Claiming that Lok Adalats have proved to be an effective alternative judicial system, N.K. Patil, Karnataka High Court judge and State president of Karnataka State Legal Services Authority, has said that Karnataka is first in disposing the maximum number of cases through Lok Adalats in India.
Speaking after inaugurating the newly constructed Alternate Disputer Redressal Centre and Judicial officers’ conference hall at the district court here on Saturday, he emphasised the need to popularise Lok Adalats for reducing the pendency of cases.
Mr. Patil said that in order to help litigants dispose cases in a short period, judicial officers must try to refer as many number of case as possible to mediation centres.
He said that the authority has been training advocates to become mediators in resolving long-pending legal disputes,
Mr. Patil said that the centre should be effectively used to end long pending cases through workable negotiations between litigants. In his address, another High Court judge B. S. Patil regretted that despite the Supreme Court noting that quick rendering of justice was one of the fundamental rights, yet many cases drags for years. He said that in several incidents, the legal tussle continues even for nearly ten years in the lower courts itself, which in his view, was against the fundamental right of a citizen to get quick justice. “In order to fast track the cases and reduce the burden of cases on the courts, Lok Adalat and medication centres should be made an effective mechanism in the judicial system for disposing off the cases,” he said.
About the new conference hall, justice Patil called upon the advocates and judicial officials to use the building to deliberating and discussing various aspects concerning the judiciary.
He said that news effective mediation techniques should be discovered by holding discussion for strengthening the mediation system.
