![]()
RLEK has always worked towards empowering indigenous groups, marginalized populations, women and children to claim their rights and entitlements. This mission led to the birth of the Legal Cell at RLEK.
The Legal Cell through researches and trainings aims towards inspiring the confidence of public in administration of justice, inculcating a spirit of righteousness so that there is adherence to law and ensures interaction with system managers. The team comprises of a group of lawyers and experts in law who work towards a common goal of achieving a just and sustainable society.
The National Legal Services Authority has entrusted RLEK with the responsibility of establishing "Nodal Center for Legal Literacy and Legal Training for the States of Uttaranchal & Himachal Pradesh." conducting "Legal literacy camps for the empowerment of elected women Panchayati Raj Representatives, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes" and "Training of paralegals". These programmes aim at spreading legal literacy amongst the people living in inaccessible areas of the States of Uttaranchal and Himachal Pradesh. RLEK is conducting legal literacy camps, providing free legal aid to the needy and is also training paralegals.
The magnanimous task of conducting a study for the fourteen North-Indian States on "Jurisprudence of Panchayati Raj Institutions" was entrusted to RLEK, initiated by the Ministry of Panchayati Raj, Government of India and funded by the United Nations Development Programme. This study aimed at evolving and enriching Panchayati Raj Jurisprudence.
The study involved:
Identifying the provisions inconsistent with the 73rd Constitutional Amendment,
In-depth analysis of the judgments pronounced by the Supreme Court and High Courts on various matters pertaining to the Panchayats.
Review of the enactments that have a direct bearing on the functions earmarked for Panchayats by the Eleventh Schedule to the Constitution.
Study on the Panchayat (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996 to assess the conformity of the State Legislations with PESA.
Providing recommendations along with remedial action for the effective functioning of the Panchayati Raj system.
One of the major tasks undertaken by this cell was the Compilation, Categorization and Analysis of Supreme Court and various High Court Judgments from February 1993 to April 2003 on Panchayati Raj. This study was supported by the National Institute of Rural Development, Hyderabad.