Long-pending motor compensation disputes were settled to the tune of over Rs. 1.5 crore at the lok adalat held at the District Court Complex.
Retired judges conducted the proceedings and cases related to insurance companies and banks were solved after both parties agreed to settle the cases amicably. A total of 265 Motor Vehicles Accident Claims Original petitions were taken up for settlement during the lok adalat and 93 cases were settled, officials said here on Monday.
Civil disputes were also settled. Retired judges K. Ponnusamy, N. Nagarajan and T.P. Parameswaran headed the courts that heard the cases. Principal District Judge B. Gokul Doss and secretary of district unit of Tamil Nadu State Legal Services Authority Jacintha Martin inaugurated the lok adalat in which Oriental Insurance and the National Insurance Company participated.
The lok adalats were held when there was high pendency of Motor Vehicles Accident Claims Original petitions in the district court, officials said.
There was no separate tribunal to hear the motor compensation disputes and a large number of cases had piled up in the additional sessions courts at the district court in Madurai.
Apart from the mega lok adalats, held every three months, the lok adalats were seen as an effective means of disposing the backlog of motor compensation and civil disputes amicably, the officials said.
The highest compensation awarded during the lok adalat was to a litigant whose brainstem was damaged after a road accident in 2010. He was awarded a compensation of Rs. 44 lakh. “The litigant had become unsound after the accident and was not able to walk properly. He was brought to the court in a pitiable condition and we ensured that he got immediate relief,” sub-judge Jacintha Martin told The Hindu .
“A cheque dishonour dispute and three civil cases were also disposed of at the lok adalat. We took up cases that were pending for more than two years. The law mandates that motor compensation cases should be settled within a period of six months from the time of the accident. The cases settled during the lok adalat are pending in the court for more than two years,” she added.
