SHIMLA: AS many as 32,526 matters have been identified out of which 10,664 are Pre-Litigation matters, 21,862 are Post-Litigation matters will come up for settlement before National Lok Adalat being organised in all the courts in Himachal Pradesh on March 12. These figures are highest since the year 2016, informed the top officials. HPSLA has urged all stakeholders to participate in the national Lok Adalat to seek remedy of the pending matters.
The National Lok Adalats are being organised under patronage of Patron-in-Chief Hon’ble Mr. Justice Mohammad Rafiq, Chief Justice, High Court of Himachal Pradesh and under able guidance of Hon’ble Smt. Justice Sabina, Judge, High Court of Himachal Pradesh and Executive Chairperson, Himachal Pradesh State Legal Services Authority(HPSLA) in all the Courts in the State of Himachal Pradesh on 12th March 2022.
HPSLA member-secretary Prem Pal Ran said the Lok Adalats aim at reducing expenses and time consumed in litigation, providing an opportunity for speedy settlement of disputes that in turn, improve public satisfaction with Justice Delivery System by encouraging solutions suited to the needs of the parties. Award passed by Lok Adalat shall be deemed to be a decree of Civil Court and shall be final and binding on all the parties to the dispute, and no appeal shall lie to any Court against the award, he said.
Justice Sabina interacted with all the Judicial Officers of the State through video-conferencing twice and would also be supervising the ongoing Lok Adalats in some of the districts when these will be conducted on March 12.
Pre- Lok Adalat sittings are taking place in order to afford opportunities for negotiations to the parties to arrive at an amicable settlement, said Ranta. “A stress is being laid on settlement of cases involving Union of India, State Government, Local Authorities, Public Sector undertakings etc.
“Special emphasis is also laid on identification of Old/Stale matters, Motor Accident Claim cases, Family Disputes, Matrimonial cases, NI Act cases, Consumer matters, Insurance claims, Labour Court matters, Water/Electricity Bills and Criminal Compoundable matters”, he said.
HPSAL also hold regular meetings with Local Bar Associations, Insurance Companies, Banks, other Financial Institutions etc. “Targets have been given to Judicial Officer for effective identifications of cases”.
This time ‘Third Party Survey’ of some of the Benches of Lok Adalat at DLSA/SDLSC level with the help of Law Students/Volunteers is being undertaken under the directions of NALSA so as to get a feedback about the organisation of the same, Ranta informed. “Therefore, an appeal is being made to the General Public through the representatives of various newspapers to participate in the coming National Lok Adalat in an enthusiastic manner”.
In this respect a pre-recorded audio message of the Member Secretary, H.P. State Legal Services Authority is being aired during the following programmes of All India Radio, Shimla:
- Good Morning Shimla FM (7:20 AM to 8:20 AM, Daily)
- Good Morning Himachal (Prime Time, Noon & Evening on alternate days)
Print and Electronic Media is also a big stakeholder in spreading legal awareness amongst the public at large and always rendering valuable service in this regard. “We earnestly solicit a wide coverage of the event of the National Lok Adalat and hopeful that message about the upcoming National Lok Adalat will be spread widely so that the litigant public may avail appropriate opportunity to settle their disputes/claims before the National Lok Adalat on 12.03.2022”, Ranta said.
