LOK ADALATS TO BE ACTIVATED
The Chief Justice
of India, Shri Justice B.N. Kirpal has directed further activating
of Lok Adalats to dispose of five to ten year old cases by allowing
them to function in the existing court buildings from 6.00 p.m.
to 9.00 p.m.
Accordingly, steps
are afoot to set up permanent Lok Adalats under the amended Legal
Services Authorities Act, 1987 all over the country. The existing
infrastructure of subordinate courts will be utilized by the Lok
Adalats to dispose of cases relating to public utility services
and five to ten year old other cases. The objective is to decongest
the courts by transferring cases upto the value of Rs. 10 lakhs
to permanent Lok Adalats for their speedy disposal through this
mechanism of alternative disputes resolution system.
Meanwhile, the Supreme
Court has already procured necessary computer hardware and software
for upgrading the existing information technology facilities.
It has also been proposed to implement several Public Interface
Applications, such as, Interactive Voice Response System (IVRS)
for providing case status information to the litigating public,
certified copies to the litigants, access to the latest orders
and judgements, issuance of notices by electronic means and to
inform the litigant public about the case status through Short
Message Service (SMS).
The apex court will
be introducing shortly two Electronic Courts (E-Courts) besides
some new applications like Management Information System and Public
Interface System. The upgradation of existing information technology
system in the Supreme Court is being executed by the National
Informatics Centre (NIC).
