Blitz Bureau
CHIEF Justice of India DY Chandrachud has said that the purpose of Lok Adalat has been to take justice to the homes of people and to ensure that the Supreme Court not only handles big cases but focuses on ‘Nyay Sabke Dwar’. Speaking at the Special Lok Adalat
Week organised to celebrate 75 years of the Supreme Court, the CJI said, “The purpose of Lok Adalat has been to take justice to the homes of people and to ensure that we are a constant presence in their lives.”
The CJI underlined that the Lok Adalat was not an institution that is of the judges, for the judges and by the judges.
“When we constituted the panels for Lok Adalat, we ensured that every panel would consist of two judges, in my case three judges, and two members of the bar. The purpose behind doing this was to give ownership to the advocates over the institution because this is not an institution which is only run by the judges, he said.
“This (Lok Adalat) is not the institution of the judges, for the judges, by the judges. There is so much that we learn from each other. We learnt from the advocates about how much command they have over little procedural issues, which frankly, I am very well versed with,” he said.
“We are so used to looking at the Supreme Court dealing with all the big- ticket cases. What is lost to so many people is the kind of small work we do in the Supreme Court. When the Constitution was made by stalwarts like BR Ambedkar, they did it with a mission,” the Chief Justice said. “This was a court which was being set up in a poor society where there was an absence of access to justice. The idea behind the establishment of this institution was that it would be a court reaching out to the lives of common citizens. The purpose of Lok Adalat has been to take justice to the homes of people,” he added.
On the last day of the function, Law and Justice Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal said that more than 1,000 cases were resolved in this Lok Adalat. He said that cases related to civil, land acquisition and matrimonial. He said that Indian culture has a tradition of resolution through mediation.
The Lok Adalats offer accessible and efficient justice, which is swift and cost-effective.
