Lok
Adalat is one of the alternative dispute redressal mechanisms, it is a forum
where disputes/cases pending in the court of law or at pre-litigation stage are
settled/ compromised amicably. Lok Adalats have been given statutory status
under the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987. Under the said Act, the award
(decision) made by the Lok Adalats is deemed to be a decree of a civil court
and is final and binding on all parties and no appeal against such an award
lies before any court of law. If the parties are not satisfied with the award
of the Lok Adalat though there is no provision for an appeal against such an
award, but they are free to initiate litigation by approaching the court of
appropriate jurisdiction by filing a case by following the required procedure,
in exercise of their right to litigate.
There
is no court fee payable when a matter is filed in a Lok Adalat. If a matter
pending in the court of law is referred to the Lok Adalat and is settled
subsequently, the court fee originally paid in the court on the
complaints/petition is also refunded back to the parties. The persons deciding
the cases in the Lok Adalats are called the Members of the Lok Adalats, they
have the role of statutory conciliators only and do not have any judicial role;
therefore they can only persuade the parties to come to a conclusion for
settling the dispute outside the court in the Lok Adalat and shall not
pressurize or coerce any of the parties to compromise or settle cases or
matters either directly or indirectly. The Lok Adalat shall not decide the
matter so referred at its own instance, instead the same would be decided on
the basis of the compromise or settlement between the parties. The members
shall assist the parties in an independent and impartial manner in their attempt
to reach amicable settlement of their dispute.
Nature of Cases to be Referred to Lok Adalat
1.
Any case pending before any court.
2.
Any dispute which has not been brought before any court and is likely to be
filed before the court.
Provided
that any matter relating to an offence not compoundable under the law shall not
be settled in Lok Adalat.
Which Lok Adalat to be Approached
As
per section 18(1) of the Act, a Lok Adalat shall have jurisdiction to determine
and to arrive at a compromise or settlement between the parties to a dispute in
respect of -
(1) Any
case pending before; or
(2) Any
matter which is falling within the jurisdiction of, and is not brought before,
any court for which the Lok Adalat is organised.
Provided
that the Lok Adalat shall have no jurisdiction in respect of matters relating
to divorce or matters relating to an offence not compoundable under any law.
How to Get the Case Referred to the Lok Adalat for Settlement
(A)
Case pending before the court.
(B)
Any dispute at pre-litigative stage.
The
State Legal Services Authority or District Legal Services Authority as the case
may be on receipt of an application from any one of the parties at a
pre-litigation stage may refer such matter to the Lok Adalat for amicable
settlement of the dispute for which notice would then be issued to the other
party.
Levels and Composition of Lok Adalats:
At
the State Authority Level -
The
Member Secretary of the State Legal Services Authority organizing the Lok
Adalat would constitute benches of the Lok Adalat, each bench comprising of a
sitting or retired judge of the High Court or a sitting or retired judicial
officer and any one or both of- a member from the legal profession; a social
worker engaged in the upliftment of the weaker sections and interested in the
implementation of legal services schemes or programmes.
At
High Court Level -
The
Secretary of the High Court Legal Services Committee would constitute benches
of the Lok Adalat, each bench comprising of a sitting or retired judge of the
High Court and any one or both of- a member from the legal profession; a social
worker engaged in the upliftment of the weaker sections and interested in the
implementation of legal services schemes or programmes.
At
District Level -
The
Secretary of the District Legal Services Authority organizing the Lok Adalat
would constitute benches of the Lok Adalat, each bench comprising of a sitting
or retired judicial officer and any one or both of either a member from the
legal profession; and/or a social worker engaged in the upliftment of the
weaker sections and interested in the implementation of legal services schemes
or programmes or a person engaged in para-legal activities of the area,
preferably a woman.
At
Taluk Level -
The
Secretary of the Taluk Legal Services Committee organizing the Lok Adalat would
constitute benches of the Lok Adalat, each bench comprising of a sitting or
retired judicial officer and any one or both of either a member from the legal
profession; and/or a social worker engaged in the upliftment of the weaker
sections and interested in the implementation of legal services schemes or
programmes or a person engaged in para-legal activities of the area, preferably
a woman.
National Lok Adalat
National
Level Lok Adalats are held for at regular intervals where on a single day Lok
Adalats are held throughout the country, in all the courts right from the
Supreme Court till the Taluk Levels wherein cases are disposed off in huge
numbers. From February 2015, National Lok Adalats are being held on a specific
subject matter every month.
Permanent Lok Adalat
The
other type of Lok Adalat is the Permanent Lok Adalat, organized under Section
22-B of The Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987. Permanent Lok Adalats have
been set up as permanent bodies with a Chairman and two members for providing
compulsory pre-litigative mechanism for conciliation and settlement of cases
relating to Public Utility Services like transport, postal, telegraph etc.
Here, even if the parties fail to reach to a settlement, the Permanent Lok
Adalat gets jurisdiction to decide the dispute, provided, the dispute does not
relate to any offence. Further, the Award of the Permanent Lok Adalat is final
and binding on all the parties. The jurisdiction of the Permanent Lok Adalats
is upto Rs. Ten Lakhs. Here if the parties fail to reach to a settlement, the
Permanent Lok Adalat has the jurisdiction to decide the case. The award of the
Permanent Lok Adalat is final and binding upon the parties. The Lok Adalat may
conduct the proceedings in such a manner as it considers appropriate, taking
into account the circumstances of the case, wishes of the parties like requests
to hear oral statements, speedy settlement of dispute etc.
Mobile Lok Adalats are
also organized in various parts of the country which travel from one location
to another to resolve disputes in order to facilitate the resolution of
disputes through this mechanism.
As
on 30.09.2015, more than 15.14 lakhs Lok Adalats have been organized in the
country since its inception. More than 8.25 crore cases have been settled by
this mechanism so far.
