Lok Adalats in Practice: National Lok Adalats, Mobile and Continuous Sittings

Every level can hold one at once. Section 19(1) empowers five different bodies, and section 7(2)(b) expressly extends a State Authority's power to Lok Adalats for High Court cases.

Both pending and pre-litigation matters can be taken up. Section 19(5) covers both, and section 20 gives each its own route, which is chapter 110. Pre-litigation matters are what allow a bank or an electricity company to put thousands of unfiled claims on the list.

It is worth being honest about the criticism, because an examiner may want it. Disposing of very large numbers in a day creates a risk of pressure to settle, and regulation 7(3) is the answer the system gives: every bench shall make sincere efforts at a conciliated settlement without any kind of coercion, threat, undue influence, allurement or misrepresentation. State of Punjab v. Jalour Singh is the same warning from the Supreme Court, directed at judges who forget they are conciliators.

The other varieties

NALSA describes four kinds of regular Lok Adalat.

Continuous Lok Adalat. A bench sits continuously for a set number of days, deferring unsettled matters to the next date, so that parties have time to reflect on the terms before actually settling. Regulation 10(4), inserted in 2018, supports this in terms: need based continuous Lok Adalats may be constituted to facilitate regular reference and timely disposal.

Daily Lok Adalat. Organised on a daily basis.

Mega Lok Adalat. Organised in a State on a single day in all courts of the State. It is the State-level equivalent of a National Lok Adalat.

Mobile Lok Adalat. The Lok Adalat is set up in a multi-utility van and taken to different areas, both to resolve petty cases and to spread legal awareness. Regulation 21 of the Legal Services Clinics Regulations 2011 is the machinery: the lawyers or para-legal volunteers of a legal services clinic may request the District Legal Services Authority to send the mobile Lok Adalat van, with members of the bench, to the clinic for settlement of the disputes they have identified; and the van, fitted for conducting proceedings, may be used at the clinic, near it, or even at village congregations such as melas and other festive occasions.

Two things that are true of all of them

Whatever it is called, it is a Lok Adalat under section 19, and therefore:

• it has jurisdiction only under section 19(5), and no jurisdiction over a non-compoundable offence;
• it can only settle, never decide, per regulation 9 and Jalour Singh; and
• its award is deemed a decree under section 21(1), is final and binding, and carries no appeal under section 21(2).

And the cost position is the same too. NALSA states that no court fee is payable when a matter is filed in a Lok Adalat, and that where a matter pending in court is referred and then settled, the court fee originally paid is refunded, which is section 21(1) read with the Court Fees Act 1870.

A note on two loose statements, and why they matter

Even official material has to be read against the Act, and this is a good place to practise it, because a student who quotes a website against a section will lose the mark.

NALSA's own page cites "section 18(1)" for the jurisdiction of a Lok Adalat. The provision that confers that jurisdiction is section 19(5). Section 18 is accounts and audit.

The same page states the proviso as barring "matters relating to divorce or matters relating to an offence not compoundable under any law". The proviso to section 19(5) bars only the non-compoundable offence. The exclusion of divorce comes from the proviso to regulation 10(2) of the NALSA (Lok Adalats) Regulations 2009. Both are real, but they come from different instruments, and saying the Act excludes divorce is wrong.

And on the pecuniary limit for a Permanent Lok Adalat, NALSA's two pages disagree with each other, one saying ten lakh rupees and the other one crore, which chapter 150 works through.

The lesson is the one this whole book runs on: the Act and the regulations are the authority, and everything else is a description of them. Where a description and the text disagree, the text wins.

A worked example

The Maharashtra State Legal Services Authority announces a National Lok Adalat for a Saturday in December, covering motor accident claims, cheque dishonour cases, bank recovery matters and pre-litigation disputes.

Under what power? Section 19(1) for the organisation, section 7(2)(b) for a State Authority conducting Lok Adalats including for High Court cases, and section 10(2)(b) for the District Authorities organising within their districts. Regulation 8 permits a Saturday sitting and regulation 6A provides the allowance.

A bank wants 900 unfiled loan default matters listed. Those are pre-litigation matters under section 19(5)(ii). Each has to come in under section 20(2), on an application, and the other party must be given a reasonable opportunity of being heard before the reference. Regulation 12(1) requires that the court for which the Lok Adalat is organised would have territorial jurisdiction.

A borrower attends and agrees to a reduced repayment. The bench records the terms and makes an award. Under section 21(1) it is deemed a decree of a civil court; under section 21(2) it is final and no appeal lies. No court fee was paid, because nothing was filed, so nothing is refunded.

Another borrower attends and refuses everything. No award can be made against him. Under section 20(6) the Lok Adalat advises the parties to seek their remedy in a court. If a bench were instead to record what it thought fair and direct him to pay it, that would be void on Jalour Singh.

A third borrower says he felt pressured into signing. That is exactly what regulation 7(3) forbids, and it is the strongest reason for the rule that a Lok Adalat award records only what the parties actually agreed.

What beginners get wrong

A National Lok Adalat is not a separate institution. It is a Lok Adalat under section 19, organised on a national scale on one day.

The Act does not name any of these varieties. They come from the discretion in section 19(1) and NALSA's powers under section 4.

Large numbers are not proof of quality. The counter to the criticism is regulation 7(3) and Jalour Singh, not a disposal figure.

Court fee and Lok Adalats. There is no court fee to file in a Lok Adalat at all, and fee already paid in a pending case comes back on settlement under section 21(1).

Quick revision

• The varieties are administrative, not statutory: National, Mega (statewide, one day), Continuous (a bench sitting over several days, supported by regulation 10(4)), Daily, and Mobile (a multi-utility van, regulation 21 of the Legal Services Clinics Regulations 2011).
• Their statutory basis is the discretion in section 19(1) and NALSA's functions under sections 4(a) and 4(b).
• National Lok Adalats are held on a single day across all courts from the Supreme Court to the taluk level; NALSA says they have been held on a specific subject matter since February 2015, and publishes a disposal report for each sitting.
• Regulation 8 permits sittings on holidays; regulation 6A provides a Special Duty Allowance for holiday or after-hours sittings.
• Whatever the label, the award takes effect under section 21: deemed a decree, final and binding, no appeal. No court fee is payable to file in a Lok Adalat, and fee paid in a referred pending case is refunded.
• Read official descriptions against the Act. NALSA's page cites section 18(1) where the provision is section 19(5), and attributes the divorce exclusion to the Act when it comes from regulation 10(2).

Test yourself

1. Where does the National Lok Adalat get its legal authority, given that the Act never mentions it? From section 19(1), which lets an authority organise Lok Adalats at such intervals, places and areas as it thinks fit, together with NALSA's functions under section 4(a) and 4(b) to lay down policies and frame schemes. It is a Lok Adalat under section 19 in every legal respect.

2. Can a Lok Adalat be held on a Sunday? Yes. Regulation 8 of the NALSA (Lok Adalats) Regulations 2009 permits Lok Adalats on such days, including holidays, as the organiser deems appropriate, and regulation 6A provides a Special Duty Allowance for those who sit on a holiday or beyond court hours.

3. What is a Continuous Lok Adalat, and what supports it in the regulations? A bench that sits continuously for a set number of days, deferring unsettled matters to the next date so the parties can reflect before settling. Regulation 10(4), inserted in 2018, provides that need based continuous Lok Adalats may be constituted to facilitate regular reference and timely disposal.

4. How does a mobile Lok Adalat reach a village clinic? Under regulation 21 of the NALSA (Legal Services Clinics) Regulations 2011, the lawyers or para-legal volunteers of the clinic may request the District Legal Services Authority to send the mobile Lok Adalat van with members of the bench to the clinic. The van may also be used near the clinic or at village congregations such as melas.

5. NALSA's website says a Lok Adalat cannot take up divorce matters, citing the Act. Is that right? The exclusion is real but the source is wrong. The proviso to section 19(5) of the Act bars only a case or matter relating to an offence not compoundable under any law. The bar on divorce matters comes from the proviso to regulation 10(2) of the NALSA (Lok Adalats) Regulations 2009.