Bangalore, Nov 21, 2013, DHNS: The Karnataka State Legal Services Authority (KSLSA) will hold a mega Lok Adalat on November 23 and settle an estimated 60,000 cases.
Officials of the KSLSA said that out of the identified 90,000 cases, 60,000 are on the verge of settlement. Most of the 60,000 cases involve bounced cheques, Motor Vehicle Act cases, family disputes, appeals and civil suits.
In the past year-and-a-half, in various Lok Adalats organised by the legal services institutions in the state including High Court Legal Services Committee, a total of 1,25,887 cases were disposed off including the 7,818 pre litigation cases in the Lok Adalats. In addition to this, in the past year-and-a-half the KSLSA, Bangalore has provided legal aid to 934 under-trial prisoners.
Lok Adalats have seen huge success in the State. From April 1997 till September 2013, as many as 99,168 Lok Adalats were held and a total 9, 41,524 cases have been disposed off. Out of these, 3,73845 were civil cases and 5,67,679 were criminal cases. A whopping Rs 749 crore was paid as compensation in different cases under the Motor Vehicle Act and the Land Acquisition. Similarly, the Permanent Lok Adalat under section 22 B of the KSLSA has settled 1,69,613 cases in the last five years.
Says Ashok G Nijagannavar, member secretary, KSLSA: “We need to create more awareness about Lok Adalats. In the past few years, in order to popularise the Lok Adalats, the KSLSA has undertaken several legal aid camps, and legal literacy programmes. In past, the KSLA has provided 1,40,104 people with legal advice.
Holding Lok Adalat is a part of our legal duty as the pendency of cases continues to rise across the country. As of now there are 12 lakh pending cases in various courts across the State,” Ashok added.
These Lok Adalats are held across the districts at regular intervals for providing legal services to people. Statistics reveal that between April 2008 and September 2013, at the 28 district mediation centres, a total of 14,840 cases were referred out of which 2,294 cases have been settled.
