M F AHMAD
Daltonganj, Mar 12: The year’s first National Lok Adalat took off today in the orchard of the civil court of Daltonganj.
It was declared open by the principal district and sessions judge Palamu PK Choubey, principal judge family court M P Mishra, DC Shashi Ranjan, SP Palamu Chandan Kumar Sinha, president of the Palamu Bar Association Ramdeo Yadav and general secretary Subodh Kr Sinha.
The orchard where this national Lok Adalat took off dispelled the banality that used to often accompany such legal shows.
Sources said that earlier Lok Adalats were held in the verandah of the civil courts here which used to be a chaotic affair.
The civil courts here has a lush green orchard with roses, marigold and other flowers in good abundance.
The start of the national Lok Adalat in such an ambience here today enthused the judges, judicial officers, lawyers and the parties who came out for settlement of cases.
In his keynote address principal, district and sessions judge Palamu PK Choubey said that Lok Adalat is a very effective and beneficial forum. Every 2 months national Lok Adalat is held. He urged people to take benefit of the Lok Adalat.
He said cases do mount in the courts and these will be disposed of too. However, he said orders that come in the court of the law leaves one side or one party miffed or unhappy and thus this side of the party remains suffering from the pangs of not getting its desired order but in the Lok Adalat, each of the two sides or parties settle things between them without nurturing any grudge or grievance against each other.
Principal district and sessions judge took a line of the SP Palamu Chandan Kumar Sinha who in his speech had said that cases drag on in the court of law for any length of time where quoting a celebrated jurist SP had said that one gets justice not in this world but in the next world. SP had also said quoting a popular epithet that justice hurried is justice buried.
Choubey said quite firmly that what SP said about the dragging on of the civil cases in the court of law for years end, should agree with him that civil cases which look naive and simple at the outset end up in murder!
Choubey said we have seen how civil cases turn into criminal cases. Here Lok Adalat can chip in faster said the principal district and sessions judge. He said the root cause of any crime lies at first in small dispute or discord which when left untreated lawfully results in bigger acts of crime.
DC Palamu Shashi Ranjan said that Lok Adalat is a panacea to the pre-litigation matters and thanked the principal district and sessions judge Palamu PK Choubey for his concern for the resolution of the compoundable cases.
17 benches were set up today said the secretary of the Palamu district legal services authority Arvind Kachchap.
He said we expect 1200 to 1300 cases to be settled in all amicability today in the National Lok Adalat here. Official figures of cases settled or compromised or awarded are expected late in the evening today.
President of the Palamu bar association Ramdeo Yadav said cases are on the upper side in rural areas. There is a strong need to get the disputes settled through alternative dispute resolution.
Students of the lone law college in Daltonganj doing graduation in law were present in this National Lok Adalat.
