Legal Awareness and Legal Aid Camp

 

Legal Aid Cell, SRM School of Law, SRMIST

24 October 2026 | Guruvanmedu Village, Chengalpattu District

 

 

Overview and purpose

The Legal Awareness and Legal Aid Camp at Guruvanmedu Village brought together village residents, law students, faculty members, advocates and local representatives to discuss legal concerns and improve access to legal guidance. The programme combined an inaugural session, student skits and interaction with practising advocates. Residents raised questions, and the advocates clarified their concerns and suggested possible solutions. The event concluded with lunch.

The camp was organised jointly by the Legal Aid Committee of SRM School of Law, NSS Unit 9 of the NSS Cell, SRMIST, the Centre for Environment Law and Sustainability, and Unnat Bharat Abhiyan. It was conducted under the guidance of Prof. (Dr.) Y. S. R. Murthy, Pro Vice-Chancellor (Law), SRMIST, and Prof. (Dr.) Indranath Gupta, Dean, SRM School of Law.

The objectives were to familiarise residents with legal rights and available support, provide an opportunity to seek free guidance from advocates, and connect legal education with community needs. For the students, the camp offered exposure to public concerns and the responsibilities involved in legal service and social outreach.

 

Participation and local representation

Participant group	Attendance
Students	60
Village members	80
Advocates	2
Faculty members	10

The Village Head, Mr. Dhanapal, and the Village Administrative Officer (VAO) were present. Their participation connected the outreach programme with local community leadership and village administration. The two advocate resource persons were Adv. U. Parvathavathini and Adv. A. Manoj Kumar of the Chengalpattu Bar Association.

Faculty members in attendance

The faculty members named in the attendance details were Mr. M. Jai Ganesh, Dr. Raj Khanna, Dr. Mahit Vidyasagar, Dr. Udhaya Karthika, Ms. Sudharshana Jha, Dr. Pushpam, Dr. Divya S., Mrs. Logapriya, Mrs. Parvathy K., and Dr. Arthy S.T. , from Engineering and Technology, who represented Unnat Bharat Abhiyan. Total faculty participation was ten.

 

Inaugural session and presidential address

The programme commenced at 10:45 a.m. with Tamil Thai Vaazhthu. Mr. M. Jai Ganesh, Assistant Dean, SRM School of Law, delivered the welcome address. The opening session brought together the institutional representatives, advocates, village leadership, faculty members, students and residents.

Prof. (Dr.) Y. S. R. Murthy, Pro Vice-Chancellor (Law), SRMIST, graced the event and delivered the presidential address. He emphasised the importance of hosting social outreach events. His address placed the camp within the wider responsibility of educational institutions to engage with society and take academic knowledge to the community.

The significance of this message was especially relevant to legal education. A village outreach programme creates opportunities for students to understand how legal questions arise in everyday life and why accessible communication matters. It also provides a setting in which faculty members and legal professionals can engage directly with people who seek clarification about their rights and concerns.

Student participation and felicitation of guests

The programme included an address by a student volunteer and the introduction and felicitation of the guests. The programme agenda identified Mr. Dhanapal, Guruvanmedu Village Head, Adv. U. Parvathavathini and Adv. A. Manoj Kumar for this session. The VAO was also present at the camp.

Student skits formed an important awareness component. This format provided an accessible way to introduce legal issues through situations that an audience could recognise. Alongside the advocates’ interaction, student participation supported the camp’s purpose of making legal awareness understandable to the public.

Public interaction and legal guidance

The interaction with the advocates gave residents an opportunity to put forward their clarifications and legal concerns. The lawyers addressed the public’s questions and suggested solutions. This exchange was the practical legal aid component of the camp, linking general awareness with guidance on the concerns raised by residents.

The value of the session lay in the opportunity for direct discussion with practising advocates. Residents could seek clarification in a community setting, while students could observe how legal professionals respond to public questions. The consultation helped connect the concerns raised by residents with the legal guidance offered by the advocates.

Vote of thanks and lunch

Mrs. Parvathy K., Assistant Professor, SRM School of Law, delivered the vote of thanks. The agenda provided for interaction with the village residents after the formal programme. Following the legal consultation and interaction, the programme concluded at 1:00 p.m. with lunch.

 

Legal awareness themes

The flyer set out a broad range of subjects relevant to rural households and community welfare. These themes provided the scope of the awareness programme and a framework for public discussion.

Protection of women and children. Domestic violence, support through One Stop Centres, prevention of sexual harassment at the workplace, and protection of children from sexual offences were included in the programme themes. These subjects relate to safety, dignity and access to assistance.

Labour rights and social security. The flyer identified labour rights and new labour laws, along with government schemes such as MGNREGA, PM Awas Yojana, the National Social Assistance Programme, PM-KISAN and Ayushman Bharat. Their inclusion connected legal awareness with employment, welfare and public services.

Land and environmental concerns. Land acquisition, forest rights, patta and title documentation formed the land-related themes. Environmental protection, the National Green Tribunal, and water and air pollution laws were also listed, reflecting the relationship between legal rights, livelihoods and the local environment.

Documentation and digital access. Aadhaar, DigiLocker, e-Courts, online RTI and Digital India were included in the flyer. These topics highlighted the relevance of documentation and digital services to accessing information and public institutions.

Rights of senior citizens. The programme included the maintenance and welfare of parents and senior citizens, recognising the legal and welfare concerns of older residents.

Outcomes and inference

The documented immediate outcomes were participation by 80 village members and 60 students, engagement with two advocates, and the provision of clarifications and suggested solutions to residents. Faculty participation and the presence of the Village Head and VAO supported the university’s engagement with the village community.

Taken together, the flyer’s themes and the reported interaction suggest that the camp served two related purposes: bringing legal information closer to residents and giving students a practical setting for community-oriented learning. The combination of skits and advocate interaction offered different ways to engage with legal issues. These are educational and outreach inferences; lasting changes in legal knowledge or case outcomes would require follow-up assessment.

Suggested follow up

The Legal Aid Cell may maintain a confidential record of matters requiring further assistance, coordinate follow-up consultations where residents request them, and identify recurring concerns for future camps. A short feedback exercise with residents and students would help assess which topics were most useful and what further guidance is needed.

The camp provided a shared platform for the university, legal professionals and village community to engage on access to justice. Its completion with public consultation and lunch brought the outreach programme to a close.

Impact on villagers

The camp gave approximately 80 village residents direct access to practising advocates in a familiar community setting. Through questions and discussion, residents received clarifications about legal concerns and possible avenues for assistance. The programme promoted awareness of rights, welfare entitlements, documentation, and access to justice. Its longer-term impact, including whether residents successfully pursued remedies, would need follow-up assessment.

Impact on students

For the 60 participating law students, the outreach translated classroom concepts into community experience. Preparing and presenting awareness skits strengthened their ability to communicate legal ideas in accessible language. Observing advocates respond to public concerns offered exposure to practical problem-solving, professional responsibility, empathy and the legal needs of rural communities. The programme encouraged civic engagement and a service-oriented understanding of legal education.

Photographic documentation

Photographs from the event may be inserted in the spaces below. Captions are suggested and should be matched to the actual images before publication.

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