National Lok Adalats bring financial relief of Rs 191 crore

Over 8,000 pending and pre-litigation cases were settled at National Lok Adalats held here between January 2014 and July 9, 2016.

According to Principal District Judge (Visakhapatnam) V Jayasurya, 13 National Lok Adalats were organised by District Legal Services Authority (DLSA) in Visakhapatnam in the past two years disposing of as many as 2,294 civil cases and 5,238 criminal cases.

Over 2,000 cases were settled in a single National Lok Adalat held on October 10, 2015, Jayasurya said adding that the number of cases settled was comparatively more than double what DLSA has settled amicably in 2014.

"The settlements of over 8,160 cases has brought financial relief of more than Rs 191 crore to the people who attended the Lok Adalats," he told reporters here on Tuesday.

The Judge also said that the district court has a backlog of thousands of cases and some have been pending for years despite successful holding of Lok Adalats in the district during the past few years.

People have started understanding the benefits of settling disputes through National Lok Adalats and aiming to settle the long pendency of cases. Both judges and advocates shall have to encourage and educate the petitioners to get their cases resolved during the National Lok Adalat programmes without wasting much time and money, he added.

The judge also appealed to aspirants of junior assistants posts in District Court to not fall for touts who have been trying to cheat them by promising jobs.