In the labyrinth of legal proceedings, where adversarial battles often stretch for years, there exists an alternative—a beacon of conciliation and swift justice. Welcome to the world of Lok Adalats, where disputes find resolution outside the conventional court system. Among these, the National Lok Adalat stands tall as a powerful mechanism for amicable settlement.
Often
as legal professionals, when a client comes to us for finding solutions to their
legal problems, an important concern they have is about “how much time will it
take to reach a conclusion?”. The time invested in a legal battle also includes
money and resources one needs to pour in over the period of that legal battle.
For
example, if A sues B for dishonour of Cheque, even though all evidences are in
favour of A’s case, the court will be obliged to start a trial where over period
of stages of trial, the Ld. Court shall decide after taking into account all
evidences, testimonies and circumstances, if A should get the value of the dishonoured
cheque from B and if B should be punished for dishonouring a valid negotiable instrument.
In this whole process, depending on the facts of a case the court may reach a
conclusion and pronounce a judgement not before one year from the date of
filing of the matter, which could extend up to 2-3 years and beyond.
Here
the concern of the litigant is valid as during the life of the case instituted,
he would have to bear all losses arising out of this dishonoured cheque from
his own pocket, pay the Advocate his legal fee and also face mental pressure
because of the dispute. Though as seasoned legal professionals we try our best to
negate such side impacts of instituting a case, one cannot deny their
existence.
Now
what if I told you that there exists a solution where litigants can solve their
disputes in just one hearing? It’s too good to be true, isn’t it? Na not really.
Here comes in Lok Adalats and National Lok Adalats, specially curated in order
to help parties resolve their disputes fast and in an efficient manner. Now that
we have an idea about Lok Adalats, lets learn more about them in detail.
What is a Lok Adalat?
A
Lok Adalat is a statutory organization established under the Legal
Services Authorities Act, 1987. Its mission is to resolve disputes and
grievances swiftly, efficiently, and harmoniously. Here’s how it works:
1. Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR):
ADR or Alternative Dispute Resolution are
tools which help a litigant resolve a dispute in a fast and efficient manner, outside
the bounds of Trial in courts, with unconventional techniques to resolve a
dispute. ADR include processes like Arbitration, mediation, conciliation and
Lok Adalats. In fact, Lok Adalats are processes which have elements of both
Mediation and conciliation in them.
When a case is brought to an ADR process such as Lok Adalat or Mediation or conciliation, the focus is on developing a consensus amongst the parties about the dispute then with the help of mediation and conciliation they are brought to a compromise. That compromise gets finality in the form of an order from the court.
2. Pre-Litigation and Pending Cases:
Lok Adalats address cases at two stages:
· Pre-litigation: Before a formal case reaches the court. For
Example, Vehicle Traffic Challans, applications, prelitigation mediation
proceedings etc.
· Pending cases: Those already before a court of law.
The goal is to settle disputes amicably,
avoiding prolonged litigation.
3. Statutory Status:
Lok Adalats have been granted statutory status
under the Legal Services Authorities Act. Their decisions hold legal weight and
are binding on all parties. This is one of the main highlights of the Lok
Adalats success when it is compared to other ADR processes like mediation and
conciliation, where the parties do have a tendency to change their mind and may
at a later stage refuse the mediation of conciliation settlements reached. Lok
Adalats by their very nature, try to get parties to agree and settle dispute by
reaching common ground and this settlement is confirmed by the court in form of
the order, thereby negating multiplicity of disputes in future.
4. No Court Fee:
Another aspect which I find very interesting is when a matter is referred to a Lok Adalat, no court fee is payable. This means that all court fee which one pays during the litigation is exempted with and only the suit/ subject amount is what needs to be focussed upon by litigants, parties and the court. This encourages litigants to seek resolution through this forum.
For Example, A sues B for suit for recovery in a commercial court established at Delhi for a Total valuation of 2 Crore. The fee is levied at 3% of the suit valuation. This comes out to be Rs 6 Lakhs in court fee alone. Now the petitioner has to put in and submit his petition with Rs 6 lakh as his court fee for any court to hear his matter. Now if the case continues for a term of 2 years, which is possible, he loses out interest on such amount if it were to be kept in a bank FD at the rate of 7.5% which comes out to be Rs 45,000/- pa and if compounded for 2 years it goes up to Rs 93,375/-. Now when the court decides the issue finally at the end of second year, he will already be short of Rs 6,93,375/-, regardless of the decision of the court. But if this matter is transferred to a Lok Adalat at an early stage of the case and gets settled there, he gets back his court fee of Rs 6 lakh with an order of the court and no further losses incurred.
5. Nature of Cases:
Lok Adalats handle a wide range of cases,
including:
· Civil disputes: Property, contracts, family matters.
· Criminal compoundable offenses: Section 320 of the CrPC dealt with compoundable
offences where parties had the option to compromise. Now with section 359 of
BNSS which corresponds to section 320 of CrPC with a few added instances where
compounding cannot take place like adultery and offences against women and
child etc. the accused is also denied benefits of this section if the accused
is by reason of a previous conviction, liable to an enhanced punishment of a different
kind for such an offence.
· Motor accident claims: Assessing compensation to be paid to the victim
by the insurance company. Courts can dispose off a significant workload at such
Lok Adalats.
· Matrimonial disputes: All matters except divorce matters.
· Consumer disputes: Courts love to resolve grievances in bulk
during, pass an order in favour of the complainant for a consideration which is
acceptable to all in Lok Adalats at consumer forums across the country.
6. Procedure:
The Lok Adalat have now earned the reputation
of being the most efficient amongst all methods of Alternat Dispute resolution,
but what about the process? Is it friendly enough or is a pain staking event? Lets
discuss:
Well to apply for your case to appear on a
roster prepared for a Lok Adalat is as convenient as it gets. It can be done in
two ways. Either one can apply in before the court and the presiding officer of
the court or he/ she can apply it before the concerned Legal Services Authority
(LSA) in the state. In Delhi one can apply before the concerned Delhi legal Services
Authority (DLSA) office anytime before the National Lok Adalat is scheduled to
take place.
At the time of Lok Adalat, the members of the
LSA shall guide the parties to reach a settlement acceptable to both. The process
is crystal clear and does not include any form of coercion. It is practicable
the best option available before both parties combined and if circumstances
allow, neither would like to lose on the opportunity to grab it. Once agreed, the court will pass an order with
respect to the settlement and it is binding on all parties to the suit.
National Lok Adalat: A Nationwide Initiative
The
National Lok Adalat takes this concept to a grand scale. All the Legal Services
Authorities across the nation coordinate with each other to organise a National
Lok Adalat on the same day. Generally, it is organised on second Saturdays of
every month, when the regular courts are on leave and most offenses observe a
holiday ensuring minimum inconvenience to parties.
These
National Lok Adalats focus on specific topics, such as pending cases related to
a particular theme like for example, there are National Lok Adalats for Traffic
Challan disposal where one can apply and get his/her traffic challans on their
vehicle settled before the members. This helps in reducing the number of
litigations the court could be burdened with in future if not settled, thereby
eating into resources and causing inconvenience to all including general public.
Another
feature of a National Lok Adalat is mass settlements of cases where thousands of
cases which on some occasions may go up to Lakhs of cases being resolved in a
single day. Each case resolved is one less litigation in court and lesser
burden on exchequer to sustain such litigations.
Conclusion: Where Compassion Meets Justice
The
National Lok Adalat isn’t just about legalities; it’s about compassion,
empathy, and human connection. It reminds us that disputes need not be battles;
they can be bridges to understanding. So, the next time you hear about a Lok
Adalat, know that it’s more than a legal forum—it’s a testament to our
collective desire for harmony.
In my personal experience, the enthusiasm and dedication that is shown by the bodies like DLSA to make events of a National Lok Adalat a success are commendable. The excitement of the litigants to participate in one is also on another level and the peace one gets after his burden to litigate is dealt with by such events is comforting.
____________________________________
Sources:
- National Legal Services Authority
(NALSA) - Lok Adalat
- District Court of Delhi -
National Lok Adalat
Related Blogs:
Unlocking Justice: A Guide to Plea Bargaining under BNSS
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advice. Consult a qualified legal professional for specific cases.
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