Exposure and learning one can get from a law internship

By: Sadyanta Rawal

Law internship helps in understanding the broader aspect of the judicial, police and the jail administration system. This further helps in developing a different perspective on society.

The Bar Council of India requires students of law to undergo a four-week internship in a year as a part of the curriculum. The internship is important for every law student as they need to gain practical exposure in the court.

Internship in District Legal Services Authority

The District Legal Services Authority (DLSA) is the lowest part of a 3-tier hierarchy of the bodies established under the District Legal Services Authority, 1987. The main purpose of this authority is to render the free legal aid and other legal services required for access to justice to the weaker sections of the society which includes poor people, a person belongs to SC/ST community, women and children.

Eligibility of Internship

The eligibility criteria for the internship under the District Legal Services Authority is given below:

1. The student must be pursuing graduation/ post-graduation from a recognised college/university in India
2. The student must be a bonafide student of that college/ university
3. Any other eligibility which may vary from state to state

Period of Internship

Generally, the period of the internship is two weeks, however, this might extend up to four weeks on the approval of Chairman or Secretary, DLSA.

Application Process

The applicant could apply directly to the DLSA concern in which they want to do the internship along with their resume and cover letter. The applicant could also apply by sending the resume and cover letter on the email id of the DLSA.

Projects Undertaken in Internship

The internship mainly focuses on the field visits to provide practical knowledge and experience to the intern. The field visit includes visiting the following:

1. District Courts: It provides practical exposure to the working of the court. This includes the proceedings under the Hindu Maintenance and Guardianship Act, POCSO Act, Special Courts under Women and Children and the Negotiable Instruments Act.
2. Police Station: A field visit to Police Station is conducted to provide practical knowledge about various aspects covered by the police such as Investigation, Filing of FIR, etc.
3. Observation Home: It is a place where the juveniles who have committed a crime are kept. This helps to understand the concept of Juvenile Delinquency and implementation of Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act.
4. District Jail: The visit to District Jail is conducted to understand the jail administration and its rules. Also, the criminals are free to take legal aid, if required.
5. Old Age Homes: The government also provides shelter to the old people. The visit to Old Age Homes aims at providing knowledge about the implementation of the Social Welfare Act and Schemes to the intern.
6. Lok Adalats: The concept of Lok Adalat has its origin in the Legal Services Authority Act, 1987. It provides settlement of the dispute by the consent of both the parties. Moreover, no appeal lies against the award passed by these courts.
7. A Visit to Village: The intern is required to visit villages for providing legal aid as well as to hear the problems of the villagers and provide suitable advice to them.

At the end of this internship, the intern is required to prepare a report and submit the same to the concerned person. After this, the certificate of completion of internship is awarded to the intern.

Experience of this Internship

The internship opportunity under DLSA is one of the best opportunity and I suggest all the students of the legal field should undergo internship under DLSA. It helps in understanding the broader aspect of the judicial, police and the jail administration system. Moreover, interaction with the people like prisoners, juveniles and old people allows learning and developing a different intellect.

About the Author:

Sadyanta Rawal, a student of B.A.LLB from Maharishi Markandeshwar Mullana University, has a keen interest in career counselling and helps a lot of students choose their respective career. He is always engaged in researching new topics which extract "Think out of Box" approach. He wrote 2 books namely Child Psychology and the Parents and Baba Bulleh Shah: The perspective of love and presented Research Papers at International Conferences.