Yesterday evening, i had the opportunity to meet one well meaning Shri Shantilal ji Chhajerh, a retired District Judge of Jodhpur District in Rajasthan.

During conversation about PIL and other things, he informed about section 22A of LSA 1987 wherein some of the pressing civic issues relating to sanitation, hospital services, transport, postal services can effectively be resolved and that too amicably being the very nature of Lok Adalats.

By virtue of section 22A of Legal Services Authorities Act 1987, some of the pressing civic problems as stated hereinafter in section 22B can effectively be resolved in Permanent Lok Adalats constituted for the purposes. The addresses of Lok Adalats can be obtained from District Legal services Authority or High Court Legal Services Authority. Or ask me, I will find out.

Also, attached a file, of full text of the LSA 1987.

For any confusion, pls ask.

Thanks,

Sandeep Jalan,

Mumbai.

THE LEGAL SERVICES AUTHORITIES ACT, 1987

An Act to constitute legal services authorities to provide free and competent legal Service to the weaker sections of the society to ensure that opportunities for securing justice are not denied to any citizen by reason of economic or other disabilities, and to organize Lok Adalats to secure that the operation of the legal system promotes justice on a basis of equal opportunity.

In this Chapter and for the purposes of sections 22 and 23, unless the context otherwise requires:-

(a) "Permanent Lok Adalat" means a Permanent Lok Adalat established under sub-section (1) of section 22B;

(b) "public utility service" means any –

(i) Transport service for the carriage of passengers or goods by air, road or water; or

(ii) postal, telegraph or telephone service; or

(iii) supply of power, light or water to the public by any esablishment;or

(iv) system of public conservancy or sanitation; or

(v) service in hospital or dispensary; or

(vi) insurance service,

and includes any service which the Central Government or the State

Government, as the case may be, may, in the public interest, by

notification, declare to be a public utility service for the purposes of this

Chapter.

22B. Establishment of Permanent Lok Adalats

(1) Notwithstanding anything contained in section 19, the Central Authority or, as the case may be, every State Authority shall, by notification, establish Permanent Lok Adalats at such places and for exercising such jurisdiction in respect of one or more public utility services and for such areas as may be specified in the notification.

(2) Every Permanent Lok Adalat established for areas notified under subsection

(1) shall consist of –

(a) a person who is, or has been, a district judge or additional district

judge or has held judicial officer higher in rank than that of a district

judge, shall be the Chairman of the Permanent Lok Adalat; and

(b) two other persons having adequate experience in public utility service to be nominated by the Central Government or, as the case may be, the State Government on the recommendation of the Central Authority or, as the case may be, the State Authority, appointed by the Central Authority or, as the case may be, the State Authority, establishing such Permanent Lok Adalat and the other terms and conditions of the appointment of the Chairman and other persons referred to in clause (b) shall be such as may be prescribed by the Central Government.

22C. Cognisance of cases by Permanent Lok Adalat

(1) Any party to a dispute may, before the dispute is brought before any

court, make an application to the Permanent Lok Adalat for the settlement of

dispute:

Provided that the Permanent Lok Adalat shall not have jurisdiction in

respect of any matter relating to an offence not compoundable under any law:

Provided further that the Permanent Lok Adalat shall also not have

jurisdiction in the matter where the value of the property in dispute exceeds

ten lakh rupees:

Provided also that the Central Government,  may, by notification,

increase the limit of ten lakh rupees specified in the second proviso in

consultation with the Central Authority.

(2) After an application in made under sub-section (1) to the Permanent

Lok Adalat, no party to that application shall invoke jurisdiction of any court

in the same dispute.

(3) Where an application is made to a Permanent Lok Adalat under sub section ( 1), it –

(a) shall direct each party to the application to file before it a written statement, stating therein the facts and nature of dispute under the application, points or issues in such dispute and grounds relied in support of, or in opposition to, such points or issues, as the case may be, and such party may supplement such statement with any document and other evidence which such party deems appropriate in proof of such facts and grounds and shall send a copy of such statement together with a copy of such document and other evidence, if any, to each of the parties to the application;

(b) may require any party to the application to file additional statement before it at any stage of the conciliation proceedings;

(c) shall communicate any document or statement received by it from

any party to the application to the other party, to enable such other party

to present reply thereto.

(4) When statement, additional statement and reply, if any, have been filed under sub-section(3), to the satisfaction of the Permanent Lok Adalat, it shall conduct conciliation proceedings between the parties to the application in such manner as it thinks appropriate taking into account the circumstances of the dispute.

(5) The Permanent Lok Adalat shall, during conduct of conciliation proceedings under sub-section (4), assist the parties in their attempt to reach an amicable settlement of the dispute in an independent and impartial manner.

(6) It shall be the duty of every party to the application to cooperate in good faith with the Permanent Lok Adalat in conciliation of the dispute relating to the application and to comply with the direction of the Permanent Lok Adalat to produce evidence and other related documents before it.

(7) When a Permanent Lok Adalat, in the aforesaid conciliation proceedings, is of opinion that there exists elements of settlement in such proceedings which may be acceptable to the parties, it may formulate the terms of a possible settlement of the dispute and give to the parties concerned for their observations and in case the parties reach at an agreement on the settlement of the dispute, they shall sign the settlement agreement and the

Permanent Lok Adalat shall pass an award in terms thereof and furnish a copy of the same to each of the parties concerned.

(8) Where the parties fail to reach at an agreement under sub-section (7), the Permanent Lok Adalat shall, if the dispute does not relate to any offence, decide the dispute.

22D Procedure of Permanent Lok Adalat

The Permanent Lok Adalat shall, while conducting conciliation proceedings or deciding a dispute on merit under this Act, be guided by the principles of natural justice, objectivity, fair play, equity and other principles of justice, and shall not be bound by the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 and the Indian Evidence Act, 1892.

(1) Every award of the Permanent Lok Adalat under this Act made either on merit or in terms of a settlement agreement shall be final and binding on all the parties thereto and on persons claiming under them.

(2) Every award of the Permanent Lok Adalat under this Act shall be deemed to be a decree of a civil court.

(3) The award made by the Permanent Lok Adalat under this Act shall be by a majority of the persons constituting the Permanent Lok Adalat.

(4) Every award made by the Permanent Lok Adalat under this Act shall be final and shall not be called in question in any original suit, application or execution proceeding.