Lok Adalat settles 150 cases in Udupi in 18 days

District and Sessions Judge Shivashankar Amarannanavar has said that in Udupi district 150 cases were settled through Lok Adalat since September 1.

Speaking to mediapersons, the magistrate said the Lok Adalat would be held everyday until December 6 for the settlement of cases. He said the Lok Adalath is being held at taluk and district level. The judicial counselor and advocate counselor will be conducting the Lok Adalat. The litigants can approach both the taluk and district Lok Adalats for settling the cases. He added there are 22,000 pending cases in Udupi district, of which around 9,000 cases can be settled through Lok Adalat. The judgements hold equal value of that of a award or decree of the Court. The cases settled in Lok Adalat will be assured of reimbursement of the court fee. Pre-litigation cases is also handled in Lok Adalat.

Pendency rate in Udupi district or elsewhere is high because of the shortage of judges to handle the cases and increasing number of cases.

The Judge said that the settled cases in Udupi include cheque bounce cases, motor vehicle cases, land acquisition cases and civil cases (rent, bank recovery, partition, possession etc).
Types of other cases proposed for settlement in Lok Adalat includes criminal compoundable case, labour case, matrimonial and maintenance case, revenue cases, recovery cases of BSNL and other service providers, Forest Act cases and pre-litigation matters. Special sittings of magistrate is being organised to dispose off petty matters under Municipal Laws, Shops and Establishment Act, Local Police Act, Excise Act, Prosecution for Violation of Labour Laws such as Minimum Wages Act etc.

The magistrate said that the Deputy Commissioner, Tahsildar and Assistant Commissioners have been asked to conduct Lok Adalat concerning revenue matters.

In Udupi, the Lok Adalat will begin at 3 pm everyday and will conclude only after the cases referred on the day was settled. If the litigant fails to accept the settlements that had agreed upon in the Lok Adalat, the case will be referred to the court for execution, District and Sessions Judge said.