The concept of Lok Adalat (People’s Court) is an innovative Indian
contribution to the world jurisprudence. The introduction of Lok Adalat’s added
a new chapter to the justice dispensation system of this country and succeeded
in providing a supplementary forum to the victims for a satisfactory settlement
of their disputes. This system is
based on Gandhian principles.
It is one of the
components of Alternative Dispute Resolution systems. In ancient times, the disputes
were referred to “Panchayats”, which were established at the village level.
Panchayats resolved the disputes through arbitration. It has proved to be a
very effective alternative to litigation.
This concept of the
settlement of disputes through mediation, negotiation or arbitration is
conceptualized and institutionalized in the philosophy of Lok Adalat. It
involves people who are directly or indirectly affected by dispute resolution.
This is the system,
which has deep roots in Indian legal history and its close allegiance to the
culture and perception of justice in Indian ethos. Experience has shown that it
is one of the very efficient and important ADR mechanisms and most suited to
the Indian environment, culture and societal interests.
Benefits of Lok Adalats
●
Lok Adalats offer the parties speed of
settlement and most cases are disposed of in a single day.
●
There is no strict application of
procedural laws such as the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, and the Indian
Evidence Act, 1872. So the Lok Adalats are fast due to flexibility.
●
The award issued by a Lok Adalat, after
the filing of a joint compromise petition, has the status of a civil court
decree. The award is binding.
●
There is no court fee and if the court
fee is already paid, the amount will be refunded if the dispute is
settled at Lok Adalat.
Amendments related to Lok Adalat in 2002
In 2002, the Parliament brought about certain
amendments to the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 to institutionalize the
Lok Adalats by making them a permanent body to settle the disputes related to
public utility services. The Central or State Authorities may, by
notification, establish Permanent Lok Adalats at any Permanent Lok Adalats, for
determining issues in connection to Public Utility Services.
Public
Services include:
- Transport service
- Postal, telegraph
or telephone services
- Supply of power,
light and water to public
- System of public
conservancy or sanitation
- Insurance services
and such other services as notified by the Central or State Governments
Permanent
Lok Adalats have the same powers that are vested in the Lok Adalat
Consistution of Lokadalats
●
The Lok Adalat is chairman, two members,
and one social worker.
●
The chairman must be a sitting or retired
judicial officer.
●
The other two members should be a
lawyers.
Members
●
The individuals determining the cases in
the Lok Adalats are called the Members of the Lok Adalats
●
They have the role of statutory
intermediaries only
●
They do not have any judicial role
Statutory
●
Under the Legal Services Authorities Act,
1987 Lok Adalats have been given statutory status.
Final
award
●
Under the Legal Services Authorities Act,
1987 the decision made by the Lok Adalats is considered to be a verdict of
a civil court and is ultimate and binding on all parties.
No
appeal
●
There is no provision for an appeal
against the verdict made by Lok Adalat
●
If the parties are not satisfied with the
award of the Lok Adalat though there is no provision for an appeal, they are
free to initiate litigation.
No
fee
●
There is no court fee payable when a
dispute is filed in a Lok Adalat.
●
If a dispute pending in the court of law
is referred to the Lok Adalat and is settled later, the court fee originally
paid in the court on the petition is also reimbursed back to the parties.
Amicable
Resolutions
●
The Lok Adalat shall not decide the
dispute so mentioned at its own instance, instead the same would be decided on
the basis of the compromise between the parties.
●
The members shall assist the parties in a
sovereign and impartial manner in their attempt to reach a cordial settlement
of their dispute.
Concerns
●
In a majority of cases, litigants are
pitted against entities with deep pockets, such as electricity boards,
insurance companies, banks, etc.
●
In most cases, compromises are
imposed on the poor who often have no choice but to accept them.
●
As compromise is its central idea, there
is a concern that in the endeavour for speedy disposal of cases, it undermines
the idea of justice.
● In State of Punjab vs Jalour Singh (2008), held that a Lok Adalat is purely conciliatory, and it has no adjudicatory or judicial function.
Conclusion
The quest for equal, fair, and even-handed justice has been the passionate demand of human being from the emergence of the society in all civilisations. Therefore, the right of effective access to Justice has developed as the most basic human rights of a legal system which purports to guarantee the legal, social, political, cultural and economic rights in a country. The term access to Justice connotes the ability of a person to participate in the Judicial process for the protection and enforcement of his rights. It covers more than bare Court entry and includes the ability to reach the lawyers, police, enforcement machinery and capacity to bear the costs and time of litigation. In this backdrop, the right to access to Justice through efficacious Justice Delivery Mechanism, is imperative to secure Justice under the Constitution
The meaning of the term ‘Lok Adalat’ in literally is
‘People’s Court’ because the term comprises two words namely ‘Lok’ and
‘Adalat’, Lok stands for the people and Adalat means the Court. So, it is meant
people’s Court. The former word of the term expressing the concept of public
opinion while the latter devoting the accurate and thorough deliberation aspect
of decision making. The Lok Adalat is an institution settles dispute by
adopting the principles of Justice, equity and fair play. These noble
principles are guiding factors for decisions of the Lok Adalats based on
compromises to be arrived at before such Adalats. The Lok Adalat is a voluntary
mechanism which is mainly concerned with two-fold functions – firstly, it
provides a quick, easy, accessible, non-technical, sympathetic and disputant
friendly forum to the people for resolution of their disputes and secondly, it
helps overcome the hazard of the docket explosion.
The Lok Adalat System has the opportunity to live up to
the goals of providing the public with an effective and informal dispute
resolution mechanism as it had originally set out to accomplish. It can
simultaneously relieve the burdens of the Formal Legal System and bring
informal legal remedies to those that do not believe strongly in the Justice
system. To achieve these objectives, Lok Adalats should take lessons from
Alternative Dispute Resolution experiments abroad, along with lessons from
Indian experiments, and adapt them to the culture and traditions of the rural
Indian population.
Written By:
Haridasu Sahithi, [2nd Year, BBA.LLB(Hons.)] under the guidance of Dr. Nagalatha Bathina, Associate Professor, Vignan Institute of Law.
Editorial Director:
Dr. Nagalatha Bathina, Associate Professor, Vignan Institute of Law.
Editors:
Dr. Praveen Kumar, Director, Vignan Institute of Law
Mr. L. Ashish Kumar, Assistant Professor, Vignan Institute of Law
Blog Managed By:
Taj Mahamood Baig [2nd Year, BA.LLB(Hons.)]