![Justice Tashi Rabstan inaugurating Lok Adalat at District Court Complex Janipur in Jammu District on Saturday. Justice Tashi Rabstan inaugurating Lok Adalat at District Court Complex Janipur in Jammu District on Saturday.](https://cdndailyexcelsior.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/page5-1-6-696x435.jpg)
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Dec 9: J&K Legal Services Authority today organized 4th National Lok Adalat of the calendar year 2023 throughout the UT of J&K.
A press statement said that the Lok Adalat was held as per the mandate of NALSA under the patronage of Justice N Kotiswar Singh, Chief Justice, High Court of J&K and Ladakh (Patron-in-Chief, J&K Legal Services Authority) and leadership of Justice Tashi Rabstan, Judge, High Court of J&K and Ladakh (Executive Chairman, J&K Legal Services Authority) and also under the guidance of Justice Sindhu Sharma, Chairperson, High Court Legal Services Committee.
It said that out of a total 1, 21, 018 cases that were taken up by 149 Benches in the daylong National Lok Adalat by various courts across the UT of J&K, 1, 07, 869 cases were disposed of and an amount of Rs 73, 73, 52, 092 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.
In Jammu District, the 4th National Lok Adalat was inaugurated at District Court Complex Janipur by Justice Tashi Rabstan, Executive Chairman, J&K Legal Services Authority.
Total 21 benches were constituted in different courts of Jammu District t o deal with the matters of civil nature, criminal compoundable offences, 138 Negotiable Instruments Act, cases of petty offences, Motor Vehicles Act, revenue cases, Land Compensation Act and other nature of cases.
A total of 40915 cases were taken up by different benches out of which 39569 were settled and an amount of Rs 192670338.6 was settled.
Justice Tashi Rabstan interacted with litigants and handed over the cheque to the claimants on-the-spot in presence of Chairman District Legal Services Authority (Principal District & Sessions Judge) Jammu, Sanjeev Parihar and Abdul Nasir, MACT judge Jammu, who was holding the bench constituted for the cases under Motor Accident Claim Tribunal (MACT).
In Kathua District, the 4th National Lok Adalat was inaugurated by Ashok Kumar Shavan, Chairman of District Legal Services Authority.
Six benches, addressing matters such as Hindu Marriage Act, Motor Vehicle Act, MACT Cases, Bank Recovery, Criminal Compoundable, and Traffic Challans, successfully settled 641 out of 1111 cases, realizing an amount of Rs. 15,523,994.
Notably, efforts by the benches resulted in the reconciliation of matrimonial cases, preserving familial ties and happiness.
In Udhampur District, Haq Nawaz Zargar, the Principal District & Sessions Judge, chaired the event and Ajay Kumar, Secretary, District Legal Services Authority (DLSA) supervised the event, where 2872 cases were taken up, and 2292 were settled, recovering a total amount of Rs 20,991,807.
Notably, one of the benches-Bench number 8-led by Assistant Labour Commissioner Pradyot Gupta, resolved three cases, awarding Rs 30.10 Lakhs, including compensation for the dependents of a deceased individual involved in a road accident during employment.
Under the guidance of Yesh Pal Kotwal, Chairman of District Legal Services Authority, 3178 cases were addressed in the 4th National Lok Adalat in Samba District.
The settlement amount reached Rs 2, 09, 52, 080, and a free medical camp was organized in collaboration with the Department of Health, benefiting 161 individuals.
Additionally, a felicitation ceremony acknowledged the contributions of legal aid practitioners, PLVs, and students who participated in various programs organized by DLSA Samba in 2023.
In Doda District, a bench comprising Amarjeet Singh Langeh, Presiding Officer MACT Doda, and Farooq Ahmed, Advocate, took up 45 cases in the National Lok Adalat and settled 22 MACT cases in which an amount of Rs 1, 32, 95, 000 was awarded to various claimants.
In Budgam, the Chief Justice of High Court of J&K and Ladakh, Justice N. Kotiswar Singh, guided the 4th National Lok Adalat with 788 cases taken up, resulting in the settlement of 449 cases and a total realization of Rs 9, 13, 53, 115.
Special benches were constituted for labour and social welfare matters, emphasizing the comprehensive nature of the legal proceedings.