NALSA: Justices Suman Shyam, Anita Sumanth nominated as members

The Central Government has nominated Justice Suman Shyam and Justice Anita Sumanth as members of the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA), according to a Ministry of Law and Justice notification dated 5 November 2026. Issued by the Department of Justice, notification S.O. 6057(E) records that the nominations were made in consultation with the Chief Justice of India.

The notification identifies Justice Shyam as a Bombay High Court judge and Executive Chairman of the Goa State Legal Services Authority. It identifies Justice Sumanth as a Madras High Court judge and Executive Chairperson of the Union Territory of Puducherry Legal Services Authority.

The change concerns membership of the national body responsible for legal-services policy and coordination. It does not appoint either judge to lead NALSA: the operative entries designate both as members, distinct from the executive leadership positions they hold in Goa and Puducherry.

Two entries replaced in the membership notification

The ministry has substituted serial numbers 7 and 8, and their associated entries, in the principal notification S.O. 582(E), dated 13 August 1997. Justice Shyam is listed at serial number 7 and Justice Sumanth at serial number 8.

This is an amendment to the existing membership notification, rather than a fresh constitution of the entire authority. The ministry’s accompanying note states that the principal notification had last been amended through S.O. 2595(E), dated 21 May 2026. The November notification does not identify the members whose entries have been replaced.

The legal basis cited is Section 3(1) and Section 3(2)(c) of the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987, read with Rules 3 and 7 of the National Legal Services Authority Rules, 1995. Section 3 establishes the national authority and sets out its composition; clause (c) provides for the Central Government to nominate other members in consultation with the Chief Justice of India.

The Act separates those memberships from NALSA’s leadership offices. Under Section 3(2)(a), the Chief Justice of India is its Patron-in-Chief. Section 3(2)(b) provides for a serving or retired Supreme Court judge to be nominated as Executive Chairman by the President, in consultation with the Chief Justice of India.

Section 3(4) leaves members’ terms of office and related conditions to provisions prescribed by the Central Government in consultation with the Chief Justice of India. The 5 November notification itself does not state a tenure or a separate commencement date for these nominations.

The national authority’s responsibilities

NALSA describes its principal objective as providing free and competent legal services so that economic or other disadvantages do not prevent access to justice. Its official introduction connects that work to Article 39A of the Constitution, which provides for free legal aid and equal opportunity in securing justice.

Legal services extend beyond representation during a court hearing. Section 2 of the Legal Services Authorities Act includes assistance in conducting a case or other legal proceeding before a court, authority or tribunal, as well as advice on legal matters.

Section 4 gives NALSA responsibility for laying down policies and principles, framing schemes and allocating funds to state and district authorities. These are functions of the national institution; the nomination notification does not assign a separate portfolio to either new member.

The Act also requires monitoring and evaluation of legal-aid programmes, including provision for independent evaluation of schemes financed wholly or partly under it. NALSA’s own description says it exchanges information with state and district authorities to track implementation and coordinate their work.

Public legal education is another part of that mandate. Section 4 provides for legal-aid camps, particularly in rural areas, slums and labour colonies, and for awareness of rights and benefits under welfare legislation and government programmes.

NALSA also organises Lok Adalats, forums intended to secure amicable settlement of disputes, according to its official introduction. The Act separately directs the authority to encourage negotiated settlements and other dispute-resolution methods, and to support legal-services clinics in universities, law colleges and other institutions.

The judges’ legal-services and professional backgrounds

The Goa State Legal Services Authority’s published membership list corroborates Justice Shyam’s executive chairmanship. His involvement in legal-services administration also appears in an older Assam State Legal Services Authority notification from 2016, which named him Chairman of the reconstituted Gauhati High Court Legal Services Committee while he was a judge of that court.

The Puducherry legal-services authority’s profile records Justice Sumanth’s appointment as a permanent judge of the Madras High Court in October 2016. Before that, she had held the position of Special Government Pleader for taxes at the court from June 2014.

According to that profile, her practice covered the Supreme Court, High Courts, tribunals and other appellate forums, as well as the Authority for Advance Rulings, with a focus on direct and indirect taxation and corporate law. It also records a master’s degree in constitutional and public international law from the University of Madras and a doctorate from the National Law School of India University, Bangalore.

The ministry’s notification changes NALSA’s membership entries only. It announces no new legal-aid scheme, funding allocation or change to the services available through the authority.