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Ludhiana: Over 95,000 cases settled at National Lok Adalat
The event, which involved multiple benches at district and subdivisional levels, brought swift and amicable resolutions to pending disputes, resulting in awards worth over ₹110.68 crore
The National Lok Adalat held at judicial courts in Ludhiana on Saturday resolved 95,902 out of 97,455 cases, including matrimonial disputes, criminal matters, cheque bouncing cases and motor accident claims, under the supervision of Harpreet Kaur Randhawa, district and sessions judge-cum-chairperson, District Legal Services Authority (DLSA), Ludhiana.
The event, which involved multiple benches at district and subdivisional levels, brought swift and amicable resolutions to pending disputes, resulting in awards worth over ₹110.68 crore.
Among the notable cases, two appeals titled Rani Sharma v/s Kuljeet Kaur under Section 138 of the NI Act (cheque bouncing case) were taken up by the bench of Barinder Singh Ramana, additional sessions judge, Ludhiana. The appeal, filed on 29 October 2024, was resolved with the efforts of Harpreet Kaur Randhawa. The original cheque amount of ₹30,00,000 was mutually settled at ₹11,50,000, which the convict and appellant agreed to pay by the next date of hearing. Both parties recorded their statements for compromise, agreeing to resolve the matter amicably.
Similarly, a long pending matrimonial case, under the court of Raman Kumar, principal judge, family court, Ludhiana, was also resolved during the Lok Adalat. The petition, filed on 29 November 2021, involved a couple married under Sikh rituals who had been living separately since 17 December 2024 and had no children. Through mediation by Harpreet Kaur Randhawa, the couple reached a compromise, deciding to live together and withdraw all pending litigations.
In addition to these high profile cases, a wide range of matters, including criminal and compoundable cases, cheque bouncing under Section 138 NI Act, motor accident claims, land acquisition disputes, money recovery cases, PSPCL cases and matters under Permanent Lok Adalat, were also resolved.
Sumit Sabharwal, chief judicial magistrate (CJM)-cum-secretary, DLSA Ludhiana, said that 39 benches were set up at the district level and 10 at subdivisional levels for settling cases.
The event was supported by a large team of judicial officers, including additional sessions judges Saru Mehta Kaushik, Rajneesh, Barinder Singh Ramana, Ranjeev Kumar Vishist, Parminder Kaur, Raman Kumar, Amit Thind, Gurpartap Singh, Harpreet Kaur, as well as other civil judges and magistrates Balwinder Singh Sandhu, chairman permanent Lok Adalat, and Kewal Krishan, presiding officer of the Industrial Tribunal, along with members and social workers, who also headed different benches.
Sabharwal said that National Lok Adalats offer multiple benefits, as decisions passed through compromise foster peace and harmony among parties and society at large. Sabharwal also highlighted that the refund of entire court fees further encourages people to participate at such events, giving them satisfaction in resolving their disputes efficiently.
