Recently, the Rajasthan High Court held that Lok Adalats lack the authority to dismiss a case solely based on the absence of one or more parties involved.

The single-headed bench of Justice Arun Monga clarified that if disputes referred to a Lok Adalat by a court are not amicably settled, the Lok Adalat's best course of action is to return the case to the concerned court.

"In such situations, where no award or decision is made by the Lok Adalat due to the failure to reach an agreement, the case record is to be sent back to the court from which the reference was initially received. The court then takes over and proceeds to handle the case as per the appropriate legal procedures and laws," the Court's July 1 order said.

Lok Adalats provide an alternative platform for resolving disputes. Under the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987, cases pending in courts or at pre-litigation stages can be referred to Lok Adalats for amicable settlement.

The purpose of Lok Adalats is to ease the burden on courts and facilitate faster resolution of legal disputes. However, Justice Monga made it clear in his July 1 order that Lok Adalats do not have the authority to dismiss cases due to the absence or non-participation of any party in its proceedings. The High Court was addressing a petition filed by a man challenging the dismissal of his case by the Lok Adalat. The Lok Adalat had dismissed the case because the petitioner refused to submit to its jurisdiction.

During the course of hearing, the High Court observed that in such a situation, the only recourse available to the Lok Adalat is to send the matter back to the court that originally referred the case to the Lok Adalat.

"I am of the view that the learned Lok Adalat clearly exceeded its jurisdiction in passing the impugned order, as it is not vested with such powers to dismiss a case in default," the High Court said.

Public Prosecutor Gaurav Singh represented the State of Rajasthan while advocate Moti Singh appeared for the petitioner.

Case Title: Kripal Singh vs State Of Rajasthan