Dr. Koneru Anuradha, Assistant Professor in Law, SVD Siddhartha Law College, Kanuru, Vijayawada, Krishna DT, AP State, India. Pin code: 520007
" The problem of delay and backlog was likely to put the functioning of Constitutional Government in disarray."
- Hon’ble E S Venkatarahmiah, The former chief justice of India
ABSTRACT
The Lok Adalat is an innovative Indian contribution to the global jurisprudence. It is one of the efficient alternative dispute resolution mechanisms that have the potential to provide amicable settlements of differences. It also provides for an inclusive justice as envisaged by the Constitution of India. The system of Lok Adalat is well appreciated for its capability to dispose of the cases through amicable settlements and it is also a ray of hope for the weaker and marginalized section of society. But, currently, this mechanism has lost public trust due to lack of resources and skilled manpower, differences among judges and lawyers and inefficiency along with the lack of consideration of public sensitivity. Thus, it is vital for structurally and culturally reform this mechanism so that it can achieve its original goal. Therefore, this mechanism needs to be strengthened to achieve the constitutional goal of “equal and social justice” to the fullest extent to regain the public’s confidence in the judiciary.
Introduction
It is the primary duty of State to ensure equal and even handed justice for all. Yes, In every system of government, the effective justice delivery mechanism is a permanent and necessary condition of peace, order, civilization and governance of the country. So, one can say that ‘Equal and fair justice is the hallmark of any civilized society’.[1] There are two important legal maxims which one can say them as fundamental principles of the legal system. They are “justice delayed is justice denied’” and “justice hurried is justice buried”. Here, both the concepts are important. In legal system like India because of several reasons going to courts with a grievance is a tiring, costly and cumbersome process….. because of which delayed justice causing frequently. At the same time harry attitude by regular court system to do justice is not possible and also it will be dangerous. Equal access to justice to the people through efficacious justice delivery mechanism is necessary for the existence of a democratic system. It makes efforts to provide the right to access to justice to all because access to justice from an independent and impartial agency in public law as well as private law is a recognized human right.[2] A five-judge bench in the case of Ajay Kumar Pander v. State of J&K[3] opined that there is "no hesitation in holding that access to justice is indeed a facet of right to life guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution.
Like, above surprising drawbacks of judicial system in India has compelled the members of Law Commission of India to deliberate on the revival of indigenous legal system and recommended its restructuring. This is why concept of alternate dispute resolution (ADR) became inevitable and which is considered to be an efficient manner of getting speedy justice. The ADR mechanism emerges not only because the adversarial formal court system is not much effective to provide justice to a large number of masses but also because ADR is the best mode for dispute resolution for certain classes of cases. In fact, ADR is not a new system to India. Because through ‘Panchayat dispute resolution System’ since ancient period ADR existed in Indian jurisprudence.[4] However, this ADR acquired statutory recognition in 20th century under section 89 of the Code of Civil Procedure 1908 and the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987.[5]
Alternative dispute resolution system
The Alternative dispute resolution system as the name suggests, is providing an efficient alternative to the traditional court system for redressing grievances and rendering justice. It is mostly a non judicial mean or procedure which refers to a set of practices and techniques to resolve disputes outside the courts. In its wider sense, this term refers to everything from facilitated settlement negotiations in which parties are encouraged to negotiate directly with each other prior to some other legal process.[6]
The main objectives of ADR system are to render economical and speedy justice to the disputants, justice delivery system less cumbersome and easily accessible to the weaker sections of the society. ADR system is not intended to replace or supplant the courts of the land but it is in addition to the traditional judicial system and supplement to it for dispensation of justice. It has some instrumental and intrinsic functions; it is instrumental in so far as it enables amicable settlement of disputes through means which are not available generally to courts and intrinsic because it enables the parties themselves to settle their disputes. This mechanism acts through public co-operation, creative professional intervention and constructive involvement of officials and authorities concerned for imparting justice effectively. It’s focus is to avoid feudalistic approach and to harmonise the relationship between the disputing parties for an amicable settlement which must be occurred out of court by using the methods of mediation, arbitration, conciliation, Lok Adalats and negotiation as dispute resolving techniques. It is clear from the enactment of the Legal Services Authority Act, 1987. The Preamble of the Act states that the primary purpose of the act is to provide free and competent legal services by the State to the weaker sections of the society to secure them speedy justice and to also ensure that they are not deprived of it by reason of economic or other disabilities.
Lok Adalats
The term Lok Adalat literally translates to "People‘s Court". Lok Adalat is one of the alternative dispute redressal mechanisms, it is a forum where disputes/cases pending in the court of law or at pre-litigation stage are settled/ compromised amicably. It is an old form of adjudicating system prevailed in ancient India whose validity has not been taken away even in the modern days too. The Abrahim Lincoln also appreciated the persuation method which is a major tool of Lok Adalat system for settlement of disputes.[7] It is interesting to note that the Lok Adalat system settles disputes by way of negotiation, persuation, mediation and conciliation with the actively involvement of the advocates, judges, eminent social workers and concerned parties. So, it is worthy to say that the procedure as follows in Lok Adalat is like to implement the views of our nation’s father Mahatma Gandhi as he said, “I had learned the true practice of law. I had learnt to find out the better side of human nature and to enter hearts, I realized that the true function of the lawyer was to unite parties given as under. The lessen was so indelibly burnt into me that the large part of my time during the twenty years of my practice as a lawyer was occupied in bringing about private compromises of hundreds of cases. I lost nothing thereby, not even money, certainly not my soul also.”[8]
Lok Adalats operates with a view to ensure that the operation of the legal system in the country promotes justice aiming citizens on a basis of equal opportunity. Not only did the system of People's Court prove to be highly beneficial in providing legal aid to the poor, needy, helpless and economically and socially disadvantaged classes of people but it also ensured that the process is quick, fair and just. The system of Lok Adalats has helped in reducing the burden of the cases on the courts to a great extent and opened a new door for the people to settle their disputes in an amicable manner through negotiations, conciliations, persuasion and mutual cooperation and coordination.
These Lok Adalats provide three-fold benefits involving speedy resolution of disputes coupled with reduced costs of litigation and avoiding further appeals, thereby making them the perfect instrument to resolve the heightened burdened on judiciary for disposing cases.[9] Every year from the incorporation, about lakhs of cases were disposed of in National Lok Adalats, which included pending cases as well as pre-litigation cases. Therefore, their efficacy has been a linchpin in reducing excessive litigation.
Lok Adalat – Indian Constitution
The concept of Lok Adalat is an integral part of the Indian Constitutional Scheme mentioned in Preamble, Part III and Part IV of the Constitution. Because, the Constitution mandates not only to impart justice in its legal sense, but also social, economic, and political sense. Equal justice and free legal aid is a directive principle of state policy imbibed in Article 39A which is particularly concerned with the need of qualitative and effective justice delivery mechanism. The institution of Lok Adalat has been developed in the process of implementation of commitments of the Constitution in order to mitigate not only the problem of justice delays resulting from adjudication of even ordinary disputes by the normal courts procedure but also to dispense less expensive justice quickly with the conciliatory efforts. So, Lok Adalat is a way to achieve the constitution goals enshrined in different provisions.[10]
Salient features of the Lok Adalats
Level of Organization
As the name indicates and object behind Lok Adalats they are the people’s courts and they need to provide accessibility to justice and to get speedy remedy. Thus, they need to be available to people on every level of governance. That’s why the Legal Services Authority Act, 1987 prescribes for several levels wherein Lok Adalats can be organized, ranging from the lowest courts to the apex court which can take cognizance and organize Lok Adalats for effective and speedy justice.[11] The persons residing over these Adalats include serving or retired judicial officials as well as other persons as prescribed by the authority conducting the Lok Adalats in the given area.[12]
1. At the State Authority Level
The Member Secretary of the State Legal Services Authority organizing the Lok Adalat would constitute benches of the Lok Adalat, each bench comprising of a sitting or retired judge of the High Court or a sitting or retired judicial officer and any one or both of- a member from the legal profession; a social worker engaged in the upliftment of the weaker sections and interested in the implementation of legal services schemes or programmes.
2. At High Court Level
The Secretary of the High Court Legal Services Committee would constitute benches of the Lok Adalat, each bench comprising of a sitting or retired judge of the High Court and any one or both of- a member from the legal profession; a social worker engaged in the upliftment of the weaker sections and interested in the implementation of legal services schemes or programmes.
3. At District Level
The Secretary of the District Legal Services Authority organizing the Lok Adalat would constitute benches of the Lok Adalat, each bench comprising of a sitting or retired judicial officer and any one or both of either a member from the legal profession; and/or a social worker engaged in the upliftment of the weaker sections and interested in the implementation of legal services schemes or programmes or a person engaged in para-legal activities of the area, preferably a woman.
4. At Taluk Level
The Secretary of the Taluk Legal Services Committee organizing the Lok Adalat would constitute benches of the Lok Adalat, each bench comprising of a sitting or retired judicial officer and any one or both of either a member from the legal profession; and/or a social worker engaged in the upliftment of the weaker sections and interested in the implementation of legal services schemes or programmes or a person engaged in para-legal activities of the area, preferably a woman.
Lok Adalats mode of operation
1. 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.
2. 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. The Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 was amended in 2002 to provide for the establishment of the Permanent Lok Adalats to deal with cases pertaining to the public utility services like transport, postal, telegraph etc.
Features:
These have been set up as permanent bodies.
It 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.
It shall not have jurisdiction in respect of any matter relating to an offence not compoundable under any law. The jurisdiction of the Permanent Lok Adalats is upto Rs. 1 Crore.
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. After an application is made to the Permanent Lok Adalat, no party to that application shall invoke jurisdiction of any court in the same dispute.
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.
A major drawback of the Lok Adalats is that 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 a remedy in a court of law. This causes unnecessary delay in the dispensation of justice.
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.
Portable Lok Adalats/ Mobile Lok Adalats
These are set up in different parts of the country to resolve matters by encouraging resolution of disputes and easing the burden on the formal judiciary. These dispute settlement bodies would travel from one location to another to resolve disputes in order to facilitate the resolution of disputes in an amicable manner.
Nature of Cases to be Referred to Lok Adalat
As per section 19(5) and 20, The Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987
1. Any case pending before any court.
2. Any dispute which has not been brought before any court and is likely to be filed before the court.
Provided that any matter relating to an offence not compoundable under the law shall not be settled in Lok Adalat.
Thus, The jurisdiction of these Lok Adalats is parallel to the courts organizing them, therefore it extends to any case or matter which is being heard by that court under its original jurisdiction. Matters relating to divorce or matters relating to an offence not compoundable under any law are an exception to this jurisdiction. They cannot be adjudicated in Lok Adalats. However, these courts may also take cognizance of cases as per provisions of the Act for disputes agreed by the parties to be resolved under them or if one of the parties makes an application to the courts for referring the case to Lok Adalats for settlement and the court is prima facie satisfied that there are chances of settlement.
Admission of disputes, Resolution and Award
As per section 21(2), The Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 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. After admission of disputes, the Lok Adalats proceed to hear the case and dispose of the matter by reaching a settlement or compromise in an expeditious manner. The manner of resolution in Lok Adalats is more towards compromise and less towards conclusive determination. In any case, if the parties are unable to reach a compromise and the Lok Adalat deems that matter needs more determination, it can refer the matter back to the courts for adjudication.
Eventually, once the court is satisfied, it passes an award with respect to the dispute is final and binding on the parties. The award is enforceable as a decree of the civil court and no appeal lies from this award. Therefore, this provision ensures that the award is conclusive and the matter is put to rest once and for all.
Procedural Flexibility
There exist considerable procedural flexibility as major procedural laws such as the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 or the Indian Evidence Act, 1882 are not strictly enforced. The parties can interact directly through their counsels which is not possible in a regular court of law. This dynamic nature of Lok Adalats allows them to conciliate both party interests and pass awards which are acceptable to both parties.[13]
1. No Court Fees
There is no court fee payable when a matter is filed in a Lok Adalat. If a matter pending in the court of law is referred to the Lok Adalat and is settled subsequently, the court fee originally paid in the court on the complaints/petition is also refunded back to the parties.
2. Final and Binding Award
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. 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 for disposal in accordance with law. 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 lok adalat shall advice the parties to seek remedy in a court. Where the record of the case if sent to the court, such court shall proceed to deal with such case from the stage which was reached before such reference. Under Section 21 of the Act, the award passed by the Lok Adalats stand final and binding. As no appeal lies to this conclusive determination, the cases are put to rest on first instance.
Order in merit
The Lok Adalat can dispose of a matter by way of a compromise or settlement between the parties. The lok adalat shall not decide the case on merits. No jurisdiction is vested on lok adalat to decide the case on merits. The main thrust of Lok Adalats is on compromise between parties. While conducting the proceedings, a Lok Adalat acts as a conciliator and not as an arbitrator. Its role is to persuade the parties to reach a solution and help in reconciling their contesting differences. This encourages consensual arrangements. Therefore, disputes are not only settled but also the cordial relations between parties can be retained. Hence, it is a very healthy way of dispute resolution.
Advantages of Lok Adalats
The Lok Adalat shall have the same powers as are vested in a Civil Court under the Code of Civil Procedure (1908).
Further, a Lok Adalat shall have the requisite powers 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 the Indian Penal Code (1860) and every Lok Adalat shall be deemed to be a Civil Court for the purpose of the Code of Criminal Procedure (1973).
An award of a Lok Adalat shall be deemed to be a decree of a Civil Court or an order of any other court.
Every award made by a Lok Adalat shall be final and binding on all the parties to the dispute. No appeal shall lie to any court against the award of the Lok Adalat.
There is no court fee and if court fee is already paid the amount will be refunded if the dispute is settled at Lok Adalat.
There is procedural flexibility and speedy trial of the disputes. There is no strict application of procedural laws while assessing the claim by Lok Adalat.
The parties to the dispute can directly interact with the judge through their counsel which is not possible in regular courts of law.
The award by the Lok Adalat is binding on the parties and it has the status of a decree of a civil court and it is non-appealable, which does not cause the delay in the settlement of disputes finally.
Areas for Improvement within Lok Adalats
Some areas of improvement whereby the functioning of Lok Adalats can be improved are as follows:
1. Enforceability lies with Civil Court
The awards passed by the Lok Adalats are deemed equivalent to decrees of the civil court. Although, the enforcement of these decrees cannot be carried out by the Lok Adalats. This function rests with the civil courts, therefore the parties need to apply for enforcement to execute the award. It is the recommendation and demand from the eminents that this power to enforce needs to be provided to the Lok Adalats itself to ensure that the decisions passed are executed to their finality.
2. Lack of Criminal Jurisdiction
The jurisdiction of Lok Adalats with respect to criminal disputes is limited to offences which are compoundable under law. This removes crimes such as that of petty theft other small crimes from the purview of Lok Adalats. Hence, this should be reviewed to bring petty crimes within the purview of Lok Adalats.
Disadvantages:
Even though there are several advantages as discussed above, like every other system, it too suffers from a few limitations and there are several criticism about lok adalats like,
Though it is true that “Justice delayed is justice denied”, it is also true that a hurried justice is justice buried. Thus, speedy resolutions must not impair the rights of parties.
In reality, Judges are pressured to quickly dispose of the cases for political gains, leading to limited consideration to the parties’ rights and needs.
Lawyers are sometimes reluctant to refer the matter for settlement in Lok Adalat.
There are also instances of parties pressurising their lawyers to stick up to strict procedures of the court.
Sometimes there are even the cases where a party’s attorney is unprepared or not present, which subsequently prevents parties from reaching a settlement.
There are even instances of antagonism among the lawyers and judges.
Another major drawback of this mechanism is that the organisation of the Lok Adalat is mainly based on compromise or settlement between parties. If the parties do not arrive at a consensus, the case is either returned to the court of law or the parties are advised to seek a remedy in the court of law. It leads to unnecessary delays in the dispensation of justice.
This issue is addressed by the Permanent Lok Adalat.
However, Permanent Lok Adalat also is faced with few drawbacks.
There are concerns that the persons appointed for Permanent Lok Adalat will not have the necessary legal background.
Currently, specialised tribunals are appointed with the representatives of social organisations or experts.
In the case of mechanisms set up to resolve disputes raised by consumers, members other than Chairman are persons without a legal background.
There were also instances of members without a legal background in administrative tribunals. These members only have administrative experience.
While deciding the dispute, the provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure and the Indian Evidence Act will not be applicable. This means that the determination or decisions will be in a summary manner.
A decision is possible only if those cases where there exists an element of the settlement. In such cases, the Permanent Lok Adalat formulates terms of a possible settlement and gives such terms to the concerned parties for their observations.
These observations will be considered based on the evidence produced by the parties.
If they do not consent to the settlement, Permanent Lok Adalat shall decide the dispute.
However, the decision or the opinion of the Permanent Lok Adalats as to whether there exist elements of settlement is also a matter that can be subjected to judicial review under Article 226 of the Indian Constitution.
Not all cases are suitable for lok adalat jurisdiction. Lok adalat is all about settlement and compromise which is not what every case requires. Most cases in India require punishment and correctional methods which is not under the dealing of lok adalat. These cases would usually fail here and would then be recommended to courts. This would only create superfluous deferral in the legal proceedings, sometimes which could be required as early as possible.
Conclusion
Hence it can be concluded that Lok Adalats are undoubtedly a boon for the citizens, courts and legal system of India. Even though, it is also true that the system of Lok Adalat is well appreciated for its capability to dispose of the cases through amicable settlements and it is also a ray of hope for the weaker and marginalized section of society. But it also suffers for certain drawbacks that need to be looked upon and their by resolved. Despite this, it should be noted the overall functioning of the Lok Adalat appears to be appreciable and not remarkable. Therefore, this mechanism needs to be strengthened to achieve the constitutional goal of “equal and social justice” to the fullest extent. Then, the public’s confidence in the judiciary can be regained.
[1] S.C. Singh; “Criminal Justice: An Overview”, CrLJ 1999 Jour 44 [2] Article 10 of Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948 emphasize upon the right to a full equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal. Similarly, Article 14 of International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, 1966 also says about the right to equality before the courts and tribunals; right to a fair and public hearing. Under Article 14, 21, 38, 39A and 40 of the Indian constitution it is also clear that “right to accessibility to justice is a fundamental right”. [3] T.P (CRL) No. 116/2011 [4] A.M. Khanwilkar; “Need of Revitalise ADR Mechanism," 6 Nyaya Deep, 60 (2005). [5] https://nalsa.gov.in/lok-adalat [6] Nomita Aggarwal, "Alternative Dispute Resolution: Concept and Concerns," 7 Nyaya Deep, 68 (2006). [7] Abrahim Lincoln – “Discourage litigation persuade your neighbours to compromise whenever you can. Point out to them the nominal winner is often a real loser; in fees, expenses and waste of time. As a pacemaker, the lawyer has a superior opportunity of being a good person”. [8] Anurag K. Agarwal, “Strengthening Lok Adalat Movement in India,” AIR 2006 Jour 33. [9] Sarah Leah Whitson, Neither Fish, Nor Flesh, Nor Good Red Herring Lok Adalats: An Experiment in Informal Dispute Resolution in India, 15 Hastings Int’l & Comp. L. Rev p. 391 (1991-1992), ( 5:52 PM, 3 June, 2019), https://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals/hasint15&div=22&id=&page=&t=1559721994. [10] Under the Constitution of India, Preamble, Arts. 14, 21, 38, 39A and 40. [11] Section 19(1), The Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 (Act No. 39 of 1987) [12] Section 19(2), The Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 (Act No. 39 of 1987) [13] B.P. Moideen Sevamandir and another Vs. A.M. Kutty Hassan, (2009) 2 SCC 198.
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