District Judiciary Srinagar and DLSA Srinagar Organized 4th National Lok Adalat for Amicable Case Settlements
Srinagar, December 14, 2024: District Judiciary Srinagar and the District Legal Services Authority (DLSA) Srinagar organized the 4th National Lok Adalat at the District Court Complex Mominabad Srinagar and in the court of Additional Spl. Mobile Magistrate/JMIC Panthachowk Srinagar. The initiative was held under the able guidance of Hon’ble Mr. Justice Tashi Rabstan, Chief Justice of the High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh, who also serves as the Patron-in-Chief of the J&K Legal Services Authority. The program was further directed by Hon’ble Mr. Justice Atul Sreedharan, Administrative Judge District Court Srinagar and Executive Chairman of the J&K Legal Services Authority. The 4th National was held under the overall supervision of Mr. Jaffer Hussain Beg, Principal District & Sessions Judge, and Chairman of DLSA Srinagar, and Ms. Nusrat Ali Hakak, Secretary DLSA Srinagar.
The event marked a significant step toward resolving disputes amicably and reducing the burden on regular courts. Lok Adalats, known for their conciliatory approach, encourage disputing parties to reach mutually agreeable solutions in a time-efficient and cost-effective manner.
The 4th National Lok Adalat was inaugurated by Mr. Jaffer Hussain Beg in the presence of all Ld. Judicial officers and other dignitaries in District Court complex Srinagar. The event served as a testament to the judiciary’s commitment to ensuring access to justice and fostering harmony through amicable settlements.
Pre-Lok Adalat sessions began on November 27, 2024, with a special focus on traffic challans from December 5, 2024. These sessions provided litigants with an opportunity to resolve their cases ahead of the main Lok Adalat, covering a diverse range of matters including civil and criminal compoundable cases, cheque bounces, bank disputes, Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT) cases, matrimonial issues, and pre-litigation matters such as electricity disputes, bank recoveries, labor disputes, and social welfare schemes.
To facilitate the amicable settlement of cases, 15 benches were constituted, wherein the First Bench was presided over by Ms. Jeema Bashir (Presiding Officer, MACT, Court Srinagar) and Ms. Arti Mohan (Presiding Officer POCSO Court) Srinagar, in which 70 cases were taken out of which 43 cases were amicably settled & Rs:- 33413000/-was awarded as settlement amount and 16 no. of cheques amounting Rs: 1,02,50000/-(One Crore two lacs fifty thousand only) were onspot distributed by Ms. Jeema Bashir (Presiding Officer, MACT Court) Srinagar, and Ms. Arti Mohan (Presiding Officer POCSO Court) in presence of Worthy Mr. Jaffer Hussain Beg (Worthy Pr. District & Sessions Judge/Chairman DLSA) Srinagar. The 2nd Bench was presided over by Mr. GowherMajeedDalal (4th Addl. District and Sessions Judge) Srinagar and Mr. Vinod Kumar (Special Judge NDPS, Cases Srinagar), the 3rd Bench was presided over by Mr. KhursheedUl Islam (Ist Additional District & Sessions Judge) Srinagar and Mr. Iqbal Ahmad Masoudi (3rd Additional District & Sessions Judge Srinagar), the 4th Bench was presided over by Ms. Renu Dogra (Principal Judge Family Court) Srinagar and Mr. FaizanUlHaq Iqbal ( Addl/Special Judge Anti-Corruption, Kashmir, , Srinagar), the 5th Bench was presided over by Mr. Manjeet Rai (Additional Sessions Judge TADA/POTA (NIA Court) and Mr. Fida Hussain Nayek (Municipal Magistrate), the 6th Bench was presided over by Ms. AnjumAra (Additional District & Sessions Judge) Srinagar and Ms. Swati Gupta (2nd Additional District & Sessions Judge) Srinagar, the 7th Bench was presided over by Mr. AadilMushtaqBanday (Chief Judicial Magistrate) Srinagar and Ms. ShayestaNazir (City Munsiff) Srinagar, the 8th Bench was presided over by Mr. Touseef Ahmad Magray (Spl. Mobile Magistrate (Traffic) Srinagar and Mr. Vikas Bhardwaj(2nd Additional Munsiff) Srinagar and the 9th Bench was presided over by Mr. Junaid Imtiaz Mir
(Judge Small Cause Srinagar)and Mr. Faizan I Nazar (Spl. Mobile Magistrate/Railway Magistrate) Srinagar and the 10th Bench was presided over byMr. Mohammad IshtiyaqAlam Baba(Forest Magistrate) Srinagar and Ms. Massarat Jabeen(PT& E Magistrate) Srinagar and the 11thBench was presided over byMr. Sajad-Ur- Rehman (City judge), Srinagar and Mr. Adnan Manzoor (Sub-Registrar JMIc) and the 12th Bench was presided over by Mr. Raja Arshad Hamid (Additional Spl. Mobile Magistrate Traffic) Srinagar and Mr. Varun Kumar (3rdAdditional Munsiff) Srinagar and the 13th Bench was presided over byMs. Shivani Attri(Additional Spl. Mobile Magistrate/JMIC Panthachowk) SrinagarMr. Muzamal Zaman(Tehsildar, Panthachowk, Srinagar) and the 14th Bench was presided over byDr. Farah Deeba (Officiating President District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission Srinagar) and Shabnum Munshi(Member District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission Srinagar) and the 15th Bench was presided over by Ms. Sumita Chowdhary (Tehsil Social Welfare Officer) Srinagar and Mr. Aqib as Bench member in the social welfare office Srinagar.
In addition to this a help desk by the Department of Child Psychiatry (IMHANS K) was established which provided counselling services to parents, litigants, and children, facilitated by Dr. Bilal Ahmed, a Clinical Psychologist, and Adv. Syed Mujtaba, a Child Rights Lawyer. This innovative effort aimed to address both legal and psychological concerns, fostering a holistic approach to justice and emphasizing the importance of mental well-being alongside legal resolution.
Overall 128564 cases were taken up for settlement out of which 127087 cases were amicably settled & Rs. 65381921/ was awarded as settlement amount.
The 4thNational Lok Adalat witnessed a huge participation of officers/officials from different departments, litigants, Advocates, law students etc.The success of the 4th National Lok Adalat reflects the judiciary’s commitment to resolving disputes through mutual understanding and compromise. Such initiatives not only alleviate the backlog of cases in the courts but also strengthen the public’s faith in the legal system.
