Delhi High Court Asks DSLSA Committee To Consider Giving Preference To 3rd-Year Law Students In Para Legal Volunteers Selection
The Delhi High Court has asked the District Legal Services Authority (DALSA) Committee responsible for selecting Para-Legal Volunteers (PLVs) to consider giving preference to third-year law students, noting that they would be passing out soon. [2026 LiveLaw (Del) 779]
Justice Jasmeet Singh requested the Committee to conclude the selection procedure for PLVs as per the extant rules and regulation at the earliest.
It reasoned that the same will enable law students, who are in their 2nd and 3rd years, can be selected as PLVs.
The Court made the observation while dealing with a plea filed by two law students of the Faculty of Law, Delhi University, seeking their induction as PLVs with the DSLSA.
They challenged a communication issued by the DSLSA on April 21 concerning the PLV training programme. They sought directions for the training of provisionally selected law students to be conducted in a time-bound manner.
The plea also sought formulation of fresh, uniform and transparent guidelines for the induction and functioning of PLVs.
The law students, appearing in person, contended that the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) Scheme for PLVs, read with Regulation 5(4) of the NALSA (Legal Aid Clinics) Regulations, 2011, provides for the induction of law students as PLVs.
They submitted that the Legal Aid Societies of Campus Law Centre and Law Centre-II, along with the Delhi University, had conducted a selection process in September last year, pursuant to which a list of selected candidates was forwarded to the DSLSA on October 28, 2025.
However, they claimed that second and third-year law students were not recruited as PLVs, despite there being more than 600 PLV vacancies with the DSLSA.
The Court was informed that, after the list of selected students was forwarded, the DSLSA indicated that a valedictory function would be organised around November 21 to 23, 2025 to initiate their training schedule. However, the programme was later put on hold.
On the other hand, the counsel appearing for the DSLSA referred to the NALSA Scheme for Para-Legal Volunteers (Revised), which permits selection of PLVs from several categories, including teachers, retired government servants and senior citizens, social work students and teachers, doctors, students and law students, members of NGOs and other persons considered suitable by the District Legal Services Authority or Taluk Legal Services Committee.
Perusing the Scheme, the Court said that it provides for around ten streams from which PLVs can be selected and that “Students & Law Students (till they enroll as lawyers)” constitute only one of the feeder cadre.
It further noted that there is no fixed proportion as to the number of PLVs to be selected from any particular stream.
In this backdrop, Justice Singh said that the appropriate direction would be to request the committee to conclude the selection process for PLVs in accordance with the existing rules and regulations at the earliest.
Thereafter, the Court was also informed that, after eligible candidates are shortlisted for training, a committee chaired by the Chairman of the DSLSA undertakes the selection of the candidates considered most appropriate for PLV training.
On this, the Court ordered: “In this view of the matter, the only instruction that can be issued in the present case is a request to the Committee to conclude the selection procedure for PLVs as per the extant rules and regulation at the earliest, so as to enable law students who are in their 2nd and 3rd year of their courses to be selected as PLVs.”
It added: “Since the 3rd year students would be passing out soon, it is expected that the Committee shall keep the same in mind and hopefully give them preference.”
The Court said that it is expected that the exercise be completed within one month.
Title: Sidharth Yadav & Anr. v. Delhi State Legal Services Authority & Ors
Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (Del) 779