BANGALORE UNIVERSITY

UNIVERSITY LAW COLLEGE,

DEPT.OF STUDIES AND RESEARCH IN LAW

LOKADALAT VISIT REPORT

NAME: B.S. GAYATHRI

REG. NUMBER: 15LUL09013
SEMESTER: X SEMESTER, V YEAR
COURSE: B.A.,L.L.B.

CLINICAL COURSE PAPER-III

FACULTY IN CHARGE- DR. CHANDRAKANTHI .L
 LOK ADALATS AND PERMANENT LOK ADALATS

Lok Adalats in India:

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.

Evolution Of Lok Adalats:

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, labour disputes, disputes relating to public services such as
telephone, electricity, bank recovery cases and so on.

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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. 6.7million 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.

Benefits Of Lok Adalats:

There are endless benefits that litigants can derive from this system.

 First, the absence of any court fees makes it highly economical and approachable by the
weaker societies. Moreover, if a case has previously been filed in any court, the fees charged
by this court will be returned as soon as the matter is filed with Lok Adalat.
 Secondly, there is a lot more flexibility with regards to procedural rules and the weight of
Evidence Act during the assessment of any claim. The aggrieved party and the defendants
can directly interact and communicate with the judges of Lok Adalat despite being
represented by their advocates.
 Thirdly, any matter can be presented directly to the Lok Adalat instead of going through any
court. Since time is of the essence in most of these cases, having a fast track and cost
effective system such as this can be beneficial to many.
 Fourthly, Lok Adalat’s decision is binding on the parties, and the same can be executed with
a legal process. The decision of Lok Adalat cannot be appealed to higher courts unlike the
other courts of law which usually results in a delay of the proceedings. This is because the
decision made in a Lok Adalat is mutually settled as opposed to a verdict given in other
courts. Hence, the need for an appeal should not arise if the settlement consents.

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The most important feature of this system is the fast track, affordable remedy that is available
to people at large. The system has received laurels from the parties involved in particular and
the public and the legal functionaries, in general. Voluntary participation is an essential element
of this kind of a solution. It is an assumed fact that the participating parties have decided to
come to a mutual settlement amicably.

Studies have shown that in countries that are undergoing development, around 90% of the
disputes are settled in alternative courts, and only 10% are settled in the traditional courts. In
India, Lok Adalat is the need of the day, given that the amount of the legal fraternity is not
proportionate to the disputes. Therefore as a support to this, Lok Adalats help the courts to lift
the burden laid upon them.

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,

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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 cannot 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.

Permanent lok adalat:

The other type of Lok Adalat is the Permanent Lok Adalat, organized under Section 22-B of
The Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987. Permanent Lok Adalats have been set up as
permanent bodies with a Chairman and two members for providing compulsory pre-litigative
mechanism for conciliation and settlement of cases relating to Public Utility Services like
transport, postal, telegraph etc. Here, even if the parties fail to reach to a settlement, the
Permanent Lok Adalat gets jurisdiction to decide the dispute, provided, the dispute does not
relate to any offence. Further, the Award of the Permanent Lok Adalat is final and binding on
all the parties. The jurisdiction of the Permanent Lok Adalats is upto Rs. One Crore. Here if
the parties fail to reach to a settlement, the Permanent Lok Adalat has the jurisdiction to decide
the case. The award of the Permanent Lok Adalat is final and binding upon the parties. The
Lok Adalat may conduct the proceedings in such a manner as it considers appropriate, taking
into account the circumstances of the case, wishes of the parties like requests to hear oral
statements, speedy settlement of dispute etc.

In his inaugural address at the second annual meet of the State Legal Services Authorities,
1999, the then Hon'ble Chief Justice Dr A.S. Anand airing him views stated thus:
"There will be no harm if Legal Services Authorities Act is suitably amended to provide that

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in case, in a matter before it, the Judges of the Lok Adalats are satisfied that one of the parties
is unreasonably opposing a reasonable settlement and has no valid defence whatsoever against
the claim of the opposite party, they may pass an award on the basis of the materials before
them without the consent of one or more parties. It may also be provided that against such
awards, there would be one appeal to the court to which the appeal would have gone if the
matter had been decided by a court. This course, would give relief to a very large number of
litigants coming to Lok Adalats at pre litigative stage as well as in pending matters."

In 2002, Parliament brought about certain amendments to the Legal Services Authorities Act,
1987. The said amendment introduced Chapter VI-A with the caption PRE LITIGATION
CONCILIATION AND SETTLEMENT. Section 22-B envisages establishment of
"PERMANENT LOK ADALATS (PLA)" at different places for considering the cases in
respect of Public Utility Services (PUS)

The Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987:

The Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 was enacted to constitute legal services authorities
for providing free and competent legal services to the weaker sections of the society to ensure
that opportunities for securing justice were not denied to any citizen by reason of economic or
other disabilities and to organize Lok Adalats to ensure that the operation of the legal system
promoted justice on a basis of equal opportunity. The system of Lok Adalat, which is an
innovative mechanism for alternate dispute resolution, has proved effective for resolving
disputes in a spirit of conciliation outside the courts

However, the major drawback in the existing scheme of organization of the Lok Adalats under
Chapter VI of the said Act is that the system of Lok Adalats is mainly based on compromise
or settlement between the parties. If the parties do not arrive at any compromise or settlement,
the case is either returned to the court of law or the parties are advised to seek remedy in a court
of law. This causes unnecessary delay in the dispensation of justice. If Lok Adalats are given
power to decide the cases on merits in case parties fails to arrive at any compromise or
settlement, this problem can be tackled to a great extent. Further, the cases which arise in
relation to public utility services such as Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited, Delhi Vidyut
Board, etc., need to be settled urgently so that people get justice without delay even at pre-
litigation stage and thus most of the petty cases which ought not to go in the regular courts
would be settled at the pre-litigation stage itself which would result in reducing the workload
of the regular courts to a great extent. It is, therefore, proposed to amend the Legal Services
Authorities Act, 1987 to set up Permanent Lok Adalats for providing compulsory pre-litigative
mechanism for conciliation and settlement of cases relating to public utility services.

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Amendments made to The Legal Services Authorities (Amendment) Act,
2002
The Legal Services Authorities (amendment) Act, 2002 was enacted as ACT NO. 37 OF 2002
on 11th June, 2002.This Act further to amended the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987

The salient features of the amendment are as follows:

1. Insertion of new Chapter VIA.- After Chapter VI of the principal Act, the following
Chapter shall be inserted, namely:-' chapter via pre- litigation conciliation and settlement
2. To provide for the establishment of Permanent Lok Adalats which shall consist of a
Chairman who is or has been a district judge or additional district judge or has held judicial
office higher in rank than that of the district judge and two other persons having adequate
experience in public utility services;
3. The Permanent Lok Adalat shall exercise jurisdiction in respect of one or more public
utility services such as transport services of passengers or goods by air, road and water,
postal, telegraph or telephone services, supply of power, light or water to the public by any
establishment, public conservancy or sanitation, services in hospitals or dispensaries; and
insurance services;
4. The pecuniary jurisdiction of the Permanent Lok Adalat shall be up to rupees ten lakhs.
However, the Central Government may increase the said pecuniary jurisdiction from time
to time. It shall have not jurisdiction in respect of any matter relating to an offence not
compoundable under any law;
5. It also provides that before the dispute is brought before any court, any party to the dispute
may make an application to the Permanent Lok Adalat for settlement of the dispute;
6. Where it appears to the Permanent Lok Adalat that there exist elements of a settlement,
which may be acceptable to the parties, it shall formulate the terms of a possible settlement
and submit them to the parties for their observations and in case the parties reach an
agreement, the Permanent Lok Adalat shall pass an award in terms thereof. In case parties
to the dispute fail to reach an agreement, the Permanent Lok Adalat shall decide the dispute
on merits; and
7. Every award made by the Permanent Lok Adalat shall be final and binding on all the parties
thereto and shall be by a majority of the persons constituting the Permanent Lok Adalat.

Chapter VI of Legal services authority Act , 2002:Lok Adalat

Chapter VI- Lok Adalats ,consists of four sections namely from section -19 to section – 22
which mainly talks about organisation and powers of both lok adalat as well as permanent lok
adalat. Sections pertaining to this chapter shall be discussed as here under:

Section 19 - Organization of Lok Adalats

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(1) Every State Authority or District Authority or the Supreme Court Legal Services Committee
or every High Court Legal Services Committee or, as the case may be, Taluk Legal Services
Committee may organise Lok Adalats at such intervals and places and for exercising such
jurisdiction and for such areas as it thinks fit.

(2) Every Lok Adalat organised for an area shall consist of such number of :-

(a) Serving or retired judicial officers and

(b)Other persons,of the area as may be specified by the State Authority or the District Authority
or the Supreme Court Legal Services Committee or the High Court Legal Services
Committee, or as the case may be, the Taluk Legal Services Committee, organising such
Lok Adalats.

(3) The experience and qualifications of other persons referred to in clause (b) of sub-section
(2) for Lok Adalats organised by the Supreme Court Legal Services Committee shall be
such as may be prescribed by the Central Government in consultation with the Chief Justice
of India.

(4) The experience and qualifications of other persons referred to in clause (b) of sub-section
(2) for Lok Adalats other than referred to in sub-section (3) shall be such as may be
prescribed by the State Government in consultation with the Chief Justice of the High Court.

(5) 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 :-

(i) Any case pending before or

(ii) Any matter which is falling within the jurisdiction of, and is not brought before, any court
for which the Lok Adalat is organised.

Provided that the Lok Adalat shall have no jurisdiction in respect of any case or matter relating
to an offence not compoundable under any law.

Section 20. Cognizance of Cases by Lok Adalats

(1) Where in any case referred to in clause (i) of sub-section (5) of Section 19-(i)

(i) (a) The parties thereof agree or

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(i) (b) One of the parties thereof makes an application to the court, for referring the case to the
Lok Adalat for settlement and if such court is prima facie satisfied that there are chances of
such settlement or

(ii) The court is satisfied that the matter is an appropriate one to be taken cognizance of by the
Lok Adalat, the court shall refer the case to the Lok Adalat Provided that no case shall be
referred to the Lok Adalat under sub-clause (b) of clause ( i) or clause (ii) by such court
except after giving a reasonable opportunity of being heard to the parties.

(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in any other law for the time being in force, the
Authority or Committee organising the Lok Adalat under sub-section (1) of Section 19 may,
on receipt of an application from any, one of the parties to any matter referred to in clause
(ii) of sub-section (5) of Section 19 that such matter needs to be determined by a Lok Adalat,
refer such matter to the Lok Adalat, for determination; Provided that no matter shall be
referred to the Lok Adalat except after giving a reasonable opportunity of being heard to the
other party.

(3) Where any case is referred to a Lok Adalat under sub-section (1) or where a reference has
been made to it under sub-section (2), the Lok Adalat shall proceed to dispose of the case
or matter 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.

(6) Where no award is made by the Lok Adalat on the ground that no compromise or settlement
could be arrived at between the parties, in a matter referred to in sub-section (2), that Lok
Adalat shall advice the parties to seek remedy in a court.

(7) Where the record of the case is returned under sub-section (5) to the court, such court shall
proceed to deal such reference under sub-section (1).

Section 21. Award of Lok Adalat

(1) Every award of the Lok Adalat shall be deemed to be a decree of a civil court or, as the case
may be, an order of any other court and where a compromise or settlement has been arrived
at, by a Lok Adalat in a case referred to under sub-section (1) of Section 20, the court-fee

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 paid in such case shall be refunded in the manner provided under the Court Fees Act, 1870
(7 of 1870).

(2) Every award made by a Lok Adalat shall be final and binding on all the parties to the
dispute, and no appeal shall lie to any court against the award.

Section 22. Powers of Lok Adalat or Permanent Lok Adalat

(1) The Lok Adalat shall, for the purposes of holding any determination under this Act, have
the same powers as are vested in a civil court under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (5 of
1908), while trying a suit in respect of the following matters, namely:-

(a) The summoning and enforcing the attendance of any witness and examining him on oath.

(b) The discovery and production of any document.

(c) The reception of evidence on affidavits.

(d) The requisitioning of any public record or document or copy of such record or document
from any court or office and

(e) Such other matters as may be prescribed.

(2) Without prejudice to the generality of the powers contained in sub-section (1), every Lok
Adalat shall have the requisite powers to specify its own procedure for the determination of
any dispute coming before it.

(3) All proceedings before a Lok Adalat shall be deemed to be judicial proceedings within the
meaning of Sections 193, 219 and 228 of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860) and every Lok
Adalat shall be deemed to be a civil court for the purpose of Section 195 and Chapter XXVI
of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973(2 of 1974).

Chapter VI A of Legal services authority Act, 2002:Pre-Litigation Conciliation And

Settlement

Chapter VI A- Pre-Litigation Conciliation And Settlement consists of five sections namely

from section -22A to section -22E which mainly provides information with respect to important
definitions, establishment of permanent lok adalats, cognizance of cases by permanent lok
adalat, procedure of permanent lok adalat and award of permanent lok adalat.
Sections pertaining to this chapter shall be discussed as here under:

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Section 22A. Definitions

In this chapter and for the purposes the Section 22 and 23, unless the context other requires.

(a) “Permanent Lok Adalat” means a Permanent Lok Adalat established under sub-section (1)
of Section 22 B.

(b) “public utility service” means any –

(i) Transport services for the carriage of passengers or goods by air, road or water or

(ii) Postal telegraph or telegraph or telephone service or

(iii) Supply of power, light or water to the public by any establishment or

(iv) Postal telegraph or telegraph or telephone service or

(v) Service in hospital or dispensary or

(vi) Insurance service,

and includes any service which the Central Government or the State Government, as the case
may be, may in the public interest, by notification, declare to be a public utility service for the
purposes of this Chapter.

Section 22B. Establishment of Permanent Lok Adalats

(1) Notwithstanding anything contained in section 19, the Central Authority or, as the case may
be, every State Authority shall, be notification, establish Permanent Lok Adalat at such
places and for exercising such jurisdiction in respect of one or more public utility services
and for such areas as may be specified in the notification.

(2) Every Permanent Lok Adalat established for an area notified under sub-section (1) shall
consist of :-

(a) A person who is, or has been, a district judge or additional district judge or has held judicial
office higher in rank than that of a district judge, shall be the Chairman of the Permanent
Lok Adalat and

(b) Two other persons having adequate experience in public utility services to be nominated by
the Central Government or, as the case may be, the State Government on the
recommendation of the Central Authority or, as the case may, the State Authority,

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 establishing such Permanent Lok Adalat and the other terms and conditions of the
appointment of the Chairman and other persons referred to in clause (b) shall be prescribed
by the Central Government.

Section 22C. Cognizance of cases by Permanent Lok Adalat

(1) Any party to a dispute may, before the dispute is brought before nay court, make an
application to the Permanent Lok Adalat for the settlement of dispute; Provided that the
Permanent Lok Adalat shall not have jurisdiction in respect of any matter relating to an
offence not compoundable under any law; Provided further that the Permanent Lok Adalat
shall also not have jurisdiction in the matter where the value of the property in dispute
exceeds ten lakh rupees;
Provided also that the Central Government, may, by notification, increase the limit of ten
lakh rupees specified in the second proviso in consultation with the Central Authority.
(2) After an application is made under sub-section (1) to the Permanent Lok Adalat, no party
to that application shall invoke jurisdiction of any court in the same dispute.
(3) where an application is made to a Permanent Lok Adalat under sub-section (1), it

(a) shall direct each party to the application to file before it a written statement, stating therein
the facts and nature of dispute under the application, points or issues in such dispute and
grounds relied in support of, or in opposition to, such points or issues, as the case may be,
and such party may supplement such statement with any document and other evidence
which such party deems appropriate in proof of such facts and grounds and shall send a copy
of such statement together with a copy of such document and other evidence, if any, to each
of the parties to the applicant;

(b) may require any party to the application to file additional statement before it at any stage
of the conciliation proceedings;

(c) shall communicate any document or statement received by it from any party to the
application to the other party, to enable such other party to present reply thereto.

(4) When statement, additional statement and reply, if any, have been filed under sub-section
(3), to the satisfaction of the Permanent LokAdalat, it shall conduct conciliation proceedings
between the parties to the application in such manner as it thinks appropriate taking into
account the circumstance of the dispute.

(5) The Permanent LokAdalat shall, during conduct of conciliation proceedings under sub-
section (4), assist the parties in their attempt to reach an amicable settlement of the dispute
in an independent and impartial manner.

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(6) It shall be the duty of every party to the application to cooperate in good faith with the
Permanent Lok Adalat in conciliation of the dispute relating to the application and to comply
with the direction of the Permanent LokAdalat to produce evidence and other related
documents before it.

(7) When a Permanent Lok Adalat, in the aforesaid conciliation proceedings, is of opinion that
there exist elements of settlement in such proceedings which may be acceptable to the
parties, it may formulate the term of a possible settlement of the dispute and give to the
parties concerned for their observations and in case the parties reach at an agreement on the
settlement or the dispute, they shall sign the settlement agreement and the Permanent Lok
Adalat shall pass an award in terms thereof and furnish a copy of the same to each of the
parties concerned.

(8) Where the parties fail to reach at an agreement under sub-section (7), the Permanent Lok
Adalat shall, if the dispute does not relate to any offence, decide the dispute.

Section 22D. Procedure of Permanent Lok Adalat

The Permanent Lok Adalat shall, while conducting conciliation proceedings or deciding a
dispute on merit under this Act, be guided by the principles of natural justice, objectivity fail
play, equity and other principles of justice, and shall not be bound by the Code of Civil
Procedure, 1908 and the Indian Evidence Act, 1872.

Section 22E. Award of Permanent Lok Adalat to be Final

(1) Every award of the Permanent Lok Adalat under this Act made either on merit or in terms
of a settlement agreement shall be final and binding on all the parties thereto and on persons
claiming under them.

(2) Every award of the Permanent Lok Adalat under this Act shall be deemed to be a decree of
a civil court.

(3) The award made by the Permanent Lok Adalat under this Act shall be by a majority of the
persons constituting the Permanent Lok Adalat.

(4) Every award made by the Permanent Lok Adalat under this Act shall be final and shall not
be called in question in any original suit, application or execution proceedings.

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(5) The Permanent Lok Adalat may transmit any award made by it to a Civil Court having local
Jurisdiction and such civil court shall execute the award as if it were a decree made by that
court.

Case laws:

1. State of Kerala v. Ernakulam District Legal Service Authority

An important question regarding the jurisdiction of Lok Adalat has been discussed by High
Court of Kerala in the case of State of Kerala v. Ernakulam District Legal Service Authority.

In this case, an award was issued by the Lok Adalat which contained a decision to request an
investigating officer to do a particular thing in a particular manner, to file a refer report on the
basis that the complaint was made on a misunderstanding or mistake of fact. The question
raised before the High Court whether such request come under scope of proceedings of Lok
Adalat or not.

The court held that such request has to be read only as a command to the investigating officer
and not a request. Hence, the such award passed by Lok Adalat is not permissible. Since
investigating officers are ought not to be instructed by anybody else. Otherwise, the
transparency of such process would be lost: the credibility of the institution would be lost;
reckless complaints could be made or; validity and truthful complaints disclosing the
commission of cognizable offences, including non-compoundable ones, could be settled
without the due process of law and taken away from the purview of the investigating,
prosecuting, adjudicating and sentencing. This is clearly impermissible. For the above said
reasons, such part of award was quashed by High Court.

2. Joti Sharma v. Rajinder Kumar

In the case of Joti Sharma v. Rajinder Kumar, the application for divorce by mutual consent
had been referred by trial court to Lok Adalat for settlement. Such application was decided by
Lok Adalat within one month by violating the provision of Section15(2) of the Hindu Marriage
Act, where under after institution, such application is required to lie over for six months and
then come up only if either of the parties has not withdrawn his or her consent in the meanwhile.

The court said about the importance of this provision that it is incorporated in Hindu Marriage
Act to persuade the warring couples to maintain their matrimonial relations and save them from
breaking up. The basic object of this provision is to give a breathing time to couples to rethink
the consequences, etc. of their separation and to prevent their marriage from breaking down
and try to settle down amicably. So, it could not have been overlooked by the Lok Adalat while

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disposing of the reference. Because Lok Adalat cannot be expected to give a go by to express
provision of law while trying settlement of disputes for the reason, that if done it may not only
lead to arbitrariness, but also convert the dispute resolution system into a system of faulty
adjudication, resulting in some sort of legal anarchy. Hence, the Lok Adalat is not empowered
to violate the provisions of a Law while settling a dispue.

3. Commissioner, Karnataka State Public Instructions (Education), Bangalore v.

Henamant

In Commissioner, Karnataka State Public Instructions (Education), Bangalore v. Henamant,the

High Court held that when the very reference of case to the Lok Adalat is in contravention of
the provisions of the Act, as the Court could not have referred the matter to the Lok Adalat
when both the parties to the suit had not consented for the matter being referred to the Lok
Adalat. The Court has not recorded any consent of the parties to the suit for referring the matter
to the Lok Adalat and in such circumstances, the Lok Adalat does not get any jurisdiction to
look into the matter at all. The Trial Judge is also directed to ensure that matters which are to
be referred to the Lok Adalat are done so only after the parties 38. AIR 2002 Kant 446. 222
involved in the suit voluntarily consent for such reference to the Lok Adalat and not either by
pressurizing them or if anyone of the parties to the suit indicate the unwillingness for referring
the matter to the Lok Adalat. Therefore, no pressure or force should be put upon the parties of
a pending case by Court in order to refer the case to the Lok Adalat but only convince the
parties about the benefits of Lok Adalat.

4. Valarmathi Oil Industries v. Saradhi Ginning Factory

In a recent case of Valarmathi Oil Industries v. Saradhi Ginning Factory, during pendency a
complaint under Section 138 of Negotiable Instrument Act had been referred to Lok Adalat for
settlement. The Award was passed by Lok Adalat based on consensus arrived at between
parties. However, such award came to be wrongly referred to magistrate and he convicted the
accused under Section 138 of the Act.

The High Court held that such impugned order would be illegal because judicial magistrate
became functus officio to decide case after award was passed by Lok Adalat. In these
circumstances, the award was executable as decree as per Section 21 of the Legal Services
Authorities Act.

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5. Damera Raj Kumar v. Doli Sriniwas

In Damera Raj Kumar v. Doli Sriniwas, the petitioner and the respondent had compromised
the matter outside the court. Then the matter was referred to Lok Adalat for recording the
compromise and award was made by Lok Adalat. Such compromise was duly signed by the
parties and their advocates. But now the award based on such compromise was challenged on
the ground that consent of petitioner was taken by coercion and also by threats and hence the
said consent is no consent at all.

The High Court of Andhra Pradesh ruled that plea of coercion or obtaining of awards on threat
predominantly are questions of fact. On such grounds it cannot be said that compromise arrived
at by parties before Lok Adalat was vitiated.

Conclusion:
The establishment of Permanent lok adalat has proved to be a very useful and effective
mechanism. It is a friendly system not only for the litigants but the judicial fraternity as well,
as it lifts off the burden imposed on the system .The scope of getting settlements against PUS
serves as a crucial platform for ordinary men and women to seek a remedy against their
malpractices without undergoing the exhaustive and expensive procedures of a traditional
court.

With a change in the economic and social scenario, where the corporate world dominates over
the domains of insurance, communications, etc. it is essential that there exists a mechanism
that gives relief without being too exhaustive. Hence, the system is greatly appreciated in a
country like India, with a developing economy and society.

SUBMITTED BY
B.S GAYATHRI
V YEAR B A , L.L.B

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