*Chief Justice inaugurates Adalat at DCC Poonch
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Dec 14: Over 2,33,048 cases of varied nature were settled across Jammu and Kashmir in the 4th and final National Lok Adalat of the calendar year 2024 that was held under the patronage of Justice Tashi Rabstan, Chief Justice, High Court of J&K and Ladakh (Patron-in-Chief, J&K Legal Services Authority) and mentorship of Justice Atul Sreedharan, Executive Chairman, J&K Legal Services Authority (JKLSA) as also under the guidance of Justice Rajnesh Oswal, Chairperson, High Court Legal Services Committee.
The Chief Justice, accompanied by Shahzad Azeem, Registrar General, High Court of J&K and Ladakh, and Amit Kumar Gupta, Member Secretary JKLSA, inaugurated the National Lok Adalat at the District Court Complex (DCC) Poonch in presence of Ashwani Sharma, Principal District and Sessions Judge, Poonch; Ahsan Ullah Parvez Malik, Additional District Judge, Poonch; Vikas Kundal, Deputy Commissioner, Poonch; Shafaqat, Senior Superintendent of Police, Poonch; and Sarfaraz Nawaz, Chief Judicial Magistrate, Poonch. A ceremonial guard of honour was accorded to the Chief Justice, marking the occasion with grandeur and respect.
During the Lok Adalat, Chief Justice inspected different benches and interacted with the presiding officers, members of the benches, Advocates and litigants. While addressing a gathering, Justice Tashi Rabstan underscored the pivotal role of mediation and ADR mechanisms in the justice delivery system, highlighting their cost-effectiveness and ability to preserve relationships.
Emphasizing the importance of deciding the matters of family disputes at the earliest, especially those of custody, he stated, “Child custody cases require utmost priority as they affect innocent children who have no role in the litigation. With collective efforts of counsels and presiding officers, these disputes can be settled amicably, ensuring justice and a better future for the child.” He further urged judicial officers to explore possibilities of dispute resolution at the pre-litigation stage to minimize delays.
On his way back from district Poonch, the Chief Justice along with Shahzad Azeem, Registrar General and Amit Kumar Gupta, Member Secretary also visited District Court Complex Rajouri to have first-hand information regarding the progress of National Lok Adalat. During the inspection of the Lok Adalat, the Chief Justice distributed MACT Cheques to the claimants. In an interaction with the judicial officers, lawyers and litigants the Chief Justice highlighted the benefits of settlement of disputes through ADR Mechanisms.
As per the information received from different Legal Services Institutions of various districts of J&K, out of total 2,46,589 cases taken up by 169 Benches in the day-long National Lok Adalat at various courts across the UT, 2,33,048 cases were disposed of as settled and an amount of Rs 70,05,81,106 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 National Lok Adalat was inaugurated by Justice Sanjeev Kumar Shukla, Judge High Court of J&K and Ladakh and Administrative Judge for District Jammu, at District Court Complex Janipur. Principal District and Sessions Judge Jammu, YP Bourney also graced the occasion. On the occasion, Justice Sanjeev Kumar Shukla distributed compensation cheques in Motor Vehicle Accident related cases to the tune of Rs 3,68,31,050 among the claimants.
Thirty benches were constituted in different courts to deal with the matters of Civil nature, Bank Recovery, Criminal Compoundable, MACT, Matrimonial, NI Act u/s 138, Revenue Cases, BSNL Cases, Electricity Bills, Other Civil cases and Traffic Challans cases were taken up in the District Court Complex, Janipur. The total number of 84,225 cases pertaining to different nature was taken up, out of which 82,502 cases were settled. The total amount recovered is Rs 22,74,62,220.
The National Lok Adalat was also organized in the premises of Munsiff Court, Akhnoor under the chairmanship of Chairperson TLSA Akhnoor Arushi Shukla. A total number of 4,138 Ni Act cases were taken up and an amount of Rs 1,37,000 was settled on the spot. Thirty-two criminal cases were taken up and 24 were disposed of and a fine of Rs 12,000 was released on the spot. Similarly, a total number of 4 civil cases were taken up and 2 were disposed off. A total number of 38 traffic challans were taken up and disposed of, and a fine of Rs 40,800 was realized on spot.
In Udhampur district, the National Lok Adalat was held in the Court Complex Udhampur and a total of 11 Benches were constituted in the district. Bench Number 1 comprised of Virinder Singh Bhou (Pr District & Sessions Judge, Udhampur) and Dinesh Gupta (Additional District & Sessions Judge, Udhampur); Bench Number 2 comprised of Rekha Kapoor (CJM) and Akashdeep (Additional Special Mobile Magistrate, Udhampur); Bench Number 3 comprised of Pooja Raina (Sub Judge/Special Mobile Magistrate, Udhampur) and Urvashi Raina (Munsiff JMIC Udhampur); Bench Number 4 comprised of Rishabh Koushal, District Mobile Magistrate (T), Udhampur and Nikhileshwar Singh Thakur (Panel lawyer, DLSA Udhampur); Bench Number 5 comprised of Shabnam Sheikh (Chairman TLSC Ramnagar) and Advocate K D Sharma (Ramnagar); Bench Number 6 comprised of Suhasni Vasisatha (Chairman TLSC) Majalta and Advocate Mohan Lal Gupta (Panel Lawyer) Majalta; Bench Number 7 comprised of Ravinder Singh (Chairman TLSC) Chenani and Advocate Tariq M Mughal (Panel Lawyer) Chenani; Bench Number 8 comprised of Jai Singh (Tehsildar Udhampur) and Advocate Akhil Dubey (Panel Lawyer DLSA Udhampur); Bench Number 9 comprised of Satish Kumar (Tehsildar Ramanagar) and Advocate Vikrant Sharma, Ramnagar; Bench Number 10 comprised of Diksha Bamba, Tehsildar Majalta and Advocate Amit Sharma (Majalta), and Bench Number 11 comprised of Pankaj Singh (Tehsildar, Chenani) and Advocate Ajmer Singh Katoch (Chenani). A total number of 1,422 cases pertaining to different nature were taken up, out of which 811 cases were settled. The total amount settled is Rs 1,95,29,966.
In Samba district, the National Lok Adalat was inaugurated by R N Wattal, Principal District & Sessions Judge (also Chairman DLSA Samba), at District Court Complex, Samba. Three benches were constituted for settling the cases referred (Pre and Post Litigation). Bench Number 1 was comprising of R N Wattal, Arvind Sharma (Additional District & Sessions Judge, Samba) and S K Khanmotra (Senior Advocate, Samba); Bench Number 2 was comprising of Sandeep Singh Sen, Secretary (Sub-Judge) DLSA Samba, Himani Parihar, Munsiff (JMIC) and Renu Bala (Senior Advocate, Samba) and Bench Number 3 was comprising of Rashi Verma (Additional Special Mobile Magistrate, Samba), Kritika Sethi (Additional Munsiff, Samba) and Ganesh Sharma (Senior Advocate, Samba).
Beside this, two more Benches were constituted for settling Revenue cases, cases under Food Safety and Standard Act, 2006, all cases of petty loans pending in all revenue courts including the Courts of Tehsildar of district Samba, all Petty Public Utility Services related cases and all compensation cases pending in the Courts of Assistant Labour Commissioner Samba. A total of 947 cases were taken up out of which 683 cases were settled and an amount of Rs 1,37,85,160 was realized as settlement amount.
In District Court Complex Rajouri as well as all other Courts of the District, the National Lok Adalat was held under the chairmanship of Rajeev Gupta, Chairman DLSA Rajouri (Principal District & Sessions Judge, Rajouri). In all 3 Benches were constituted at District Court Complex. First bench was headed by Rajeev Gupta, assisted by Bashir Ahmad Munshi (Additional District & Sessions Judge Rajouri) and Khilat Mehmood Bhat (Advocate), second bench was headed by Javed Rana (CJM Rajouri) assisted by Shavika Gupta, District Mobile Magistrate (Traffic) Rajouri and Sanjay Sharma (Advocate), and third bench was headed by Rayaz Ahmed Choudhary (Special Mobile Magistrate Rajouri), assisted by Mustafa Kamal (Advocate). Similar benches were also constituted at Tehsil level and they were headed by the presiding officers of the respective courts. A total of 1,095 cases were taken up out of which 712 cases were disposed off. An amount of Rs 3,12,58,193 was realized as compensation.
National Lok Adalat was organized by Secretary DLSA Kathua Kamiya Singh Andotra at ADR Centre Kathua under the chairmanship of Principal District and Sessions Judge, Kathua (Chairman DLSA Kathua). In all four benches were constituted at ADR Centre Kathua. First Bench was comprised of Principal District & Sessions Judge, Kathua Jatinder Singh Jamwal and Additional District & Sessions Judge Kathua Pravin Pandoh while second Bench included CJM Kathua Munish Kumar Manhas and Principal Magistrate JJB Kathua Cheena Sumbria. Third Bench was comprised of District Mobile Magistrate Kathua Neena Thakur and Munsiff/JMIC Kathua Viren Magotra whereas 4th Bench was comprised of District Social Welfare Officer Kathua Varun Kumar Choudhary and Tehsil Social Welfare Officer Kathua Vishav Bandhu.
Benches at TLSC Hiranagar was comprising of Munsiff/JMIC Hiranagar Meera Bangotra and Advocate Naresh Gupta, at Billawar was comprising of Additional Special Mobile Magistrate Billawar Poonam Gupta and Munsiff/JMIC Billawar Prashant Kumar, at TLSC Basohli was comprising of Bhanu Bhasin and Advocate Shub Kumar, at TLSC Bani was comprising of Munsiff/JMIC Bani Ashutosh Sharma and Advocate Vijay Kumar, and at TLSC Mahanpur was comprising of Munsiff/JMIC Mahanpur Kangana Gupta and Advocate Deep Kumar. A total number of 2,226 cases were taken in various courts across the district out of which 2,058 cases were settled and an amount of Rs 1,88,83,887 was realized as settlement amount.
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