Topic
Allahabad High Court reinforces that Permanent Lok Adalats must conduct a proper conciliation process under Section 22-C of the Legal Services Authority Act before adjudication. Failure to do so vitiates proceedings, as held in this case, impacting all disputes before Lok Adalats across Uttar Pradesh.
Allahabad High Court rules Permanent Lok Adalat must follow mandatory conciliation process under Section 22-C of Legal Services Authority Act before passing orders.
Allahabad High Court rules that Permanent Lok Adalat must conduct mandatory conciliation under Section 22-C of Legal Services Authority Act before passing orders, setting aside insufficiently reasoned order.
The Allahabad High Court has ruled that Permanent Lok Adalats cannot pass orders without first conducting a genuine conciliation process as mandated by Section 22-C of the Legal Services Authority Act, 1987. This clarifies that a mere procedural mention of conciliation is insufficient - the process must be meaningfully undertaken to ensure fair dispute resolution, directly impacting litigants and legal practitioners relying on Lok Adalat mechanisms.
The Punjab & Haryana High Court ruled that Permanent Lok Adalats (PLAs) cannot adjudicate road maintenance disputes as they fall outside Section 22A(b) of the Legal Services Authority Act, 1987. The Court further clarified that the limitation period for filing a civil suit would exclude the time spent before the PLA, protecting claimants from procedural delays.
The Calcutta High Court dismissed a review petition attempting to overturn a judgment based on a later Supreme Court ruling, holding that Order 47 Rule 1 CPC strictly limits review grounds to errors apparent on the face of the record. The ruling reinforces that litigants cannot use subsequent judgments to reopen concluded cases, preserving finality in civil proceedings.