Morung Express News
Dimapur | July 13
Bad loans and Motor Accident Claims formed the majority of cases taken up by the Lok Adalat (People’s Court) in Dimapur on July 13. 71 out of 73 pre-litigation cases taken up today were disposed amounting to a total settlement worth over Rs. 1.9cr.
The cases that came up for settlement however was far below the actual “summons” issued to “defaulters” as according to the Dimapur District Legal Services Authority Secretary and Chief Judicial Magistrate Ajongba Imchen, well over a 1000 summons letters was dispatched.
He attributed the poor response to misconceptions about the true significance of Lok Adalat. “One of the main factors is apprehension, with the public assuming it to be a kind of prosecutorial platform,” he said.
“On the other hand, it is not so, rather it is people-friendly and advantageous to the public. In Lok Adalat, the bargaining power is in the hands of the public.”
He said that it is a great opportunity, especially for the underprivileged sections, to settle debt due to creditors (banks).
Reiterating that “Lok Adalat does not prosecute,” he said that it rather executes settlement of pending loans between debtors and creditors, insurance claims, utility bills and even petty offenses.
He cited instances wherein creditors had slashed 50 percent of the capital amount due to come to a settlement with debtors. Of the 71 cases disposed today, 49 pertained to bank loans, 20 Motor Accident Claims and 3 others relating to a telecom company.
With loan recovery making up a major chunk of the cases taken up frequently and poor turn-out from the parties in concern, he called the need for intensive awareness programmes initiated by the DDLSA in collaboration with the financial institutions.
“What I have observed is that the bank agents (who pass summons) do not take time to explain to the target people (debtors) the significance and advantages of Lok Adalat,” he said.
According to him, all parties concerned must come with an open mind without any apprehension.
As explained by the National Legal Services Authority, “Lok Adalat is one of the alternative dispute redressal mechanisms… a forum where disputes/cases pending in the court of law or at pre-litigation stage are settled/compromised amicably.”
