First e-Lok Adalat of the district to be held on August 29

The Haryana State Legal Services Authority (HALSA) will hold an e-Lok Adalat on August 29. This is for the first time in Haryana and in the district that a virtual

The Haryana State Legal Services Authority (HALSA) will hold an e-Lok Adalat on August 29. This is for the first time in Haryana and in the district that a virtual hearing is being conducted. In Gurugram, eight benches have been constituted for the virtual hearing of at least 525 cases, pertaining to civil, criminal, negotiable instruments (bank cheques), and traffic challan matters. The hearing would be conducted through a video conferencing facility.

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In a press statement issued by the District Legal Services Authority (DLSA), Justice Rajiv Sharma of Punjab and Haryana High Court and executive chairman, HALSA, shared the news of conducting an e-Lok Adalat to dispose of cases that have been long pending due to Covid-19 outbreak.

Pardeep Choudhry, chief judicial magistrate and secretary, DLSA, said, “At least 525 cases have been taken up. Eight single-judge benches will hear almost 65-66 cases each on August 29. It is for the first time in the district that a court hearing will take place through an online platform. It mostly includes cases of negotiable instruments like cases related to bank cheques, civil cases except divorce matters, criminal cases, and a few traffic challan cases that can be amicably resolved. Most of the cases are those where there is a possibility of compromise between the two parties.”

He said, “Panel advocates have been intimated that they will have to remain present during e-Lok Adalat and help the courts and the DLSA in preparation of compromises. The panel advocates have been deputed in proportion to the benches. For all such parties who are unable to appear before the court through video conferencing, or who do not have any technical knowledge or the resources to appear will be assisted by their respective counsels or bench nodal officers.”

According to Choudhry, a system officer has been deputed to ensure that bench Id’s are properly installed in the court of each presiding officer. Also, separate WhatsApp groups have been created for judicial officers, panel advocates, litigants etc to connect via a link and provide compromises, if required, with the parties and advocates. “For this, the nodal officers of each bench has been asked to collect mobile numbers of all the participants and create WhatsApp groups for coordination. The details will also be uploaded on the website of the district and sessions court, Gurugram, for informing the general public,” said Choudhry.