Legal Services
The Unit provides free legal services to persons living with/affected by HIV/AIDS. This includes: -
Legal Advice : The Unit provides legal advice to individual clients on various issues including infringement of rights in healthcare, treatment access, negligence in blood transfusion, breach of confidentiality, denial of employment and/or employment benefits, matrimonial rights such as, divorce, maintenance, custody of children, inheritance and property, insurance claims, wrongful arrest, police harassment, processing of identification papers etc. Clients are informed of their rights and the options available for judicial redressal. The Unit has provided legal advice in approximately 800 cases since its inception.
Litigation : After advice is rendered and the client consents to the line of action suggested, the Unit proceeds to negotiate on her/his behalf or initiate legal action in court. The Unit lawyers always make an application to keep the identity of the client confidential in court by using a pseudonym in accordance with the ruling of the Bombay High Court in MX v. ZY AIR 1996 Bom 406 . The Unit has provided litigation services in approximately 250 cases since 1998.
Public Interest Litigation : are litigations filed in a court of law, for the enforcement of fundamental rights of people who are in disadvantageous position owing to their social or economic background. Such litigation may relate to redressal of a public injury, enforcement of a public duty or assert any interest of a public nature. The Unit has initiated public interest litigation on the following :
- Public Health issues like access to treatment
- Information on sexuality, sexual health and HIV/AIDS.
- Gender discrimination and issues affecting women & children.
- Testing, informational privacy, consent etc.
- Safe blood supply
- Access to public services
- Decriminalisation of consensual sodomy
- Protection of sex workers
- Quackery
- Pharmaceutical patent oppositions
Legal Queries : Members of the Unit answer legal queries on HIV/AIDS and related issues requested by organisations and individuals.
Civil Rights Initiatives : Our team of lawyers to provide legal aid to individuals from marginalised groups in order to protect their civil rights. Since much of the harassment faced by these groups is from the law enforcement machinery, the Unit has begun to provide legal support within the criminal justice system.
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