Section 19 in Himachal Pradesh State Legal Services Authority Regulations, 1996
19. Disposal of applications.
(1)On receipt of an application for legal aid or advice, in the case of High Court Committee or District Authority, the Secretary and in the case of Taluka Committee, the Chairman of the Taluka Committee shall scrutinise the application for the purpose of deciding whether the applicant is deserving of legal aid in accordance with the provisions of these Regulations and for the purpose of arriving at such decision, he may require the applicant to submit further information as may be necessary and also discuss the matter personally with the applicant and in doing so he shall have regard to the fact that the applicant belongs to a weaker section of the Community and is required to be assisted even in the matter of obtaining legal aid. The application shall be processed as early as possible and preferably within one week.(2)The Legal Services Authority/Committee to which application is made shall consider the application and decide desirability of granting application and its decision to give or refuse legal aid shall be final.(3)Where it is decided not to give legal aid to an applicant, the reasons for not doing so shall be entered in the Register of applications maintained by the Authority/Committee and information in writing to that effect shall be communicated to the applicant.(4)No application for legal aid or advice shall be allowed, if the Authority/Committee is satisfied that :-(a)the applicant has knowingly made false statement or furnished false information as regards his means or place of residence; or(b)in a proceeding, other than the one relating to criminal prosecution, there is no prima facie case to institute, or as the case may be, to defend the proceeding; or(c)the application is frivolous or fictitious; or(d)the applicant is not entitled to the same under regulation 17 or any other provision of these regulations; or(e)having regard to all the circumstances of the case, it is otherwise not reasonable to grant it.
