Bandipora, Nov 21: A day ahead of the Special Lok Adalat, the District Legal Services Authority (DLSA) has identified a startling lapse of not a single compoundable criminal case been listed for settlement in the Lok Adalat.
The lapse has prompted a swift directive from the DLSA, pulling up judicial officers and ordering an urgent identification of all eligible matters before tomorrow’s proceedings.
In a communication, issued by ADR Centre of DLSA Bandipora, Chairman and Additional District and Sessions Judge Bandipora, Mir Wajahat has expressed concern over the issue and directed all the judicial officers to identify compoundable criminal cases and refer the same to the Lok Adalat tomorrow.
He has also warned the judicial officers about such administrative lapses in future. “All compoundable criminal matters listed in tomorrow’s regular cause list are to be taken up with ‘due seriousness’ with efforts to explore reconciliation during the court proceedings,” he remarked.
He asked Judicial officers to immediately identify cases from upcoming weekly cause lists that fall within the compoundable category — including Section 138 NI Act cases, Domestic Violence Act matters, maintenance petitions, Istighasa complaints, and other eligible criminal matters.
“A screened list of all such cases must be submitted by 4 PM today for consolidation. Any litigant wishing to include a compoundable matter in Saturday’s Lok Adalat must be allowed to do so — even orally and without any procedural delay,” the communique reads.
The DLSA has also emphasised that all statutory requirements and referral formalities must be completed before or at the time of sending a matter to the Lok Adalat, so that the eventual settlement or award does not suffer from any procedural irregularity or curable defect.
The President of the Bar Association Bandipora has been formally asked to issue public announcements informing litigants and lawyers that compoundable cases will be entertained for settlement on simple motion during the Special Lok Adalat.
The DLSA has urged all officers to conduct meaningful conciliation and ensure that tomorrow’s Lok Adalat achieves maximum settlements in the spirit of restorative justice—(KNO)
