a special Lok Adalat from July 29 to August 3 to facilitate amicable settlements of suitable pending cases, commemorating the 75th year of its establishment. The system involves out-of-court settlement of various disputes, to save time, money and energy for both litigants and judges and is held in an informal atmosphere through a policy of give and take. TYPES OF CASES IN LOK ADALATS Cases having elements of settlement including
  • Cases relating to matrimonial and property disputes,
  • Motor accident claims,
  • Land acquisition,
  • Compensation,
  • Service and labour which are pending before the Supreme Court would be taken up to facilitate speedy disposal.
COMPOSITION OF LOK ADALATS Every Lok Adalat organised for an area shall consist of -
  • Serving or retired judicial officers.
  • Other persons as may be specified by the state/district authority or the High Court/Tehsil legal services committee.
The persons deciding the cases in the Lok Adalats are called the Members of the Lok Adalats. Role played by these members - They have the role of statutory conciliators only and do not have any judicial role. This means, they can only persuade (and shall not pressurise or coerce) the parties. As a result, the Lok Adalat will not decide the subject on its own initiative, but rather on the basis of a compromise or settlement reached between the parties. POWERS OF LOK ADALATS Lok Adalat has jurisdiction to determine and to arrive at a compromise or settlement between the parties to a dispute in respect of -
  • Any case pending before the court.
  • Any matter which is falling within the jurisdiction of and is not brought before any court for which the Lok Adalat is organised (pre-litigation stage).
The award made by the Lok Adalats is deemed to be a decree of a civil court. Such award is final and binding on all parties and no appeal against such an award lies before any court of law.