Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU/SRINAGAR, Mar 9: J&K Legal Services Authority (JKLSA) organized 1st National Lok Adalat of the calendar year 2024 throughout the UT of J&K under the guidance of Justice N Kotiswar Singh, Chief Justice of the High Court of J&K and Ladakh & Patron-in-Chief of JKLSA, Justice Tashi Rabstan, Executive Chairman, J&K Legal Services Authority and under the direction and supervision of Justice Sindhu Sharma (Chairperson, High Court Legal Services Committee).
The Chief Justice inaugurated the National Lok Adalat at District Court Complex Srinagar in presence of Justice Javed Iqbal Wani, Judge, High Court of J&K and Ladakh (Administrative Judge, District Ganderbal) and MK Sharma (Principal Secretary to the Chief Justice). Principal District & Sessions Judge, Srinagar Jawad Ahmed along with other Judicial Officers, Deputy Commissioner as well as SSP Srinagar received the dignitaries and a Ceremonial Guard of honour was accorded to the Chief Guest.
As per the information received from different Legal Services Institutions of various districts of UT of J&K, out of total 1,52,551 cases taken up by 110 Benches in the day-long National Lok Adalat at various courts across the UT of J&K, 1,43,406 cases were disposed of and an amount of Rs 51,62,62,618 was awarded as compensation/settlement amount in Motor Accident Claims, civil, criminal, labour disputes, Electricity and Water Bills cases, Land Acquisition, Family matters, cheque dishonor and Bank Recovery cases.
During the Lok Adalat at District Court Srinagar, the Chief Justice inspected different benches and interacted with the Presiding officers, members of the benches, Advocates and litigants. A couple of matrimonial cases were settled on the spot with the intervention and advice of the Chief Justice. Overall, 52463 cases were taken up for settlement in District Court Srinagar out of which, 51330 cases were amicably settled and Rs 6,63,39,583 were awarded as settlement amount. To facilitate the amicable settlement of cases, nine benches were constituted.
The 1st bench was comprised of Jeema Bashir (Presiding Officer, MACT, Court Srinagar) and Iqbal Ahmad Masoudi (I/c Additional District & Sessions Judge/3rd Additional District and Sessions Judge Srinagar), 2nd bench by Masrat Roohi (Principal Judge Family Court Srinagar) and Tabassum (Judge Small Causes Srinagar), 3rd bench by Gowher Majeed Dalal (4th Additional District and Sessions Judge) and Adnan Manzoor (Sub-Register/JMIC Srinagar), 4th bench by Raja Mohammad Tasleem (Chief Judicial Magistrate Srinagar) and Mehreen Mushtaq (Municipal Magistrate Srinagar), 5th Bench by Feroz Ahmad Khan (Forest Magistrate Srinagar) and Moneer Ahmad (3rd Additional Munsiff/JMIC Srinagar), sixth Bench by Sajad-Ur- Rehman (City Judge Srinagar) and Atzaz Ahmad (2nd Additional Munsiff Srinagar), 7th Bench by Mudasar Farooq, Special Mobile Magistrate (Traffic) Srinagar and Raja Arshad Hamid (Additional Special Mobile Magistrate Srinagar), 8th Bench by Mir Sayeem Qayoom (City Munsiff Srinagar) and Shafeeq Ahmad Malik (1st Additional Munsiff/JMIC Srinagar) and 9th Bench by Lubna Sultan, Additional Special Mobile Magistrate (13th FC) Pantha Chowk Srinagar and president of Bar Association Pantha Chowk. In addition to these benches, two pre-lok Adalat benches were also constituted on March 6 for settlement of Bank recovery cases and traffic challans.
On the occasion, Chief Justice distributed compensation cheques among the claimants to the tune of Rs 37,35,000 besides presenting cheques to the tune of Rs 10,00,000 to the survivors of violence sanctioned by the JKLSA.
In yet another significant leap towards digitization and enhanced citizen services, the Chief Justice also inaugurated E-Seva Kendra number 2 and 3, along with Single Window System for issuance of certified copies, as part of 3rd Phase E-Court Project offering citizens seamless and efficient platforms to access a wide array of legal services from the comfort of their homes.
Commenting on the inauguration, Chief Justice Singh emphasized, “These initiatives signify our unwavering dedication towards leveraging technology for the betterment of our citizens. By harnessing the power of e-governance, we aim to foster transparency, accessibility, and efficiency within the legal ecosystem.”
In the afternoon, the Chief Justice along with Justice Javed Iqbal Wani, also visited District Court Complex Ganderbal to have first-hand information regarding the progress of Lok Adalat. While interacting with the Judicial officers, Lawyers and Litigants, the Chief Justice highlighted the benefits of settlement of disputes through ADR Mechanisms.
Likewise, Justice Tashi Rabstan, Judge, High Court of J&K and Ladakh inaugurated National Lok Adalat at District Court Complex Reasi in presence of Justice Mohd Akram Chowdhary, Judge, High Court of J&K and Ladakh (Administrative Judge, District Reasi) and Amit Kumar Gupta (Member Secretary, J&K Legal Services Authority). Principal District & Sessions Judge, Reasi, Sonia Gupta along with Deputy Commissioner Vishesh Paul Mahajan and other Judicial Officers received Justice Tashi. A ceremonial guard of honor was also accorded to Justice Tashi.
With the intervention of Justice Tashi and Justice Mohd Akram Chowdhary, two matrimonial cases and one MACT case were settled on-spot. Justice Tashi also inaugurated a recently revamped Legal Aid Care & Support Centre at Pouni, Reasi. A total number of 418 cases were taken up for settlement by all the benches of which 350 cases were settled and a fine of Rs 22,800 and other settled amount (including bank matters) to the tune of Rs 14,62, 604 was realized.
In Jammu district, A Lok Adalat was held today under the chairmanship of Sanjay Parihar (Principal District & Sessions Judge, Jammu) and supervision of Smriti Sharma, Secretary District Legal Services Authority (DLSA) Jammu, regarding different kind of cases in the Court Complex Jammu wherein 12 Benches were constituted in the district. A total of 82,861 cases pertaining to different nature were taken up, out of which 80,353 cases were settled. The total amount recovered is Rs 17,73,66,648.
In Akhnoor tehsil of Jammu district, a National Lok Adalat was held in the premises of Munsiff Court, Akhnoor under the chairmanship of Chairperson, Tehsil Legal Services Committee (TLSC), Akhnoor, Girija Shawan. A total number of 39 Bank cases were taken up out of which 13 were disposed off and Rs 3,13,100 were recovered. Further, 11,138 Ni Act cases were taken up of which 9 were disposed off and an amount of Rs 9,29,327 was settled on the spot.
36 criminal cases were also taken up and 23 were disposed off on the spot. A total number of 9 civil cases were taken up and 5 were disposed off while 9 Matrimonial cases were also taken up and 7 cases were settled. A total number of 62 traffic challans were also taken up and disposed off and a fine of Rs 72,600 was realized on spot. In total, 166 cases were taken up of which 115 were disposed off and Rs 13,15,027 was recovered.
In Rajouri district, 1st National Lok Adalat pertaining to all type of cases was held at District Court Complex, Rajouri and in all other courts of District Rajouri under the chairmanship of RN Wattal, Chairman DLSA Rajouri (Principal District & Sessions Judge, Rajouri) in which two benches were constituted. First bench was headed by Mehmood Choudhary (Additional District & Sessions Judge Rajouri) assisted by Khilat Bhat (Advocate) and Inderjeet Sharma (Advocate). Second bench was headed by Mahjabeen Akhter, District Mobile Magistrate (Traffic) Rajouri assisted by Sapna Kumari (Advocate). Similar benches were also constituted at tehsil level which were headed by the presiding officers of the respective courts.
A total number of 917 cases (both pre-litigation and post-litigation) were taken up before these benches out of which 520 cases were disposed off. An amount of Rs 2,036,543 was realized as compensation. From the court of Principal District & Sessions Judge Rajouri and Additional District & Sessions Judge Rajouri, 71 MACT cases were taken up out of which 63 were settled and amount of Rs 37,015,000 was awarded as compensation.
In Court Complex Udhampur, a Lok Adalat was also held under the chairmanship of Haq Nawaz Zargar (Principal District & Sessions Judge, Udhampur). In all, 6 Benches were constituted in the District. The 1st Bench was comprised of Haq Nawaz Zargar and Dinesh Gupta (Additional District & Sessions Judge, Udhampur), 2nd Bench comprised of Slahuddin Ahmed (Sub Judge/Special Mobile Magistrate, Udhampur) and Advocate Nikhileshwar Singh (Panel Lawyer, Udhampur), 3rd Bench comprised of Vishal Bharti, District Mobile Magistrate (T), Udhampur and Advocate Akhil Dubey (Panel Lawyer, Udhampur) 4th Bench comprised of Sub Judge Raj Kumar (Chairman TLSC Ramnagar) and Advocate KD Sharma (Lawyer, TLSC Ramnagar), 5th Bench comprised of Madhu Sharma (Munsiff JMIC Majalta) and Advocate Mohan Lal Gupta while 6th was comprised of Rekha Sharma (Munsiff, JMIC Chenani) and Advocate Tariq M Mughal (Panel Lawyer, Chenani). A total number of 2919 cases pertaining to different nature was taken up, out of which 2502 cases were settled. The total amount recovered was Rs 69,87,082.
At District Court Complex Samba, National Lok Adalat was inaugurated by Adnan Sayeed, Principal District & Sessions Judge (Chairman, DLSA Samba). Three benches were constituted for settling the cases. The 1st Bench was comprised of Adnan Sayeed and SK Khanmotra (Senior Advocate, Samba), 2nd Bench was comprised of Preet Simran Kour (Chief Judicial Magistrate, Samba) and Renu Bala (Advocate, Samba) and Bench Number 3 was comprised of Himani Parihar, Munsiff (JMIC Samba) and Versha Anthal (Assistant Legal Aid Defense Counsel Samba). A total number of 881 cases of varied nature were taken up out of which 676 cases were settled and an amount of Rs 3,35,22,612 was realized as settlement amount.
Lok Adalat was also organized in District Court Complex Budgam and Taluka Courts of District Budgam. The National Lok Adalat at District Court Complex Budgam was inaugurated by Khalil Ahmad Choudhary, Principal District & Sessions Judge (Chairman DLSA) Budgam. Each Court had identified cases for Lok Adalat beforehand and same were placed before 6 different benches constituted by DLSA Budgam for their settlement in National Lok Adalat.
The 1st Bench was comprised of Khalil Ahmad Choudhary and Advocate Mohd Iqbal Wani (Panel Lawyer), 2nd Bench of Aijaz Ahmad Khan (Additional District and Sessions Judge Budgam) and Sheikh Gowher (Special Mobile Magistrate Budgam), 3rd Bench of Noor Mohammad Mir (Chief Judicial Magistrate Budgam) and Advocate Javid Ahmad Mir (Panel Lawyer DLSA Budgam), 4th Bench of Mir Wajahat (Sub Judge Chadoora) and AR Hanjura (Senior Lawyer), 5th Bench of Massarat Jabeen (Munsiff JMIC Magam) In-charge (Additional Special Mobile Magistrate, Beerwah) and Mohammad Yaqoob (Panel Lawyer TLSC Magam) and 6th Bench was comprised of Fakhar un Nissa (Munsiff JMIC Charar-i-sharief) and NA Mashooq (president, Bar Association Charar-i-sharief). Nonetheless, a total number of 1152 matters were taken up for their amicable settlement, out of which 427 matters were settled. Besides, an amount of Rs 4,37,35,701 was realized in total in the settlement.
At Baramulla, DLSA in collaboration with Tehsil Legal Services Committees of Baramulla, held National Lok Adalat at District Court Complex Baramulla as well as at Tehsil headquarters. The Lok Adalat was held under the chairmanship of Mohammad Ashraf Malik, Principal District & Sessions Judge and under the supervision of Iqbal Ahmad Akhoon, Secretary District Legal Services Authority, Special Mobile Magistrate Baramulla. The Lok Adalat comprised 8 Benches in District Baramulla with 4 benches at DLSA Baramulla and 1 Bench each at Sopore, Tangmarg, Uri and Pattan. A total 1103 different cases/matters were taken up in which 774 different cases/matters were amicably settled. An amount of Rs 4,56,26,515 was realized through the settled cases.
In Kulgam, National Lok Adalat was held today in District Court Complex Kulgam and other Taluka Courts of District Kulgam under the Chairmanship of Mohd Ashraf Bhat, Principal District and Session Judge and Chairman DLSA Kulgam. The National Lok Adalat was inaugurated by Principal District and Session Judge Kulgam in presence of Presiding Officer Fast Track Court Kulgam, Chief Judicial Magistrate Kulgam, Sub Judge/Secretary District Legal Services Authority Kulgam, and Additional Mobile Magistrate Kulgam.
During the Lok Adalat, five Benches were constituted, three at Head quarter and one each at DH Pora and Qazigund. 332 cases related to MACT Cases, Family Disputes, Revenue cases, Traffic Challans, Bank Cases, Electricity cases, and Water bills were taken up. Out of which 74 cases were amicably settled while an amount of Rs 4800992 was awarded in different cases.
At Kupwara, the Lok Adalat was held under the supervision of Chairperson DLSA and Principal District & Session Judge, Kupwara, Shazia Tabasum and guidance of Secretary, DLSA Kupwara, Manzoor Ahmad Khan. Four Benches were constituted for the Lok Adalat. A total number of 458 cases were taken up by all the benches, of which 327 cases were disposed A total sum of Rs 45,23,400 was awarded to the aggrieved parties by settlement.
At Shopian, the Lok Adalat was held at District Court Complex Shopian under the Chairmanship of Riaz-Ul-Haq Mirza, Chairman DLSA and Principal District & Session Judge, Shopian. For the Lok Adalat, 3 Benches were constituted by the DLSA during which a total no of 222 cases were taken up and 83 cases were settled amicably with a settlement amount Rs 73,69,418.
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