Shantalegal Charitable Trust
Justice, within reach — even when the odds are not.
We are a community of advocates, paralegals and volunteers offering free legal aid, awareness and protection to people who cannot afford a lawyer — across Telangana's villages, courts and workplaces.
No fee. No jargon. No one turned away.
"A right you cannot access is not a right at all. We exist to close that distance — one case, one camp, one conversation at a time." — Shantalegal, founding statement
Who we are
Legal aid built for the people the system usually skips.
Shantalegal works where legal literacy is low and legal costs are out of reach — with the poor, the displaced, and the unheard, across cities, small towns and villages alike.
Scales balanced, roots wide — legal support and community awareness, held together.
Shantalegal is a registered non-profit trust providing free legal aid, awareness and protection to people who cannot afford lawyers — covering civil, criminal, family, property, labour, consumer and administrative matters.
We connect people to advocates, government legal-services authorities and statutory bodies; run awareness camps in villages, schools, colleges and workplaces; and support alternative dispute resolution so families and neighbours don't have to spend years in court over disputes that mediation can settle in weeks.
We do not replace lawyers — we make sure no one has to face the system alone, and every case that needs professional representation reaches an advocate through our pro bono network.
01
Advise
Free, plain-language legal consultation for anyone who needs it.
02
Educate
Legal-literacy camps and materials, in the language people actually speak.
03
Represent
Pro bono litigation support and mediation, through our advocate network.
What we do
Sixteen ways we stand between people and an unfair outcome.
Our work spans direct legal help, awareness, protection for vulnerable groups, and the slower work of reforming the system itself. Choose a category to explore.
- Legal consultation for people who cannot afford lawyers
- Guidance on civil, criminal, family, property, labour, consumer and administrative matters
- Assistance in understanding legal notices, court procedures and government processes
- Referrals to advocates and legal-services authorities
- Facilitate pro bono representation through advocates
- Help eligible persons prepare applications and supporting documentation
- Support public-interest litigation where legally appropriate
- Track important cases involving public rights and social issues
- Provide litigation support without engaging in unauthorized practice of law
- Promote mediation and negotiated settlement
- Organize mediation or conciliation assistance where legally permissible
- Help parties understand Lok Adalat and other dispute-resolution mechanisms
- Encourage settlement of suitable family, neighbourhood, consumer and employment disputes
- Establish periodic legal-aid clinics
- Operate telephone or online legal-help desks
- Conduct mobile legal clinics in underserved areas
- Partner with law colleges and advocates for supervised legal-assistance programs
- Educate citizens about the Right to Information framework
- Assist with drafting appropriate RTI applications and representations
- Help citizens understand grievance-redressal mechanisms
- Promote transparency and accountability in public administration
- Conduct legal-awareness camps in villages, schools, colleges, workplaces and communities
- Explain important rights and responsibilities in simple language
- Publish pamphlets, guides, FAQs, videos and online legal-awareness material
- Conduct workshops on consumer rights, cyber safety, property rights and workplace rights
- Programs covering cyber fraud, online scams, identity theft and digital payments
- Awareness on social-media abuse and online safety
- Guidance on reporting cybercrime and preserving relevant evidence
- Digital-safety programs for students and senior citizens
- Train volunteers and paralegal workers
- Conduct workshops for students, community leaders, social workers and NGO staff
- Organize continuing legal-education seminars and conferences
- Develop community legal volunteers who can identify cases requiring professional assistance
- Help women, children, senior citizens, persons with disabilities, migrant workers and economically weaker persons
- Assist people in approaching police stations, courts, government departments and statutory authorities
- Connect beneficiaries with appropriate government schemes and legal-aid services
- Legal-awareness programs on domestic violence, maintenance, custody, inheritance and workplace harassment
- Child-rights and child-protection awareness
- Assistance in accessing appropriate legal and institutional remedies
- Awareness regarding maintenance and welfare protections
- Guidance concerning property, inheritance, wills and family disputes
- Assistance in approaching appropriate tribunals or authorities
- Educate consumers regarding their rights
- Assist with complaints involving defective products and deficient services
- Provide guidance regarding consumer commissions and online grievance mechanisms
- Awareness of wages, employment conditions, workplace protections and social-security benefits
- Assistance to workers in understanding employment disputes
- Legal-awareness programs for organized and unorganized workers
- Document alleged human-rights violations
- Assist complainants in approaching competent authorities and commissions
- Conduct fact-finding and prepare reports
- Promote constitutional and statutory rights
- Facilitate access to legal aid for eligible prisoners and undertrials
- Legal-rights awareness programs
- Assistance with appropriate rehabilitation and reintegration initiatives
- Research existing laws and their implementation
- Publish legal-awareness guides, reports, studies and policy papers
- Study recurring problems faced by citizens in accessing justice
- Maintain anonymized statistics concerning cases and legal-aid activities
- Identify gaps in existing laws or their implementation
- Submit representations and recommendations to government authorities
- Participate in public consultations
- Work with lawyers, academics, civil-society organizations and institutions on proposed reforms
- Work with Legal Services Authorities, law colleges, universities, advocates, social-service organizations and government agencies
- Conduct joint legal-awareness camps
- Develop pro bono lawyer networks
- Collaborate on research and community outreach
How it works
From your first call to a resolution.
Step 01
Reach us
Call our helpline, visit a legal clinic, or meet us at a mobile camp near you.
Step 02
Free consultation
A paralegal or advocate hears your matter and explains your options in plain language.
Step 03
The right path
We route you to mediation, documentation support, or pro bono representation — whichever fits.
Step 04
Follow through
We stay with your case until it resolves, and connect you to any welfare scheme you're owed.
Who we help
Priority to those least likely to be heard.
Anyone who cannot afford legal help is welcome — with particular focus on those the system most often overlooks.
Are you a lawyer, student, or organisation that wants to help?
Volunteer With UsGet help
Tell us what's happening. We'll tell you what to do next.
Please note
Shantalegal is not a law firm. We provide free advice, awareness and litigation support, and connect you to advocates for representation — always without charge to you.
Request assistance
Share a few details and a paralegal will call you back — usually within one working day.