SCHOOL OF LAW AND LEGAL AFFAIRS

Public Interest Lawyering, Legal Aid and Para Legal Service

SUBMITTED TO:

PROF. ARUN SINGH

SUBMITTED BY:
Vaishali Gupta

BALL.B (VIII- SEM)

BA/LL-H/1501/012
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to express my deepest appreciation to all those who provide me the possibility to
complete this assignment. I would like to show my gratitude to my Assistant professor Prof. Arun
Singh for giving me this topic for my assignment and for the guideline to complete my assignment

I would also like to expand my deepest gratitude to all those who directly or indirectly guided me
in writing this assignment and given me the valuable suggestions to improve my assignment .
 Index Page no

1. Introduction 04
2. Objectives 04
3. CONCEPT OF PIL 4-6
4. EVOLUTION OF PIL 6-8
5. ASPECTS OF PIL 08
6. IMPORTANT FEATURES OF PIL 9-10
7. PIL AS AN INSTRUMENT OF SOCIAL CHANGE 10
8. CRITICISM OF PIL 10-11
9. Procedures To File A Pil In The Court 11- 13
10. Categories Involved In Filing A PIL 11
11. Pros And Cons of The PIL 12-14
12. Grievance And Relief 14
13. Relaxation of Locus Standi 14
14. Protection of Weaker Sections of Society 14
15. Protection of Environment 15
16. Securing Human Rights And Human Dignity 15
17. Matters of Public Importance 15
18. Review of Literature 15-16
19. Conclusion 16
20. Introduction Para-legal services , Definitions of Paralegals 16-20
21. The Para-Legal services ,some of Para-Legal Services: 20
22. Legal literacy and Education 20-22
23. Counselling and negotiation in Lok Adalats 22-27
24. Consumer Protection 27
25. Lokayukta 27=28
26. Administrative Tribunals 29-30
27. Examples of specialized Para-legal services :- 30
28. Quasi-Judicial Function 31-32
29. Leading case law Judgment 32-39
30. BIBLIOGRAPHY 40
Introduction

The meaning, origin, development and the scope of Public Interest Litigation and the locus standi
for resorting to this jurisdiction of the Supreme court has been described by that court itself as
follows;
“The question, “What ‘PIL’ means and is” has been deeply surveyed, explored and explained not
only by various Judicial pronouncements in many countries, but also by eminent Judges, Jurists,
activist Lawyers, outstanding scholars, Journalists and Social scientists, etc. Basically, the
meaning of the word “Public Interest” is defined in Oxford English dictionary as “the common
well-being also public welfare”

Objectives

a. To gain knowledge on PILs procedure.

b. To know on the categories involved in PIL
c. To obtain knowledge on its pros and cons.
d. To know about the PILs nature in detail.

CONCEPT OF PIL

According to the jurisprudence of Article 32 of the Constitution of India, “The right to move the
Supreme Court by appropriate proceedings for the enforcement of the rights conferred by this
part is guaranteed.” Ordinarily, only the aggrieved party has the right to seek redress under
Article 32.

In 1981, Justice P. N. Bhagwati, articulated the concept of PIL as follows, “Where a legal
wrong or a legal injury is caused to a person or to a determinate class of persons by reason of
violation of any constitutional or legal right or any burden is imposed in contravention of any
constitutional or legal provision or without authority of law or any such legal wrong or legal
injury or illegal burden is threatened and such person or determinate class of persons by reasons
of poverty, helplessness or disability or socially or economically disadvantaged position unable
to approach the court for relief, any member of public can maintain an application for an
appropriate direction, order or writ in the High Court under Article 226 and in case any breach of
fundamental rights of such persons or determinate class of persons, in this court under Article 32
seeking judicial redress for the legal wrong or legal injury caused to such person or determinate
class of persons.”

The rules of locus standi have been relaxed and a person acting in a bonafide manner and having
sufficient interest in the proceedings of an Public Interest Litigation will alone have the requisite
locus standi and can approach the Courts to wipe out any violation of fundamental rights and
genuine infraction of statutory provisions, but not for personal gain, or private profit, or political
motive, or any oblique consideration.

The Supreme Court of India, in a case has iterated that “In an appropriate case, where the
petitioner might have moved a court in her private interest and for redressal of the personal
grievance, the court in furtherance of Public Interest may treat it a necessity to enquire into the
state of affairs of the subject of litigation in the interest of justice. Thus a private interest case can
also be treated as public interest case.”

In Guruvayur Devaswom Managing Commit. And Anr. Vs. C.K. Rajan and Ors1, the
Supreme Court held, “The Courts exercising their power of judicial review found to its dismay
that the poorest of the poor, depraved, the illiterate, the urban and rural unorganized labour
sector, women, children, handicapped by ‘ignorance, indigence and illiteracy’ and other down
trodden have either no access to justice or had been denied justice. A new branch of proceedings
known as ‘Social Interest Litigation’ or ‘Public Interest Litigation’ was evolved with a view to
render complete justice to the aforementioned classes of persona. It expanded its wings in course
of time. The Courts in pro bono publico granted relief to the inmates of the prisons, provided
legal aid, directed speedy trial, maintenance of human dignity and covered several other areas.
Representative actions, pro bono publico and test litigations were entertained in keeping with the
current accent on justice to the common man and a necessary disincentive to those who wish to
bypass the real issues on the merits by suspect reliance on peripheral procedural shortcomings…
Pro bono publico constituted a significant state in the present day judicial system. They,

1
[J.T. 2003 (7) S.C. 312]
however, provided the dockets with much greater responsibility for rendering the concept of
justice available to the disadvantaged sections of the society. Public interest litigation has come
to stay and its necessity cannot be overemphasized. The courts evolved a jurisprudence of
compassion. Procedural propriety was to move over giving place to substantive concerns of the
deprivation of rights. The rule of locus standi was diluted. The Court in place of disinterested and
dispassionate adjudicator became active participant in the dispensation of justice.”

EVOLUTION OF PIL
Prior to the 1980s, only the aggrieved party could approach the courts for justice. However, post
1980s and after the emergency era, the apex court decided to reach out to the people and hence it
devised an innovative way wherein a person or a civil society group could approach the Supreme
Court seeking legal remedies in cases where public interest is at stake. And thus Public Interest
Litigation was formed.

The Indian PIL is an improved version of PIL of USA. “Public interest law is the name that has
recently been given to efforts that provide legal representation to previously unrepresented
groups and interests. Such efforts have been undertaken in the recognition that ordinary
marketplace for legal services fails to provide such services to significant segments of the
population and to significant interests. Such groups and interests include the proper
environmentalists, consumers, racial and ethnic minorities and others.”

The emergency period (1975-1977) witnessed a somewhat colonial nature of the Indian legal
system. During the period of emergency, state repression and governmental lawlessness was
widespread. Thousands of innocent people including political opponents were sent to jails and
there was complete deprivation of civil and political rights. The post emergency period provided
an occasion for the judges of the Supreme Court to openly disregard the impediments of Anglo-
Saxon procedure in providing access to justice to the poor.

Notably, two Justices of the Supreme Court, Justice V. R. Krishna Iyer and P. N. Bhagwati
recognized the possibility of providing access to justice to the poor and exploited people by
relaxing the rules of standing. In the post-emergency period, when the political situations had
changed, investigative journalism also began to expose gory scenes of governmental lawlessness,
repression, custodial violence, drawing attention of lawyers, judges, and social activists. PIL
emerged as a result of an informal nexus of pro-active judges, media persons and social activists.
This trend showed a stark difference between the traditional justice delivery system and the
modern informal justice system where the judiciary is performing an administrative judicial role.
PIL is a necessary rejection of laissez faire notions of traditional jurisprudence.

The first reported case of PIL, in 1979, focused on the inhuman conditions of prisons and under
trial prisoners. In Hussainara Khatoon v. State of Bihar2 the PIL was filed by an advocate on
the basis of the news item published in the Indian Express, highlighting the plight of thousands
of undertrial prisoners languishing in various jails in Bihar. These proceeding led to the release
of more than 40, 000 under trial prisoners. Right to speedy justice emerged as a basic
fundamental right which had been denied to these prisoners. The same set pattern was adopted in
subsequent cases.

In 1981, the case of Anil Yadav v. State of Bihar3 exposed the brutalities of the Police.
Newspaper reports revealed that about 33 suspected criminals were blinded by the police in
Bihar, by putting acid into their eyes. Through interim orders, the Supreme Court directed the
State Government to bring the blinded men to Delhi for medical treatment. It also ordered speedy
prosecution of the guilty policemen. The court also read right to free legal aid as a fundamental
right of every accused. Anil Yadav signalled the growth of social activism and investigative
litigation.

In Citizen for Democracy v. State of Assam4 , the Supreme Court declared that handcuffs and
other fetters shall not be forced upon a prisoner while lodged in jail or while in transport or
transit from one jail to another or to the court or back.

2
AIR 1979 SC 1360
3
AIR 1982 SC 1008
4
1995) 3SCC 743
Filing a PIL is not as cumbersome as any other legal case and there have been instances when
even letters and telegrams addressed to the court have been taken up as PILs and heard by the
court.

ASPECTS OF PIL

1) Remedial in nature: Remedial nature of PIL departs from the traditional locus standi
requirements. It indirectly incorporated the principles enshrined in the Part IV of the Constitution
of India into Part III of the Constitution. By riding the aspirations of part IV into part III of the
Constitution, the Indian Judiciary had changed the procedural nature of the Indian law into a
dynamic welfare one. Bandhu Mukti Morcha v. Union of India, Unnikrishnan v. State of A.P.,
etc were the obvious examples of this change in nature of judiciary.

2) Representative Standing: Representative standing can be seen as a creative expansion of the

well-accepted standing exception which allows a third party to file a habeas corpus petition on
the ground that the injured party cannot approach the court himself. And in this regard the Indian
concept of PIL is much broader in relation to the American concept. PIL is a modified form of
class action.

3) Citizen Standing: The doctrine of citizen standing thus marks a significant expansion of the
court’s rule, from protector of individual rights to guardian of the rule of law wherever
threatened by official lawlessness.

4) Non-Adversarial Litigation: In the words of the SC, in People’s Union for Democratic
Rights v. Union of India5 “We wish to point out with all the emphasis at our command that
public interest litigation…is a totally different kind of litigation from the ordinary traditional
litigation which is essentially of an adversary character where there is a dispute between two
litigating parties, one making claim or seeking relief against the other and that other opposing
such claim or resisting such relief”. Non-adversarial litigation has two aspects.”

5
AIR 1982 S.C. 1473
IMPORTANT FEATURES OF PIL

Through the mechanism of PIL, the courts seek to protect human rights in the following ways:
1) By creating a new regime of human rights by expanding the meaning of fundamental right to
equality, life and personal liberty. In this process, the right to speedy trial, free legal aid, dignity,
means and livelihood, education, housing, medical care, clean environment, right against torture,
sexual harassment, solitary confinement, bondage and servitude, exploitation and so on emerge
as human rights. These new reconceptualised rights provide legal resources to activate the courts
for their enforcement through PIL.

2) By democratization of access of justice. This is done by relaxing the traditional rule of locus
standi. Any public spirited citizen or social action group can approach the court on behalf of the
oppressed classes. Courts attention can be drawn even by writing a letter or sending a telegram.
This has been called epistolary jurisdiction.

3) By fashioning new kinds of reliefs under the court’s writ jurisdiction. For example, the court
can award interim compensation to the victims of governmental lawlessness. This stands in sharp
contrast to the Anglo-Saxon model of adjudication where interim relief is limited to preserving
the status quo pending final decision. The grant of compensation in PIL matters does not
preclude the aggrieved person from bringing a civil suit for damages. In PIL cases the court can
fashion any relief to the victims.

4) By judicial monitoring of state institutions such as jails, women’s protective homes, juvenile
homes, mental asylums, and the like. Through judicial invigilation, the court seeks gradual
improvement in their management and administration. This has been characterized as creeping
jurisdiction in which the court takes over the administration of these institutions for protecting
human rights.

5) By devising new techniques of fact-finding. In most of the cases the court has appointed its
own socio-legal commissions of inquiry or has deputed its own official for investigation.
Sometimes it has taken the help of National Human Rights Commission or Central Bureau of
Investigation (CBI) or experts to inquire into human rights violations. This may be called
investigative litigation.

PIL AS AN INSTRUMENT OF SOCIAL CHANGE

PIL is working as an important instrument of social change. It is working for the welfare of every
section of society. The innovation of this legitimate instrument proved beneficial for the
developing country like India. PIL has been used as a strategy to combat the atrocities prevailing
in society. It’s an institutional initiative towards the welfare of the needy class of the society. In
Bandhu Mukti Morcha v. Union of India, SC ordered for the release of bonded labourers. In
Murli S. Dogra v. Union of India, court banned smoking in public places. In a landmark
judgement of Delhi Domestic Working Women’s Forum v. Union of India6, Supreme Court
issued guidelines for rehabilitation and compensation for the rape on working women. In
Vishaka v. State of Rajasthan Supreme court has laid down exhaustive guidelines for preventing
sexual harassment of working women in place of their work.

CRITICISM OF PIL

The debates over the limits of Judicial Activism in the area of PIL, have been vigorous. A private
members bill entitled “Public Interest Litigation (Regulation) Bill, 1996” was tabled in the Rajya
Sabha. The statement of objectives and reasons stated that PIL was misused in the name of
providing justice to the poor sections of the society and also that PIL cases were given more
priority over other cases which led to pending of several “general section cases” in the court for
years. However the bill was not passed.

Bearing in mind the power and importance of PIL in making the Constitution a living reality for
every citizen and also the efforts channelled through the medium of PIL jurisprudence in
providing justice to the deprived, the process is positively succeeding, following the logic of its
nature. In a country Characterized by numerous “Variable Ethnicity” and religious diversity,
working via the pattern through a comprehensive bureaucracy, a grieved, poor, deprived citizen

6
(1995) 1 SCC 14
does find it hard to seek justice because of economic disability or lack of “Know-How” or even
due to red-tapism. The only option left before the deprived next to a miracle is a PIL petition.

Procedures To File A Pil In The Court

a. Any citizen of India can approach the court for public case (upon the interest of public)
by filing a petition:
b. Under Supreme Court Article 32 of the constitution.
c. Under High Court under Article 226 of the constitution.
d. Under Court of Magistrate under Section 133 CRPC.

At present, a court can treat a letter as a writ petition and take action upon it. In such cases, the
court has to be satisfied that the writ petition compiles the following;
1. Where the letter is addressed by the aggrieved person.
2. A public-spirited individual.
3. A social action group for the enforcement of legal or constitutional rights to any person who,
upon poverty or disability, are not able to approach the court for redress.

Categories Involved In Filing A PIL

The guidelines provide that ordinarily letter/petitions falling under one of the following 10
categories will be entertained as PIL:
1. Bonded labor matters.
2. Neglected children.
3. Non-payment of minimum wages.
4. Petitions from jails complaining of harassment, death in jail, speedy trial as a fundamental
right, etc.
5. Petitions against police for refusing to register a case, harassment of bride, bride-burning,
rape, murder, kidnapping, etc.
6. Petitions against atrocities on women, in particular harassment of bribe, bribe-burning, rape,
murder, kidnapping, etc.
7. Petitions complaining harassment or torcher of persons belonging to scheduled caste and
scheduled tribes.
8. Petitions pertaining to environmental.

Pros And Cons of The PIL

Pros
(a) citizens get an inexpensive remedy to solve the problem of crime as there is only a nominal
rate of court feeso courts can concentrate on larger public issues such as the issues of Human
Rights, consumer welfare and environment

(b) PILs have made it easier for the judiciary to haul up the executive when it is not performing
its duties properly

(c) If the petitioner is socially or economically weak and cannot provide necessary evidence to
support his case, the court orders appointed commissions to look into and collect information
about the case.

Cons
(a) Many people started handling PIL as tool for harassment because frivolous cases can be filed
without heavy court fee as compared to private litigations
(b) Due to the flexibility of character of the PIL, the opposite party gets an opportunity to
ascertain the precise allegation and respond to specific issues.
(c) The judiciary has been criticized due to the overstepping of its jurisdiction and that it is
unable to implement its order effectively.
(d) PIL as being misused in many ways, by the public agitating for private grievances in the grab
of public interest by seeking publicity rather than supporting the public cause.

Justice Krishna Iyer in the case of Fertilizer corporation Kamagar union Vs Union of India7
has enumerated the following principles on Public Interest Litigation such as;

7
1981 AIR 344, 1981 SCR (2)52
1. The exercise of State power to eradicate corruption may result in unrelated interference’s of
individuals right
2. Social justice want’s liberal judicial review administrative action.
3. Restrictive rules of standing are an antithesis to an effective system of administration.
4. Activism is essential for participative public justice.

M.C. Mehta, a lawyer by profession, acted in such way that by looking to the number of PIL
filed by him, it will be clear that many landmark judgements in various fields mainly
environment was obtained by him. Some of them include;
1. Oleum gas leakage case
2. Child labor case
3. Gamma rays case
4. Delhi vehicular pollution case
5. Ganga pollution case and so on

There are many cases involved in Public Interest Litigation as one of the main causes for the case
and its judgement. In the case of Sheela Barse Vs State of Maharashtra8, the case dealt with a
historical judgement on the issue of custodial violence against women. The Court held that there
must be separate police lockups for women convicts to protect them from further trauma and
brutality. In the case of M.C. Mehta Vs Union of India, it leads to the landmark judgment
which lashed out at the civic authorities allowing untreated sewage from Kanpur tanneries
making its way into the Ganges. In the case of Paramanand Katara Vs Union of India9,
Supreme Court held that in the field of Public Interest Litigation, which was filled by a human
rights activist for general public interest that it is a paramount obligation of every member of
medical profession to give medical aid to injured person as soon as possible without waiting for
any procedural formalities.

8
JT 1988 (3) 15
9
1989 AIR 2039, 1989 SCR (3) 997
Grievance And Relief
In PIL the court has power to take affirmative action by issuing specific directions in cases of
governmental inaction (or) lethargy to perform its functions under law further, the court has
power to award cost to the petitioner who brought an important matter before the court for
compensation to persons who have suffered on and of the violation of their constitutional (or)
legal rights.

Relaxation of Locus Standi

The important innovation in the matter of PIL is relaxation regarding locus standi. Though no
hard and fast rules have been laid down in this regard, in S.P.Gupta and others Vs U.O.I10 and
others, popularly known as Judges transfer case the supreme court elaborately stated the rule in
this regard.

However, the court observed that it would have to be decided from case to case as to whether
person approaching the court for relief has sufficient interest and has not acted with malafide (or)
political motion.

Protection of Weaker Sections of Society

Public (or) social interest litigations is innovative strategy which has been evolved by the
supreme court for the purpose of providing easy access to justification to the weaker sections of
Indian humanity and it is powerful tool in the hands of public spirited individual and social
action groups for combating exploitation and injustice and securing for the under privileged
segments of society their social and economic entitlement.

In M.C. Mehtha Vs state of Tamil Nadu, the Supreme court issued directions for the welfare
and protection of children employed in match factories. In numerous cases, the supreme court
has passed orders and issued directions for the welfare and protection of labor.
In people’s union for Democratic Rights Vs union of India (U.O.I). The supreme court in this
case passed an order for Payment for minimum wages to the labor.

10
AIR 1982 SC 149, 1981 Supp (1) SCC 87, 1982 2 SCR 365
Protection of Environment
In M.C.Mehtha Vs Union of India (U.O.I) in this case the supreme court ordered for closure of
tanneries near Kanpur which were polluting river Ganges and creating Industrial pollution
affecting lifetime of world wonder Taj mahal

Securing Human Rights And Human Dignity

In Bandhu Mukthi morcha Vs Union of India11, the supreme court said Article 21 assures the
Right to Live with Human dignity, includes free from exploitation.

Matters of Public Importance

In matters of great public importance the supreme court has passed appropriate orders under its
PIL jurisdiction;
• To check arbitrary and malafide use of executive discretion
• Widening area of Public Interest Litigation
• Grand of variety of reliefs

Care And Caution Needed

In recent years there has been tremendous development and dynamic progress of COSMOS of
PIL. However, great care and caution is needed on the part of court in entertaining PIL. It has
been pointed out by the supreme court that – “Public Interest Litigation is a weapon which can
be used with great care and circumspection and the Judiciary has to be extremely careful to see
behind the beautiful veil of public interest an ugly private malice, vested interest and seeking is
not lurking.
Judiciary may step in where it finds the actions on the part of Legislature (or) the executive is
illegal (or) unconstitutional but the same by itself would not mean that public interest litigation
would be converted into an adversarial litigation.

Review of Literature
Desai and Muralidhar – PIL is being misused by people agitating for private grievances in the

11
1984 AIR 802, 1984 SCR (2) 67
grab of public interest and seeking publicity rather than espousing public causes
Jain – PIL is a weapon which must be used with great care and circumspection; the courts need
to keep in view that under the guise of redressing a public grievance PIL does not encroach upon
the sphere reserved by the Constitution to the executive and the legislature.

Conclusion
Public Interest Litigants, all over the country, has not taken very kind towards various court
decisions. It is a welcome move from the part of the judiciary that no one in the country even PIL
activists must be responsible and accountable. Now a day, PIL are increasing in number as there
are a number of incidents which curtails or hurts the feeling of people as well as their rights as
the citizens of the country. For instance, mass petitions were filed in many rape cases as well as
murder cases in our country due to the lack of interest from the part of investigating agencies and
even from the part of Government. The Supreme court has also set up legal aid in favour of the
millions of people in India, and it also plays an inevitable role in the field of PIL in expanding its
scope so that it turns to be a counter balance to the lethargy as well as inefficiency of the
executive. Hence, the machinery governing Public Interest Litigation is undergoing a serious
reconstruction or rethinking for possible developments in this field so that the people deserved
will be awarded justice as well as the people who abuses it will be punished accordingly.

Introduction Para-legal services

In today’s context the Para-legal services are playing a key role in administration of justice as
one of the major foundations, ensuring its own specific place to ensure the ends & delivery of
justice in India. We must know that Para-Legal & legal –Aid services are correlated, inter
connected, complement & depend on each other. The Para-Legal services have been developed
by looking at Para-military forces which were created for help of military in emergency and also
in medical fields as Paramedics in India. If the administration of justice wants to the
Implementation of legal aid services, schemes, programs, legal services or other connected
things in administration of justice than they will have to help of paralegal volunteers and
Paralegal services. Even we can say that Paralegals are not only the major and integral part, they
are panacea of Para-legal services and legal system. It is relevant to mention over here that legal
services mean “help or assistance or free services in the field of law. Previously the word legal
aid was used in place of legal service but the Apex Court of India from time to time asserted that
legal aid is not a charity but a paramount duty of a welfare State. Now legal assistance from State
can be claimed as matter of right, therefore, the word legal service is being used in place of legal
aid. Some of the jurists considered legal services as legal assistance to needy persons”

Definitions of Para-Legal Services & Paralegals Definition of Para-Legal Services

There is no particular definition of Para-Legal Services in the Legal Services Authority Act 1987
and General clauses Act 1897 because the Legal Services Authority Act 1987 and General
clauses Act 1897 are silent with respect to actual definition of Para-Legal Services.

Para-Legal services are the supportive services of a lawyer. In Order to understand better the
concept of Para-Legal Services, help can be taken from the medical field where the concept of
Para-Medics is well developed. Paramedics provide specialized support services to the doctors
though they are not themselves allowed to give any medical services. However, they are trained
to give emergency medical aid till the arrival of the doctors or till the time the patient is taken to
a hospital. The basic function of Paramedic is to fill in the time gap in between occurrence of
injury to a person and availability of specialized medical help from a doctor and hospital
services. Now if I am talking to Para-Legal Services, in India this concept is not well developed
and organized. This is primarily because the legal profession itself is not organized in the country
with a huge majority of lawyers operating individually instead of operating through Law Firms
as is the case in most of the developed countries though it is not necessary that if lawyers operate
individually there cannot be any development of ParaLegal Services.

Dr. S.R. Myneni denoted the Para-Legal Services in his book Public Interest Lawyering, Legal
aid and Para Legal Services that “Service means work done by somebody for somebody else as a
job, a duty, a performance, or a favour. Para-Legal means similar to or medelled on the legal but
not belonging to it. Para-Legal Services are related to law but not belonging to the ordinary court
jurisdiction. The cases which are not filed in the ordinary court can be filed in grievance
redressed agencies created by law. Such Legal services are related to law but they have to be
performed outside the courts. Para-Legal services are part and parcel of the Legal aid and advice
programme and therefore, legal aid has to comprehend not only assistance in litigation but also
such other measures as arbitration, couciliation, generating legal awareness among the masses,
and promotion of the meaningful community, participation in legal and national development
and reformation of legal process itself. Para-legal can provide new dimension to the social
mobilisation for legal action by undertaking legal literacy campaigns particularly, in rural areas
where the in habitants are generally poor, ignorant and illiterate. They can render assistance to
rural masses to resolve their disputes or differences at the pre-litigation stage through amicable
settlement instead of approaching the law-court for justice. The basic knowledge of law imparted
by Para-Legal to common man would help him/her to identify his legal problems and solve them
within the community itself without resorting to litigation which is a dialatory and expansive
process. A team of well-trained Para-legal workers can educate the masses about various social
welfare laws and other legislations dealing with employer and employees, landlord and tenants,
buyer and seller, and those related to untouchalility, bonded labour, minorities marriage and
divorce, succession, adoption, tenancy etc.

To some up it can be said that Para-Legal services are the procedure which is made conduct or
accomplish or conducted or accomplished by paralegals for causing it to implement or the
implementation of Legal-Aid services, Schemes, programs or legal services or other connected
things to support or help and ensure or cause it to ensure the ends of justice.

Definitions of Paralegals Now in this regards it is essentials and compulsory to contain here
about paralegals
The All India Seminar on Legal Aid on 14th and 15th September' 1991 held in Hyderabad
expressed the view that . The Para Legals who are otherwise known as bare foot lawyers to go to
the villages and to disseminate the Legal Literacy Programmes and to educate the common men
particularly the exploited, depressed and to women about their rights guaranteed under the
Constitution and various enactments.' From the above it can be deduced that the aid which is
provided by Para Legals which does not include the services of practicing lawyers. The word
Para legal is neither defined in The Legal Services Authorities Act. 1987, nor in General clauses
Act, 1897, but these words are similar to the Para medical in medical terminology.
Honorable Justice Kania is the above seminar states that- “Para Legals have an important role to
play in spreading legal literacy programme to poor and downtrodden” . Honorable Justice A.M.
Ahmedi stressing the training of ParaLegal observed that in the first place one must be assured
that those chosen have the basic education for understanding and assimilating the elementary
knowledge about the laws in regards to which they are imparted training.
Secondly, we must ensure that they are service oriented and have roots in the areas where they
are expected to operate. It is no use of training to those who have no roots, are likely to leave the
arena in search or pursuit elsewhere. Thirdly, we should take care in picking up of only those
laws for training which are likely to prove useful in that area. Fourthly, they must be provided
with sufficient incentives and status in society for the services rendered by them. In keeping
above in mind we identify areas or zones which such ParaLegal trained not only the basic laws
but also in the art of negotiating settlements, are put into service they will be able to render
useful service to our poor and unprivileged citizens and help to avoid unnecessary disputes and
strife’s.
“Paralegals are legal assistance that spends most of their time helping to manage the massive
paper work generated by legal proceedings. Paralegals file, short, index, photocopy and draft
legal documents. They may also hold hearing and interview of witnesses. The duties of paralegal
depend on the firm for which the paralegal works and the educational training and experience of
paralegals many of the paralegal’s services are performed directly for the benefit of a lawyer,
business person or government employees. These services assit the employer with his or her
duties a paralegal may also work directly with the lawyer’s client, drafting necessary contract
and paper work some paralegals however provide legal services for people who cannot afford
full legal services. Typical paralegals services include preparing all types of court document,
planning finances, including estates with will and trust plans and corporate services. Paralegals
prepare numbers of court document such as motions, briefs and depositions. Motions petitions
the trail judge for particular rulings favorable to layers team. Briefs are report that describe the
support the motion. Depositions consist of interviews of witnesses before the trail begins. All
these document must be indexed and organized and often must be entered the computers by the
paralegals”.
The Para-Legal services cover the things are as under The following can be listed as some
of Para-Legal Services:

1. Legal literacy and Education

It is said that, India lives in villages and therefore to understand the relation of law with society
one has to concentrate on Indian villages. Most of the villagers are unaware about their own
fundamental rights, legal rights and remedies available to them and so they have no knowledge
of various legislations in force for them.
There are number of legislations intended to reduce socio-economic disparities and to bring
about equality, but most of the people are unaware about it. It is essential to make not only
village people but also urban population, unaware of their rights, aware that educated persons
also sometimes get cheated by crafty persons.
Nowadays after quite a prodding from the superior Courts the twin facets legal aid and legal
awareness had been given a strong boost and District legal aid Committees, henceforth which
were only in nominal existence have started fenchaning full swing. Also legal awareness
programs are held regularly at grass root level.
Many times educated people are also exploited by shopkeepers, etc. but they are unaware of their
rights given in Consumer Protection Act, etc.

Women especially from villages are also unaware of their rights which are especially enumerated
for them by our Constitution and for all these purposes legal awareness is very essential. Legal
awareness is possible through legal literacy, but in a country like ours where illiteracy is a curse
and rampant in our society, how is it possible to legally educate people who are illiterates. For
this purpose legal camps with the help of audio, video instrument should be held in villages or
legal literacy can be enhanced with the help of media too.

There are also some major steps to improve legal education and one of the most important is to
increase the quality standard of law field. For that there should be more establishments of law
colleges. For effective legal education there is need for improvement in legal academic education
to maintain standard of legal education.
The Supreme Court in State of Maharashtra v. Manbhai Pragaji Vashi12, held that in order to
provide the free legal aid it is necessary to have well trained lawyers in the country and this is
only possible if there are adequate number of law colleges with necessary infrastructure and
good teachers and staff.

It is the duty of the Government to permit establishment of duly recognised private law colleges
and give them grant-in-aid like other faculty colleges.

This verdict of the Supreme Court clearly shows that for improvement of Legal education there
is need to improve quality of legal academic education and it is also suggested that there should
be separate provisions of budget regarding Legal education. The law ministry of every state
should have a reasonable contact with every law university.

Today we first need judges of repute and eminence. Since law is one of the social sciences,
therefore the study of history, politics, economics and sociology should be linked with the study
of law which improves their knowledge and they can broaden their views from all the aspects of
human society.

Gradual or subtle changes occurring in our society make it necessary that where the existing law
is unable to move with changes taking place in our society, to reform it, or where there exists no
law at all, to make a law to regulate the changes that take place in the society. If the law fails to
be progressive, it is bound to be disregarded and thus to decay and die because law is meant for
society.

Law possesses both creative and moulding power and, therefore, persons dealing with law, as
legislators, judges, teachers, or practitioners should be, more than highly trained craftsmen and
for that purpose it is important to study law along with social science and language to improve
legal education.

12
(1995) 5 SCC 730
For the improvement of legal education, it is also suggested to engage active social workers,
sarvodaya workers who can easily interact with common people, and find out the deficiencies in
the enactment and the problems of implementation of any legislations and also make the people
aware about various legal remedies; the social workers eliminate the fear about legal procedures
and courts from the hearts of common people and for that purpose it is beneficial to give legal
training to social workers.

If all objectives of legal education have been achieved then it is possible to protect the neglected
and downtrodden poor and indigent against the onslaughts of the more powerful and elite
sections of society and provide them an opportunity of getting justice. No one is exploited,
everyone becomes aware of their own rights and duties and no one should be deprived of his
rights because of poverty and illiteracy.

2. Counselling and negotiation in Lok Adalats

ADR has been an integral part of our historical past. Like the zero, the concept of Lok Adalat
(Peoples' Court) is an innovative Indian contribution to the world jurisprudence. The institution
of Lok Adalat in India, as the very name suggests, means, People's Court. "Lok" stands for
"people" and the vernacular meaning of the term "Adalat" is the court. India has a long tradition
and history of such methods being practiced in the society at grass roots level. These are called
panchayat and in the legal terminology, these are called arbitration. These are widely used in
India for resolution of disputes ? both commercial and non-commercial. Other alternative
methods being used are Lok Adalat (People's Court), where justice is dispensed summarily
without too much emphasis on legal technicalities. It has been proved to be a very effective
alternative to litigation.

The ancient concept of settlement of dispute through mediation, negotiation or through arbitral
process known as "Peoples' Court verdict" or decision of "Nyaya-Panch" is conceptualized and
institutionalized in the philosophy of Lok Adalat. Some people equate Lok Adalat to conciliation
or mediation, some treat it with negotiations and arbitration. Those who find it different from all
these, call it "Peoples' Court". It involves people who are directly or indirectly affected by
dispute resolution.
The salient features of this form of dispute resolution are participation, accommodation, fairness,
expectation, voluntariness, neighbourliness, transparency, efficiency and lack of animosity.

The concept of Lok Adalats was pushed back into oblivion in last few centuries before
independence and particularly during the British regime. Now, this concept has, once again, been
rejuvenated. It has, once again, become very popular and familiar amongst litigants. 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 ADRs and most suited to the Indian environment, culture and societal interests.

Camps of Lok Adalats were started initially in Gujarat in March 1982 and now it has been
extended throughout the Country.

The evolution of this movement 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. The first
Lok Adalat was held on March 14, 1982 at Junagarh in Gujarat the land of Mahatma Gandhi.
Lok Adalats have been very successful in settlement of motor accident claim cases,
matrimonial/family disputes, labourdisputes, disputes relating to public services such as
telephone, electricity, bank recovery cases and so on.

Some statistics may give us a feeling of tremendous satisfaction and encouragement. Up to the
middle of last year (2004), more than 200,000 Lok Adalats have been held and therein more
than16 million cases have been settled, half of which were motor accident claim cases. More
than one billion US dollars were distributed by way of compensation to those who had suffered
accidents. 6.7 million persons have benefited through legal aid and advice.

Legislation pertaining to Lok Adalats- 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 a 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 as the very name signifies. Settlement of disputes at the hands of Panchayat
Heads or tribal heads was in 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.

Procedure at Lok Adalat: 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 whereupon 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.
Finality of Lok Adalat award: One issue which raises its head often is the finality of the award of
the Lok Adalat. During the Lok Adalat, the parties agree to abide by the decision of the judge at
the Lok Adalat. However, it is often seen that later, the same order is challenged on several
grounds. In one of the recent decisions, the Supreme Court of India has once again laid to rest all
such doubts. In unequivocal terms, the Court has held that award of the Lok Adalat is as good as
the decree of a Court. The award of the Lok Adalat is fictionally deemed to be decrees 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.

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 can not be forced on any party that the matter has
to be decided by the Lok Adalat. 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 implies some element of accommodation on
each side. It is not apt to describe it as total surrender.
A compromise is always bilateral and means mutual adjustment. Settlement is termination of
legal proceedings by mutual consent. If no compromise or settlement is or could be arrived at, no
order can be passed by the Lok Adalat.

Benefits of Lok Adalat- The benefits that litigants derive through the Lok Adalats are many. #
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.

# 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 advocate 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

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

# Last but not the least, faster and inexpensive remedy with legal status.

The system has received laurels from the parties involved in particular and the 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.

Overall effect of the scheme of the Lok Adalat is that the parties to the disputes sit across the
table and sort out their disputes by way of conciliation in presence of the Lok Adalat Judges,
who would be guiding them on technical legal aspects of the controversies.

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.

3. Consumer Protection

Consumer often becomes victim of unfair competition, marketing policies, cumbersome legal
process, cost and agony. Therefore, the primary challenge was to put such a mechanism in place
that could protect the rights of the consumers without subjecting them to unnecessarily
cumbersome legal process.

Secondly, it was also to be ensured that the cost of approaching a redressed forum was
reasonable. Keeping all of the above in mind Parliament enacted Consumer Protection Act, 1986.
A consumer has a right to information, to safety, to complain and to the redressed of grievance.

Under this law the consumer forums were set up at the District level, State level and at the
National level i.e. District Consumer Forum, State Commission and National Commission along
with the Consumer Protection Council at these three levels.

Collectively these forums are to protect and promote consumer rights. In order to meet the
current need for the consumer protection the Parliament has amended the Consumer Protection
Act more than five times up to March, 2004. Besides the Consumer Protection Act, the Contract
Act and the Sale of Goods Act are the Central Legislations to protect the interests of the
consumer through civil court process.

4. Lokayukta

The first Administrative Reforms Commission headed by Mr. Morarjee Desai recommended for
Sweden based Ombudsmen type of institution. Accordingly the center can have Lokpal and
states can have Lokayukta. Though the institution of Lokayukta was introduced for the first time
in Odisha but it was not able to implement it. Maharashtra was the first state to implement in
1973. It investigates the allegation against officials like corruption, favouratism, nepotism,
injustice and other grievances. It does not include Judges, Speaker, Chairman, Accountant
General, Chairman and Members of State Public Service Commission Commission, Judges of
Civil and criminal court. The Lokayukta receives the petition from the public and conducts
inquiries. It has power to raid on the houses and offices of corrupt official.

1. Lokayukta are appointed for 5 years or till attaining age of 70 years.

2. His salary is equivalent to Chief Justice of India and salary of its members is equivalent to
Judge of Supreme Court.
3. They can be removed from the office by the governor, on the charge of misbehaviour or
incapacity proved in the state legislature by 2/3rd majority.

POWERS AND FUNCTIONS OF LOKAYUKTA

Matters which may be investigated by the Lok Ayukta – Subject to the provisions of the Act, the
Lok Ayukta may investigate any action which is taken by or with the general or specific approval
of chief minister, a minister, a member of the State legislature, the Chairman, Vice-Chairman or
a member of an authority, Board or a committee etc. In any case where a complaint involving a
grievance or an allegation is made in respect of such action.

Lokayukta may investigate any action taken by the public servant if it is referred by the state
government.

In the process of investigation, the Lok Ayukta deals with the issue of search warrant. For the
said purpose, they have all the powers of a civil court which trying a suit under CPC, 1908 in
respect of summoning and enforcing the attendance of any person and examining him on oath,
production of any document, received evidence of affidavits, getting any public record or copy
from any court office etc.

The Lok Ayukta after investigation shall make a declaration with regard to the governor or chief
minister of the state to the vacation of office of the said official.
5. Administrative Tribunals

An administrative tribunal is not a Court. It is not an execu-tive body. It stands somewhere

midway between a Court and an ad-ministrative body. It is a result of the compromise between
the judiciary and the executive.

It is established by the executive in exer-cise of, and in accordance with, the statutory provisions;
it is required to act judicially and perform quasi-judicial functions; its proceedings are deemed to
be judicial proceedings, and in certain procedural mat-ters it has the powers of a Civil Court; it is
not wedded to the tech-nicalities of the Rules of procedure and evidence prescribed by the Code
of Civil Procedure and the Evidence Act, and it decides non- conventional type of disputes in aid
of the programme of the welfare state in accordance with the rules of natural justice. But the
ad-ministrative tribunals have also some great demerits and disad-vantages. Even though like the
institution of delegated legislation, the growth of administrative justice may also be inevitable in
the context of modern circumstances, yet this development must be kept under constant and
vigilant observation.

To the extent justice is ad-ministered by an administrative tribunal the ordinary judicial process
is by-passed. There is great merit in an independent judiciary ad-ministering the law in an open
Court. Access to Court has been the bulwark of individual freedom and liberty. Most of the
tribunals, on the other hand, do not enjoy the same amount of independence of the Executive as
do the Courts and the judges.

At times they adopt sum-mary procedures to deal with cases coming before them. In sum, some
of the protections which an individual enjoys at the hands of the Courts in lacking in case of
tribunal. A Court seeks to act in ac-cordance with accepted principles of law and procedure.

Lawyers are trained to apply principles and weigh evidence. The Courts follow precedents and
publish the reasons for their decisions. Some of these features are lacking in the case of
administrative tribunals.
It is, there-fore, deemed essential in the interest of maintaining the rule of law in society and to
preserve individual freedom, that there should be some kind of judicial control over these
tribunals, so that they may be prevented from an excess of abuse of their powers. It is also
regarded as necessary the ultimate control in regard to the matter of law should also vest in the
ordinary Courts.

Examples of specialized Para-legal services :-

1. Legal Transcription

2. Document management

3. Deposition summary

4. Legal billing

5. Legal coding

6. Scoping and court reporting services

7. Legal Translation

8. Data entry service

9. Secretarial and paralegal business process services

10. E-filling service

11. OCR and scanning service

Duties

1. It shall be the duty of every District Authority to perform such of the functions of the
State Authority in the District as may be delegated to it from time to time by the State Authority.

2. Without prejudice to the generality of the functions referred to in sub-section (1), the
District Authority may perform all or any of the following functions, namely:—

a. Coordinate the activities of the Taluk Legal Services

Committee and other legal services in the District;

b. Organise Lok Adalats within the District; and

c. Perform such other functions as the State Authority may fix by regulations.

Section 11 of the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 further provides that in the discharge of
functions under the Act, the District Authority shall act in co-ordination with other governmental
and non-governmental institutions, universities and others engaged in the work of promoting
cause of legal services to the poor and shall also be guided by such directions as the Central
Authority or the State Authority may give to it in writing.

Quasi-Judicial Function

An authority is said to be exercising Quasi-Judicial Function when:

 it is empowered under a statute to do any act

 the act will affect the civil rights of a citizen
 whether the act is done in the context of resolving a dispute between two citizens, or whether
the dispute is between a citizen and the authority itself
 the authority is required to act judicially and in accordance with rules of natural justice

Examples of Quasi-judicial bodies in India

1. National Human Rights Commission

 2. State Human Rights Commission
3. Central Information Commission
4. State Information Commission
5. National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission
6. State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission
7. District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum
8. Competition Commission of India
9. Appellate Tribunal for Electricity
10. State Electricity Regulatory Commission
11. Railway Claims Tribunal
12. Income Tax Appellate Tribunal
13. Intellectual Property Appellate Tribunal
14. Central Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal
15. Banking Ombudsman
16. Insurance Ombudsman
17. Income tax Ombudsman
18. Electricity Ombudsman
19. State Sales tax Appellate Tribunal

Leading case law Judgment

In Supreme Court of India State Of Punjab & Anr vs Jalour Singh & Ors on 18 January, 2008
Author: K Balakrishnan
Bench: Cji K Balakrishnan, G P Mathur, R V Raveendran CASE NO.:Appeal (civil) 522
of 2008
PETITIONER:
State of Punjab & Anr.
RESPONDENT:
Jalour Singh & Ors.
DATE OF JUDGMENT: 18/01/2008

JUDGMENT:

O R D E R (Arising out of SLP [C] No.3847/2005] K.G. Balakrishnan, CJI :

Delay condoned. Leave granted. Heard the learned counsel.

2. Respondents 1 and 2 herein - the husband and son of one Amarjit Kaur who died in a
motor accident involving a Punjab roadways bus, filed a claim petition before the Motor
Accident Claims Tribunal, Faridkot. As against the compensation of Rs.5 lacs claimed, the
Tribunal, on 1.12.1998 awarded a compensation of Rs.1,44,000. Not being satisfied with the
quantum of compensation, respondents 1 and 2 filed FAO No.1549/1999 before the Punjab &
Haryana High Court. The said appeal was referred to Lok Adalat organised by the High Court,
for settlement.

3. The High Court Lok Adalat took up the case on 3.8.2001. The parties were not present.
Their counsel were present. After hearing them the Lok Adalat passed the following order :

FAO No.1549 of 1999 "After hearing counsel for the parties, we propose to increase in the
amount of compensation, which is considered just and reasonable in this case.

The accident took place on March 4, 1997. Amarjit Kaur, aged about 32 years, died in the
accident. Her husband and minor son claimed compensation. The Tribunal granted Rs.1,44,000/-
along with 12 percent per annum interest. Feeling dissatisfied, they are in appeal.

The deceased was doing household work and also looking after some cattle and selling milk. The
tribunal fixed earning capacity at Rs.900/- and dependency at Rs.600/- Applying multiplier of
15, compensation was worked out at Rs.1,08,000/-. To this a sum of Rs.28,253 on account of
medical expenses, Rs.2147/- towards incidental charges and Rs.5600/- towards hospital charges
were allowed. We are of the opinion that the earning capacity of the household wife has been
determined on the lower side. An ordinary labourer gets Rs.1200/- per mensem and at the lowest
at least Rs.1200/- should have been determined the earning capacity of the deceased and
dependency of the claimants at Rs.800/-. The multiplier of 15 applied in this case is also on the
lower side. Since the deceased was aged 32 years, as per Schedule attached to the Motor
Vehicles Act, multiplier should have been 17. Thus, compensation worked out at Rs.1,63,200/-
(Rs.800/- x 12 x 17). To this a sum of Rs.7,000/- is added i.e. Rs.2,000/- towards funeral
expenses and Rs.5,000/- towards loss of consortium, payable to the husband, making total
compensation payable at Rs.1,70,200/-. The Tribunal under this head allowed compensation of
Rs.1,08,000/- i.e. under this head the claimants would get Rs.62,200/- over and above that
amount. The compensation granted under other heads is considered just and reasonable.

Thus, while allowing the appeal, we grant compensation of Rs.62,200/- over and above the
amount awarded by the Tribunal to the appellants, who would share it equally. On this amount
they will get interest at the rate of 12 percent per annum from the date of filing of the claim
petition i.e. July 28, 1997, till payment. Two months time is allowed to the respondents to make
the payment.

If the parties object to the proposed order as above, they may move the High Court within two
months for disposal of the appeal on merits according to law.

Copies of the order be supplied to the counsel for the parties."

(emphasis supplied)

4. Punjab Roadways (second appellant herein) filed an application dated 15.1.2002 (CM
No.13988-CII of 2002 in FAO No.1549/1999) to set aside order dated 3.8.2001 passed by the
Lok Adalat, as it was passed without their consent. The said application was rejected by a
learned Single Judge by a short order dated 11.9.2002 on the ground that such objections were
not maintainable or entertainable, having regard to its decision in Charanjit Kaur v. Balwant
Singh (CM No.13988-CII of 2002 in FAO No.1827/1999 decided on 30.7.2002) and other cases.
In Charanjit Kaur, the learned single Judge had held that an order passed by the Lok Adalat can
be challenged only by a petition under Article 227 of the Constitution, as all proceedings before
the Lok Adalat are deemed to be judicial proceedings and Lok Adalat is deemed to be a civil
court under section 22(3) of Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987.

5. The appellants, therefore, filed a petition under Article 227 of the Constitution (Civil
Revision Petition No.970/2004) challenging the order dated 3.8.2001 of the Lok Adalat. The said
petition was rejected by another single Judge of the High Court by the following order dated
26.2.2003 :
"The instant petition has been filed under Article 227 of the Constitution seeking necessary
directions quashing the order dated 3.8.2001 passed by the Lok Adalat enhancing the
compensation in favour of the claimant- respondents to the tune of Rs.62,000/-. The order of the
Lok Adalat specifically indicated that if the parties were not satisfied, they could file objections
within a period of two months for the disposal of the appeal on merits in accordance with law.
The petitioners-State had filed objections which were dismissed on 11.9.2002 and the order of
the Lok Adalat dated 3.8.2001 had attained finality.

Now the instant petition has been filed against challenging the order of the Lok Adalat dated
3.8.2001. Nothing has been pointed out showing that such a petition under Article 227 of the
Constitution is maintainable. Apart from the fact that the Lok Adalat has granted time for filing
the objections and the objections have been dismissed, the meager increase in the amount of
compensation does not warrant any interference.

In view of the above, the petition is dismissed being not maintainable."

(emphasis supplied) The said order is under challenge in this appeal by special leave.

6. We are rather dismayed at the manner in which the entire matter has been dealt with,
undermining the very purpose and object of Lok Adalats. At every stage the Lok Adalat and the
High Court have acted in a manner contrary to law.

7. A reference to relevant provisions will be of some assistance, before examination of the

issues involved. Section 19 of the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 ('LSA Act' for short)
provides for organisation of Lok Adalats. Section 19(5)(i) of LSA Act provides that 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 any case pending before any court for which the Lok Adalat is
organised. Section 20 relates to cognizance of cases by Lok Adalats. Sub-section (1) refers to
Lok Adalats taking cognizance of cases referred to by courts and sub-section (2) refers to Lok
Adalats taking cognizance of matters at pre-litigation stage. The relevant portions of other sub-
sections of section 20, relating to cases referred by courts, are extracted below :
"(3) Where any case is referred to a Lok Adalat under sub-section (1) . the Lok Adalat shall
proceed to dispose of the case and arrive at a compromise or settlement between the parties.

(4) Every Lok Adalat shall, while determining any reference before it under this Act, act with
utmost expedition to arrive at a compromise or settlement between the parties and shall be
guided by the principles of justice, equity, fair play and other legal principles.

(5) Where no award is made by the Lok Adalat on the ground that no compromise or
settlement could be arrived at between the parties, the record of the case shall be returned by it to
the court, from which the reference has been received under sub-section (1) for disposal in
accordance with law.

(7) Where the record of the case is returned under sub-section (5) to the court, such court
shall proceed to deal with such case from the stage which was reached before such reference
under sub-section (1)]"

(emphasis supplied)

8. It is evident from the said provisions that Lok Adalats have no adjudicatory or judicial
functions. Their functions relate purely to conciliation. A Lok Adalat determines a reference on
the basis of a compromise or settlement between the parties at its instance, and put its seal of
confirmation by making an award in terms of the compromise or settlement. When the Lok
Adalat is not able to arrive at a settlement or compromise, no award is made and the case record
is returned to the court from which the reference was received, for disposal in accordance with
law. No Lok Adalat has the power to "hear" parties to adjudicate cases as a court does. It
discusses the subject matter with the parties and persuades them to arrive at a just settlement. In
their conciliatory role, the Lok Adalats are guided by principles of justice, equity, fair play.
When the LSA Act refers to 'determination' by the Lok Adalat and 'award' by the Lok Adalat, the
said Act does not contemplate nor require an adjudicatory judicial determination, but a non-
adjudicatory determination based on a compromise or settlement, arrived at by the parties, with
guidance and assistance from the Lok Adalat. The 'award' of the Lok Adalat does not mean any
independent verdict or opinion arrived at by any decision making process. The making of the
award is merely an administrative act of incorporating the terms of settlement or compromise
agreed by parties in the presence of the Lok Adalat, in the form of an executable order under the
signature and seal of the Lok Adalat.

9. But we find that many sitting or retired Judges, while participating in Lok Adalats as
members, tend to conduct Lok Adalats like courts, by hearing parties, and imposing their views
as to what is just and equitable, on the parties. Sometimes they get carried away and proceed to
pass orders on merits, as in this case, even though there is no consensus or settlement. Such acts,
instead of fostering alternative dispute resolution through Lok Adalats, will drive the litigants
away from Lok Adalats. Lok Adalats should resist their temptation to play the part of Judges and
constantly strive to function as conciliators. The endeavour and effort of the Lok Adalats should
be to guide and persuade the parties, with reference to principles of justice, equity and fair play
to compromise and settle the dispute by explaining the pros and cons, strength and weaknesses,
advantages and disadvantages of their respective claims.

10. The order of the Lok Adalat in this case (extracted above), shows that it assumed a
judicial role, heard parties, ignored the absence of consensus, and increased the compensation to
an extent it considered just and reasonable, by a reasoned order which is adjudicatory in nature.
It arrogated to itself the appellate powers of the High Court and 'allowed' the appeal and
'directed' the respondents in the appeal to pay the enhanced compensation of Rs.62,200/- within
two months. The order of the Lok Adalat was not passed by consent of parties or in pursuance of
any compromise or settlement between the parties, is evident from its observation that "if the
parties object to the proposed order they may move the High Court within two months for
disposal of the appeal on merits according to law". Such an order is not an award of the Lok
Adalat. Being contrary to law and beyond the power and jurisdiction of the Lok Adalat, it is void
in the eye of law. Such orders which "impose" the views of the Lok Adalats on the parties,
whatever be the good intention behind them, bring a bad name to Lok Adalats and legal services.

11. The travails of the parties did not end with the Lok Adalat. Because the Lok Adalat
directed the aggrieved party to move the High Court for disposal of appeal on merits if they had
objection to its order, the appellants moved the High Court by an application in the appeal,
stating that they had not agreed to the enhancement proposed by Lok Adalat and praying that the
order of the Lok Adalat increasing the compensation by Rs.62,200 may be set aside as there was
no settlement or compromise. The learned single Judge failed to notice that there was no
settlement or compromise between the parties; that the order made by the Lok Adalat was not an
award in terms of any settlement as contemplated under the LSA Act; that the Lok Adalat had
clearly stated that the parties may either agree to it, or move the High Court for disposal of the
appeal on merits in accordance with law; and that in the absence of any settlement and 'award',
the appeal before the High Court continued to be pending and could not have been treated as
finally disposed of. The learned single Judge instead of perusing the order of the Lok Adalat and
hearing the appeal on merits, proceeded on a baseless assumption that the order dated 3.8.2001
of the Lok Adalat was a binding award and therefore an application to hear the appeal, was not
maintainable and the only remedy for the appellants was to challenge the order of the Lok Adalat
by filing a writ petition under Article 227 of the Constitution.

12. It is true that where an award is made by Lok Adalat in terms of a settlement arrived at
between the parties, (which is duly signed by parties and annexed to the award of the Lok
Adalat), it becomes final and binding on the parties to the settlement and becomes executable as
if it is a decree of a civil court, and no appeal lies against it to any court. If any party wants to
challenge such an award based on settlement, it can be done only by filing a petition under
Article 226 and/or Article 227 of the Constitution, that too on very limited grounds. But where
no compromise or settlement is signed by the parties and the order of the Lok Adalat does not
refer to any settlement, but directs the respondent to either make payment if it agrees to the
order, or approach the High Court for disposal of appeal on merits, if it does not agree, is not an
award of the Lok Adalat. The question of challenging such an order in a petition under Article
227 does not arise. As already noticed, in such a situation, the High Court ought to have heard
and disposed of the appeal on merits.

13. But the travails continued. In view of the order dated 11.9.2002 passed by the learned
single Judge holding that a petition under Article 227 has to be filed to challenge the order of the
Lok Adalat, the appellants filed a petition under Article 227. But the said petition was dismissed
by another single Judge on the ground that the order of Lok Adalat passed on 3.8.2001 had
attained finality as the objections to it were dismissed on 11.9.2002 and a petition under Article
227 was not maintainable to challenge the order of Lok Adalat. He failed to notice that the order
dated 3.8.2001 was neither a decision nor had it attained finality. He also failed to notice that the
objections to the order were not rejected by the High Court after consideration on merits. He also
overlooked the fact that the learned Judge who decided the appellants' application, had directed
that the order of the Lok Adalat should be challenged by filing a petition under Article 227. Be
that as it may.

11. Thus we find that the Lok Adalat exercised a power/jurisdiction not vested in it. On the
other hand, the High Court twice refused to exercise the jurisdiction vested in it, thereby denying
justice and driving the appellants to this Court. In this process, a simple appeal by the legal heirs
of the deceased for enhancement of compensation, has been tossed around and is pending for
more than eight years, putting them to avoidable expense and harassment.

12. We therefore allow this appeal and quash the order dated 3.8.2001 of the Lok Adalat as
also set aside the orders dated 11.9.2002 and 26.2.2003 of the High Court. As a consequence, the
High Court shall hear and dispose of FAO No.1549/1999 which continues to be pending on its
record, on merits in accordance with law. The High Court is requested to dispose of the appeal
expeditiously. Parties to bear their respective costs.
BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. D.D.Basu, Shorter Constitution of India, Wadhwa

2. V.N.Shukla, Constitution of India

3. J.P.S. Sirohi, Public Interest Litigations, ALA

4. S.Bewa, Public Interest Litigations, ALA

5. Kailash Rai, Public Interest Lawyering