singh
Chairman
Armed Forces Tribunal

The Chairperson of the Armed Forces Tribunal, Justice Virender Singh, who is a former Chief Justice for the High Court of the State of Jharkhand in India, has initiated the process for holding legal awareness camps for military veterans, military widows and their families regarding the various schemes and entitlements available to them. He has proposed that legal awareness should be given a fillip in the defence community, starting with the North Eastern regions of India, in conjunction with the Department of Ex-Servicemen Welfare of the Ministry of Defence, which is expected to fructify soon.

Justice Singh has been a longstanding proponent of Legal Aid Services and was recently conferred with the Capital Foundation National Award in recognition of his outstanding contribution in the field at Delhi. He has remained associated with the Legal Services Authority while he was serving as a High Court Judge in the State of Jammu & Kashmir and then as the Chief Justice of the Jharkhand High Court where he was the Patron-in-Chief of the Jharkhand Legal Services Authority.

Legal Services in India refers to provisioning of Legal Aid to the needy who cannot afford legal assistance. Legal Services Authorities are statutory bodies created by legislative action and the system draws its spirit from Article 39A of the Constitution of India.