Nagpur Lok Adalat draws huge turnout, settles 11,000-plus cases, Rs 40 crore in settlements

A National Lok Adalat held at the Nagpur District and Sessions Court premises on Saturday saw a huge turnout. The Lok Adalat was organised to dispose of pending and newly filed old cases in Nagpur district, and people participated in large numbers. In all, 11,098 cases were settled through mutual agreement, with the settlement amount fixed at Rs 40.71 crore. Besides this, Rs 8.53 crore was separately recovered in cases related to debt recovery.

The Lok Adalat included 6,196 cases that were already pending in court, while 4,902 cases were newly filed. Both types of cases were settled by mutual consent. These included civil cases, disputes related to land acquisition, compoundable criminal cases, matrimonial disputes, motor accident cases, cases under the Electricity Act, cheque bounce cases, labour disputes, debt recovery, consumer complaints and cooperative court cases.

This district Lok Adalat was organised on the directions of the Maharashtra State Legal Services Authority, Mumbai. The event was held under the guidance of Nagpur District Court's administrative judges Anil Kilor and Raj Wakode, and under the supervision of Principal District and Sessions Judge M. Salman Azmi. District Legal Services Authority secretary Praveen M. Unhale, judicial officers, panel members, court staff, volunteers and lawyers also worked to make it a success.

In cases before the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, settlements worth Rs 16.78 crore were reached during the Lok Adalat. In one old case, the deceased's family was awarded compensation of Rs 75 lakh. The case related to the death of Faljibhai Sardar Patel, who worked with the CRPF. On the morning of 26 September 2019, his four-wheeler met with an accident near Kankati Shivar, Samudrapur, on National Highway 7, killing him. His mother and brother had subsequently filed Motor Accident Claim No. 121/2021. During the hearing before Panel No. 2 at the district Lok Adalat, both parties reached a settlement, and Rs 75 lakh was awarded to the heirs.

Before the Lok Adalat, a special drive was run in all criminal courts in Nagpur district from 7 to 11 September. During this, 9,452 dismissed criminal cases were also disposed of under Sections 256 and 258 of the Code of Criminal Procedure and the corresponding sections of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023. Separate panels were formed for the Lok Adalat, with serving and retired judicial officers heading the panels, while lawyers and law college students were included as members.