The National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) has directed all State Legal Services Authorities not to renew the contracts of Legal Aid Defence Counsels (LADCs) as their existing tenures expire, pending a comprehensive review of the Legal Aid Defense Counsel System (LADCS) Scheme.

In a communication dated August 4, 2026, Member Secretary Sanjiv Pandey informed all State Legal Services Authorities that the direction follows representations received from Bar Associations in Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Chandigarh regarding the implementation of the LADCS Scheme.

The letter states that a meeting was held on August 3, 2026, where the competent authority urged representatives of the concerned Bar Associations to provide specific and constructive suggestions on operational loopholes in the scheme, as a committee is already examining revisions to the LADCS Scheme.

Pending completion of the review, NALSA has directed that the contracts of Legal Aid Defence Counsels in Punjab, Haryana and the Union Territory of Chandigarh shall not be renewed from September 2026 onwards. It has further directed that, in all other States and Union Territories, contracts shall not be renewed upon completion of their existing contractual tenure.

As an interim arrangement, the communication directs District Judges to assign legal aid matters to members of the Bar, preferably young lawyers, until the revised framework is finalised.