In democracy, Judiciary is one of the very important organs of the State and without it , democracy cannot be successful. Whenever, any law is made by the legislature infringing the fundamental rights of the law is made by the legislature infringing the fundamental rights of the citizens or whenever there is any executive order jeopardising the right of a subject, the Judiciary comes to rescue. For healthy democratic rule , an effective and independent Judiciary is a must.
In india, we have democratice rule and we have a judicial system working for the last so many years. We have in the system , regular Courts functioning according to procedure prescribed for each and every matter.
Because of increase in population of the country and consequently increase in the litigations, the cases started piling up for the reason the number of courts fall short of, as compared to increase in litigations.
In such circumstances, it is true that with the increasing number of the cases, the decisions are delayed. This trend is not healthy and may prove dangerous even going to the extents of denying justice asa it is said “Justice delayed is justice denied” and ultimately causing collapse of the system, though sometimes “Justice hurried, Justice burried” is also referred as a maxim.
In order to deal with the problems of piling of cases in the courts, a concept of lok adalat has been evolved. Such “Lok Adalats” are frequently now being held in every part of the country . Under this legal service authority act, 1987 the word “Lok Adalat” has been assigned a meaning which can be comprehended which pertains to Lok Adalat. Under this rule, it is enjoined upon every state Authority or District Authority or the Supreme court Legal services Committee or as the case may be , the Taluka Legal services committee to organise Lok Adalat at such intervals and places as it thinks fit. Every such Lok Adalat shall consist of serving or retired judicial officers and such other persons having experience and qualifications which may be prescribed. This leaves sufficient scope ot include members of legal profession, socila workers or para legal of he area. The pending cases in Civil, criminal and Revenue courts including any tribunals or any other authority constituted under any law for the time being in force to exercise judicial or quasi judicial functions of Lok Adalat to determine and arrive at a compromise between the parties to a dispute. It is enjoyed upon the concerned court to refer any pending case to the Lok Adalat , if it is satisfied that matter is appropriate one to be taken to lok adalat.
In the process of functioning of such lok adalat , the case of certain specific nature pending before regular judicial courts are taken up in the Lok Adalt, Lok Adalats are being held generally, in the premise of those judicial courts by the presiding officers of those courts. After some deliberation and conciliation, the cases are decided by Lok Adalats within a short time, whereas those cases remained pending for numbers of years in regular judicial courts.
The litigant public , when compare the functioning of Lok adalat system and regular judicial system , undoubtedly, for public in general and for a litigant public in particular, the justice being administered by regular judicial courts might be bitter in taste.
Now a days it is well known that Lok Adalats have created a sense of confidence in the people that there is hardly any match to it , to retrieve the existing delivery system from the every increasing arrears at all levels . The efficacy of Lok Adalats and the resultant people’s faith in this system lies in under the current that it knows no man barricades and, it flows through the basic human principles of equity, good consience , fairplay and natural justice.
