DLSA Anantnag, J&K Legal Services Authority organise National Lok Adalat in Anantnag
Anantnag, March 8: The District Legal Services Authority (DLSA) Anantnag Saturday organised the first National Lok Adalat of this year under the aegis of the J&K Legal Services Authority.
In the Lok Adalat out of 10,183 cases taken up, 9,698 cases were amicably settled, resulting in a settlement amount of Rs 1,62,78,285.
The event was graced by the presence of Justice Vinod Chatterjee Kaul, Judge of the High Court of J&K and Ladakh, who is also the Administrative Judge for District Anantnag.
Justice Kaul inaugurated the proceedings at various court complexes, beginning with the Sub Judge Court in Bijbehara.
The inauguration was attended by Principal District & Sessions Judge and Chairman DLSA, Tahir Khurshid Raina, Deputy Commissioner Anantnag, Fakhruddin Hamid, Sub Judge Bijbehara, Tabassum Qadir Parray, members of the Bar Association, and litigants.
As part of efforts to create a more inclusive judicial environment, Justice Kaul inaugurated a baby-feeding room for female litigants.
On the occasion, the President of the Bar Association Bijbehara presented a charter of demands highlighting infrastructure needs. Responding to the concerns, Justice Kaul directed the Deputy Commissioner to take immediate action.
Coinciding with International Women's Day, Justice Kaul issued directions for the construction of dedicated washrooms for female advocates and litigants, strengthening gender-sensitive initiatives within the justice system.
Justice Kaul also participated in a plantation drive by planting Deodar saplings, promoting environmental sustainability.
Later, he visited the District Court Complex in Anantnag, where he formally inaugurated the National Lok Adalat in the presence of judicial officers, legal professionals, and court staff.
During his address to the legal fraternity, Justice Kaul emphasized the importance of expediting the completion of the new Court Complex in Anantnag and directed the Deputy Commissioner to ensure the swift execution of the project.
Justice Kaul inspected various Lok Adalat benches at the DLSA headquarters and commended the efforts of the district judiciary in facilitating dispute resolution.
Multiple benches were constituted to handle cases across different court complexes in the district:
The first bench was presided over by the Chairman DLSA (Principal District and Sessions Judge, Anantnag) along with the Secretary DLSA Anantnag, Fozia Paul.
The second bench was led by the Additional District and Sessions Judge, Anantnag, Masrat Roohi accompanied by the Special Mobile Magistrate, Anantnag, Lubna Sultan.
The third bench was chaired by the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Anantnag, Feroze Ahmad Khan along with Zakir Hussain Lone, Deputy Chief LADC Anantnag.
The fourth bench was presided over by the Munsiff Anantnag, Arshid Aziz Qureshi assisted by Mohd Idrees Magray, Assistant Legal Aid Defence Counsel, Anantnag.
Besides, Six benches were constituted in peripheral courts across the district, including Tabasum Qadir at Bijbehara, Shafeeq Ahmad Malik at Vailoo, Arizoo Javed at Dooru, Fazu ul Haq at Shangus, Shyam Kumar at Aishmuqam, and Himanshu Atri at Pahalgam.
The Lok Adalat handled a variety of cases, including civil disputes, cheque bounce cases, compoundable criminal cases, matrimonial disputes, money recovery cases, traffic challans, bank cases, and pre-litigation matters.
