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"Award of Lok Adalat is similar to a decree"

J. Venkatesan

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has held that the award of Lok Adalat passed with the consent of the parties to the dispute shall be deemed to be a decree of a civil court and no appeal will lie from it.

Giving the ruling, a Bench of Justice Ruma Pal and Justice A.R. Lakshmanan said though the award of a Lok Adalat was not the result of a contest on merits just as a regular suit, however, it was as equal and on par with a decree on compromise.

The award would be conclusive and have the same binding effect as a decree.

Writing the judgment, Justice Lakshmanan said, "In our opinion, the award passed by the Lok Adalat is the decision of the court itself though arrived at by the simpler method of the conciliation instead of the process of arguments in court. The effect is the same. The award of Lok Adalat is fictionally deemed to be decrees of courts and therefore the courts have all the powers in relation thereto as it has in relation to a decree passed by itself."

The Bench rejected the contention that the award of the Lok Adalat could not be equated with a decree as it only incorporated an agreement between the parties and that in case of violation of the agreement or the terms of the compromise recorded in the award, the parties would lose their right to get the same executed and compromise stood withdrawn. Setting aside a Kerala High Court judgment that took a contrary view, the Bench said, "The view taken by the High Court will totally defeat the object and purposes of the Legal Services Authorities Act and render the decision of the Lok Adalat meaningless. The High Court has failed to note that the court's attempt should be to give life and enforceability to the compromise award and not to defeat on technical grounds."

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