LOK ADALAT

LOK ADALAT

·         The concept of Lok Adalat is an innovative Indian contribution to the world of jurisprudence. The introduction of Lok Adalats added a new chapter to the justice dispensation system of this country and succeeded in providing a supplementary forum to the victims for satisfactory settlement of their disputes.

·         This system is based on Gandhian principles.

·         The advent of Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 gave a statutory status to Lok Adalats, pursuant to-the constitutional mandate in Article 39-A of the Constitution of India, contains various provisions for settlement of disputes through Lok Adalat.

·          It is an Act to constitute legal services authorities to provide free and competent legal services to the weaker sections of the society to ensure that opportunities for securing justice are not denied to any citizen by reason of economic or other disabilities, and to organize Lok Adalats to secure that the operation of the legal system promotes justice on the basis of equal opportunity.

·          Even before the enforcement of the Act, the concept of Lok Adalat has been getting wide acceptance as People's Courts the very name signifies.

·          Settlement of disputes at the hands of Panchayat Heads or tribal vogue since ancient times. When statutory recognition had been given to Lok Adalat, it was specifically provided that the award passed by the Lok Adalat formulating the terms of compromise will have the force of decree of a court which can be executed as a civil court decree.

·          The evolution of movement called Lok Adalat was a part of the strategy to relieve heavy burden on the Courts with pending cases and to give relief to the litigants who were in a queue to get justice.

·         It contains various provisions for settlement of disputes through Lok Adalat.

Salient features of Lok Adalat:

1.       It is based on settlement or compromise reached through systematic negotiations.

2.       It is a win-win system where all the parties to the dispute have something to gain.

3.       It is one among the Alternate Dispute Resolution (ADR) systems. It is an alternative to “Judicial Justice”.

4.       It is economical – No court fee is payable. If any court fee is paid, it will be refunded.

5.       The parties to a dispute can interact directly with the presiding officer, which is not possible in the case of a court proceeding.

6.       Lok Adalat is deemed to be a civil court for certain purposes.

7.       Lok Adalat is having certain powers of a civil court.

8.       The award passed by the Lok Adalat is deemed to be a decree of a civil court.

9.       An award passed by the Lok Adalat is final and no appeal is maintainable from it.

10.    An award passed by the Lok Adalat can be executed in a court.

11.    The award can be passed by Lok Adalat, only after obtaining the assent of all the parties to dispute.

12.    Code of Civil Procedure and Indian Evidence Act are not applicable to the proceedings of Lok Adalat.

13.    A Permanent Lok Adalat can pass an award on merits, even without the consent of parties. Such an award is final and binding. From that no appeal is possible.

14.    The appearance of lawyers on behalf of the parties, at the Lok Adalat is not barred. (Regulation 39 of the Kerala State Legal Services Authority Regulations, 1998.)

Lok Adalats have competence to deal with a number of cases like:

•          Compoundable civil, revenue, and criminal cases

•          Motor accident compensation claims cases

•          Partition Claims

•          Damages Cases

•          Matrimonial and family disputes

•          Mutation of lands case

•          Land Pattas cases

•          Bonded Labour cases

•          Land acquisition disputes

•          Bank's unpaid loan cases

•          Arrears of retirement benefits cases

•          Family Court cases

•          Cases which are not sub-judice

Procedure

·         The procedure followed at a Lok Adalat is very simple and shorn of almost all legal formalism and rituals.

·          The Lok Adalat is presided over by a sitting or retired judicial officer as the chairman, with two other members, usually a lawyer and a social worker.

·          It is revealed by experience that in Lok Adalats it is easier to settle money claims since in most such cases the quantum alone may be in dispute.

·         Thus the motor accident compensation claim cases are brought before the Lok Adalat and a number of cases were disposed of in each Lok Adalat.

·         One important condition is that both parties in dispute should agree for settlement through Lok Adalat and abide by its decision.

·         A Lok Adalat has the jurisdiction to settle, by way of effecting compromise between the parties, any matter which may be pending before any court, as well as matters at pre-litigative stage i.e., disputes which have not yet been formally instituted in any Court of Law.

·         Such matters may be civil or criminal in nature, but any matter relating to an offence not compoundable under any law cannot be decided by the Lok Adalat even if the parties involved therein agree to settle the same.

·          Lok Adalats can take cognizance of matters involving not only those persons who are entitled to avail free legal services but of all other persons also, be they women, men, or children and even institutions.

·         Anyone, or more of the parties to a dispute can move an application to the court where their matter may be pending, or even at pre-litigative stage, for such matter being taken up in the Lok Adalat where upon the Lok Adalat Bench constituted for the purpose shall attempt to resolve the dispute by helping the parties to arrive at an amicable solution and once it is successful in doing so, the award passed by it shall be final which has as much force as a decree of a Civil Court obtained after due contest.

·         The award of the Lok Adalat is fictionally deemed to be decree of Court and therefore the courts have all the powers in relation thereto as it has in relation to a decree passed by itself.

·          This includes the powers to extend time in appropriate cases. The award passed by the Lok Adalat is the decision of the court itself though arrived 'at by the simpler method of conciliation instead of the process of arguments in court.

·         Benefits of Lok Adalat

        The benefits that litigants derive through the Lok Adalats are many.

a)       First, there is no court fee and even if the case is already filed in the regular court, the fee paid will be refunded if the dispute is settled at the Lok Adalat.

b)       Secondly, there is no strict application of the procedural laws and the Evidence Act while assessing the merits of the claim by the Lok Adalat. The parties to the disputes though represented by their advocates can interact with the Lok Adalat judge directly and explain their stand in the dispute and the reasons therefore, which is not possible in a regular court of law.

c)       Thirdly, disputes can be brought before the Lok Adalat directly instead of going to a regular court first and then to the Lok Adalat.

d)       Fourthly, the decision of the Lok Adalat is binding on the parties to the dispute and its order is capable of execution through legal process. No appeal lies against the order of the Lok Adalat whereas in the regular law courts there is always a scope to appeal to the higher forum on the decision of the trial court, which causes delay in the settlement of the dispute finally. The reason being that in a regular court, decision is that of the court but in Lok Adalat it is mutual settlement and hence no case for appeal will arise. In every respect the scheme of Lok Adalat is a boon to the litigant public, where they can get their disputes settled fast and free of cost.

e)       Last but not the least, it has faster and inexpensive remedy with legal status.

·         The system has received laurels from the parties involved in particular and public and the legal functionaries, in general.

·         It Also helps in emergence of jurisprudence of peace in the larger interest of justice and wider sections of society.

·          Its process is voluntary and works on the principle that both parties to the disputes are willing to sort out their disputes by amicable solutions. Through this mechanism, disputes can be settled in a simpler, quicker and cost-effective way at all the three stages i.e., pre-litigation, pending-litigation and post-litigation.

·         The scheme also helps the overburdened Court to alleviate the burden of arrears of cases and as the award becomes final and binding on both the parties, no appeal is filed in the Appellate Court and, as such, the burden of the Appellate Court in hierarchy is also reduced.

·         The scheme is not only helpful to the parties, but also to the overburdened Courts to achieve the constitutional goal of speedy disposal of the cases.

·         About 90% of the cases filed in the developed countries are settled mutually by conciliation, mediation, etc. and, as such, only 10% of the cases are decided by the Courts there.

·         In our country, which is developing, has unlike the developed countries, number of Judges disproportionate to the cases filed and, hence, to alleviate the accumulation of cases, the Lok Adalat is the need of the day.

Criticism

·         The right to appeal is one of the most basic features of any sound legal system. It sprouts from the principle ‘to err is human’.

·         It recognizes the fact that it is impossible to be infalliable always.

·          Lok Adalats cannot proceed to pass awards unless the parties to a dispute under its consideration, agrees to the passing of an award.

·         In such a situation, by agreeing, the parties are stopping themselves from challenging it afterwards

·         In that case, denial of an appeal provision can well be justified.

·         But a Permanent Lok Adalat can proceed to dispose of matter referred to it even without the consent of the parties to such dispute.

·         And the PLA does not have to go by the rules of evidence contained in The Indian Evidence Act. Moreover, a party can be drawn to PLA, despite his wishes.

·         In such a situation, denying a chance to appeal may not be in consonance with our most cherished legal principle: Justice should not only be done, but should manifestly and undoubtedly be seen to be done.

Lok Adalat settles 1.25 cr. cases in a day dec 2014

•The Second National Lok Adalat held across the country recently settled about 1.25 crore pending and pre-litigation cases and brought financial relief of over Rs. 3,000 crore to ordinary litigants in a single day.

•           Organized by: The National Legal Service Authority (NALSA)