Award Of Lok Adalat Can Only Be Challenged In Writ Petition Under Article 226 & 227: Gauhati High Court

The Gauhati High Court, while hearing an appeal against a judgment of a Civil Court, has held that agreement of settlement arrived at Lok Adalat is deemed a decree of a civil court and as such it is binding upon the parties.It further held that no appeal lies against it to any court and if any party wants to challenge such an award based on settlement, it can be done only by filing a petition under Article 226 and/or Article 227 of the Constitution.BackgroundThe Court was hearing a civil appeal challenging an order of the civil court, which had in effect reversed the settlement arrived at between parties at the Lok Adalat.The parties were siblings involved in a family property dispute. At the Lok Adalat it was agreed that the sister is the owner of the property. However, later, the brother filed a Declaratory Suit before the civil court claiming ownership of the suit land. The civil court eventually allowed the suit.Hence, the sister moved the High Court in present appeal.FindingsAt the outset, the High Court noted that the award passed by Lok Adalat was duly signed by both parties and there was no allegation of duress or fraud. Thus, a settlement was arrived at amicably between the parties as envisaged in section 21 of the Legal Services Authority Act, 1987.In appreciating the above provision of law, the Court observed that in the instant cases the parties have clearly come to an amicable settlement and the award is deemed a decree of a civil court which, if not duly executed by any of the parties can be filed in the court concerned with a request to execute it.In this backdrop, it remarked,"if any of the parties is aggrieved by the award of Lok Adalat for genuine reasons, the remedy available would be by filing a petition under Article 226 and/or Article 227 of the Constitution as has been held by the Apex Court in State of Pubjaband Another -vs- Jalour Singh and Others."Accordingly, the appeal was disposed of.Case No: RFA 17 of 2021Case Name: Smt.Vanlalmawaii v. Sh. LaltanpuiaCitation: 2022 LiveLaw (Gau) 10Judge : Justice Marli VankungDate : 01.02.2022Click Here To Read/Download Judgment

Award Of Lok Adalat Can Only Be Challenged In Writ Petition Under Article 226 & 227: Gauhati High Court

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