The Allahabad High Court has held that a Lok Adalat cannot dismiss a pending case for want of prosecution or for the non-appearance of a party. It ruled that in the absence of a compromise or settlement, the Lok Adalat is duty-bound to return the matter to the referring court.
The ruling came on a petition filed by Rajeev Jain challenging a December 9, 2017 order passed by a Lok Adalat, which had dismissed his cheque-bounce complaint for non-appearance. Jain contended that the Lok Adalat acted without jurisdiction and in violation of the legal procedure.
Justice Anish Kumar Gupta, deciding the matter on October 6, set aside the Lok Adalat’s order and made strong remarks about the conduct of the judicial officer involved.
The court observed:
“The instant case is the gravest example of such irresponsible and unauthorized action on the part of the judicial officer concerned while taking up the matter in Lok Adalat.”
It directed that a warning be issued to the concerned judicial officer to prevent recurrence of such actions in the future.
The court clarified that a Lok Adalat cannot take up a case on its own motion without the consent of the parties or without notifying the complainant. It further noted that in this case, neither party had given consent for the reference to Lok Adalat, the accused had not been summoned, and no application for reference was on record.
Reiterating the statutory scheme, the High Court held:
“When no award is made as there is no compromise and settlement, Lok Adalat is duty bound to return back the matter to the court concerned from which the matter was referred to the Lok Adalat.”
It concluded that the Lok Adalat had acted beyond its powers by dismissing the case for non-appearance, which it had no authority to do.
The High Court quashed the Lok Adalat’s order and remitted the matter back to the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Etah. The CJM has been directed to decide the complaint in accordance with law from the stage at which it was referred to Lok Adalat.
