NALSA to organize 2nd National Lok Adalat of this year on 10th July,2021

  

The National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) under the guidance of its Executive Chairman, Hon’ble Mr. Justice U.U. Lalit, is going to organise the Second National Lok Adalat of the year 2021 on 10^th July 2021. Over the course of this year, two more National Lok Adalats will be organised on 11^th September and 11^th December 2021.

The First National Lok Adalat of this year was organised on 10^th April, 2021 in 22 states and UTs where over 9.7 lakh cases were taken up out of which 2.3 lakh cases were pre-litigation cases and more than 7.3 lakh cases were pending cases. More than 4.8 lakh cases were disposed of wherein cases worth of over Rs. 2440 crore were settled. The details are as follows:

Pre-litigation Cases			Pending Cases			Total
Taken Up	Disposed Of	Settlement Amount (₹)	Taken Up	Disposed Of	Settlement Amount (₹)	Taken Up	Disposed Of	Settlement Amount (₹)
2,38,249	65,407	142,31,69,609	7,37,235	4,19,082	2300,02,07,765	9,75,484	4,84,489	2442,33,77,374

A preparatory national-level webinar was organised by the National Legal Services Authority on “National Lok Adalat: Challenges and way forward” which was conceptualised with the aim to sensitize all the Chairpersons and Secretaries of District Legal Services Authorities in order to ensure smooth and proper functioning of the upcoming National Lok Adalat. All Executive Chairpersons of State Legal Services Authorities, Chairpersons of High Court Legal Services Committees and Ld. Member Secretaries of SLSAs and Chairpersons and Secretaries, DLSAs and Judicial Officers attended the webinar.

In the said webinar, Hon’ble Mr. Justice U.U. Lalit emphasized on the preparatory exercises to be taken up by all Legal Services Authorities for efficiently conducting the upcoming National Lok Adalat. His Lordship deliberated on the preparations and strategies for the National Lok Adalat, Standard Operating Procedures, meetings and interactions with all stakeholders prior to the Lok Adalat, ensuring cooperation between all stakeholders, optimum utilisation of resources, and publicity through mass media. Hon’ble Mr. Justice U.U. Lalit stated that “Legal Services Authorities should try and have pre-Lok Adalat sittings with all stakeholders including private parties, respective advocates, representatives of insurance companies, and representatives of the government to ensure smooth functioning of the National Lok Adalat proceedings.” 

In wake of the pandemic, the upcoming National Lok Adalat will be organised through virtual and hybrid mode after observance of the covid protocols of respective States. NALSA has instructed the SLSAs/HCLSCs to follow the following directions for the upcoming National Lok Adalat:

1. Identify suitable number of cases wherein element of settlement is prevalent, to be taken up in the National Lok Adalat.
2. Issue notices to parties at the earliest through virtual e-services mode or physical mode whichever is possible for the National Lok Adalat.
3. To have meetings with all the concerned stakeholders including members of the Bar, representatives of insurance companies, representatives of banks and financial institutions, etc.
4. In order to have maximum settlement between the parties in cases like MACT, matrimonial, cheque bounce cases under NI Act, labour disputes, PUS, other civil cases, etc., it is advised to conduct pre-Lok Adalat sittings or pre-counselling sessions well before the National Lok Adalat so that the parties may get one or more chances for entering into dialogue with opposite parties to get maximum number of settlements.
5. In case, parties arrive at the settlement through pre-Lok Adalat sittings and pre-counselling, then, the settlement may be recorded at the same time.
6. Also, to observe COVID-19 protocol prevalent in the States/UTs as per the guidelines issued by the Government of India as well as State Governments.

Against all odds and despite the continuing pandemic, the Legal Services Authorities organised two National Lok Adalats in the year 2020, wherein over 12.6 Lakh pre-litigation and more than 12.8 Lakh pending cases were amicably settled. The details are as follows:

Pre-Litigation			Pending Cases			Total
Taken Up	Disposed of	Total Settlement amount (In ₹)	Taken Up	Disposed of	Total Settlement amount (In ₹)	Taken Up	Disposed of	Total Settlement amount (In ₹)
6036006	1264935	22062527593	5115168	1283433	57975654840	111,51,174	25,48,368	80038182433

The Legal Services Authorities also swiftly adapted to Online Dispute Resolution mechanisms and introduced E-Lok Adalats in the month of June, 2020. E-Lok Adalats have received significant response from the general public as the parties can participate from their home/workplace. Till now, 25 SLSAs/HCLSCs have organised E-Lok Adalats and the same are to be incrementally introduced in other States. Over 4.42 lakh cases have been disposed of in the same. The details are as follows:

Pre-Litigation Cases		Pending Cases in Courts		Total
Taken Up	Disposal	Taken Up	Disposal	Taken Up	Disposal
2,93,809	1,37,285	5,70,843	3,04,722	8,64,652	4,42,007

The National Lok Adalat will be held on 10^th July in 33 SLSAs/HCLSCs. Kerala has preponed the National Lok Adalat to 09.07.2021. In addition, 3 SLSAs have postponed the National Lok Adalat namely Maharashtra which will hold the National Lok Adalat on 01.08.2021, Dadra & Nagar Haveli on 18.07.2021, and Karnataka on 14.08.2021.

SOURCE ; www.latestlaws.com

Social media is bold. 

Social media is young.

Social media raises questions.

 Social media is not satisfied with an answer.

Social media looks at the big picture.

 Social media is interested in every detail.

social media is curious.

 Social media is free.

Social media is irreplaceable.

But never irrelevant.

Social media is you.

(With input from news agency language)

 If you like this story, share it with a friend!  

We are a non-profit organization. Help us financially to keep our journalism free from government and corporate pressure.