In India, Legal Services Authorities provide free legal services to which of the following type of citizens?
- 1.Person with an annual income of less than ₹ 1,00,000
- 2.Transgender with an annual income of less than ₹ 2,00,000
- 3.Member of Other Backward Classes (OBC) with an annual income of less than ₹ 3,00,000
- 4.All Senior Citizens
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
Answer & explanation
Answer: (a) 1 and 2 only
Section 12 of the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 lists who gets free legal aid: SC/ST members, women, children, persons with disability, industrial workmen, persons in custody and people below an income ceiling set by the State. Low-income persons and transgender persons within the prescribed ceilings qualify; being OBC is not a category, and senior citizens qualify only as State rules allow.
- ✓ 1. Section 12 covers anyone whose annual income is below the ceiling the State prescribes; most States' ceilings are ₹1,00,000 or higher, so a person earning less than ₹1 lakh qualifies.
- ✓ 2. Delhi's legal aid rules give transgender persons a separate, higher income ceiling (NALSA now lists ₹4,00,000 for Delhi), so a transgender person earning under ₹2 lakh is eligible.
- ✗ 3. Section 12 names Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, not Other Backward Classes. An OBC person qualifies only through another category, such as the income ceiling, not because of being OBC.
- ✗ 4. NALSA says senior citizens' eligibility depends on each State's rules; Delhi, for example, gives it only below an income ceiling. So not all senior citizens qualify.
Remember · Free legal aid (Section 12, Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987): SC/ST, women, children, disabled, trafficking victims, industrial workmen, persons in custody, disaster victims, and persons below a State-set income ceiling.
Sources
- National Legal Services Authority (NALSA), FAQs: who is entitled to free legal services under Section 12 ↗ “A member of a Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe (on producing a certificate in this regard); A victim of trafficking in human beings or begar as referred to in Article 23 of the Constitution of India 1950; A woman or a child … Senior citizens’ eligibility for free legal aid depends on the rules framed by the respective State Governments in this regard. … 34. Delhi General –Rs. 3,00,000, Senior citizen- Rs. 4,00,000, Transgender – Rs. 4,00,000”
Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2020, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). ·