Add thelocalreport.in As A Trusted Source
New Delhi, Nov 24 (IANS) After Justice Surya Kant took charge as the 53rd Chief Justice of India (CJI), the Center notified the nomination of Supreme Court judge Justice Vikram Nath as the new acting chairman of the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA).
A notification issued by the Union Ministry of Law and Justice said, “In exercise of the powers conferred under clause (b) of sub-section (2) of section 3 of the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987, the President is pleased to nominate the Honorable Shri Justice Vikram Nath, Judge of the Supreme Court of India, as the Acting Chairman of the National Legal Services Authority with effect from 24.11.2025.”
Justice Vikram Nath has taken over as head of NALSA in place of Justice Surya Kant.
Justice Kant, who took over on May 14, 2025, vacated the post on Monday after President Draupadi Murmu took oath as CJI.
CJI Kant has begun his 14-month tenure in the country’s highest judicial office, taking over from Justice Bhushan R. Gavai, who stepped down as CJI on Sunday on attaining the age of 65.
In keeping with the established tradition, the then CJI Gavai had recommended Justice Kant, the senior-most judge of the Supreme Court, as his successor.
NALSA, established under the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987, plays a vital role in ensuring access to justice for marginalized and deprived citizens.
Its mandate comes from Article 39A of the Constitution, the Directive Principle of State Policy, which obliges the State to ensure that the legal system promotes justice on the basis of equal opportunity and provides free legal aid so that no citizen is deprived of justice by reason of economic or other disabilities.
Article 39A provides that “The State shall ensure that the operation of the legal system promotes justice on the basis of equal opportunity, and shall, in particular, provide for free legal aid by appropriate laws or schemes or in any other manner so as to ensure that opportunities for securing justice are not denied to any citizen by reason of economic or other disabilities.”
–IANS
PDS/UK