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TMI Blog2012 (9) TMI 666X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... round of arbitrariness or irrationality - if at all a party to the dispute has a grievance against the award of Permanent Lok Adalat he can always approach the High Court under its supervisory and extraordinary jurisdiction under Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution of India. There is no merit in the submission of the learned counsel for the petitioner that in that situation the burden of litigation would be brought back on the High Courts after the award is passed by the Permanent Lok Adalat on merits. There is no merit in the submission of the petitioner that the service provider may pre-empt the consideration of a dispute by a court or a forum under special statute by approaching the Permanent Lok Adalat established under Chapter VI-A of the 1987 Act and, thus, depriving the user or consumer of such public utility service of an opportunity to have the dispute adjudicated by a civil court or a forum created under special statute. In the first place, the jurisdiction of fora created under the Special Statutes has not been taken away in any manner whatsoever by the impugned provisions. The Permanent Lok Adalats are in addition to and not in derogation of fora provided under ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... re arbitrary per se; violative of Article 14 of the Constitution of India and are contrary to the rule of law as they deny fair, unbiased and even-handed justice to all. 4. We have heard Mr. Manoj Goel, learned counsel for the petitioner and Mr. T. S. Doabia, learned senior counsel for the Union of India. After oral arguments were over, Mr. Manoj Goel, learned counsel for the petitioner has also filed written submissions. Elaborating the vice of arbitrariness in the impugned provisions, in the written submissions, it is submitted that Section 22-C(1) read with Section 22-C(2) provides that a dispute before Permanent Lok Adalat can be raised by moving an application to it unilaterally by any party to the dispute (before the dispute is brought before any court for settlement). The public utility service provider, thus, can play mischief by pre-empting an aggrieved consumer from going to the consumer fora or availing other judicial process for redressal of his grievance and enforcement of his rights. Permanent Lok Adalats have been empowered to decide dispute on merits upon failure between the parties to arrive at a settlement under Section 22-C(8). While deciding the case on merits ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... in Section 22-A(b). In this regard, the provisions contained in three specialized statutes, namely, the Consumer Protection Act, 1986, The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Act, 1997 and the Insurance Act, 1938 were referred. By relying upon a decision of this Court in The Premier Automobiles Ltd. v. Kamlekar Shantaram Wadke of Bombay and Others (1976) (1) SCC 496, in the written arguments it has been submitted that the consumer fora as well as specialized courts/tribunals under the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Act, 1997 and the Insurance Act, 1938 have exclusive jurisdiction as far as enforcement of rights under these statutes are concerned and their jurisdiction can not be taken away by Permanent Lok Adalat. Particularly, with reference to the provisions contained in the Consumer Protection Act, it is submitted that compensatory remedies available under this law are in addition to and not in derogation of any other law and since Permanent Lok Adalats have no jurisdiction to grant compensatory relief, the jurisdiction of the consumer fora remains intact. Reliance has been placed on the decisions of this Court in Fair Air Engineers Pvt. Ltd. and another v. N.K. Modi (1 ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... and State of Punjab v. Baldev Singh (1999) 6 SCC 172 . 10. Article 39-A came to be inserted in the Constitution by Constitution (42nd Amendment) Act, 1976 with effect from 3.1.1977. It enjoins upon the State to secure that the operation of the legal system promotes justice on the basis of equal opportunity and in particular to provide free legal aid by suitable legislation or schemes or in any other way and to ensure that opportunities for securing justice are not denied to any citizen by reason of economic or other disabilities. Equal justice to all and free legal aid are hallmark of Article 39-A. Pursuant to these objectives, the 1987 Act was enacted by the Parliament to constitute legal services authorities to provide free and competent legal services to the weaker sections of the society to ensure that opportunities for securing justice are not denied to any citizen by reason of economic or other disabilities, and to organize Lok Adalats to secure that the operation of the legal system promotes justice on a basis of equal opportunity. The statement of objects and reasons that led to enactment of 1987 Act reads as follows : Article 39-A of the Constitution provides that the ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... only reduce the burden of arrears of work in regular Courts, but would also take justice to the door-steps of the poor and the needy and make justice quicker and less expensive. 11. For about a decade and half, the operation of the 1987 Act was closely watched. It was felt that the system of Lok Adalats provided in the 1987 Act sometimes results in delaying the dispensation of justice where the parties do not arrive at any compromise or settlement in Lok Adalat and the case is returned to the court of law or the parties are advised to pursue appropriate remedy for redressal of their grievance. Accordingly, amendment in the 1987 Act was felt by the Parliament to be necessary. The statement of objects and reasons of the 2002 Amendment Act, inter alia, reads as under: The Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 was enacted to constitute legal services authorities for providing and competent legal services to the weaker sections of the society to ensure that opportunities for securing justice were not denied to any citizen by reason of economic or other disabilities and to organize Lok Adalats to ensure that the operation of the legal system promoted justice on a basis of equal oppo ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... r, the Central Government may increase the said pecuniary jurisdiction from time to time. It shall have no jurisdiction in respect of any matter relating to an offence not compoundable under any law; (iv) it also provides that before the dispute is brought before any Court, any party to the dispute may make an application to the Permanent Lok Adalat for settlement of the dispute; (v) where it appears to the Permanent Lok Adalat that there exist elements of a settlement, which may be acceptable to the parties, it shall formulate the terms of a possible settlement and submit them to the parties for their observations and in case the parties reach an agreement, the Permanent Lok Adalat shall pass an award in terms thereof. In case parties to the dispute fail to reach an agreement, the Permanent Lok Adalat shall decide the dispute on merits; and (vi) every award made by the Permanent Lok Adalat shall be final and binding on all the parties thereto and shall be by a majority of the persons constituting the Permanent Lok Adalat. 12. With the above objectives, 2002 Amendment Act was enacted by the Parliament and thereby Chapter VI-A (Sections 22-A to 22-E) was brought in with f ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... le under any law. The second proviso puts a cap on the pecuniary jurisdiction inasmuch as it provides that the Permanent Lok Adalat shall not have jurisdiction in a matter where the value of the property in dispute exceeds ten lakh rupees. The Central Government, however, may increase the limit of ten lakh rupees in consultation with the Central Authority by notification. 16. Sub-section (2) of Section 22-C puts an embargo on the parties to a dispute after an application has been made by any one of them under sub-section (1) in invoking jurisdiction of any court in the same dispute. 16.1. Sub-section (3) of Section 22-C provides for the procedure to be followed by the Permanent Lok Adalat once an application is made before it by any party to a dispute under sub-section (1). This procedure includes filing of a written statement by each party to the application stating therein the facts and nature of the dispute and highlighting the points or issues in such dispute and the documents and other evidence in support of their respective written statement and exchange of copy of such written statement together with copy of documents/other evidence. The Permanent Lok Adalat may require ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... onstitution of India and contrary to rule of law, fairness and even- handed justice? are the questions to be considered. 18. Chapter VI-A inserted by the 2002 Amendment Act in 1987 Act, as its title suggests, provides for pre-litigation conciliation and settlement procedure. The disputes relating to public utility service like transport service for carriage of passengers or goods by air, road or water or postal, telegraph or telephone service or supply of power, light or water or public conservancy system or sanitation or service in hospital or dispensary or insurance service, etc., in the very scheme of things deserve to be settled expeditiously. Prolonged dispute in respect of the above matters between the service provider and an aggrieved party may result in irretrievable damage to either party to the dispute. Today, with increasing number of cases, the judicial courts are not able to cope with the heavy burden of inflow of cases and the matters coming before them. The disputes in relation to public utility service need urgent attention with focus on their resolution at threshold by conciliation and settlement and if for any reason such effort fails, then to have such disputes ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ity services have been entrusted to Permanent Lok Adalats only if the process of conciliation and settlement fails. The emphasis is on settlement in respect of disputes concerning public utility services through the medium of Permanent Lok Adalat. It is for this reason that sub-section (1) of Section 22-C states in no unambiguous terms that any party to a dispute may before the dispute is brought before any court make an application to the Permanent Lok Adalat for settlement of dispute. Thus, settlement of dispute between the parties in matters of public utility services is the main theme. However, where despite the endeavours and efforts of the Permanent Lok Adalat the settlement between the parties is not through and the parties are required to have their dispute determined and adjudicated, to avoid delay in adjudication of disputes relating to public utility services, the Parliament has intervened and conferred power of adjudication upon the Permanent Lok Adalat. Can the power conferred on Permanent Lok Adalats to adjudicate the disputes between the parties concerning public utility service upto a specific pecuniary limit, if they do not relate to any offence, as provided under ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... and the decisions they reach and pronounce are judicial decisions. The tribunals decide special matters entrusted to them for their decision. The procedure which the tribunals have to follow may not always be so strictly prescribed but the approach adopted by both the courts and tribunals is substantially the same; it is State s inherent judicial function which they discharge. 25. In Kihoto Hollohan v. Zachillhu Ors. 1992 Supp (2) SCC 651, it has been stated by this Court that where the authority is called upon to decide a lis on the rights and obligations of the parties, there is an exercise of judicial power. The authority is called a tribunal if it does not have all the trappings of a court. 26. In a comparatively recent decision in Union of India v. R. Gandhi, President, Madras Bar Association (2010) 11 SCC 1 (Civil Appeal No. 3067 of 2004); decided on May 11, 2010, a Constitution Bench of this Court was concerned with the matters wherein the constitutional validity of Parts I-B and I-C of the Companies Act, 1956 inserted by Companies (Second Amendment) Act, 2002 providing for the Constitution of National Company Law Tribunal and National Company Law Appellate Tribunal ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... an exercise will be part of the checks and balances measures to maintain the separation of powers and to prevent any encroachment, intentional or unintentional, by either the legislature or by the executive. 27. The competence of the Parliament to make a law creating tribunals to deal with disputes arising under or relating to a particular statute or statutes or particular disputes is, thus, beyond question. 28. Sine qua non of taking cognizance of a dispute concerning public utility service by the Permanent Lok Adalat is that neither party to a dispute has approached the civil court. There is no merit in the submission of the petitioner that the service provider may pre-empt the consideration of a dispute by a court or a forum under special statute by approaching the Permanent Lok Adalat established under Chapter VI-A of the 1987 Act and, thus, depriving the user or consumer of such public utility service of an opportunity to have the dispute adjudicated by a civil court or a forum created under special statute. In the first place, the jurisdiction of fora created under the Special Statutes has not been taken away in any manner whatsoever by the impugned provisions. As noted ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... such number of other members to be nominated by the State Government in consultation with the Chief Justice of the High Court. It would be, thus, seen that the two members other than the judicial officer of a Permanent Lok Adalat can be appointed by the Central Government or the State Government, as the case may be, on the recommendation of the Central Authority or the State Authority only. The composition of Central Authority and the State Authority has been noted above. In the above view, it is misconceived to say that the judiciary has been kept out in the appointment of members of the Permanent Lok Adalats. The independence of Permanent Lok Adalats does not seem to have been compromised at all as even the non-judicial members of every Permanent Lok Adalat have to be appointed on the recommendation of a high powered Central or State Authority headed by none other than the Chief Justice of India or a serving or retired Judge of the Supreme Court where the nomination is made by the Central Government or by the Chief Justice of the State High Court or a serving or retired Judge of the High Court where the nomination is made by the State Government. 31. It is not unusual to have ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e to the validity of the impugned provisions came up before this Court in S.N. Pandey (supra). A three-Judge Bench of this Court was not persuaded by the challenge and held as under: We have gone through the provisions of the said Chapter which contemplated the setting up of permanent Lok Adalats, for deciding disputes in which public utility services is one of the matters involved. It is quite obvious that the effort of the legislature is to decrease the work load in the Courts by resorting to alternative disputes resolution. Lok Adalat is a mode of dispute resolution which has been in vogue since over two decades. Hundreds of thousands of cases have been settled through this mechanism and is undisputedly a fast means of dispensation of justice. The litigation is brought to a quick end with no further appeals or anguish to the litigants. The constitution of the permanent Lok Adalats mechanism contemplate the judicial officer or a retired judicial officer being there alongwith other persons having adequate experience in the public utility services. We do not find any constitutional infirmity in the said legislation. The act ensures that justice will be available to the litigant ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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