Section 7B: Legal assistance

7B. Legal assistance (1) Notwithstanding section 3, legal assistance shall be provided to a person in accordance with this section. L12 – 3 [Issue 7] Legal Aid and Legal Assistance Act (2) Any detainee or accused party, being suspected of having committed an offence specified in the First Schedule, shall, upon arrest, be informed by the police officer in charge of the police station that he may make an application for legal assistance during police enquiry and for bail applications. (3) Any detainee or accused party who wishes to obtain legal assistance shall— (a) make an application, in writing, to the Magistrate in the form set out in the Third Schedule; and (b) declare that— (i) excluding his wearing apparel and tools of trade, he is not worth 500,000 rupees; and (ii) his total monthly earnings do not exceed 10,000 rupees. (4) The detainee or accused party making an application under subsection (3) (a) shall be— (a) brought before a Magistrate within 24 hours of his application; and (b) asked to swear or make solemn affirmations as to the correctness of all the information provided in the application form before the Magistrate. (5) Where a detainee or accused party satisfies the requirements set out in subsection (3) (b), the Magistrate shall— (a) forthwith grant the application for legal assistance and make such orders, consequential on his decision, as he thinks fit; or (b) request such additional information as may be required from the detainee or accused party before granting the application. [S. 7B inserted by s. 10 of Act 13 of 2012 w.e.f. 5 November 2012.]