DISPUTE RESOLUTION MECHANISM AT GRASS ROOT LEVEL

ASSIGNMENT ON alternative dispute resolution

JAMIA MILLIA ISLAMIA

NAME: PIYUSH DWIVEDI

ROLL NO: 44
SUBMITTED TO: KARISHMA SHEIKH
TOPIC OF ASSIGNMENT: DISPUTE RESOLUTION MECHANISM AT GRASS
ROOT LEVEL.

Submitted by:
Piyush Dwivedi

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

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It gives me immense pleasure and gratitude to thank my Alternative Dispute Resolution

teacher Karishma Sheikh Ma’am, who gave me opportunity to do this wonderful project
which helped me in doing a lot of research and I came to know about so many new things. I
am really thankful to him.
Secondly, I would like to give thanks to all my seniors who have guided throughout the
research process.
Lastly, I feel that my project would not have been completed without the help of my parents
and friends.

YOURS SINCERELY,
PIYUSH DWIVEDI

INTRODUCTION

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Any conflict is like cancer. The sooner it is resolved, the better it is for the parties involved
and the society in general. The conflict grows at an exponential rate if it is not resolved at the
very first stage. One dispute leads to another and it is thus better to resolve it the very
moment it arises. The method to achieve this goal must be agreed upon by both the parties
involved. The state of uncertainty and indecisiveness should be as brief as possible.

The Constitution of India has defined and declared “to secure to all the citizens of India,
Justice-social, economic and political; liberty; equality and fraternity” as the common goal
for its citizens. The eternal value of constitutionalism lies in the Rule of Law, which has three
facts: Rule by Law, Rule under Law and Rule according to Law.
Alternate dispute Resolution (ADR) originated in the USA as an endeavour to find
alternatives to the traditional legal system that was regarded as adversarial, costly,
unpredictable, rigid, over-professionalized, damaging to relationships, and limited to narrow
rights-based remedies as opposed to creative problem solving. The American origins of the
concept are not surprising, given certain features of litigation in that system, such as: trials of
civil actions by a jury, lawyers’ contingency fees, lack of application in full of the rule “the
loser pays the costs”.

NEED FOR ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION

In the legal system as it operates in India, any wrong is regarded as a matter of course. The
objective of ADR is to check litigation explosion, make the justice system less expensive and
easily accessible to the illiterate and indigent. The focus is to avoid feuds and develop a
harmonious relationship between the disputing parties by settling the dispute through process
of arbitration, mediation, negotiation and the likes. The ADR system can never be a complete
alternative to the conventional system of dispute resolution. For example, settling of criminal
disputes can never be done through the ADR mechanism. There is no substitute for Court
decisions in criminal law. Moreover, it is necessary for both the parties to be genuinely
interested in solving the dispute peacefully.
The Courts of law are confronted with four main problems which are as follows:

i) The number of Courts and judges in all grades is alarmingly low.

ii) Increase in the number of cases owing to the various State and Central acts

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iii) The costs involved in prosecuting or defending a case. The Court fee, the lawyer’s fee and
the incidental charges amounts to quite a large sum.

iv)The process is very cumbersome and time-consuming because of the huge number of
already pending cases.

KINDS OF ADR

A wide range of dispute prevention and resolution procedures exist in India that allow the
participants to develop a fair, cost-effective, and private forum to resolve disputes. All ADR
mechanisms available in the country can be broadly discussed at two levels:
1) Those which are applicable throughout the country &

2) Those which are available at the state / UT level to deal with specific problems arising
under their jurisdiction.

The following are models for ADR as prototypes for use in dispute- redressal exist on
national level:

 Tribunals, commissions, boards, etc.

 Lok Adalat
 Nyaya Panchayats
 Arbitration
 Conciliation
 Ombudsman
 Fast Track Courts

TRIBUNALS:
Article 323-B was added to the Constitution to authorize the legislature to establish tribunal,
commissions, district boards, etc., for the adjudication or trial of any disputes, complaints or
offenses with respect to any matters.

LOK ADALATS:

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Lok Adalat or the People’s Courts, decide the dispute with utmost expedition to arrive at a
compromise or settlement on the basis of principles of justice, equity, fair play and other legal
principles. When the Lok Adalat is not able to arrive at a compromise or settlement, the
record of the case is returned to the Court, which initially referred the case to the Lok Adalat.
The Lok Adalat is presided over by a sitting or retired judicial officer as the chairman, with
two other members, usually a lawyer and a social worker.

NYAY PANCHAYATS
In villages, the administration is carried out by a Panchayat headed by village headman that
decides petty civil, criminal and revenue cases. The respectable members of the village
community form the Panchayat, where for those who prefer it, disputes are resolved by a
process of conciliation and mediation.

ARBITRATION
Settlement of disputes by arbitration has been practiced in India from the distant past and the
legal literature tells us of the ancient system of arbitration for resolving disputes concerning
the family, or the trade or a social group. The Constitution of India also mandates it as a
Directive Principle of State Policy that the State should encourage settlement of international
disputes by arbitration.

CONCILIATION
There is not a lot of difference between mediation and conciliation. Mediation is one of the
methods by which conciliation is achieved. Conciliation is essentially a consensual
process. Under Part III of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, Section 61 to 81
provides for method of conciliation of disputes arising out of legal relationship, whether
contractual or not.

OMBUDSMAN
In certain informal disputes, a third-party ombudsperson is appointed by the organisation to
investigate complaints within the institution and prevent disputes or facilitate their resolution.
The Ombudsperson may use various ADR mechanisms in the process of resolving disputes.
The Swedish legislature first created the position of ombudsperson in the early 1800s; the
literal translation of ombudsperson is “an investigator of citizen complaints.” This official

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was considered to be a person of “known legal ability and outstanding integrity” and was
chosen by the Swedish parliament to serve a four-year term. 

FAST TRACK COURTS

The Eleventh Finance Commission recommended a scheme for creation of 1734 Fast Track
Courts (FTCs) in the country for speedy disposal of the pending cases. The Ministry of
Finance sanctioned an amount of Rs. 502.90 crores as “special problem and upgradation
grant” for judicial administration. The scheme was for a period of 5 years. The Finance
Commission Division (FCD), Ministry of Finance released funds directly to the State
Governments under the scheme of Fast Track Courts. It is the primary responsibility of the
State Governments to establish these Courts in consultation with the concerned High Courts.

A total of 1,734 such Courts are expected to be set-up by the Government of India under this
wholly centrally-funded scheme. Fast track Courts are meant to expeditiously clear the
colossal scale of pendency in the district and subordinate Courts under a time-bound
programme.

WHAT IS LEGAL AID?

Under Section 2(1)(c) of the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 (hereinafter referred to as
‘the said Act’), “Legal Service” includes the rendering of any service in the conduct of any
case or other legal proceeding before any court or other authority or tribunal and the giving of
advice on any legal matter; To provide free and competent legal services to the weaker
section of the society was the basic object of enacting the aforesaid Act. Justice - social,
economic and political, is our constitutional pledge enshrined in the preamble of our
Constitution. The incorporation of Article 39-A in the Directive Principles of State Policy in
the year 1976, enjoined upon the State to ensure justice on the basis of equal opportunity by
providing free legal aid.
Lawful Aid and quick trial have now been held to be principal rights under Article 21 of the
Constitution accessible to all detainees and enforceable by the courts. The state is under an
obligation to give attorneys to needy individual and it must pay to the legal counsellor his
expenses settled by the Court. he supposition of our lawful framework is that all residents
have approach access to methods for lawful review. Access to economical and speedy equity

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is a fundamental human right. In any case, by and by, legitimate administrations of assorted
types have gone to the most noteworthy bidders. Well off people and expansive organizations
get the most astounding quality guidance. There ought to be an arrangement of organization
of equity of which the poorest can exploit. Meet access to the law for the rich and poor
people alike is basic for the upkeep of the administer of law. It is, hence, basic to give
satisfactory legitimate counsel and portrayal to every one of those, undermined as to their
life, freedom, property or notoriety, who are not ready to pay for it.

Legal aid is required in many forms and at various stages, for obtaining guidance, for
resolving disputes in Courts, tribunals or other authorities. It has manifold facets. The
explosion in population, the vast changes brought about by scientific, technological and other
developments, and the all-round enlarged field of human activity reflected in modern society,
and the consequent increase in litigation in Courts and other forums demand that the service
of competent persons with expertise in law is required in many stages and at different forums
or levels and should be made available.

In order to achieve the objective enshrined in Article 39-A of the Constitution, Government
had, with the object of providing free legal aid, by a Resolution appointed a Committee for
implementing Legal Aid Scheme to monitor and implement Legal Aid Programmes on a
uniform basis in all States and Union Territories. The said Committee evolved a model
scheme which was accordingly implemented by the Government. But on review, certain
deficiencies were found, and it was considered desirable to constitute statutory legal
authorities at National, State and district levels so as to provide effective monitoring of Legal
Aid Programmes.

Persons Who Are Entitled to Get Free Legal Aid Under the Legal Services Authorities
Act, 1987
Criteria for giving legal service are prescribed under the Section 12 of the said Act. Every
person who has to file or defend a case shall be entitled to legal services under this Act if that
person is–
a) a member of a Scheduled Caste of Scheduled Tribe;
b) a victim of trafficking in human beings or beggar as referred to in Article 23 of the
Constitution;

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c) a woman or a child;
d) a person with disability as defined in Clause (i) of Section 2 of the person with
Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation)’ Act,
1995.
e) person under circumstances to the underserved want such as being a victim of mass
disaster, ethnic violence, caste atrocity, flood, drought, earthquake or industrial disaster; or an
industrial workman; or in custody, including custody in a protective home within the
meaning of clause (g) of Section 2 of the Immoral Traffic (prevention) Act, 1956 (104 of
1956), or in a juvenile home within the meaning of clause (j) of Section 2 of the Juvenile
Justice Act, 1986 (53 of 1986), or in a psychiatric hospital or psychiatric nursing home within
the meaning of clause (g) of Section 2 of the Mental Health Act, 1987 (14 of 1987); or in
receipt of annual income less than rupees nine thousand or such other higher amount as may
be prescribed by the State Government, if the case is before a court other than the supreme
Court, and less than rupees twelve thousand or such other higher amount as may be
[prescribed by the Central Government, if the case is before the Supreme Court.

Constitutional Provisions Relating to Legal Aid

Legal aid a constitutional right - Articles 21 and 39-A of the Constitution are as under: -
“21. Protection of life and personal liberty – No person shall be deprived of his life or
personal liberty except according to procedure established by law.
“39A. Equal justice and free legal aid - The state shall secure that the operation of the legal
system promotes Justice on a basis, of equal opportunity, and shall in particular, provide free
legal, aid, by suitable legislation or schemes or in any other way, to ensure that opportunities
for securing Justice are not denied to any citizen by reason of economic or other disabilities”.
Article 21 is a fundamental right conferred under Part III of the Constitution. Whereas Article
39-A is one of the directive principles of the State Policy under Part IV of the Constitution. It
has been held by the Constitution Bench of Supreme Court in Chandra
Bhawan Boarding and Lodging, Bangalore v. State of Mysore,1that “While rights conferred
under Part III are fundamental, the directives given under part IV are fundamental in the
governance of the country. There is no conflict on the whole between the provisions
contained in Part III and Part IV. They are complementary and supplementary to each other.

1 AIR 1970 SC 2042.

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JUDICIAL DECISION
The Supreme Court in Hussainara Kathoon V. Home Secretary, State of Bihar,2 had called
upon the Government to frame appropriate scheme for providing legal aid to the poor. The
following observations were made by the Supreme Court:
“We may also take this opportunity of impressing upon the Government of India as also the
State Governments, the urgent necessity of introducing a dynamic and comprehensive legal
service programme with a view to reaching justice to the common man. Today,
unfortunately, in our country the poor are priced out of the judicial system with the result that
they are losing faith in the capacity of our legal system to being about changes in their life
conditions and to deliver justice to them. The poor in their contact with legal system have
always been on the wrong side of the law. They have always come across ‘law for the poor’
rather than ‘law of the poor’. The law is regarded by them as something mysterious and
forbidding-always taking something away from them and not as a positive and constructive
social device for changing the socioeconomic order and improving their life conditions by
conferring rights and benefits on them. The result is that the legal system has lost its
credibility for the weaker sections of the community. It is, therefore, necessary that we
should inject equal justice into legality and that can be done only by dynamic and activist
scheme of legal services.

In Centre of legal Research v. State of Kerala,3 it has been held that in order to achieve the
objectives in Article 39-A, the state must encourage and support the participation of
voluntary organisation or social action groups because there are types and types of voluntary
organisations and social action groups in the country and if the State were required to
encourage and support other voluntary organisation or social action group for operating the
legal aid programme and particularly the strategic programme comprising legal aid camps
and Lok Adalat, the possibility of abuse of such encouragement or support cannot be ruled
out.

In State of Maharashtra v. Manubhai Pragaji Vashi,4the Supreme Court has held that the
right to free legal aid and speedy trial are guaranteed fundamental rights under Article 21 of
the Constitution. The preamble to the Constitution of India assures `justice, social, economic
2 AIR 1979 SC 1369: 1980 [1] SC 98: 1979 [3] SCR 532: 1979 Cri LJ 1045: 1980 SCC [Cr] 40.
3 AIR 1986 SC 1322.
4
(1995) 5 SCC 730.

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and political'. Article 39A of the Constitution provides `equal justice' and `free legal aid'. The
State shall secure that the operation of the legal system promotes justice. It means justice
according to law. In a democratic polity, governed by rule of law, it should be the main
concern of the State, to have a proper legal system. Article 39 A mandates that the State shall
provide free legal aid by suitable legislation or schemes or in any other way to ensure that
opportunities for securing justice are not denied to any citizen by reason of economic or other
disabilities. The principles contained in Article 39A are fundamental and cast a duty on the
State to secure that the operation of the legal system promotes justice, on the basis of equal
opportunities and further mandates to provide free legal aid in any way - by legislation or
otherwise, so that justice is not denied to any citizen by reason of economic or other
disabilities. The crucial words are (the obligation of the State) to provide free legal aid `by
suitable legislation or by schemes' or `in any other way', so that opportunities for securing
justice are not denied to any citizen by reason of economic or other disabilities.

NEED FOR LEGAL AID

There has been an incredible change in the psyches of the general population of the country
towards the idea of lawful guide from a duty of the denounced to discover an attorney and
look for help to a major right of a blamed to look for nothing lawful guide. Indeed, even after
every one of the endeavours of the statute to influence the idea of legitimate guide to prosper
in our express, the set objectives have not yet been accomplished. There are numerous
impediments to the effective use of legitimate guide in the nation.
Individuals are yet not mindful of their fundamental rights because of which the legitimate
guide development has not accomplished its objective yet. It is the nonappearance of
legitimate mindfulness which prompts abuse and hardship of rights and advantages of poor
people. Therefore, it is the need of great importance that the poor unskilled individuals ought
to be conferred with legitimate information and ought to be taught on their fundamental
rights which ought to be done from the grass root level of the nation. The needy individuals,
who are not that fit socially and monetarily don't think about their legitimate rights and the
lawful strategies to unravel debate. They either simply abandon their rights or wind up
unravelling them in the city or to intensify the circumstance, they utilize their muscle control.
These murders the legitimate arrangement of the nation and the residents lose confidence in
the organization of the law of the nation.

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Along these lines, lawful guide to poor people and powerless individual is mandatory for the
conservation of the lead of law which is essential for the presence of the general public. Poor
people and the uninformed individuals being kept oblivious and not given equity are
equivalent to the law and rights being unreasonable to every one of the residents.
Some of the major challenges are listed below:
Lack of awareness on rights and entitlements

The Planning Commission, in its Approach Paper to 12th Plan observes that a “greater desire
to access information about the rights and entitlements made available by law and policy, and
eagerness to demand accountability from the public delivery systems augurs well for the
future.”4 Similar sentiment has been expressed in the Report of the
Working Group for Twelfth Five Year Plan of the Department of Justice notes that “the
alienation of people from the system is exacerbated by their lack of awareness of their rights,
entitlements and processes to redress grievances”. Efforts must be made by all the
stakeholders, especially the Department of Justice, Legal Services Authorities and law
colleges to enhance legal awareness of people so that they are aware of their rights and
processes of accessing these.
Limited reach of the institutions extending Legal Aid.

Given the nature, structure and processes of formal institutions of justice, it is very difficult
for poor people to approach them. The legal aid institutions are mandated to assist the poor
people in accessing the justice systems. The needs assessment study commissioned under the
GoI – UNDP Project on Access to Justice for the Marginalised has highlighted that majority
of the respondents in 7 states did not even know about existence of Legal Services
Authorities.6 In addition to lack of infrastructure, lack of adequate human resources,
additional charge of Legal Services being given to sitting judges at the District and Taluka
levels, and the need for improvements in selection, training and monitoring of empanelled
lawyers are some of the systemic problems that affect the ability of the SLSAs in fulfilling
their mandate • Inaccessibility of Formal courts, vacancies and judicial delays

The formal justice mechanisms in India are very complex, expensive and beyond the reach of
majority of India’s population, especially the marginalized. As the Report of the Working

4 Faster, Sustainable and More Inclusive Growth, An approach Paper to the Twelfth Five Year Plan, para 1.7

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Group for Twelfth Five Year Plan of the Department of Justice highlights, the cost of
litigation has increasingly become prohibitive, shutting the doors of justice to large sections
of the society, especially the weaker and the marginalized. 31,36,7026 cases were pending
across the country as on December 2011. The Approach Paper to the 12th Plan also points
out that the “accumulation of Court cases is a major weakness in the system which erodes
confidence in the Rule of Law” and highlights the importance of “Investment in
modernization of courts through ICT enablement, infrastructural facilities especially for
subordinate judiciary, human resource development and strengthening of court
management…in tandem with re-engineering of procedures and legal reforms for speedy and
effective delivery of justice.”5 The Report of the Department of Justice ‘Working Group for
the Twelfth Five Year Plan’ points out that there is an emergent need to provide a life span to
litigation, depending upon its complexity. Guidelines must be evolved for setting broad
timelines for different kinds of cases.
Gender discrimination in access to justice.

The Indian Constitution guarantees equality for men and women. A variety of rightsbased
laws have been enacted which outlaw domestic violence, provision for equal pay, provide
equal right to property and inheritance and also provide protection against sexual assault and
harassment. Yet, the effective implementation of these laws continues to be a challenge.
Under the Legal Services Authorities Act, all women are entitled to free legal aid irrespective
of their financial status. However, they continue to face multiple barriers in accessing justice
and obtaining redressal of their grievances. Violence against women is pervasive within the
domestic and in public spaces. Crime against women has been on the rise in the last one
decade. A total of 2.28 lac incidents of crime against women were reported in 2011 as
compared to 2.13 lac cases in 2010.7

Lawful guide is the straightforward idea of giving equity to every one of the natives of a
country. It is implied particularly for the ones who can't bear to procure legal advisors and
battle for equity or for them who are not in any case mindful of their lawful rights. In our
nation, Legal Services Authority Act makes it an impulse for all the legitimate schools to take
part in giving lawful guide to the general public. There are a few graduate schools in India

5 Faster, Sustainable and More Inclusive Growth, An approach Paper to the Twelfth Five Year Plan, para 15.8.
7
National Crime Record Bureau, Crime in India, 2011.

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which have their own particular lawful guide centres. Legitimate schools are the real
universities where undergrad law courses are advertised. These foundations are an exemption
in the field of instruction. They make the officials and advisors for the nation; they make
attorneys for the nation, for the fruitful utilization of the law in the nation.

These graduate schools take part in the deliverance of lawful guide to the natives. These
organizations and the investment of the understudies can assume an extraordinary part if their
endeavours are put into the correct course. All the graduate schools are playing a few or the
other part to improve the part of legitimate guide in India. In spite of the fact that some are
not in the slightest degree agreeable, there are some who if given somewhat more help may
turn into an awesome help to the general public. The law understudies can be of incredible
help to the general public. Being understudies, they will pick up understanding and they will
have all assets like time and an ostensible measure of cash to put resources into doing great
deeds like this. Setting up courses, heading off to the majority, going by the correctional
facilities and doing different exercises can get a change the general public.

NYAYA PANCHAYATS
The village panchayats constitute very old and
traditional/administrative institution in India. With the decline of Mughal empire and advent
of British power, this institution lost its prestige and importance. But, during the later part of
the British period they made some effort to restore the condition of village panchayat with
Village Court Acts of 1888. which created panchayat courts for the administration of justice.

The real effort, one can witness, was made only after independence, where a separate
provision was made in Article 40 of the Constitution of India, which declares, “The State
shall take steps to organize village panchayat and endow them with such power and authority
as may be necessary to enable them to function as units of self-government.

The aforesaid Article must be read with Article 39-A of the Constitution which directs the
State to ‘secure that the operation of the legal system promotes justice, on the basis of equal
opportunity and shall in particular, provide free legal aid, by suitable legislation of scheme or

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in any other way, to ensure that opportunity for securing justice are not denied to any citizen
by reason of economic or other disabilities”. Thanks to the seventy third amendment Act of
1992 the village panchayats have been blessed Constitutional status.

Nyaya Panchayats are the judicial components of the panchayat system, which forms the
lowest rung of our judiciary. They are created for the administration of justice at the local or
rural level.

CONSTITUTION OF NYAYA PANCHAYATS

Nyaya Panchayats constitutes a Sarpanch as its head and few panchayat (generally it varies
between10 to 30). Each member of Nyaya panchayat must be iterate and must be of
minimum 30 years of age. The appointment is based on1 nomination and election.

JURISDICTION OF NYAYA PANCHAYATS

It has judicial functions both in civil as well as in criminal fields. It can deal with several
minor offences) like simple hurt, wrongful restraint, theft etc, and punish an accused to pay
fine.
In civil matters Nyaya panchayat have jurisdiction in cases like suits for money and goods
etc. The pecuniary limit of such cases is very low.

PROCEDURE IN NYAYA PANCHAYATS

The procedure laid down for trial of cases has been so designed as to avoid delays and
technical difficulties. Therefore procedure followed in Nyaya panchayats is very simple and
informal. The procedure codes like Code of Civil Procedure, Criminal Procedure Code and
Indian Evidence Act apply to the Nyaya panchayats, But, they have power to call witnesses
and the parties for recording their evidence or producing any relevant document or fact.
Unlike courts, they have the power to investigate the facts to find out the truth and at the
same time they have the power to punish for its contempt. Lawyers cannot appear before a
Nyaya panchayat in any of its proceedings.

ADVANTAGES OF NYAYA PANCHAYATS OVER THE REGULAR

COURTS

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(1) They provide inexpensive and expeditious mechanism to settle disputes.

(2) They provide relief to the ordinary courts as they lift the part of burden of judicial work
on their shoulders. In a way, they are emerged on solution to the problem of mounting arrears
of cases before the courts.
(3) They provide justice at the door steps for the village folks,
(4) They provide protection to the local customs and traditions,
(5) Panchayat System has a great educative value for the villagers.

Disadvantages of Nyaya panchayats

1) They are faction ridden institutions manned by laymen. Justice provided by them is based
on caste, community, personal or political considerations. Therefore, chances of injustice
cannot be ignored,
(2) It has been seen that panchayats are often corrupt, partial and behave improperly or
rudely.
(3) They are laymen, therefore ignorant of law and they often give arbitrary and irrational
decisions,
(4) One cannot ignore that casteism and groupings are major features of rural India and
therefore the influence of these shades on the justice cannot be According to 77th Report of
the Law Commission, wherein it observed that, it will be a backward step to revert to the
primitive method of administration of justice by taking out disputes to a group of ordinary
laymen ignorant of modern complexities of life and not conversant with legal concepts and
procedures.

The Mehta Committee did not get very enthusiastic response on the continuation and working
of the Nyaya panchayat. It opposed the combination of judicial and executive functions in
one body and also recommended qualified judges to preside over Nyaya panchayat.

GRAM NYAYALAYA ACT, 2008

Access to justice by the poor and the disadvantaged remains a worldwide problem. Article
39-A of the Constitution directs the State to secure that the operation of the legal system
promotes
justice, on the basis of equal opportunity, and shall, in particular provide free legal aid, by

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suitable legislation or schemes or in any other way, to ensure that opportunities for securing
justice are not denied to any citizen by reason of economic or other disabilities.

To give effect to the said mandate the Government has taken various measures to strengthen
the judicial system by simplifying the procedural laws, incorporating various alternative
dispute
resolution mechanisms such as arbitrator, conciliation and mediation, conducting of Lok
Adalat, etc., establishing Fast Track Courts, special Courts and Tribunals/and providing free
legal aid to the poor Women and children.

To provide access to justice at the grass roots level, the Law Commission of India in its one
hundred fourteenth Report on Gram Nyayalaya recommended establishment of Gram
Nyayalayas
so that speedy, inexpensive and substantial justice could be provided to the common man.
Accordingly, the Government introduced the Gram Nyayalayas Bill, 2007 in Rajva Sabha on
fifteenth July, 2007 to give effect to the said’ recommendations of the Law Commissions.

The salient features of the present Bill are as follows,

The Gram Nyayalaya shall be court of Judicial Magistrate of the first class and its presiding
officer (Nyayadhikari) shall be appointed by the State Government in consultation with the
High Court. The qualifications, salary, terms and conditions of service of the Nyayadhikari
shall be the same as that of the Judicial Magistrate of the first class,
the Gram Nyayalaya shall be established for every Panchayat af| intermediate level or a group
of contiguous Panchayats at intermediate level in a district or where there is no Panchayat at
intermediate level if any State, for a group of contiguous Panchayats,
the Gram Nyayalaya shall be a mobile court and shall exercise the powers of both Criminal
and Civil Courts. The pecuniary jurisdiction of the civil suits, etc shall be notified by the
concerned High Court,
the Gram Nyayalaya shall try criminal cases, civil suits, claims or disputes which are
specified in the First Schedule and the Second Schedule to the proposed Bill,
the Central Government as well as the State Governments have been given power to amend
the First Schedule and the Second Schedule of the proposed Bill as per their respective
legislative competence,

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the Gram Nyayalaya shall follow summary procedure in criminal trial as provided under sub-
section (1) of Section 262 and Sections 262, 264 and 265 of the Code of Criminal Procedure,
1973 with certain modifications and as regards other matters which are not provided in the
Bill, the provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure shall be applicable,
the Gram Nyayalaya shall exercise the powers of a Civil Court with certain modifications and
shall follow the special procedure as provided in the Bill, as regards other matters which are
not provided in the Bill, the provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure,
the Gram Nyayalaya shall try to settle the disputes as far as possible by bringing about
conciliation between the parties and for this purpose, it shall make use of the conciliators to
be appointed for this purpose,
the judgment and order passed by the Gram Nyayalaya shall be deemed to be a decree and to
avoid delay in its execution, the Gram Nyayalaya shall follow summary procedure for its
execution,
the Gram Nyayalaya shall not be bound by the rules of evidence provided in the Indian
Evidence Act, 1872 but shall be guided by the principles of natural justice and subject to any
rule made by the High Court,
an appeal from the judgment, sentence or order of the Gram Nyayalaya in criminal cases, to
the extent provided in the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 shall lie to the Court of session,
which shall be heard and disposed of within a period of six months from the date of filing of
such appeal
an appeal from the judgment and order of the Gram Nyayalaya in civil cases, to the extent
provided in the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 shall lie to the District Court which shall be
heard and disposed of within a period of six months from the date of filing of the appeal,
a person accused of an offence may file an application for plea bargaining in which such
offence is pending trial and the same will be disposed of by that Gram Nyayalaya in
accordance with the provisions of Chapter twenty one of the Code of Criminal Procedure,
1973.

LOK ADALAT

Lok Adalat or the People’s Courts, decide the dispute with utmost expedition to arrive at a
compromise or settlement on the basis of principles of justice, equity, fair play and other

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legal principles. When the Lok Adalat is not able to arrive at a compromise or settlement, the
record of the case is returned to the Court, which initially referred the case to the Lok Adalat.
The Lok Adalat is presided over by a sitting or retired judicial officer as the chairman, with
two other members, usually a lawyer and a social worker.

The concept of Lok Adalat originated in India during the British Rule to curb the voice of the
people. Now, however this concept has been rejuvenated. It has become very popular
amongst litigants. Studies have showed that it is one of the most efficient and important ADR
mechanisms and most suited to the Indian environment, culture and societal interests. Camps
of Lok Adalat were initially established in Gujarat in March 1982 and now have been
extended throughout the country.

The Lok Adalat originated owing to the failure of the Indian legal system to provide fast,
effective, and affordable justice. The evolution of this movement was a part of the strategy to
relieve the heavy burden on the Courts with cases pending disposal.
Lok Adalat are a blend of all three forms of traditional ADR: arbitration, mediation, and
conciliation. They use conciliation, with elements of arbitration given that decisions are
typically binding, and are an illustration of legal decentralization as conflicts are returned to
communities from when they originated for local settlement.
CONSTITUTIONAL DIRECTIVES AND LEGISLATION

The advent of Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 gave a statutory status to Lok Adalat,
pursuant to the constitutional mandate in Article 39-A of the Constitution of India. The Legal
service Authorities Act was enacted to constitute legal services authorities to provide free and
competent legal services to the weaker sections of the society and to organize Lok Adalat to
secure that the operation of the legal system promotes justice on the basis of equal
opportunity. The settlement of disputes by the Panchayats or tribal heads was prevalent since
ancient times. When statutory recognition was given to Lok Adalat, it was specifically
provided that the award passed by the Lok Adalat will have the force of decree of a court
which can be executed as a civil court decree.

The Act is a legislative attempt to decongest the Courts and to ensure the decentralization of
justice.

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Since 1985, Lok Adalat have been exclusively organized for settlement of motor third party
claims, following the initiative of former Chief Justice of India, Shri. P. N. Bhagwati. The
endeavour received a positive response, since both the claimant as well as the Insurance
Company could derive benefits. The increasing number of cases in the Motor Accident Claim
Tribunal (MACT) and the backlog of pending cases pressed the insurer and the judicial
system to think about a quick Disposal oriented system such as Lok Adalat/Conciliatory
forums. Lok Adalat has become a Dispute Management Institution. It is an informal system
of dispute resolution, devoid of the procedural wrangles of regular trial. Since the Legal
Services Authorities (Amendment) Act 1994, the Lok Adalat settlement is no longer a
voluntary concept. By this Act Lok Adalat has got statutory character and has been legally
recognized. Certain salient features of the Act are enumerated below:-
Section 19– Central, State, District and Taluk Legal Services Authority has been created
who are responsible for organizing Lok Adalat at such intervals and place.
Conciliators for Lok Adalat comprise the following: -A sitting or retired judicial officer.
other persons of repute as may be prescribed by the State Government in consultation with
the Chief Justice of High Court.
Section 20: Cases can be referred for consideration of Lok Adalat as under: -

By consent of both the parties to the disputes;

One of the parties makes an application for reference;
Where the Court is satisfied that the matter is an appropriate one to be taken cognizance of
by the Lok Adalat;
Compromise settlement shall be guided by the principles of justice, equity, fair play and
other legal principles;
Where no compromise has been arrived at through conciliation, the matter shall be returned
to the concerned court for disposal in accordance with Law.

ORGANISATION AND STRUCTURE OF LOK ADALATS

Lok Adalat may be organized at such intervals and places and for exercising such jurisdiction
and for such areas as State Authority or District Authority or the Supreme Court Legal

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Services Committee or every High Court Legal Services Committee or, as the case may
require.

COMPOSITION:

Every Lok Adalat constituted for an area shall consist of such number of serving or retired
judicial officers; and any other person.

JURISDICTION:

Lok Adalat has the jurisdiction to determine and to arrive at a compromise or settlement
between the parties to a dispute in respect of any case pending before; or any matter which is
falling within the jurisdiction of, and is not brought before, any court for which the Lok
Adalat is organized.
(a)Any case pending before any court
(b)Any case not brought before any court.

PERMANENT LOK ADALAT

In 2002, Parliament brought about certain amendments to the Legal Services Authorities Act,
1987. The said amendment introduced Chapter VI-A. According to the amendment, the
Central or State Authorities may establish by notification, Permanent Lok Adalat for
determining issues in connection to Public Utility Services.

Public Utility Services include:

(1) Transport service,
(2) Postal, telegraph or telephone services,
(3) Supply of power, light and water to public,
(4) System of public conservancy or sanitation,
(5) Insurance services and such other services as notified by the Central or State
Governments.

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PERMANENT LOK ADALAT’s have the same powers that are vested on the Lok-Adalat,
mentioned under Section 22(1) of the Act.

PROCEDURE FOLLOWED IN A LOK ADALAT

The Lok Adalat is usually presided over by a sitting or retired judicial official as the chairman
with two other members, a lawyer and a social worker. It has been observed through
experience that cases involving monetary disputes are easily settled through Lok Adalat.
Therefore, most motor road accident disputes are brought to Lok Adalat. The primary
condition of the Lok Adalat is that both parties in dispute should consent to the settlement. It
is necessary that the parties involved in the dispute are whole-heartedly involved in the
justice dispensing system and do abide by the decision given by the Lok Adalat.
There is no court fee. If the case is already filed in the regular court, the fee paid will be
refunded if the dispute is settled at the Lok Adalat. The procedural laws and the Evidence Act
are not strictly followed while assessing the merits of the claim presented to the Lok Adalat.
The decision of the court is binding on the parties to the dispute and its order is capable of
execution through legal process. No appeal lies against the decision of the court.
 
Lok Adalat is very effective in the settlement of money claims. Disputes like partition suits,
damages and matrimonial cases can also be easily settled before Lok Adalat as the scope for
compromise through an approach of give and take is high in these cases.  Lok Adalat is
indeed a boon to the litigant public, where they can get their disputes settled fast and free of
cost.

CASES SUITED FOR LOK ADALAT

Lok Adalat have the competence to deal with the following cases:
 Compoundable civil, revenue and criminal cases.
 Motor accident cases
 Partition Claims
 Matrimonial and family disputes
 Bonded Labour disputes

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 Land acquisition disputes

 Bank’s unpaid loan cases
 Arrears of retirement benefits cases
 Cases which are not under the jurisdiction of any Court.

POWERS OF THE LOK ADALATS

The Powers bestowed on Lok Adalat are as follows:

i) It has the power of the Civil Court, under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, while trying a
suit, in respect of the following matters:
a) Power to summon and enforce the attendance of any witness and to examine him/her on
oath.
b) Power to enforce the discovery and production of any document.
c) Power to receive evidence on affidavits,
d) Power for requisitioning of any public record or document or copy thereof or from any
court.
e) Such other matters as may be prescribed.
ii) Every Lok Adalat shall have the power to specify its own procedure for the determination
of any dispute coming before it.
iii) All proceedings before a Lok Adalat shall be deemed to be judicial proceedings within the
meaning of Sections 193, 219 and 228 of IPC.
iv) Every Lok Adalat shall be deemed to be a Civil Court for the purpose of Sec 195 and
Chapter XXVI of Cr.P.C.

FINALITY OF THE LOK ADALAT AWARD

During the Lok Adalat, the parties agree to abide by the decision of the judge at the Lok
Adalat. However, it has been seen that the same order is challenged on several grounds. In
one of the recent cases, the Supreme Court of India has once again laid to rest all such
doubts. In unequivocal terms, the Court held that the award of the Lok Adalat is as good as
the decree of the Court. The award passed by the Lok Adalat is the decision of the Court

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itself though arrived at by the simpler method of conciliation instead of the process of
arguments in court.

CONSENT OF PARTIES

The most important factor to be considered while deciding the cases at the Lok Adalat is the
consent of both the parties. It cannot be forced on any party that the matter has to be decided
by the Lok Adalat.  However, once the parties agree that the matter has to be decided by the
Lok Adalat, then any party cannot walk away from the decision of the Lok Adalat. In several
instances, the Supreme Court has held that if there was no consent, the award of the Lok
Adalat is not executable and also if the parties fail to agree to get the dispute resolved
through Lok Adalat, the regular litigation process remains open for the contesting parties.
The Supreme Court has also held that compromise is always bilateral and means mutual
adjustment. Settlement is termination of legal proceedings by mutual consent. If no
compromise can be arrived at, then no order can be passed by the Lok Adalat.

CONCLUSION

When 65 percent of our population resides in rural India, there seems to be no escape from
some form of Nyaya panchayat. We need an effective institution which can provide justice
near to the door steps for the rural India. Otherwise, the justice will remain to be for the urban
courts, which is far from the reach of poor rural people. Therefore, to provide a semblance of
justice, Nyaya panchayats in some form have to be created on the basis of participation of the
people. The Seventy third amendment of the Constitution has given right direction in this
regard.

The special conditions prevailing in the Indian society require a highly sensitized legal
service which is efficacious for the poor and the down-trodden. The Lok Adalat mechanism
is no more an experiment in the country, it is in fact, a full-proven success that needs to
increase its domain and bring under its realm the several aspects that have been excluded till
date.

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Lok Adalat can be viewed as an instrument to social change as well. As said by Prof. Menon,
“Lok Adalat has the potential for social reconstruction and legal mobilization for social
change. It can influence the style of administration of justice and the role of the lawyer and
judge in it. It can take law closer to the life of the people and reduce disparity between law in
books and law in action.”
The need for Lok Adalat is aggravated by the huge population of India that creates an
unmanageable burden on the Judiciary system.
To increase the efficiency of the system of Lok Adalat, it is crucial for the public, the
lawyers, the executive and the Judiciary to work in harmony and coordination. The people
should be made aware of the advantages of the Lok Adalat.
The main challenge that lies in the path of the success of Judiciary is the involvement of the
masses.
In the existing situation, the resort to Lok Adalat has enabled amicable dispute settlement.
The success of Lok Adalat should indeed be measured by the overall atmosphere generated in
the country, not by the number and nature of Lok Adalat held, cases settled or compensation
awarded.

Lawful guide is the straightforward idea of giving equity to every one of the natives of a
country. It is implied particularly for the ones who can't bear to procure legal advisors and
battle for equity or for them who are not in any case mindful of their lawful rights. In our
nation, Legal Services Authority Act makes it an impulse for all the legitimate schools to take
part in giving lawful guide to the general public. There are a few graduate schools in India
which have their own particular lawful guide centres. Legitimate schools are the real
universities where undergrad law courses are advertised. These foundations are an exemption
in the field of instruction. They make the officials and advisors for the nation; they make
attorneys for the nation, for the fruitful utilization of the law in the nation.

These graduate schools take part in the deliverance of lawful guide to the natives. These
organizations and the investment of the understudies can assume an extraordinary part if their
endeavours are put into the correct course. All the graduate schools are playing a few or the
other part to improve the part of legitimate guide in India. In spite of the fact that some are
not in the slightest degree agreeable, there are some who if given somewhat more help may

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turn into an awesome help to the general public. The law understudies can be of incredible
help to the general public. Being understudies, they will pick up understanding and they will
have all assets like time and an ostensible measure of cash to put resources into doing great
deeds like this. Setting up courses, heading off to the majority, going by the correctional
facilities and doing different exercises can get a change the general public.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. Bakshi, P.M., ‘The Constitution of India’, Universal Law Publishing Co. Pvt. Ltd.,
2017

2. Takwani, C.K., ‘Lectures On Administrative Law’, Eastern Book Company,

Lucknow, 2013

3. Sathe, S.P., ‘Administrative Law’, Lexis Nexis, New Delhi, Seventh Edition, 2004

4. Basu, D.D., ‘Administrative Law’, Kamal Law House, Kolkata, Sixth Edition, 2004

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FACULTY OF LAW, JAMIA MILLIA ISLAMIA