Lok adalat

Compiled by- Asst. Prof. Anjali Bhatt

• The concept is gaining popularity is that of Lok Adalats or people’s courts as
established by the government to settle disputes through conciliation and
compromise.
• It is a judicial institution and a dispute settlement agency developed by the people
themselves for social justice based on settlement or compromise reached through
systematic negotiations.
• The first Lok Adalat was held on March 14, 1982 at Junagarh in Gujarat.
Maharashtra commenced the Lok Nyayalaya in 1984.
• 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. It contains various provisions for settlement of disputes
through Lok Adalat.
• Lok Adalats accept even cases pending in the regular courts within their
jurisdiction.
ADVANTAGES OF LOK ADALAT
• free and competent legal services to the weaker sections of the society
• relieve heavy burden on the Courts
• relief to the litigants who were in a queue to get justice
• No representation by counsel
• No fee
• Flexibility of procedure
• Informal sitting
• Decision binding
• No appeal from decision of Lok Adalat
Section 19 Organization of Lok Adalats
(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,
Taluka 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 Taluka Legal Services
Committee, organising such Lok Adalat.
(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 subsection (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 it; or
(ii) any matter which is falling within the jurisdiction of, and is not brought before
any court for which the Lok Adalat is organized.

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.
• 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.
• There is no court fee, thus making it available to those who are the financially
vulnerable section of society.
• In case the fee is already paid, the same is refunded if the dispute is settled at the
Lok Adalat.
• The Lok Adalat are not as strictly bound by rules of procedure like ordinary courts
and thus the process is more easily understood even by the uneducated or less
educated.
• The parties to a dispute can interact directly with the presiding officer, which is
not possible in the case of normal court proceedings.
Levels and Composition of Lok Adalats
• At the State Authority Level -
• The Member Secretary organising the Lok Adalat shall constitute benches of the
Lok Adalats, each bench comprising of a sitting or retired Judge of the High Court
or a serving or retired judicial officer and any one or 2 two of the following:-
• (i) a member of the legal profession;
• (ii) a social worker of repute who is engaged in the upliftment of the weaker
sections of the people, including the Scheduled Castes, the Scheduled Tribes,
women, children, rural and urban labour and interested in the implementation of
legal services schemes or programmes.
• (iii) a professional from the field related to the subject matter of the Lok Adalat;
and
• (iv) a mediator or a professional or a serving or retired senior executive.
Levels and Composition of Lok Adalats
• At High Court Level:-
• The Secretary of the High Court Legal Services Committee organizing the Lok
Adalat shall constitute benches of the Lok Adalats, each bench comprising of a
sitting or retired Judge of the High Court or a serving or retired Judicial Officer
and any one or 2 two of the following: -
• (i) a member of the legal profession;
• (ii) a social worker belonging to the category as mentioned in item (ii) of sub-para
(a) above;
• (iii) a professional from the field related to the subject matter of the Lok Adalat;
and
• (iv) a mediator or a professional or a serving or retired senior executive.
Levels and Composition of Lok Adalats
• At District Level:- The Secretary of the District Authority organizing the Lok
Adalats shall constitute benches of the Lok Adalats, each bench comprising of a
sitting or retired judicial officer and any one or 2 two of the following:-
• (i) a member of the legal profession;
• (ii) a social worker belonging to the category as mentioned in item(ii) of sub-para
(a) above or a person engaged in para-legal activities of the area, preferably a
woman;
• (iii) a professional from the field related to the subject matter of the Lok Adalat;
and
• (iv) a mediator or a professional or a serving or retired senior executive.
Levels and Composition of Lok Adalats
• At Taluk Level :- The Chairman of the Taluk Legal Services Committee organizing
the Lok Adalat shall constitute benches of the Lok Adalat, each bench comprising
of a sitting or retired judicial officer and any one or two of the following:-
• (i) a member of the legal profession;
• (ii) a social worker belonging to the category as mentioned in item(ii) of sub-para
(a) above or a person engaged in para-legal activities of the area, preferably a
woman;
• (iii) a professional from the field related to the subject matter of the Lok Adalat;
and
• (iv) a mediator or a professional or a serving or retired senior executive.
Levels and Composition of Lok Adalats
• National Lok Adalat
• National Level Lok Adalats are held for at regular intervals where on a single day Lok Adalats are held
throughout the country, in all the courts right from the Supreme Court till the Taluk Levels wherein cases
are disposed off in huge numbers. From February 2015, National Lok Adalats are being held on a specific
subject matter every month.
• 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.
Ten Lakhs 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.
• Mobile Lok Adalats are also organized in various parts of the country which travel from one location to
another to resolve disputes in order to facilitate the resolution of disputes through this mechanism.
How to Get the Case Referred to the Lok Adalat for Settlement
• (A) Case pending before the court.
• (B) Any dispute at pre-litigative stage.
• The State Legal Services Authority or District Legal Services Authority as the case
may be on receipt of an application from any one of the parties at a pre-litigation
stage may refer such matter to the Lok Adalat for amicable settlement of the
dispute for which notice would then be issued to the other party.
Section 20- Cognizance
(1) Where in any case referred to in clause (i) of sub-section (5) of section 19,
(i) (a) the parties thereof agree; or
(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 cither 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.
(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 if 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).
Section 21 Award of Lok Adalat
• Section 21 of the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 is also required to be
referred to here which runs as follows: -
(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 it under
subsection (1) of section 20, the court-fee 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.
Powers of Lok Adalats
• The Lok Adalat shall have the powers of a civil court under the Code of Civil Procedure 1908,
while trying a suit, in respect of the following matters:
• Power to summon and enforce the attendance of any witness and to examine him/her on
oath.
• Power to enforce the discovery and production of any document.
• Power to receive evidence on affidavits,
• Power for requisitioning of any public record or document or copy thereof or from any court.
• Such other matters as may be prescribed
• Every Lok Adalat shall have the power to specify its own procedure for the determination of
any dispute coming before it.
• All proceedings before a Lok Adalat shall be deemed to be judicial proceedings within the
meaning of Sections 193, 219 and 228 of IPC.
• Every Lok Adalat shall be deemed to be a Civil Court for the purpose of Sec 195 and Chapter
XXVI of Cr.P.C.
“I realized that the true function of a lawyer was to unite parties...
The lesson was so indelibly burnt into me that a large part of my
time during the twenty years of my practice as a lawyer was
occupied in bringing about private compromise of hundreds of
cases. I lost nothing thereby not even money; certainly not my
soul”.
--- Mahatma Gandhi