Welcome to Moneylife Foundation’s Legal Resource Centre!
India’s independent legal system and an activist judiciary are probably the key to its vibrant democracy. However, laws in India are complex, technical and, have been expanding over the past two decades of economic liberalization. In addition, our legal system is slow, expensive and complicated. Citizens are always looking for legal help whether relating to financial products, consumer products and services, Right to Information, Public Interest Litigation etc.
To them help them, Moneylife Foundation launched Legal Resource Centre on February 21st in Moneylife Knowledge Centre, in Mumbai. The LRC was inaugurated by former Miss World Yukta Mukhey in the presence of a packed audience where distinguished lawyers, accountants, activists were present.
In her short speech filled with wisdom Ms Mukhey said: “We often feel wronged or cheated and believe that a legal course of action will be right. But when you are coming from a feeling being wronged, you going to end up meeting a lawyer or a doctor or somebody who’s intend going to wrong you further,” pointed out Ms Mookhey. “We should rather ask ourselves: ‘Do I really want to get into litigation? Do we really want to fight against something or do I really want to put my energy, all my emotional charge into something else that I rather believe in,” said Ms Mookhey who has been involved in a tough divorce battle. “Those who want to fight legal battles also should know that letting go is also a great act. So, I would really want to suggest among the various things being offered at Moneylife Foundation LRC, one of the things which must always be offered is emotional counselling! There are some great lawyers doing fantastic work and there are really some genuine human beings who are trying to improve the world and I really hope and do pray that Legal Resource Centre and Moneylife Foundation will bring about that change.”
LRC will help the ordinary person to navigate the redress systems put in place by a plethora of independent regulators (SEBI, IRDA, Banking Ombudsman, Insurance Ombudsman, Electricity regulators etc) and self-regulatory organisations (stock exchanges), which often have their own quasi-judicial complaint and arbitration systems. It will also help consumers to draft effective complaints and guide them on how to argue their cases in consumer courts.
The LRC will be specifically useful in dealing with brand new legislation, the Companies Act 2012, which received presidential assent in mid-2013 has, for the first time created a provision for filing Class Action Suits. Since this is a new area, people need help to come together to build an effective case. In our experience, even NGOs need help on these matters. For instance, a large global NGO came to us for help on filing complaints about false disclosures regarding its coal reserves by a listed company.
That apart, LRC will help people with RTI, Public Interest Litigation (PIL), the draconian Information Technology Act etc. Please click here to see the areas LRC will cover.
Please do use the LRC, spread the word and write to us about how we can improve, with the constraints of limited resources.
