Chief Justice of India Justice Surya Kant has announced that no fresh appointments of Legal Aid Defence Counsels (LADCs) will be made after September and indicated that a fresh legal aid scheme would be formulated after due consultation, the Bar Council of Punjab and Haryana on Monday said.The announcement, according to the Bar Council, came during a meeting between a delegation led by it and the Chief Justice of India, who was accompanied by Justice Vikram Nath, Executive Chairman of the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA), at the Supreme Court.In a statement issued after the meeting, the Bar Council said representatives of Bar Associations from Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh and Himachal Pradesh raised concerns over the impact of the existing LADC scheme on the independent Bar. The delegation also reiterated the resolutions earlier adopted by the Bar Council seeking a review and restructuring of the scheme in the larger interest of both the legal profession and access to justice.According to the Bar Council, CJI Surya Kant announced that no fresh appointments of Legal Aid Defence Counsels would be made after September. It further said legal aid cases would thereafter be allocated by District and Sessions Judges to members of the Bar in consultation with the Bar Council of Punjab and Haryana and the Bar Associations concerned until a new framework is put in place.The Bar Council further said CJI Surya Kant indicated that a fresh scheme would be formulated after due consultation, balancing the interests of the legal fraternity while ensuring effective and accessible legal aid for the public.Welcoming the “significant and constructive development”, the Bar Council expressed gratitude to the Chief Justice of India, the Executive Chairman of NALSA, the Bar Council of India, and Bar Associations and advocates whose “united efforts” contributed to the outcome. It said it remained committed to working with all stakeholders to evolve a legal aid system that strengthens access to justice while preserving the independence, dignity and sustainability of the legal profession.