Mysuru: A National Lok Adalat was conducted at 22 Benches across the city and district this morning as part of nationwide Lok Adalat campaign. The event that was organised by Karnataka State Legal Services Authority and Mysuru District Legal Services Authority received good response from the litigants.

A large number of petitioners participated in the Lok Adalat and settled their long-pending issues.

The District Legal Services Authority had identified more than 3,000 cases that were fit to be settled in Lok Adalats and notices were issued to the litigants.

Lok Adalat is one of the alternative dispute redressal mechanisms and it is a forum where disputes/ cases pending in the Court of law or at pre-litigation stage are settled/ compromised amicably. Lok Adalats have been given statutory status under the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987.

Under the Act, the award (decision) made by the Lok Adalats is deemed to be a decree of a civil Court and is final and binding on all parties and no appeal against such an award lies before any Court of law. If the parties are not satisfied with the award of the Lok Adalat (though there is no provision for an appeal against such an award), they are free to initiate litigation by approaching the Court of appropriate jurisdiction.

Speaking on the occasion, District Legal Services Authority Member Secretary B.P. Devamane said that there was an urgent need to solve cases pending for a long time in the Courts. Most of the issues settled at Lok Adalats are satisfactory to the litigants as the disputes are amicably settled through arbitration, he said.

Disputes including cheque bounce, bank loan and property recoveries, employment issues at companies, factories and industries, criminal cases that can be compromised, family disputes, divorce cases, child custody rights cases, payment of alimony by husbands to wives, motor vehicles cases, pension cases, electricity and water bill disputes, land acquisition and revenue disputes, house and property rent and lease disputes and other cases were heard at the Lok Adalat today.

Each panel of Lok Adalat was headed by Judicial Officers with advocates and social workers as its members assisted by law students. There is no Court fee payable when a matter is filed in a Lok Adalat. If a matter pending in the Court of law is referred to the Lok Adalat and is settled subsequently, the Court fee originally paid in the Court on the complaints/ petition is also refunded back to the parties.