The Manipur State Legal Services Authority (MASLSA), all District Legal Services Authorities (DLSAs) and the High Court Legal Services Committee (HCLSC) of the State will be organising the 3rd National Lok Adalat of 2022 on August 13 at all District Court complexes and High Court of Manipur.
And in relation to this, various steps have been taken up so that a maximum number of cases are referred to and solved during the National Lok Adalat.
During a press conference at ARD Complex, Lamphelpat, MASLSA member secretary, Ojesh Mutum, said that Lok Adalat is one of the alternative dispute redressal mechanisms where disputes or pending cases in the court or at pre-litigation stage are settled and compromised amicably.
Ojesh said that Legal Services Authorities across the country, under the aegis of National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) and the leadership of Justice UU Lalit, executive chairman, NALSA, organised the first and second National Lok Adalat of the year 2022 in all the 36 states/UTs on March 12, 2022 and May 14, 2022 respectively in both physical and hybrid mode. Over 40 lakh cases were disposed of at the first National Lok Adalat whereas a record number of over 95 lakh cases were disposed of at the second National Lok Adalat, totalling to over 1. 35 crores cases, Ojesh informed.
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The NALSA organises National Lok Adalat quarterly to provide easy, economical, informal access to justice to the litigants and the poorest section of the society as per mandate of National Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987. Lok Adalat takes up pending civil cases, compoundable criminal cases and matrimonial cases. Thus, at a time when dockets of the courts are full, modes of alternative disposal by way of Lok Adalat are providing affordable access to justice and contributing in a significant way to lessen the burden on regular court by targeting the pending cases as well as those in pipeline by way of disposing off significant number of cases in pre-litigation.
Stating thus, the member secretary has appealed to any individual/groups, government departments, organisations desirous of settling their pre-litigation disputes or those cases pending before the courts to solve it through the Lok Adalat which is scheduled on August 13 and November 12, 2022. They may contact Manipur State Legal Services Authority (+91-9436239669/+91-9436239666), he added.
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Recalling the number of cases settled in National Lok Adalat, Ojesh said that in the year 2021, the Manipur State Legal Services Authority organized four National Lok Adalat at various places across the state, both in virtual/online and physical modes. Out of 1,269 total cases (1031 Pre-litigation and 238 pending) taken up, a total of 913 cases (1031 Pre- litigation and 238 pending) were disposed of with a total settlement amount of Rs. 8,21,22,969.
Around 1.27 crores cases were disposed of at the four National Lok Adalat held during the year 2021.
Further, as per the calendar of NALSA, the MASLSA in association with HCLSC and DLSAs organized two National Lok Adalat on March 12, 2022 and May 14, 2022 at various places across the state, both in virtual/online and physical modes. So far, with two more National Lok Adalat to be conducted within this year, a total of 974 cases (854 Pre-litigation and 120 pending) have already been taken up and a total of 727 cases (675 Pre-litigation and 161 pending) were disposed of with a total settlement amount of Rs. 6,92,97,757.
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He said with the widespread publicity and awareness on National Lok Adalat taken up by the Manipur State Legal Services Authority, there has been a significant increase in participation and the number of cases. These cases include bank recovery matters, criminal compoundable offence cases, electricity bills, NI Act cases, MACT cases, matrimonial disputes, water bills and other civil cases, etc.
