“EDITOR’S NOTE:-

Every Lok Adalat constituted for an area shall consist of such number of serving or retired
judicial officers; and any other person.[xxii]

JURISDICTION:

Lok Adalat has the jurisdiction to determine and to arrive at a compromise or settlement
between the parties to a dispute in respect of any case pending before; or any matter which is
falling within the jurisdiction of, and is not brought before, any court for which the Lok
Adalat is organized.[xxiii]

(a)Any case pending before any court

(b)Any case not brought before any court.

Permanent Lok Adalat

In 2002, Parliament brought about certain amendments to the Legal Services Authorities Act,
1987. The said amendment introduced Chapter VI-A. According to the amendment, the
Central or State Authorities may establish by notification, Permanent Lok Adalats for
determining issues in connection to Public Utility Services.

Public Utility Services include:

 Transport service,
 Postal, telegraph or telephone services,
 Supply of power, light and water to public,

(4) System of public conservancy or sanitation,

(5) Insurance services and such other services as notified by the Central or State
Governments.

PERMANENT LOK ADALAT’s have the same powers that are vested on the Lok-Adalats,
mentioned under Section 22(1) of the Act.

PROCEDURE FOLLOWED IN A LOK

ADALAT
The Lok Adalat is usually presided over by a sitting or retired judicial official as the chairman
with two other members, a lawyer and a social worker. It has been observed through
experience that cases involving monetary disputes are easily settled through Lok Adalats.
Therefore, most motor road accident disputes are brought to Lok Adalats. The primary
condition of the Lok Adalat is that both parties in dispute should consent to the settlement. It
is necessary that the parties involved in the dispute are whole-heartedly involved in the
justice dispensing system and do abide by the decision given by the Lok Adalat.
There is no court fee. 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. The procedural laws and the Evidence Act
are not strictly followed while assessing the merits of the claim presented to the Lok Adalat.
The decision of the court is binding on the parties to the dispute and its order is capable of
execution through legal process. No appeal lies against the decision of the court. [xxiv]
Lok Adalat is very effective in the settlement of money claims. Disputes like partition suits,
damages and matrimonial cases can also be easily settled before Lok Adalat as the scope for
compromise through an approach of give and take is high in these cases. [xxv] Lok Adalat is
indeed a boon to the litigant public, where they can get their disputes settled fast and free of
cost.

CASES SUITED FOR LOK ADALAT

Lok Adalats have the competence to deal with the following cases[xxvi]:

 Compoundable civil, revenue and criminal cases.

 Motor accident cases
 Partition Claims
 Matrimonial and family disputes
 Bonded Labour disputes
 Land acquisition disputes
 Bank’s unpaid loan cases
 Arrears of retirement benefits cases
 Cases which are not under the jurisdiction of any Court.

POWERS OF THE LOK ADALATS

The Powers bestowed on Lok Adalats are as follows:

1. i) It has the power of the Civil Court, under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, while
trying a suit, in respect of the following matters:- [xxvii]
2. Power to summon and enforce the attendance of any witness and to examine him/her
on oath. b) Power to enforce the discovery and production of any document.
3. c) Power to receive evidence on affidavits,
4. d) Power for requisitioning of any public record or document or copy thereof or from
any court.
5. e) Such other matters as may be prescribed.
6. ii) Every Lok Adalat shall have the power to specify its own procedure for the
determination of any dispute coming before it.[xxviii]

iii) All proceedings before a Lok Adalat shall be deemed to be judicial proceedings within the
meaning of Sections 193, 219 and 228 of IPC.[xxix]

1. iv) Every Lok Adalat shall be deemed to be a Civil Court for the purpose of Sec 195
and Chapter XXVI of Cr.P.C.[xxx]
FINALITY OF THE LOK ADALAT
AWARD
During the Lok Adalat, the parties agree to abide by the decision of the judge at the Lok
Adalat. However, it has been seen that the same order is challenged on several grounds. In
one of the recent cases, the Supreme Court of India has once again laid to rest all such doubts.
In unequivocal terms, the Court held that the award of the Lok Adalat is as good as the decree
of the Court. 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.[xxxi]

CONSENT OF PARTIES
The most important factor to be considered while deciding the cases at the Lok Adalat is the
consent of both the parties. It cannot be forced on any party that the matter has to be decided
by the Lok Adalat. [xxxii] However, once the parties agree that the matter has to be decided
by the Lok Adalat, then any party cannot walk away from the decision of the Lok Adalat. In
several instances, the Supreme Court has held that if there was no consent, the award of the
Lok Adalat is not executable and also if the parties fail to agree to get the dispute resolved
through Lok Adalat, the regular litigation process remains open for the contesting parties.

The Supreme Court has also held that compromise is always bilateral and means mutual
adjustment. Settlement is termination of legal proceedings by mutual consent. If no
compromise can be arrived at, then no order can be passed by the Lok Adalat.

CONCLUSION
The special conditions prevailing in the Indian society require a highly sensitized legal
service which is efficacious for the poor and the down-trodden. The Lok Adalat mechanism
is no more an experiment in the country, it is in fact, a full-proven success that needs to
increase its domain and bring under its realm the several aspects that have been excluded till
date.

Lok Adalats can be viewed as an instrument to social change as well. As said by

Prof.Menon,”Lok Adalat has the potential for social reconstruction and legal mobilization
for social change. It can influence the style of administration of justice and the role of the
lawyer and judge in it. It can take law closer to the life of the people and reduce disparity
between law in books and law in action.”[xxxiii]

The need for Lok Adalats is aggravated by the huge population of India that creates an
unmanageable burden on the Judiciary system.

To increase the efficiency of the system of Lok Adalats, it is crucial for the public, the
lawyers, the executive and the Judiciary to work in harmony and coordination. The people
should be made aware of the advantages of the Lok Adalats.
The main challenge that lies in the path of the success of Judiciary is the involvement of the
masses.

In the existing situation, the resort to Lok Adalats has enabled amicable dispute settlement.
The success of Lok Adalats should indeed be measured by the overall atmosphere generated
in the country, not by the number and nature of Lok Adalat held, cases settled or
compensation awarded.