Legal Services and Lok Adalats

LEGAL SERVICES AND LOK ADALATS

It is very difficult to reach the benefits of the legal process to the poor and to protect them against injustice. Therefore, it is urgently required to introduce dynamic and comprehensive legal service programme with a view to deliver justice to the poor and needy person. Legal aid is the provision of assistance to people otherwise unable to afford legal representation and access to the court system.

History Of Legal Aid Services

The earliest Legal Aid movement appeared in the year 1851 when some enactment was introduced in France for providing legal assistance to the poor. In Britain, the history of the organised efforts on the part of the State to provide legal services to the poor and needy dates back to 1944, when Lord Chancellor, Viscount Simon appointed Rushcliffe Committee to enquire about the facilities existing in England and Wales for giving legal advice to the poor and to make recommendations as appear to be desirable for ensuring that persons in need of legal advice are provided the same by the State. Since 1952, the government of India also started addressing to the question of legal aid for the poor in various conferences of Law Ministers and Law Commissions. In 1960, some guidelines were drawn by the government for legal aid schemes. In different States legal aid schemes were floated through Legal Aid Boards, Societies and LawD  In 1980, a Committee at the national level was constituted to oversee and supervise legal aid programmes throughout the country under the chairmanship of Hon. Mr. Justice P.N. Bhagwati, then the Judge of the Supreme Court of India. This Committee came to be known as CILAS (Committee forI Legal Aid Schemes) and started monitoring legal aid activities throughout the country.

Article 39-A of the Constitution of India provides that State shall ensure 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 disability. Articles 14 and 22(1) also make it obligatory for the State to ensure equality before law and a legal system which promotes justice on a basis of equal opportunity to all. Legal aid strives to ensure that constitutional pledge is fulfilled in its letter and spirit and equal justice is made available to the poor, downtrodden and weaker sections of the society.

Article 39-A of Constitution of India emphasises that free legal service is an inalienable element of ‘reasonable, fair and just’ procedure for without it a person suffering from economic or other disabilities would be deprived of the opportunity for securing justice. The right to free legal services is, therefore, clearly an essential ingredient of ‘reasonable, fair and just, procedure for a person accused of an offence and it must be held implicit in the guarantee of Article-21 of the Constitution. This is a constitutional right of every accused person who is unable to engage a lawyer and secure legal services on account of reasons such as poverty, indignant situation and the State is under a mandate to provide a lawyer to an accused person if the circumstances of the case and the needs of justice so requires, provided, of course, the accused person does not object to the provision of such lawyer.

Legal Services Authority Act, 1987

• Objectives of Legal Services Authority Act

Under Article 39A of the Constitution of India, free legal aid and equal justice are provided to all citizens by appropriate legislation, schemes or other means to ensure that no citizen is denied access to justice on the basis of economic disadvantage or in any other way. The Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 was enacted as a consequence of this constitutional provision with the primary objective of providing free and competent legal services to the weaker sections of society in the country.

• Types of services under Legal Services Authority Act

The Act provides many types of legal services to the general public:

1. Free legal awareness

This Act is primarily intended for the public to make them aware of laws and schemes issued by public authorities. The Legal Service Authority teaches some portions of the rules of law to the individuals. Legal camps and legal aid centres are organized by authorities so that the general public can seek advice from the legal aid centres located near their homes or places of work. The legal guides and centres can help address the grievances of ordinary people as well.

• Free legal aid counsel

A person who wants to defend or file a case in a court of law but does not have the means to hire an advocate can seek the assistance of a free legal aid attorney. The Act states that free legal aid counsel is available, and the Council is responsible for assisting needy individuals to obtain justice. By adopting and establishing this philosophy, the Indian Courts should be freed from the burden of adjudicating the cases.

• Authorities Under the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987

The Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 provides that the Central Government shall constitute a body to be called the National Legal Services Authority toe the powers and perform the functions conferred on , or assigned to, the Central Authority under this Act. A nationwide network has been envisaged under the Act for providing legal aid and assistance. National Legal Services Authority is the apex body constituted to lay down policies and principles for making legal services available under the provisions of the Act and to frame most effective and economical schemes for legal services. It also disburses funds grants to State Legal Services Authorities and NGOs for implementing legal aid schemes and programmes. The Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 provides for the constitution of ‘State Legal Services Authority’. In every State a State Legal Services Authority is constituted to give effect to the policies and directions of the Central Authority (NALSA) and to give legal services to the people and conduct ‘Lok Adalats’ in the State. State Legal Services Authorityi headed by the Chief Justice of the State High Court who is its Patron-in-Chief. A serving or retired Judge of the High Court is nominated as its Executive Chairman.

‘District Legal Services Authority’ is constituted in every District to implement Legal Aid Programmes and Schemes in the District. The District Judge of the District is its ex-officio Chairman.

‘Taluk Legal Services Committees’ are also constituted for each of the Taluk or Mandal or for group of Taluk or Mandals to coordinate the activities of legal services in the Taluk and to organise Lok Adalats. Every Taluk Legal Services Committee is headed by a senior

Civil Judge operating within the jurisdiction of the Committee who is its ex-officio Chairman.

The main responsibilities of NALSA are the following:

• Through legal aid camps, the organization promotes legal aid in slums, rural and labour colonies, as well as disadvantaged areas. It plays an important role in providing education about the rights and needs of the people who live in such areas. Lok Adalats are also formed by the authority to settle disputes between these people.
• Amongst other things, it is primarily concerned with providing legal services through clinics in law colleges, universities, etc.
• Arbitration, mediation, and conciliation are all methods that are used by these organizations to settle disputes.
• The organisation provides grant aid to institutions that provide social services at the grassroots level to marginalised communities from various parts of the country.
• Research activities are also conducted to improve legal services for the poor.
• Ensures that citizens commit to the fundamental duties they have been entrusted with.
• As part of the proper implementation of the schemes and programmes, they tend to evaluate the effectiveness of the actions taken for the legal aid problems at specific intervals so that the correct functions are being performed.
• Through the policy and scheme they laid down, the body ensures that the legal services could be made available to the general public. Through these schemes, the body is able to provide the most economical and effective legal services
• Financial matters are handled by this body, and the funds allocated by it are allocated to respective district and state legal services authorities.

In NALSA v. Union of India (2014) the National Legal Services Authority of India (NALSA) filed this case to recognize those who are outside the binary gender distinction, including individuals who identify as “third gender”. There was a question that the Court had to address regarding the recognition of people who do not fit into the male/female binary as “third gender” individuals. During the discussion, the panel deliberated whether ignoring non-binary gender identities constitutes an infringement of Indian Constitutional rights. For developing its judgment, the panel referred to an “Expert Committee on Transgender Issues” established under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.

• Eligibility criteria for free legal aid

There was even an item on the committee’s (headed by Justice PN Bhagwati) agenda on the eligibility criteria for the people to qualify for free legal aid, which has been also mentioned in the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 under Section 304 to provide free and competent legal assistance to a marginalised member of the society at the expense of the state. As established in Hussainara Khatoon v. State of Bihar (1979), legal aid will be provided at the expense and cost of the state to marginalised groups within society, and the state is required to make such assistance available to the accused.

In a similar vein, the Supreme Court has also ruled in Suk Das v. Union Territory of Arunachal Pradesh (1986) that an accused who cannot afford legal aid may have his or her conviction set aside on socio-economic grounds.

The following are the people eligible for free legal aid under Section 12 of the Act:

• A member of a Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe;
• A victim of trafficking in human beings or beggars as referred to in Article 23 of the Constitution;
• A woman or a child;
• A person with a disability as defined in Section 2(i) of the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995;
• A person under circumstances of undeserved want such as being a victim of a 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 Section 2(g) of the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956 or in a juvenile home within the meaning of Section 2(j) of the Juvenile Justice Act, 1986 or in a psychiatric hospital or psychiatric nursing home within the meaning of Section 2(g) of the Mental Health Act, 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.

Lok Adalat

‘Lok Adalat’ is a system of conciliation or negotiation. It is also known as ‘people’s court’. It can be understood as a court involving the people who are directly or indirectly affected by the dispute or grievance. ‘Lok Adalat’, established by the government settles dispute through conciliation and compromise.

The First ‘Lok Adalat’ was held in Chennai in 1986. ‘Lok Adalat’ accepts the cases which could be settled by conciliation and compromise and pending in the regular courts within their jurisdiction.

Lok Adalat under Legal Services Authority Act, 1987

Section 19 of the Act provides for the establishment of Lok Adalats. Legal service authorities at all levels, including the central, state, and district levels, shall hold Lok Adalats. Lok Adalats serve as an alternate dispute resolution system. Their purpose is to settle cases that are pending or that have not been heard in the courts. It consists of judicial officers or an authorized person under the jurisdiction of the state, central government, or local government. Following the conciliation of disputes between the parties and the agreement of the parties, the award is handed down by conciliators in accordance with Section 21 of the Act. The award has the same legal effect as a court decision.

Scope of Lok Adalat

Unlike the Supreme Court, Lok Adalat is extremely broad to incorporate most of the cases pending before it as well as new cases that will be filed in the near future to be settled. The Lok Adalat does not have jurisdiction over cases relating to offences that cannot be compounded under any law. The Lok Sabha does not refer such matters to committees without giving the other party a reasonable opportunity to be heard. The Lok Adalat proceeds to resolve any case referred to it and tries to negotiate a mutually acceptable outcome between the parties involved with the case. Whenever a Lok Adalat decides a case before it, it adopts the most extreme efforts for a trade-off or settlement. The following points elaborate on the scope of Lok Adalats:

• If no settlement or compromise is reached by the parties after the Lok Adalat passes, no order is given.
• A reference will be sent automatically to the Court that drew up the reference for disposition. Those involved in the dispute are urged to seek redressal in courts.
• If the terms proposed by the bench do not satisfy the parties, the Lok Adalat cannot be forced to compromise or reach a settlement. Orders from Lok Adalats are definitive and restrict the parties.
• An order passed by a judge is a satisfactory means of stopping the proceedings that demand justice.
• Lok Adalats have enough powers under the Act to make justice without compromising the quality of their awards. The Lok Adalat’s final order is considered judicial since it is given the status of a decree.
• A Civil Court recognizes it as a form of evidence and is given the power to summon, discover, and get an affirmation.

In the case of P.T. Thomas v. Thomas Job (2005), the Apex Court specifically explained what Lok Adalat is. According to the Court, Lok Adalat is an ancient form of adjudicating system that once predominated in India, and its validity has not been questioned even today. According to Gandhian principles, the term Lok Adalat means “People’s Court”. It is an essential component of alternative dispute resolution. If the dispute is resolved at Lok Adala, there is no court fee, and if it is already paid, the fee will be refunded.

According to the case of B.P. Moideen Sevamandir and others v. AM Kutty Hassan (2008), the parties can communicate directly through their attorneys, which is far more convenient than speaking in a regular courtroom. Because Lok Adalats are dynamic, they are able to balance the interests of both parties and pass orders that both sides find acceptable.

Need of Lok Adalats

As we know that justice delayed is justice denied. This statement becomes true if we see the backlog of pending cases before courts of different hierarchy. It resulted into delay Justic in India. Mounting arrears of cases has brought judiciary and the judicial process at the verge of collapse. In this given state of affairs the mechanism of Lok Adalats is the only option left with the people resort to for availing cheap and speedy justice. Lok Adalats effectively deal with the magnitude of arrears of cases. ‘Lok Adalat’ has in view the social goals of ending bitterness rather than pending disputes restoring peace in the family, community and locality.

So ‘Lok Adalat’ is favorable to poor sections of the society.

Functions of Lok Adalat

The following are the functions of Lok Adalat:

• Lok Adalat members should be impartial and fair to the parties.
• Lok Adalat is responsible for handling pending cases in court. In the case of a Lok Adalat settlement, the court fee paid to the court on the petition will be reimbursed
• When filing a dispute with Lok Adalat, you do not have to pay a court fee.

Types of Lok Adalat

Lok Adalats can take the following forms:

1. National level Lok Adalat

The Lok Adalat held at the national level is held regularly throughout the country at the Supreme Court level and taluk level, where thousands of cases are disposed of. Every month a different topic is discussed in this Adalat.

• Permanent Lok Adalat

The body is governed by Section 22B of the Act. There is a mandatory pre-litigation mechanism in Permanent Lok Adalat that settles disputes concerning public utilities such as transport, telegraph, postal service, etc. As a result of the case Abdul Hasan and National Legal Services Authority v. Delhi Vidyut Board and other (1999), the courts directed that permanent Lok Adalats be established.

Permanent Lok Adalats are charged with resolving public utility disputes quickly. Therefore, if parties neglect to show up at the settlement or compromise, then it has a further advantage of choosing the dispute based on merit. In this way, the possibility of postponement in the resolution of questions is eliminated. Rather than following the formal procedure for resolving disputes, it is bound to follow the principle of natural justice in order to save time.

• Mobile Lok Adalat

Mobile Lok Adalat is a method of settling disputes that travels from place to place. Over 15.14 lakh Lok Adalats have been held in the country as of 30th September 2015, and over 8.25 crore cases have been settled.

1. Mega Lok Adalat

The Mega Lok Adalat is an ad hoc body that is constituted at the state level on a single day in all courts.

• Daily Lok Adalat

On a daily basis, these Lok Adalats are held.

• Continuous Lok Adalat

It is held continuously for a specific number of days.

Jurisdiction of Lok Adalats

Lok Adalats fall under the jurisdiction of the courts which organize them, thus, they cover any cases heard by that Court under its jurisdiction. This jurisdiction does not apply to cases regarding offences which are not compoundable by law and the Lok Adalats cannot resolve these cases. The respective courts may accept cases presented to them by parties concurring that the dispute should be referred to the Lok Adalat. The Courts may accept such cases in situations where one party makes an application to the court for the referral of the case to the Lok Adalat and the court might consider that there is a possibility of compromise through the Act.