Dimapur, Dec. 12 (EMN): A total of nine motor accident claim cases amounting to INR 38,90,000 were disposed off during a national Lok Adalat held in the Dimapur district court premises on December 12. The national Lok Adalat was held under the aegis of the Nagaland State Legal Services Authority (NSLSA).
An update from NSLSA stated that Somet C Chang, CJM and secretary of Dimapur DLSA, addressed the gathering and gave a brief introduction about the meaning of Lok Adalat. It mentioned that a total of 159 cases mostly at pre-litigative stage were disposed with a total settlement amount of INR 69,44,947 during the last national Lok Adalat held on February 8.
It stated that altogether, 10 Lok Adalat sitting benches were constituted in ten districts within the premises of the district court buildings for settlement of various disputes by bringing compromise between the parties through conciliators and members presided over by one or two sitting judicial officer(s).
It also stated that national Lok Adalat are organised on a quarterly basis with a view to provide platform for the people on the principle of serving justice on equal opportunity basis, compromise, conciliation and fair play. It added that Lok Adalat is not a substitute to the present justice dispensation system at all but rather a complimentary to achieve speedy justice and a binding resolution.
Mentioning that Lok Adalat is less inexpensive than the regular court based litigation, it stated that a person could bring a dispute or case before Lok Adalat for settlement if the dispute is not yet brought before any court. It is a sytem where either party to the dispute might submit an application before the chairman or secretary of the district legal services authority expressing his/ her desire to get the dispute settled in Lok Adalat.
“If the case is already pending before any court/ tribunal/ authority or office, it may be got referred to Lok Adalat by filing a joint memo by both the parties to it or by filing an application by either party to it. For pending cases in courts, court may itself refer a case to Lok Adalat on its own if it considers the case to be fit for settlement in Lok Adalat. The litigants would get the same justice, which they get in the court concerned. The litigants may get their disputes settled only when they are satisfied with the compromise proposed by the Conciliators. If they are not satisfied, they are at liberty to proceed with their case before the court concerned,” the statement read.
