A total of 36 pending cases and 185 pre-litigation cases were settled amicably with a total settlement amount of Rs 5,96,36,313 during the Lok Adalat undertaken by the Manipur State Legal Services Authority (MASLSA) in 2020, MASLSA member secretary Gaiphulshillu Golmei said.
Gaiphulshillu was speaking to the media on Saturday in Imphal regarding the upcoming National Lok Adalat to be held on April 10. She appealed to the public to take the opportunities provided by the Lok Adalat as it is an effective means of Alternative Dispute Resolutions (ADR) to bring amicable resolution to disputes.
“Lok Adalat is one of the alternative dispute redressal mechanisms; it is a forum where disputes or cases pending in the court of law or at the pre-litigation stage are settled or compromised amicably,” she explained.
The MASLSA member secretary said that Lok Adalats have been given statutory status under the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 in which the decision made by the Lok Adalats is deemed to be a decree of a civil court, and is final and binding on all parties and no appeal against such an award lies before any court of law.
Unlike the proceedings in civil courts, there is no court fee payable when a matter is filed in a Lok Adalat and it saves time as well as brings a final solution. It is one of the significant modes of ADR, she added.
However, Lok Adalat has no jurisdiction in respect of matters relating to divorce or matters relating to an offence not compoundable under any law, she mentioned.
Gaiphulshillu said that the Lok Adalat conducted in the state is most successful in loan settling cases. She said that MASLSA under the instruction of NALSA will be conducting four Lok Adalat in 2021. The dates are April 10, July 11, September 11 and December 11, she added.
