Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Law and Justice Arjun Ram Meghwal will on Monday, 16 June 2025, launch a year-long legal awareness campaign and chair discussions on expanding access to justice at a regional workshop in Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh. The event marks a significant push by the Department of Justice to deepen legal literacy across India's underserved communities.

About the Regional Workshop

The workshop is being held under the DISHA (Designing Innovative Solutions for Holistic Access to Justice) Scheme, a Central Sector Scheme administered by the Ministry of Law and Justice with an overall financial outlay of ₹250 crore. The scheme is designed to deliver comprehensive, integrated legal services across the country, with a focus on making justice citizen-centric, inclusive, and technologically accessible.

Himachal Pradesh Governor Kavinder Gupta, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, and Department of Justice Secretary Niraj Verma are among the dignitaries expected to attend the inaugural session. Verma will deliver the welcome address, outlining the vision behind the workshop and the department's ongoing reform agenda.

Nyaya Prabodh: What the Campaign Entails

The centrepiece of the event is the formal launch of 'Nyaya Prabodh – Awakening to Justice', a year-long initiative aimed at deepening citizens' understanding of their Constitutional and legal rights and responsibilities. According to an official statement, the campaign seeks to strengthen legal literacy and encourage greater public participation in the justice delivery ecosystem.

Several citizen-centric activities will be rolled out under the initiative. These include 'Know Your Rights in 90 Seconds', a rapid-format awareness campaign targeting everyday legal remedies, and a 'Nyaya Quiz' focused on Constitutional values, legal institutions, and citizens' rights — with particular emphasis on youth and students.

A 'Pro Bono Pledge' will also be administered at the event, encouraging advocates, law students, and legal professionals to voluntarily contribute their expertise for the benefit of underprivileged and vulnerable sections of society.

Role of Himachal Pradesh National Law University

The programme will feature a dedicated segment on pro bono initiatives undertaken by Himachal Pradesh National Law University (HPNLU), with faculty members and students sharing on-ground experiences from community legal service projects. This signals an effort to institutionalise law school participation in public legal outreach — a model that has gained traction in several states over the past decade.

Who Will Participate

The workshop is expected to draw officials from the High Court registry, the National and State Legal Services Authorities, members of the Bar Association of the High Court, Tele-Law Panel Lawyers, Village Level Entrepreneurs (VLEs) from Common Service Centres (CSC), representatives from the Ministry of Rural Development, and faculty and students from leading law institutions across the region.

This is part of a broader pattern of regional outreach workshops the Department of Justice has been conducting to showcase reforms undertaken in the justice sector over the last 12 years. The Dharamshala edition is among the first under the DISHA Scheme's current operational phase, and its outcomes are expected to inform similar events in other states going forward.