The apex court also asked all magisterial courts to provide legal aid to all accused, not represented by advocate, from the day he or she is produced before it and added that the failure to do so will attract charges of dereliction from duty against magistrates.
"We, therefore, have no hesitation in holding that the right to access to legal aid, to consult and to be defended by a legal practitioner, arises when a person arrested in connection with a cognisable offence is first produced before a magistrate.
"We, accordingly, hold that it is the duty and obligation of the magistrate before whom a person accused of committing a cognisable offence is first produced to make him fully aware that it is his right to consult and be defended by a legal practitioner and, in case he has no means to engage a lawyer of his choice, one would be provided to him from the legal aid at the expense of the State," the bench said.
The bench said magistrate would be liable to departmental proceedings if he fails in his or her duty to provide legal aid to the accused.
"We, accordingly, direct all the magistrates in the country to faithfully discharge the aforesaid duty and obligation and further make it clear that any failure to fully discharge the duty would amount to dereliction in duty and would make the concerned magistrate liable to departmental proceedings," the bench said.
"To deal with one terrorist, we cannot take away the right given to the indigent and under-privileged people of this country by this Court thirty one years ago," the bench observed while maintaining that Kasab was also given the legal aid which he had refused.
