New Delhi, Mar 24 (IANS): Supreme Court judge, Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul on Tuesday inaugurated the web portal of 'Sahyog', a project aiming to further the constitutional goal of access to justice, by providing a platform connecting student research assistants to lawyers and organisitions who have taken up pro bono cases.

In his address at the gathering, he said: "I congratulate the team of students at NUJS and the legal aid clinic for this initiative meant at helping law practitioners and the underprivileged citizens by facilitating pro bono legal services through the 'Sahyog' portal. This initiative is of great significance in these trying times of Covid-19. I wish this initiative and the team behind it great success."

"I am sure the judiciary can equally utilise in some way the opportunity of interaction with these dynamic youngsters," he added.

'Sahyog', founded by Adya Jha and Dakshita Chopra, alumni of the West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences, in September 2019, has so far contributed over 2,500 pro bono hours with association of several lawyers. Their work has encompassed issues of labour law, slum dwellers, tribal communities, and human trafficking victims among others.

In furtherance of their objective, the Sahyog web portal has been launched to scale up the initiative and widen its reach to a larger cross section of legal professionals and students.

Bar Council of India Chairman Manan Kumar Mishra, Odisha's Advocate General Ashok Parija, and senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan were among those who joined the e-inauguration.