PROJECT REPORT ON

“LOK ADALAT”

Submitted By:
JATIN RATHEE

Roll No.: L40119031

Course: B.A. LLB
8th Semester

Under the Guidance of:

Dr. Sandeep Lal
Faculty of LAW

PDM University, Bahadurgarh

Distt. Jhajjar (Haryana)

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

First and foremost, I would like to thank our teacher Dr. SANDEEP LAL who
guided us in doing these projects. He provided us with invaluable advice and
helped us in difficult periods. His motivation and help contributed
tremendously to the successful completion of the project. Besides, we would
like to thank all the teachers who helped us by giving us advice and providing
the equipment which we needed.

Also I would like to thank my family and friends for their support. Without
that support we couldn’t have succeeded in completing this project.
At last but not in least, we would like to thank everyone who helped and
motivated us to work on this project.

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 PREFACE

It is a great opportunity to me to have my B.A. LLB in PDM UNIVERSITY,

BAHADURGARH in the accomplishment of my 4th year 8th semester. I am
submitting a project report on “ROLE OF LOK ADALAT IN INDIA”.
Subject to the limitation of the time, efforts and resources every possible
attempt has been made to study the problem deeply. The whole project is
measured through the questionnaire, the data further analysed & interpreted
and the result was obtained.

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 CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that JATIN RATHEE of course B.A. LLB 8th

SEMESTER has successfully completed his project on topic ROLE
OF LOK ADALAT IN INDIA as prescribed by DR. SANDEEP LAL
during the academic year 2023 as per the guidelines given by
DEPARTMENT OF LAW.

Teacher’s name

DR. SANDEEP LAL

(Faculty of law)

Signature

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 CONTENT

1. Introduction.....................................................................................................................6
2. Procedure for organising Lok Adalats............................................................................7
3. Types of cases at Lok Adalat and its jurisdiction...........................................................7
4. Nature of cases to be referred to Lok Adalat..................................................................8
5. Levels and composition of Lok Adalats................................................................9 to 10
6. Functioning of Lok Adalat...........................................................................................11
7. Powers of Lok Adalat and Benefits..............................................................................12
8. Cases suitable for Lok Adalats.....................................................................................13
9. Needs for Lok Adalats..................................................................................................14
10. Advantages of Lok Adalats.................................................................................15 to17
11.How does the Lok Adalat resolve disputes...................................................................18
12.Important cases.............................................................................................................19
13.Conclusion....................................................................................................................20

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 1. Introduction

• Lok Adalat, also known as People's court is a well-known system of alternative

dispute resolution in India created under the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987.
Lok Adalat is inspired by the Panchayati Raj that has been prevalent in India and is
based on the concept and principle of panch parmeshwar of the gram panchayats.

• The Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 which was enacted by the Parliament, gave
a legal status to Lok Adalat, pursuant to the Constitutional mandate in Article39-A of
the Constitution of India. The said act contains various provisions for resolving of
disputes through Lok Adalat.

• The first ever Lok Adalat was held in Gujarat in 1982.

• Lok Adalat (individuals' courts) settles the dispute through assuagement and
compromise. These Adalat consider the lawsuits pending within their reach, which
may be resolved by conciliation, in the general courts. It is an exceptional type of
tribunal in which conflicts between the parties are known by coordination of talks.

• Permanent Lok Adalats are organised under section 22b of the Legal Services
Authorities Act, 1987 and are set up as permanent bodies for resolution of disputes
using conciliation and settlement.

• As per the Supreme Court, it is an old form of adjudicating system prevalent in

ancient India and its validity has not been taken away even in the modern days too.

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 2. Procedure for organising Lok Adalats:

1. Lok Adalat may be organised by the State Authorities or District Authorities or

Supreme Court Legal Services Committee or High Court Legal Services Committee
or, as the case may be, the Taluk Legal Services Committees at regular intervals and
such Lok Adalats shall be organised for a definite geographical area as the aforesaid
Authorities or Committees think fit: Provided that, Special Lok Adalats shall be
organised for all Family Courts at regular intervals.
2. The Member-Secretary or Secretary of the High Court Legal Services Committee or
District Authority, or the case may be, the Chairman of the Taluk Legal Services
Committee may associate the members of the legal profession, college students, social
organisations, charitable and philanthropic institutions and other similar organisations
for organizing the Lok Adalats.

Lok Adalats are organised by the Legal Services Authority of a district or a state or the
Supreme Court or High Court or Taluk Legal Services Committee. They organise such
Lok Adalats at different intervals and different places. National Legal Services Authority
also called as NALSA, along with other legal institutions is accountable for conducting
Lok Adalats.

3. Types of cases at Lok Adalat and its jurisdiction:

Lok Adalat deals with and have jurisdiction to determine all the cases that are pending
before any court or the cases that have not been filed before any court. Such cases which
have not been filed in any of the court are referred to the Lok Adalats when parties or a
single party to the dispute visits the court or Lok Adalat for the referral of the case. The
dispute can sometimes be also referred to the Lok Adalat when a party to the dispute
submits an application in a pre-litigation dispute.

The cases which are generally dealt by Lok Adalat are related to compoundable criminal
offences, land-acquisition disputes, matrimonial disputes, family disputes, land mutation
etc.
Lok Adalats have no jurisdiction over any dispute or matter related to non-compoundable
offences under any law and such cases shall remain out of purview of Lok Adalats.

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 4. Nature of Cases to be Referred to Lok Adalat
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.

Which Lok Adalat to be Approached

As per section 18(1) of the Act, 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 -

(1) Any case pending before; or

(2) 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 matters relating to
divorce or matters relating to an offence not compoundable under any law.

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.

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 5. Levels and Composition of Lok Adalats:
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.

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.

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.

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.

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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. 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.

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.

As on 30.09.2015, more than 15.14 lakhs Lok Adalats have been organized in the country
since its inception. More than 8.25 crore cases have been settled by this mechanism so
far.

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 6. Functioning of Lok Adalat:

Lok Adalat is one of those alternate dispute settlement mechanisms where the disputes
pending in the court are settled. Disputes and cases that are at pre-litigation stage are also
settled amicably in Lok Adalat. Award passed by the Lok Adalat are final and binding
but parties to the dispute can commence litigation by addressing the court and filing a
case in case parties are not contented with Lok Adalats' decision.

Lok Adalats decide on the matter on the basis of settlement that a parties come to terms
with. The members of the Lok Adalat give assistance to the parties in an unbiased manner
and help them to reach to a settlement. It aids people by providing them cheap and
speedy justice. It is capable of disposing off cases in a single day. Dispute resolution by
Lok Adalat takes place by discussions, counseling and conciliation and gives speedy
justice as it can be organised at any place and can be arranged very fast.

Lok Adalats can be incorporated very easily for the process of dispute resolution where
parties don't generally have to carry any heavy expenses. There is no court fee and if the
case has been previously filed in a court, the fees that has already been paid in the court is
refunded to the parties to the dispute. The parties get to resolve their disputes free of cost.

Lok Adalats have been considered as a dispute redressal mechanism which minimises the
expenditure of the parties to the dispute by providing them inexpensive remedy and saves
their time as well.

When no settlement happens and no compromise is made, the dispute again goes back to
the court. While the proceedings continue, Lok Adalat plays as a conciliator and
convinces the parties to the dispute and helps in reconciliation.

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 7. Powers of Lok Adalat and Benefits

• Section 22 of The Legal Services Authorities Act of 1987 mentions the powers
given to the Lok Adalats and they are same powers as are vested with the Civil
court under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 regarding various kinds of suits
including production of documents, taking over any of the public documents or
records from court etc.
• Within section 22(2) of the Legal Services Authorities Act of 1987, Lok Adalats
are provided with the powers to define and set out their own policies and procedure
for resolving all the disputes that are filed with them. All proceedings that take
place before Lok Adalat are to be regarded as judicial proceedings as per Sections
193, 219 and 228 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 and Lok Adalat are same as civil
court. Every award that is passed by the Lok Adalat is to be deemed as a decree of a
civil court or other courts and binds the parties to the dispute.

• 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.

Benefits:

• 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.

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• 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.

8. Cases Suitable For Lok Adalats

Lok Adalats have competence to deal with a number of cases like:

• Compoundable civil, revenue and criminal cases.

• Motor accident compensation claims cases
• Partition Claims
• Damages Cases
• Matrimonial and family disputes
• Mutation of lands case
• Land Pattas cases
• Bonded Labour cases
• Land acquisition disputes
• Bank’s unpaid loan cases
• Arrears of retirement benefits cases
• Family Court cases
• Cases which are not sub-judice

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9. Needs For Lok Adalats
Justice Ramaswamy says: “ Resolving disputes through Lok Adalat not only
minimizes litigation expenditure, it saves valuable time of the parties and their
witnesses and also facilitates inexpensive and prompt remedy appropriately to the
satisfaction of both the parties”

Law Courts in India face mainly four problems:

• The number of courts and judges in all grades are alarmingly inadequate
• Increase in flow of cases in recent years due to multifarious Acts enacted by the
Central and State Governments
• The high cost involved in prosecuting or defending a case in a court of law, due to
heavy court fee, lawyer's fee and incidental charges
• Delay in disposal of cases resulting in huge pendency in all the courts.

Lok Adalat has a positive contributory role in the administration of justice. It

supplements the efforts and work of the courts. Area of contribution chosen for the
purpose specially concerns and helps the common man, the poor, backward and the
needy-most sections of the society.

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 10. Advantages Of Lok Adalats

(1) Speedy Justice And Saving From The Lengthy Court Procedures

Lok adalats ensure speedier justice because it can be conducted at suitable places,
arranged very fast, in local languages too, even for the illiterates.

The procedural laws and the Evidence Act are not strictly followed while assessing the
merits of the claim by the Lok Adalat. Hence, Lok Adalats are also known as “People’s
Festivals of Justice”

The victims and the offender may be represented by their advocate or they can interact
with the Lok Adalat judge directly and explain their stand in the dispute and the reasons
thereof, which is not possible in a regular court of law.

(2) Justice At No Cost

Abraham Lincoln has observed:

"Discourage litigation. Persuade your neighbours to compromise wherever you can. Point
out to them how the nominal winner is often a real loser - in fees, expenses, and waste of
time. As a peacemaker, the lawyer has a superior opportunity of being a good man. There
will still be business enough."
Lok Adalat is the only institutionalized mechanism of dispute resolution in which the
parties do not have to bear any expenses.

There is no court fee in Lok Adalat. If the case is already filed in the regular court, the fee
paid is refunded in the manner provided under the Court Fees Act if the dispute is settled
at the Lok Adalat. This kind of refund is an incentive given to parties to negotiate for
settlement. Lok Adalat is a boon to the litigant public, where they can get their disputes
settled fast and free of cost.

Denial of free legal services to the poor accused persons or under trial prisoners would
vitiate the principle of “reasonable, just and fair” procedure which is implied in the right
to life and personal liberty under Article 21 of the Constitution.

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In Suk Das v. Union Territory of Arunachal Pradesh, the Apex Court held that failure to
provide free legal aid to an accused at the State’s cost would vitiate the trial. The Court
has set aside the conviction of an accused on the ground that he was not provided with
legal aid at the time of his trial and thus there was violation of Article 21 of the
Constitution.

(3) Solving Problems Of Backlog Cases

Delivering the inaugural address at a seminar on judicial reforms, the President said:
“Delays render the common man’s knock on the temple of justice a frustrating
experience. Litigants are not able to lead normal lives being unsure of the verdict in their
case.’’ Terming the pending cases as an “explosion of litigation,” she said the current
figures reveal that the arrears in HCs exceeded 40 lakh cases and in subordinate courts
270 lakh.

The curse of backlogs in India is well known and Andhra Pradesh High Court judge
Justice V V Rao has gone on to say that it will take 320 years for the Indian Judiciary to
clear its backlog.

In a Lok Adalat, if a compromise is reached, an award is made and is binding on the

parties. It is enforced as a decree of a civil court. An important aspect is that the award is
final and cannot be appealed, not even under Article 226 because it is a judgment by
consent. All proceedings of a Lok Adalat are deemed to be judicial proceedings and
every Lok Adalat is deemed to be a Civil Court. Section 25 of the Legal Services
Authority Act, 1987 provides that the provisions of the act have an overriding effect
notwithstanding anything which is inconsistent with any other law.

Further, in Board of Trustees of the Port of Visakhapatnam v. Presiding Officer,

Permanent, Lok Adalat-cum-Secretary, District Legal Services Authority, Visakhapatnam
and Anr., , it was observed that the award is enforceable as a decree and it is final. The
endeavor is only to see that the disputes are narrowed down and make the final settlement
so that the parties are not again driven to further litigation or any dispute.
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The scheme also helps the overburdened Courts to alleviate the burden of arrears of cases
and as the award becomes final and binding on both the parties, no appeal is filed in the
Appellate Court and, as such, the burden of the Appellate Court in hierarchy is also
reduced. Hence, to alleviate the accumulation of cases, the Lok Adalat is the need of the
day.

(4) Maintenance Of Cordial Relations

The main thrust of Lok Adalats is on compromise. When no compromise is reached, the
matter goes back to the court. While conducting the proceedings, a Lok Adalat acts as a
conciliator and not as an arbitrator. Its role is to persuade the parties to hit upon a solution
and help in reconciling the contesting differences. Lok Adalat cannot decide the issues
nor can it influence or force the parties to decide in a particular way. It encourages
consensual arrangements. It is not possible for lok adalat to decide upon any issue not
acceptable to any of the parties.

Lok Adalats are also required to follow the principles of natural justice and other legal
principles. In Kishan Rao v. Bidar District Legal Services Authority, the question raised
was whether the Lok Adalat could pass a decree when all the parties had not appeared
before the Lok Adalat nor had notice been issued to them. The Karnataka High Court
interpreted Section 20(3) of the Legal Services Authorities Act to hold that all the parties
to the suit must be present if the compromise was to be a valid one. Thus the impugned
decree was struck down as being a nullity by reason of violation of natural justice..

In Lok Adalats, disputes are not only settled but also the cordial relations between the
parties are retained as disputes are resolved amicably. Hence, it is a very healthy way of
dispute resolution.

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 11. How does the Lok Adalat resolve disputes?

When any case is referred to a lok Adalat, it will proceed to speedily dispose of the case
and arrive at a settlement between the parties, while doing so, the Adalat should follow
the principles of justice, fair play and other legal principles.

In a court referred case, if the Adalat does not make a decision because the parties refuse
to compromise,it will return the case record to the concerned court. The court will then
proceed to deal with the case from the stage which was reached before it was referred to
the Adalat.

If the case has been referred by the authority or committee organizing the Lok Adalat,
and the Adalat does not make a decision because the parties refuse to compromise, it will
advise the parties to seek remedy in a court.

12. Important Cases:

Supreme Court in State of Punjab & Anr. v. Jalour Singh and Ors. (2008) 2 SCC 660
held that “Award” of the Lok Adalat does not mean any independent verdict or opinion
arrived at by any decision making process. The making of the award is merely an
administrative act of incorporating the terms of settlement or compromise agreed by the
parties in the presence of the Lok Adalat, in the form of an executable order under the
signature and seal of the Lok Adalat.

Abul Hassan v. Delhi Vidyut Board & Ors. on 15 January, 1999

Delhi High Court emphasized to the idea of setting up Permanent Lok Adalat and
observed that there is a serious problem of overcrowding of dockets.

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HC Bench further added that, “Seekers of justice are in millions and it is becoming rather
difficult for the Courts to cope up with the ever increasing cases with the present
infrastructure and manpower. There is need for decentralization of justice. Permanent and
Continuous Lok Adalats should re-established with the object not only to reduce the
pendency in Courts but also to achieve the end of Article 39A and the object of Act,
1987”.

Bench stated that, “Besides, a solitary appearance of parties before a Lok Adalat which is
organized for a day or two may not be adequate for arriving at a compromise or
settlement. The need of the hour is frantically beckoning for setting up Lok Adalats on
permanent and continuous basis”.

High Court further directed that for facilitating expeditious disposal of all kinds of cases
Permanent Lok Adalats must be set up in Delhi Vidyut Board,Municipal Corporation of
Delhi, New Delhi Municipal Committee, Delhi Development Authority, Mahanagar
Telephone Nigam Limited, General Insurance of India and various departments of the
Government. Since the State and instrumentalists have the largest number of cases
instituted by and against them in various level of courts.

Bench concluded by stating that, “There should also be one or more Permanent Lok
Adalats, depending upon the magnitude of the work, for resolving the disputes between
(1) the citizens and the Government of India, and (2) the Government of India and its
employees”.

After this, Parliament amended Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 in 2002 and
introduced a new chapter VIA with titled as Pre– Litigation Conciliation and Settlement.

Amendment was made in order to establish Permanent Lok Adalat (for brevity ‘PLA’)
for determining the matters relating to Public Utility Services, if disputes are not settled
by Permanent Lok Adalat by the way of conciliation,then the disputes can be decided on
the basis of merit.

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 13. CONCLUSION
Majority of India population which is illiterate seek justice through regular court which is
disadvantageous to both, the parties as well as to the courts as such on which an amicable
settlement can be reached overburdens the courts and the procedure at the courts are
expensive, ineffective and time consuming.

With respect to the present condition prevailing in the society and the gap between the
economic conditions of the people of the society asks for an effective and strong legal
service for poor and needy people.

The system of Lok Adalat are no more new to the legal system of India, it has become an
effective part of Indian legal system and now is the time to bring such matters under the
jurisdiction of Lok Adalat which do not fall under its domain.

It is high time for law makers, jurists, lawyers and judges to help modify in the current
model law governing Lok Adalat and include such areas under its jurisdiction like
business disputes or conflicts where public at large is involved and the matters where
government is involved in one or the other way. It will go a long way in strengthening
our diverse, democratic values and rule of Law.

The working of Lok Adalat seems to be both fruitful and successful and has achieved
those objectives, for which it has been meant.

The overall functioning and achievement of Lok Adalat appears to be appreciable though
not remarkable.. So there is a need strengthen the system of Lok Adalat in recent context,
which in turn, help to realize the Constitutional goals of ‘equal and social justice’ to its
fullest extent.

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