Hyderabad Police are hoping to come closer to people with three new initiatives of reviving Lok Adalat system to clear pending cases, help return stolen properties to owners by filing memos in courts and auctioning off unclaimed and seized vehicles.
The first mega Lok Adalat would be held on June 26 and nearly 1,000 to 1,500 pending cases of South and East zones would be hopefully disposed of, Hyderabad Police Commissioner A.K. Khan told a press conference on Thursday.
26,000 pending cases
Currently, over 26,000 cases are pending trial and nearly 12,000 cases are under investigation in Hyderabad Police Commissionerate.
Many of these cases are compoundable and pertain to simple injuries and road accidents. With the consent of the complainants and the accused, amicable settlements can be arrived at, relieving police of pressure.
Monthly basis
In the first half of the year, Lok Adalats would be conducted every month with specific focus on one particular zone. “We have spoken to judicial officers and hope this conciliatory form of justice would be helpful, acceptable to all,” Mr. Khan observed. The police top brass felt the response from police to return recovered properties - cash, jewellery or electronic goods - was not adequate. Normally, the recovered property is deposited in court and is returned to the complainants after completion of the trial. This was taking years and the properties - especially vehicles and electronic goods - were getting damaged .
Hereafter, the investigating officers would file memos in the courts and return the property to the complainants with the permission of the magistrate.
