: “When there is injustice, there is tension, friction, conflict and riot. To avoid all these, we have to not only ensure that justice is done, but also convince public that it is done,” said Chief Justice of Karnataka High Court Justice Cyriac Joseph.
Delivering the inaugural address for the Permanent Lok Adalat here on Saturday, he said, “we are promoting terrorism and violence by becoming instruments of injustice, directly or indirectly or knowingly or unknowingly.
“We cannot claim that there is a perfect system and that everyone is doing justice only. We are guilty of failing to protect the oppressed around us,” Justice Cyriac said and told the legal authorities that preventing someone doing justice is also injustice and that it is their duty to protect their fellow citizens from injustice.
Stating that this was the first out of the six Permanent Lok Adalats sanctioned to be inaugurated, Justice Cyriac appreciated Mangalore for being a model for the whole State once again. He said that Lok Adalath are bypasses provided to enable speedy trials when lots of cases are lagging and pending in the courts. They were earlier attached to the High Courts, but were decided to be made permanent considering the enthusiasm of the litigants, active co-operation of lawyers and their unprecedented success rate. Justice Cyriac added that the purpose of establishing courts is not only to dissolve the differences between parties,but also ensuring justice in the society as demanded by the Preamble of the Constitution of India.
High Court Judge Justice H V G Ramesh said that Permanent Lok Adalats will reduce the burden of the courts and will also help the litigants and lawyers with the comparatively inexpensive and informal procedure of the trials.
Executive Chairman of the Karnataka Legal Services Authority and High Court Judge Justice V Gopal Gowda presided over the inaugural function. Principal District Sessions Judge H M Bharathesh and  President of Mangalore Bar Association K Monappa Bhandary were also on the dias. Deputy Commissioner M Maheshwara Rao and Chairman and first judge of the Permanent Lok Adalat Mr Chengappa were present on the occasion.