Government legal aid in Puducherryपुडुचेरी में सरकारी कानूनी सहायता (NALSA/DLSA)

Free legal aid in Puducherry is organised by Union Territory of Puducherry Legal Services Authority (UTPLSA), set up under the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987. Every district in the Union Territory has a District Legal Services Authority (DLSA), usually at the district court complex, and most sub-divisions or taluks have a Taluk / Sub-Divisional Legal Services Committee. You can walk in, ask for a panel lawyer for your case, get help drafting an application, or ask for your matter to be taken up in a Lok Adalat.

Under Section 12 of the 1987 Act you are entitled to free legal services if you are, among others, a woman or child, a member of a Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe, a person with disability, a victim of trafficking, disaster or ethnic violence, an industrial workman, a person in custody, or a person whose annual income is below the limit notified by the UT Administration. The current income limit and contact numbers for each DLSA in Puducherry are published on the authority's website.

You can also call the national legal aid helpline 15100, apply online through NALSA's Legal Services Management System (the application is routed to the right authority in Puducherry), or use Tele-Law for a free video or phone consultation with a panel lawyer through a Common Service Centre.

Official links: Union Territory of Puducherry Legal Services Authority (UTPLSA) · NALSA (all State authorities) · apply for legal aid online · Tele-Law

Appeals, writ petitions and other High Court matters from Puducherry go to the Madras High Court, whose principal seat is at Chennai, with benches / circuit benches at Madurai. The same High Court also covers Tamil Nadu.

Ordinary civil and criminal cases start in the district courts — civil judges and district judges, judicial magistrates and sessions courts — and family courts, motor accident claims tribunals and consumer commissions sit in most districts of Puducherry. You can check the status of any district court case, see the next date and download orders on the official eCourts services website using the 16-character CNR number printed on your summons or order; our case-status helper explains each field.

Open eCourts (district courts) · CNR case-status helper

We have not named a specific rent-control law for Puducherry here because we could not confirm which law currently applies. Tenancies are governed at minimum by your written rent agreement and the Transfer of Property Act, 1882; the DLSA can tell you whether any union territory rent law applies to your premises.

Stamp duty and registration fees in Puducherry are fixed by the UT Administration and are revised from time to time, so we do not quote rates. Check the current rate and circle rate with the Union Territory's Department of Registration & Stamps (or the Sub-Registrar's office) before you pay.