Alternate Dispute Resolution Legal Survey Lok Adalat
Partial fulfilment of the requirement for the LLB Unitary Degree Course in Law (Evening) of the University of Kerala
Submitted by Team - D
THE KERALA LAW ACADEMY LAW COLLEGE THIRUVANANTHAPURAM
NOVEMBER 2019 Alternate Dispute Resolution LLB Unitary Degree Course in Law - Evening (472) 2017-2020 Batch
GROUP - D
MEMORANDUM FOR MEDIATION
NEGOTIATORS:
Sl No Name of Parties Representing Organization AP1 Rahul K Environment & Tree Aggrieved AP2 Ullas Heritage & Child Line Parties AP3 Kumari Jayasree Shop Keepers
Sl No Name of Parties Representing Organization DP1 Sumesh S Citizen Defendant DP2 Shaji KSRTC Parties DP3 Mary CA TRIDA
MEDIATOR:
Mediator Vivekanandan K L
1 | P a g e Index
SL No Descriptions Page 1 General Introduction on Alternate Dispute Resolution (ADR) 03 2 The Opted Method of Alternative Dispute Resolution 05 3 Fact of the Case 07 4 Fact In Issue 08 5 Script of the Role Play 09 i Introductory Session 09 6 Presenting Sessions 11 7 Consensus Session 17 8 Settlement / Conclusion Session 19 9 Decision 19
Appendix
List of Supporting Documents SLNO Parties Description 1 TRIDA Proposed Plan 2 Citizen Group Accident details and area map 3 KSRTC Schedule and route details 4 Child Line Children Playground necessity 5 Shop Keepers Plan Map – Demolishing area 6 Environmentalist Heritage structure and details
2 | P a g e General Introduction on Alternate Dispute Resolution (ADR)
Introduction
Indian judiciary is one of the oldest judicial system, a world-renowned fact but nowadays it is also well-known fact that Indian judiciary is becoming inefficient to deal with pending cases, Indian courts are clogged with long unsettled cases. The scenario is that even after setting up more than a thousand fast track Courts that already settled millions of cases the problem is far from being solved as pending cases are still piling up.
Alternative Dispute Resolution
The concept of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) mechanism can provide a substitute to the conventional methods of resolving disputes. ADR offers to resolve all type of matters including civil, commercial, industrial and family etc., where people are not being able to start any type of negotiation and reach the settlement. Generally, ADR uses neutral third party who helps the parties to communicate, discuss the differences and resolve the dispute. It is a method which enables individuals and group to maintain co-operation, social order and provides opportunity to reduce hostility.
Important Legal Application to ADR
• Section 89 of the Civil Procedure Code, 1908 provides that opportunity to the people, if it appears to court there exist elements of settlement outside the court then court formulate the terms of the possible settlement and refer the same for: Arbitration, Conciliation, Mediation or Lok Adalat. • The Acts which deals with Alternative Dispute Resolution are Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 and, • The Legal Services Authority Act, 1987
Different Types of Alternative Dispute Resolution
Two most common forms of ADR are arbitration and mediation, negotiation is almost always attempted first to resolve a dispute. It is the preeminent mode of dispute resolution. Negotiation allows the parties to meet in order to settle a dispute. The main advantage of this form of dispute settlement is that it allows the parties themselves to control the process and the solution.
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Arbitration: Arbitration utilizes the help of a neutral third party, and is similar to an informal trial. After hearing each side, the third party issues a decision that the disputing parties may have agreed to be binding or non-binding. When binding, the decision can be enforced by a court and is considered final. Although the arbiter is an active facilitator and will pronounce a decision, the arbitration process is still less formal than an outright trial due to many of the rules of evidence not applying.
Mediation: At first glance, mediation and arbitration are incredibly similar. One of the main differences is that a mediator, or impartial third party, cannot force the parties to agree and is not allowed to decide the outcome of the dispute. The mediator works with the parties to come to a solution that is made mutually, and the agreements are generally non-binding. Courts can mandate that mediation be required, but the process itself is still voluntary, therefore allowing the parties to refuse to come to an agreement. While in mediation, the parties maintain significant control over the process. Mediation is completely confidential and, since it is non-binding, parties retain the right to pursue litigation following the mediation process.
Conciliation: Is a less formal form of arbitration. This process does not require an existence of any prior agreement. Any party can request the other party to appoint a conciliator. One conciliator is preferred but two or three are also allowed. In case of multiple conciliators, all must act jointly. If a party rejects an offer to conciliate, there can be conciliation. Parties may submit statements to the conciliator describing the general nature of the dispute and the points at issue. Each party sends a copy of the statement to the other. The conciliator may request further details, may ask to meet the parties, or communicate with the parties orally or in writing. Parties may even submit suggestions for the settlement of the dispute to the conciliator. When it appears to the conciliator that elements of settlement exist, he may draw up the terms of settlement and send it to the parties for their acceptance. If both the parties sign the settlement document, it shall be final and binding on both.
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Lok Adalat
Etymologically, Lok Adalat means "people's court". India has had a long history of resolving disputes through the mediation of village elders. The current system of Lok Adalats is an improvement on that and is based on Gandhian principles. This is a non-adversarial system, whereby mock courts (called Lok Adalats) are held by the State Authority, District Authority, Supreme Court Legal Services Committee, High Court Legal Services Committee, or Taluk Legal Services Committee, periodically for exercising such jurisdiction as they think fit.
These are usually presided by retired judge, social activists, or members of legal profession. The focus in Lok Adalats is on compromise. When no compromise is reached, the matter goes back to the court. However, if a compromise is reached, an award is made and is binding on the parties. It is enforced as a decree of a civil court.
An important aspect is that the award is final and cannot be appealed, not even under Article 226 of the Constitution of India [which empowers the litigants to file Writ Petition before High Courts] because it is a judgement by consent. All proceedings of a Lok Adalat are deemed to be judicial proceedings and every Lok Adalat is deemed to be a Civil Court.
The methods of ADR allow the parties to come up with more creative solutions that a court may not be legally allowed to impose. They are increasingly being utilized in disputes that would otherwise result in litigation, including high-profile labour disputes, divorce actions, and personal injury claims. Public courts may be asked to review the validity of ADR methods, but they will rarely overturn ADR decisions and awards if the disputing parties formed a valid contract to abide by them.
The Opted Method of Alternative Dispute Resolution
We opt for mediation as the suitable mechanism for resolving the disputes arising from the context. Mediation denotes the act of the third party pertaining to clinching the dispute between two contesting and containing parties to the dispute. It is also a process by which a third party emerges to assist the conflicting parties to find out a solution to their problem.
In places where two contesting parties cannot reach a settlement or fail to settle the dispute by negotiation, in such an case, those parties may take the assistance of some third person who is independent in respect of the subject matter of dispute. Such person induces sound reason in to the parties’ minds to come to a friendly settlement of their dispute by means of conciliation. This friendly settlement is an effort to induce parties to exchange their disputed matters, points and versions relating to their subject matter of the dispute.
In this process of conciliation and the course of mediation that independent person who is a third party uses his goodwill and impression in resolving the problem. Therefore mediation is called a friendly device for dispute settlement.
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Mediation is free from complications, technicalities and also strict adherence to procedural laws. Freedom to exchange views between the disputing parties and discussing issues through mediator are yet some of the other facilities that which encourages it. Burdened court cases, docket explosion and unending long delays in courts, both at national and international level is another candid reason for the ever increasing welcome role to mediation at International level also, in their commercial transactions.
The best summation for the need of mediation is visible in the Guru Nanak Foundation v. Rattan Singh & Sons case, AIR 1981 SC 2075, where it was felt that court fed litigation has an abundance of procedural “claptraps” when compared to ADR systems which is more speedy, less formal and effective as compared to complex, expensive, time consuming and interminable court procedures where “lawyers laugh and legal philosophers weep”. In the present case the High Court directed the appeal to the mediation cell which makes mediation as a viable option for the same.
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FACT OF THE CASE
Kerala Government has recently allotted a portion of the campus of the Central High School, Attakulangara to Thiruvananthapuram Development Authority (TRIDA) for relocating the city bus terminal , presently located in East Fort, less than a kilometre away.
East Fort area apart from having the main entrance to the famous Padmanabha Swamy temple and the gateway to the historic Chala bazaar also hosts the main city bus terminus of Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC). Over a period, there has been a huge increase in the number of buses, cars and two wheelers plying in the city and combined with the recently acquired star status of the Padmanabha Swamy temple, traffic congestions in the area have become too frequent.
Recent years have seen the student population of the school coming down dramatically due to parents preferring to admit their children to private English medium schools in the locality.
The Government has decided to hand over 2 acres of the school compound to the TRIDA which in turn has prepared detailed plans to build a city bus terminus so that the frequent traffic congestions clogging the East Fort area could be brought under control.
TRIDA and KSRTC undertook separate studies on the issue and concluded that there is absolutely no need for the school to retain the existing 5.5 acres and Jointly proposed that the unused area of the Attakulangara compound fits the bill perfectly to house the bus terminus and thereby relieve East Fort of its problems. Additionally, TRIDA proposed to shift the large number of commercial establishments, small shops and street vendors of the area to a properly designed shopping complex to be constructed in the school campus The authority has plans to subsequently landscape the East Fort area enhancing its aesthetics and preserving its heritage status.
The proposal has met with a spate of protests from various stake holders who have initiated campaigns through the media, social networks and physical demonstrations. Different groups shown below • Heritage Enthusiasts • Childline organization • Environmental Activists • Tree Lovers • Shop Keepers
Some Citizen groups are supporting the need of shifting bus terminal by TRIDA / KSRTC
The issue has by now developed into a full-blown dispute of serious proportions and needs the intervention of a mediator for satisfactory resolution. The objections from the heritage/environmental/tree lovers groups are not practical and hinder the fundamental right of citizens for peaceful and safe living.
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FACT IN ISSUE
Issue raised against TRIDA and KSRTC different groups are mainly concluded as below
1. Heritage Enthusiasts / Childline organization • Heritage enthusiasts point out the historicity of the school which has been in existence for more than 125 years and has produced eminent stalwarts who have excelled themselves in various fields. They argue that it would be an unpardonable blow to the heritage traditions of the city if the school campus is 'misused' for any government or commercial purpose. • Childline organization suggests that the excess area in the school campus should be converted to a children's park instead of a bus terminus/shopping complex and that the wonderful trees on the campus must be conserved. 2. Tree Lovers movement / Environmental activists • Tree lovers as found that there are 32 varieties of rare trees in the area planted in the course of the last 125 years and that the campus is also home to several rare species of birds including migratory ones. They claim that felling of such rare flora would result in dramatic depletion of bio-diversity in the city. • Environmental activists advocate that the large amount of vegetation in the school campus provides the much needed green lungs for the area and we can ill afford to lose such an important health resource in view of the ever increasing pollution levels in the city. 3. Shop Keepers • Shop-keepers in East Fort claim that shifting of their shops from East Fort to Attakulangara would make their businesses unviable They feel that a shopping complex away from the main commercial area would hardly attract customers and severely affect their livelihood
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SCRIPT OF THE ROLE PLAY
MEDIATOR: Mr. Vivekanandan K L
AGGRIEVED PARTIES Sl No Name of Parties Representing Organization AP1 Rahul Environment & Tree AP2 Kumari Jayasree Shop Keepers AP3 Ullas Heritage & Child Line LEFT SIDE OF THE MEDIATOR
DEFENDANT PARTIES Sl No Name of Parties Representing Organization DP1 Sumesh Citizen DP2 Shaji KSRTC DP3 Mary CA TRIDA RIGHT SIDE OF THE MEDIATOR
INTRODUCTORY SESSION (TWO SCENES) SCENE I
[All the participants and the conciliator enter the mediation hall and exchange greetings and pleasantries within the group. The mediator requests all attendees to be seated the place reserved to them and once all are seated, he formally greets all of them. ]
(MEDIATOR kicks off the meeting with a formal introduction of himself detailing his credentials. He then for the purpose of records requests each member to formally introduce themselves. )
MEDIATOR : Good Morning All. I am Mr. Vivekanandan, a practising lawyer and appointed conciliator for this case. I have been practising as a conciliator for the last 30 years. As your conciliator I am here to resolve the disputes between both the parties and to reach an amicable settlement for the same. You can feel free to address your respective grievances and issues and based on your reasonable interest, as a conciliator I promise to act in an independent, confidential and impartial manner and also will be binding by the principles of objectivity, fairness and justice while reaching a proper settlement for resolving the disputes between you. So before we begin to discuss and resolve the issue at
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hand, both of you group can introduce yourself and your respective involvement and interest in the matter.
SCENE II
[The participants start to introduce themselves after the request and permission from the mediator. First Aggrieved parties have given chance to explain themselves then the Defendant parties too.]
Mr. Rahul (AP1) : Good Morning, I am Rahul, representing here the Environment and Tree Lovers movement. Mr. Ullas (AP2) : I am representing the Child Line and Heritage Association
Ms. Jayasree (AP3) : Representing Shop keepers association.
[Mediator moves to the Defendant parties for their introduction.]
Mr. Sumesh (DP1) : Good Morning, I am Sumesh, representing Citizen Group.
Mr. Shaji (DP2) : I, am representing KSRTC.
Ms. Mary CA (DP3) : I am representing TRIDA.
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PRESENTING SESSION (TWO SCENES)
SCENE I
[Mediator is ready to give chance for each group and planned to start hearing the recommendations from Aggrieved side first. ]
(MEDIATOR kicks off the meeting with a formal action. )
MEDIATOR : I have gone through your complaint and realized that a very important and apt negotiation is required to resolve the matter soon, for the welfare of the common man those who are travelling through the heart of city like East fort and we are obliged to fulfil the same. So let me help to take a good decision and I am requesting all your advices and cooperation for the same. As you already know I will be leading the mediation sessions. You must understand that both will be getting their respective chances to present your scenarios such that refrain from all possible interferences. Both of you must keep the decorum and let’s conduct this session civilly and peacefully.
(Aggrieved Parties Given First Chance for submission: By way of action, Mediator invite Citizen Group representative to submit their submissions. Tree and Environment Group was given first chance)
MEDIATOR :I invite Mr. Rahul, from Environment & Tree Protection Council for placing your submission in this regards. (Mediator carefully start recording Mr. Rahul’s submission)
Thank you sir. Mr. Rahul (AP1) Our Environment is getting deteriorated because of several reasons such as global warming, deforestation and rise in various (Tree and Environment) kinds of pollution. Environment Protection has become a cause of concern. It is our duty to do whatever we can to protect our environment to ensure healthy living. Hundreds of trees in Thiruvananthapuram have been axed in recent years In the name of development. The widening and beautification of the streets, the construction of high-rises and shopping malls have taken its toll on the green canopy of our hometown. In this regards the proposed plan of TRIDA and KSRCT acquiring the school compound for the extension of Bus Stand cannot be accepted, because of the wide natural resources at School compound. There are 32 varieties of rare trees in the Attakulangara Central High School compound planted in the course of the last 125 years.
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The large amount of vegetation in the school campus provides the much needed green lungs for the area. 85 species of herbs close to Earth which were also making sure that soil nutrients are absorbed and recycled along with providing food for the butterflies, bees and dragonflies. It came as no wonder that this small green oasis is home to 25 species of birds, some of whom travel from afar to be here. The campus is also home to several rare species of birds including migratory ones too. Felling of such rare flora and fauna would result in dramatic depletion of bio-diversity in the city The widening and beautification of the streets, the construction of shopping malls have taken its toll on the green canopy of our home town . It is entirely possible to protect the Attakulangara school compound, decongesting traffic and develop modern bus terminals and trade facilities in the city by adopting other alternative scientific development plans. So to preserve the balance of nature its must to keep the natural resources intact and TRIDA and KSRTC should find some other alternatives. These are the valid point, I want your attention to be considred and I am submitting the supported docuemnts for your valid cosideration.
(AP1 firmly submitted the document, substantiating the above facts, in front of the Mediator. Mediator accepted those documents and kept that for future verification)
MEDIATOR :I OK, thanks for your valuable inputs. (Mediator, moves towards the next aggrieved party for their views)
As rightly said by the great son of India , Education is a manifestation Mr. Ullas (AP2) of perfection already in man and the right to education ( Art 21A) starts from the school. As per UNCRC article 31, children have also right to play. The ( Heritage American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children spend & at least sixty minutes each day in open-ended play. Child Line ) The decline of play is closely linked to so much trouble in behavioural challenges and childhood obesity, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), behavioural problems, and stunted social, cognitive, and creative development. Worst of all, the stifling of play has dire consequences–not only for children but also for our future nation. The Union government may have made right to education a fundamental right by bringing into force the Right To Education (RTE) Act of 2009, three percent of GDP is devoted to education in India. As per the report, the proportion of schools that comply with RTE pupil to teacher ratio norms has increased every year, from 38.9 per
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cent in 2010 to 45.3 per cent in 2013. RTE provides for free and compulsory education to children of age-group 6-14 years. Attakulangara Central High School was established as a Native School of the city in 1889 . The historicity of the school has been in existence for more than 125 years. The school has produced eminent stalwarts who have excelled themselves in various fields. Taking into account the rich tradition of the city, it is necessary to preserve the age old Attankulangara central school compound as a heritage space, along with my statements I am submitting all relevant documents and study done in this regards.
(AP2 firmly submitted the document, substantiating the above facts, in front of the Mediator. Mediator accepted those documents and kept that for future verification)
MEDIATOR : OK, thanks for your valuable input and your document. I will go through this in detail and get back to you soon. (Mediator, moves towards the next aggrieved party for their views AP3)
Mrs. Jayasree (AP3) Thank you sir, giving me the opportunity to explain my concern on this matter. (Shop Keepers) TRIDA has fast-tracked the plan to rehabilitate shopkeepers who will lost their shops in prime tourist area with the idea of allocating them to the new construction complex. The proposed business model is unviable. Major business promotions in that area was selling handicrafts and antique items. Usual customers are tourists who visit the Sir Padmanabhan temple. If we are shifted to commercial complex, we lose those valuable customers. Shifting the bus terminal was to avoid congestion, if shopping complex was created along the terminal it will make the area more congested and the plan by TRIDA completely absurd. We are not interested to move away from the prime business location. Proposed plan is to host only those shops who have registered shops in their own names. Those business owners who was using rented shops cant get the same shops and business possession in right ways to promote their business and current shop owners are trying to increase the rent by 15-20% because of the extra cost and license they need to acquire for new shops and corporation tax. Moving of bus terminal to Attakulangara school compound will adversely affect the business of the entire area and livelihood of business owners. I conclude my statements by submitting the relevant business and shop details.
MEDIATOR : OK, thanks for your valuable comments and all submissions from aggrieved party in this regards. (Mediator receives all documents and then, moves towards the Defendant party for their views and proposal)
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SCENE II
(Mediator, invite one among the defendants to submit their arguments. By gesture mediator welcome Mr. Sumesh who represents Citizen Group for submission)
Mr. Sumesh (DP1) East Fort is one of the most congested areas in (Citizen Group) Thiruvananthapuram. Traffic accidents are a regular occurrence here. It is essential that this congestion should be eased. East Fort being the heart of the city cannot bear the overcrowding of vehicles. In all big cities like Bangalore, Coimbatore etc the long-distance buses are being operated, not from the heart of city, but from the periphery. The congested bus terminus at East Fort if not shifted will continue to kill or seriously injure innocent pedestrians apart from causing frequent traffic delays in the area. The present terminus needs to be shifted at any cost from East Fort to a safer location. It is the government's responsibility to find a suitable location. The objections from the heritage/environmental/tree lovers’ groups are not practical and hinder the fundamental right of citizens for peaceful and safe living. Article 21 of constitution mention this in detail and Environmental Laws are created mainly based on this article. I am submitting the reports from Kerala Police - Traffic department regarding the accidents in Thiruvananthapuram city. This hub would house 150 shops and park 25 buses by creating a space. Traffic accidents are a regular occurrence there. Over a period, there has been a huge increase in the number of buses, cars and two wheelers plying in the city and the traffic congestions in the area have become too frequent. As many as 11 pedestrians have lost their lives in the recent past due to the highly congested and disorganized traffic in the area and there have been persistent demands to relocate the KSRTC bus terminal to a more convenient locality. The Government has decided to hand over only 2 acres of the school compound (out of the 5.5 acres) and we have prepared detailed plans to build a city bus terminus so that the frequent traffic congestions clogging the East Fort area could be brought under control.
(DP1 was effectively providing his statements and comments along with supporting documents and it was handed over to Mediator for evaluation and verification)
MEDIATOR : OK, Thank you for your suggestions and comments. I appreciate your concern and feelings, I will get back to you.
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(Mediator then moves to next defendant, who is representing KSRTC)
Mr. Shaji (DP2) Thank you sir, East Fort area apart from having the main entrance (KSRTC) to the famous Padmanabha Swamy temple and the gateway to the historic Chala bazaar also hosts the main city bus terminus of Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC). Over a period, there has been a huge increase in the number of buses, cars and two wheelers plying in the city and combined with the recently acquired star status of the Padmanabha Swamy temple, traffic congestions in the area have become too frequent. As many as 11 pedestrians have lost their lives. Of the 75 cents of land owned by KSRTC at East Fort, the department has only 15 cents with as of now. The rest has been encroached upon. Even the corporation has leased out a comfort station in land owned by us. The unused area of the Attakulangara school compound perfectly fits to house the bus terminal and there by relieve East Fort of its problems. I am submitting the bus schedule details from East fort for more verification.
MEDIATOR : OK, Thank you for your valid input in to this issue and your concern. I will get back to you soon for your more comments. So now I will move on to Mrs. Jayasree K, for the recommendations from TRIDA.
(Mediator then moves to next defendant, who representing on behalf of TRIDA, Mediator welcome gracefully Mrs. Jayasree to submit her comments)
Mrs. Mary C A (DP3) Thank you sir, East Fort area apart from having the main entrance (TRIDA) to the famous Padmanabha Swamy temple and the gateway to the historic Chala. It is the Kerala state Government who has allotted a portion of the campus of the Central High School, Attakulangara to us to relocate the KSRTC city bus terminal, presently located in East Fort. Additionally, it was proposed to shift the large number of commercial establishments, small shops and street vendors of the East fort area to a properly designed shopping complex to be constructed in the school campus, which would in turn bring capital revenue for the state. There are also plans to subsequently landscape the East Fort area enhancing its aesthetics and preserving its heritage status, which would add to the pride and prestigious of the much age-old capital city. The shopping complex planned in the area is also meant to accommodate traders who will be displaced for the flyover work.
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The work of the flyover was struck for years over the issue of rehabilitation of these traders. We have got favourable verdict from the Kerala high court to go ahead with the project. The court has accepted our statement that the number of trees cut would be less than 10. We have also stated that this would not affect any facility enjoyed by the school. Instead promised to construct 10 classrooms in lieu of the building that will be demolished for the project. In addition, we have promised to plant 3 trees for every single one that will be axed. I conclude my submission by submitting some relevant document with sketch of the proposed plan and details etc.
MEDIATOR : Alright, Thank you for all your valid input in to this issue and your concern. We are here to find a better solution for this issue which will be suitable and viable for all parties in this quorum.
What we need here is a reasonable settlement protecting the interest of both of you. So now I need to here some alternatives or proposal from both sides to come into a desirable conclusion. We need to solve this issue in a manner that everyone has attained their feasible position.
(Mediator then moves to aggrieved parties, for their suggestions and is there any alternatives from their side)
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CONSENSUS SESSION (TWO SCENES)
SCENE I
MEDIATOR : See OUR GOAL is a resolution that would be arrived at only by building consensus. One thing I noticed is that both parties should have some alternatives to provide. So we can make some adjustments to meet all requirements without affecting livelihood , nature and children education. (Mediator recommend suggestions from Aggrieved party)
MEDIATOR : Mr. Rahul, do you have any alternatives in this issue.
Mr. Rahul (AP1) : We are not against development or any infrastructure innovations which helps the betterment of the society, only concern is that, development should be based on considering the ecosystem. If they can come up with a good conservative plan we are ready to agree with that.
MEDIATOR : Mrs. Mary, do you have any suggestions .
Mrs. Jayasree (AP2) : We are in a critical stage to get in to a specified conclusion, but if there is any solution which will not affect our business, even if we moved to new area we are ready to accept and move forward. Government or corporation should have some new policy to secure our livelihood.
MEDIATOR : Mr. Ullas, now its your turn, do you have any ideas to put forward .
Mr. Ullas (AP3) : Any policy which have secure policy to maintain heritage and children life and education, we are ready to accept that.
MEDIATOR : From the suggestions put forward by the aggrieved parties, I think you guys can come up with a better plan or solution which has all necessary requirements they proposed. (Mediator then turns up to the defendant parties and gesture them to form a favourable decision from their side to meet the requirements and suggestions placed by the aggrieved party ).
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SCENE II
MEDIATOR : Mr. Sumesh, do you have any recommendations.
Mr. Sumesh (DP1) : We are ready to compromise if safety is ensured for the pedestrians and also better facility of transportation plan in place. Nature and children’s life are most important than anything.
MEDIATOR : Mr. Shaji, do you have any comments.
Mr. Shaji (DP2) : East fort will be retained and only a part of it will be shifted to the new site at Attakulangara school compound. We can shift long route bus and will reroute it as they pass through the outer sector of East fort section.
MEDIATOR : Mrs. Jayasree, do you have any comments.
Mrs. Mary CA (DP3) :The grievances of petitioners will be considered and actions , precautions will be taken accordingly and we will submit a new plan by allocating some space for children play ground in the complex . Will minimize the nature destruction engineering principle to green conservative ecosystem design.
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SETTLEMENT /CONCLUSION SESSION
SCENE I
(Mediator is seen showing his interest to close in on the consensus)
MEDIATOR : I appreciate all of you. It appears that we all have good discussion and suggestions from both sides, and we arrived in an amicable resolution on the on the key issue that we discussed today. As we know, discussions are always better than arguments, we proved it once again. Thanks to all. I would like to read the arbitration settlement arrived at today for further proceedings. [SETTLEMENT UNDER SECTION 30 OF THE ARBITRATION AND CONCILIATION ACT, 1996]
Thiruvananthapuram Date :
THE DECISIONS
MEDIATOR
1. At this juncture, the aggrieved parties have suggested the following action plan for the effective living standards and plan for shifting the bus terminal from East Fort to Attakulangara school to use some unused parts of the school compound.
2. The suggestion arrived at, during this conciliation session, would be communicated to the appropriate body of government to take necessary action and make sufficient changes by replace the proposed plan and initiate government to promote some new policy for the shop keepers business.
The common points flagged may be summarized as follows.
(Recording the settlement in the form of an arbitral award on agreed terms under Sec.30 (2) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996)
3. TRIDA has agreed to plant 10 trees instead of cutting one tree, and will also deviate from demolishing the school building and heritage areas. 4. New complex build by TRIDA will have indoor playgrounds and amnesties for children’s free of cost.
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5. Only 1 acre from the 2.5 acre is acquired and in that, .5 acre is allocated to Bus terminal and rest 0.5 acre will be used by the shopping complex. 6. Trees will be moved from the current position to some other areas without cutting it. 7. Shopkeepers can have same rate of Tax and Rent availed in the new building. 8. Special policy for shopkeepers to get subsidy for the rent and corporation tax should be recommended by TRIDA. 9. KSRTC will re-schedule the bus route in a way that long route will not enter East fort and those buses entering the east fort should leave the area within specified time. 10. Some part of the Income generated from the shopping complex will be utilized for the betterment of the school and its infrastructure. 11. TRIDA should conduct some Trade fair and exhibition in the complex to attract customers for the business and promote the business in social and commercial platforms. 12. TRIDA will create a landscape and other important facilities which will protect the heritage and its culture from destruction. 13. Construction of bus terminal will follow prefabricated construction, so if needed they can be easily removed. 14. New flyover and pedestrian walkways will be created to link it with the shopping complex and Temple.
Agreed and signed with date by:
AP1- Mr. Rahul DP1- Mr. Sumesh
AP2- Mrs Jayasree P K DP2- Mr. Shaji
AP3 – Ullas DP3- Mrs Mary C A
signed by mediator with date:
Mediator : Mr. Vivekanandan K L
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Citizen Group
Source from Details Collected
Website :
https://keralapolice.gov.in/public-information/crime-statistics/road-accident
Data given Below
KSRTC
Source of Details Collected
Website : http://www.corporationoftrivandrum.in/sites/default/files/timeschedule_lowfloorbus_tvm_eng.pdf https://www.kbuses.in/v3/Find/source/EASTFORT/destination/VENJARAMOODU/type/all/timing/no w
From Destination Total Bus Allocated East Fort Venjaramood 51 East Fort Neyyattinkara 69 East fort Nedumangadu 12
Along with this, complete details of rout and schedule from East Fort was attached.
NATPAC Report
Child Line – Group
Necessity of Play Ground
Play is the key to physical, mental, intellectual and social well being of children. It impacts hugely on almost every developmental aspect of children’s lives holistically and with multifaceted ways. Young children spend a reasonable amount of time in school. Besides, for many children, school play time is the most active part of their day. Therefore, school playground and school playtime are vitally important to children for their fun and relaxation as well as for their good health and well-being.
Source Website -Research gate- Published on Dec 2014 https://www.researchgate.net/publication/268979180_School_playground_Its_impact_on_children' s_learning_and_development
https://www.aaastateofplay.com/77-reasons-kids-need-playgrounds/
Reasons Kids Need Playgrounds
The playground...a lot of people have very specific memories of their school years and what it meant to go to the playground for "recess". For most, it was a short time following lunch, and it was the one chance to blow off steam, run, holler, and just be a kid. Though times have changed, the classic experience of recess hasn't. developmental experts strongly advocate for a recess or lunchtime break, and for access to a safe and well- planned playground, too.
Not All Are A like
Of course, in any situation where opinions and facts meet, there are bound to be controversies, and while many people have only the most positive memories of their childhood years at the playground, others paint a less favorable picture. Some people might have been bullied, as an example, and this is a topic of great concern in the modern era. Some people may have felt excluded by peers during recess, and here too there might be a bit of "pooh-poohing" about the need for playgrounds and/or recess.
However, the facts are the facts, and almost all childhood experts would agree that playgrounds, playtime, recess, and unstructured activities are essential to both physical and mental wellbeing in a child. What is so astonishing is that these facts apply to children at all ages - from 0-5 and from kindergarten to high school - the developing child needs to play!
The Need for Playgrounds of All Kinds
What is interesting about playgrounds is that they can be found in many styles and many settings. There are the rural elementary school playgrounds that contain enormous stretches of grass and trees with standard playground equipment, like swings and climbing bars. Then, there are the rural playgrounds that might be limited to a large and fenced in space with some equipment and little else. And then, there are playgrounds built as part of a community and not affiliated with a school at all. These may be part of a subdivision, a community center, or even a childcare facility.
The playground could be full of fixed gear and other equipment, sandy areas, water features, and more. Or, the playground might be a few outdated swing sets surrounded by a large fence and offering nothing but pavement. What makes this set of facts so fascinating is that even the most bare bones playground still provides benefits - far more benefits than staying indoors!
Heritage Enthusiasts
The famous East fort and Chalai bazaar. Built in C.E 1747 by King Marthanda Varma, the East Fort is the most prominent of the forts. Near its Vettimurichakotta Gateis located C.V.N. Kalari, a famous school of Kalaripayattu. Straight in line with the East Fort gate is the Sree Padmanabha Swamy Temple. Built in traditional Kerala and Dravidian style, the architecture of this seven-storied temple-tower itself makes for a magnificent visual. As per Hindu traditions and beliefs, the deity of the temple is Lord Padmanabha, the incarnation of Lord Vishnu, the preserver of life. While entering one comes across the unique Methan Mani, a clock with a man's face with two goats on either side on its dial. There are many other important gates including Nariadachankotta, Padinjarekotta and Azheekotta.
A Heritage Nurtured by a Fort Put on one's walking shoes, hit the streets and interact with the locals. Very often, this could turn out to be your best option to experience the true flavor of a destination. Each destination offers a different treat to its visitors. A walk through the roads and lanes of the East Fort area in Thiruvananthapuram is the best way to get a real taste of this capital city of Kerala. Start your day with a holy darshan of Lord Vishnu at the Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple. The architecture of the temple is a blend of the Kerala and the Dravidian styles and its history dates back to the eighth century. After the visit to the temple, one may check out the Kuthiramalika Palace Museum and marvel at the rare specimen of craftsmanship. This palace was built by Maharaja Swathi Thirunal Balarama Varma, king of erstwhile Travancore, who was a great poet, musician, social reformer and statesman. The visiting hours here are from 0830 - 1300 hrs and 1500 - 1730 hrs. The palace remains closed on Mondays. The Krishnavilasam Palace is yet another one that should not be missed while you are in the East Fort. Built by King Sree Moolam Thirunal of Travancore in 1885 the palace integrates the traditional and western styles of architecture.The Ananthavilasam Palace close to the Krishnavilasam Palace is considered the most beautiful of all. Built by King Vishakam Thirunal in 1880, the palace situated south of the Padmanabhaswamy Temple, exudes the Barouque and Rococo styles of architecture. An integral part of Kerala culture is its martial art form - Kalarippayattu. An intricate blend of physical prowess, concentration, techniques and indigenous medical system, this form of armed, close-quarter, hand-to-hand combat is unique to Kerala. This makes CVN Kalari Sangham the next stop. Built in an east- west direction about 4 feet below the ground level, and closed on all sides, except for a small door on the eastern side, this traditional kalari (practice ground) suits the tropical, humid climate of Kerala. Lecture-demonstrations are held for interested groups at the kalari. The timings are usually 0600 to 0900 hrs and 1700 to 1900 hrs. Vasudeva Vilasam Ayurvedic centre at East Fort is worth visiting as it would provide with many useful information on the relevance and practice of Ayurveda. Walking over to the nearby Abhedanandha Asram will give you an insight into the spiritual life of Keralites.Strolls through the agraharams here (residential areas of the Brahmin community) will give you an idea of the community's typical settlement layout. Access to these homes is not possible, since these settlements are not tourist attractions.Outside the East Fort, towards the east is the Chalai bazaar. It is a very old traditional bazaar and one that would provide you a flavor of a typical Kerala market.One may wind up the walk-tour of the East Fort with Margi, situated on the north-western fringe of the East Fort. This is an art and culture centre, ideal for those who are keen to get acquainted with some of the performing art forms of Kerala like Kathakali, Kutiyattam and Nangiarkoothu.
PROPOSED SITE PLAN- FOR DEMOLITION – ATTAKULANGARA GOVT SCHOOL
Grey Scale MAP Satellite MAP
Areal View – Scale 100M
Legal Survey Cancer Fields of Panmana LLB Unitary Degree Course in Law - Evening (472) 2017-2020 Batch
GROUP - D
MEMORANDUM FOR LEGAL SURVEY
TEAM CO-ORDINATOR:
Team Lead K L Vivekanandan
SURVEY PLAN AND TASK LITS:
Sl No Name of Members Task Assigned and Procedures 1 K L Vivekanandan Plan & Research Methodologies 2 Rahul K Onsite Investigation, Interrogation 3 Ullas Krishnan Field Analysis and Data Collection Surveyor’s 4 Sumesh S Research & Comparison Analyst 5 Mary C A Checklist- Data Collection 6 P K Jayasree Checklist- Data Collection 7 Shaji B Checklist- Data Collection
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1. Chapter I 04 1.1 Introduction 2. Chapter II 06 2.1 Research Methodology 2.1.1 Methods Followed 2.1.2 Problem Investigated 2.1.3 Sampling Data-Group Forum 2.1.4 Geographic Location – Field of Study 2.2 Research Team Details 2.3 Existing Issue 2.4 Data Collection and Survey 2.4.1 Interview 2.4.2 Checklist Question 3. Chapter III 13 3.1 KPI, Graphs and Analysis 4. Chapter IV 19 4.1 Suggestions and Findings 4.1.1 Suggestions 4.1.2 Findings
Appendix: 22 1. Images of onsite Survey and Data collection 2. Device used for Air quality and particle concentration 2.1 MQ2 Gas sensor Details
2.2 Device working model
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The Cancer Fields of Panmana:
Chapter I - 1. Introduction
Panmana village of the Chavara block panchayat in Kerala's Kollam district has been claimed by deadly chemicals which have spread in all its wards-Panmana, Mekkad and Chittoor creating it as a CANCER GENERATION FIELDS.
“Article 21 of the Constitution guarantees the life and personal liberty to all persons. It guarantees the right of persons to life with human dignity. Therein are included, all the aspects of life which go to make a person's life meaningful, complete and worth living”. The inflamed skin of an infant's diseased leg resembles the bark of a dying tree. Patches of earth, where red effluents have bubbled up, look like diseased tissues. All Panmana village is a variegated cancer field, the KMML plant protruding like a tell-tale tumour. "Nearly 20 villagers have succumbed to cancer in the past two decades. Cumulative radiation dose for each individual was estimated based on outdoor and indoor dosimetry of each household, taking into account sex- and age-specific house occupancy factors. Following 69,958 residents for 10.5 years on average, 736,586 person-years of observation were accumulated and 1,379 cancer cases including 60 cases of leukemia were identified by the end of 2017.
Gayathri G., 15, of Chittoor suffers from a skin Cancer patients Anitha Unni, 34, her father-in-law disease P.Thamkappan
Nine-month-old Anakha already has a skin disease
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The coastal belt and Panmana village, Kerala, India, is known for high background radiation (HBR) from thorium-containing monazite sand. In coastal panchayats, median outdoor radiation levels are more than 4 mGy y-1 (milligray (mGy) ) and, in certain locations on the coast, it is as high as 70 mGy y-1. Although HBR has been repeatedly shown to increase the frequency of chromosome aberrations in the circulating lymphocytes of exposed persons, its carcinogenic effect is still unproven. A study of all 385,103 residents in Panmana was established in the 1990's to evaluate health effects of HBR. Based on radiation level measurements, a radiation sub data consisting of 173,067 residents was chosen. Cancer incidence in this sub cohort aged 30-84 y (N = 69,958) was analyzed. Cumulative radiation dose for each individual was estimated based on outdoor and indoor dosimetry of each household, taking into account sex- and age-specific house occupancy factors. Following 69,958 residents for 10.5 years on average, 736,586 person-years of observation were accumulated and 1,379 cancer cases including 30 cases of leukemia were identified by the end of 2005. Santha Sreesailam of Chittoor in Panmana Village, had 28 coconut trees before her fields were destroyed by chemicals
In a barren field, a tall stick sways in the wind. It is actually a dead coconut tree, its missing hairy head a grotesque hint of violent death.. Wherever you look, the landscape bears the signature of a common enemy that afflicts people and plants alike.
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2. Chapter II -
2.1 Research Methodology
2.1.1 Methods Followed
• Research Aim: Inductive Research and Explanatory methods were followed in finding out the cancer related problems and intensity of personal immunity affected by the hazardous radioactive particles in the environment. Find an arbitrary solution to the existing issue of people living in Panman village which was heavily affected by the radioactive and hazardous effluents.
• Data Collection – Techniques followed Interactive and interview session were conducted within the vicinity of Panmana village and collecting the real data from the people living in that area for last 25 years.
• Sampling- Field / Fixed Research The field of study is selected as Panmana Village [ area near to the KMML industry and waste disposal] area was fixed and its area of coverage was also calculated with the existing
2.1.2 Problem Investigated
Increase in cancer and skin related patients in Panmana Village and its vicinity areas.
2.1.3 Sampling Data-Group Forum
Experimental group for the data sampling and subjects are collected from those area in Panmana village highly affected by the radio active environment.
Sampling data of about 196 Family / house was selected for the investigating and data sampling. The area surveyed was the southernmost one-fifth of the Panmana strip In the thatched huts which constitute 75% of all households, the exposure risk is 1,500-3,000 mr. Yr-1, and personal exposure, as measured by calcium fluoride dosimeters, closely parallels the exposure risk in the households. The control area consisted of the Purakkade-Punnapura villages, with a background radiation of approximately 100m.
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2.1.4 Geographic Location – Field of Study
2.2 Research Team Details
Sl No Name of Members Task Assigned and Procedures 1 K L Vivekanandan Plan & Research Methodologies 2 Rahul K Onsite Investigation, Interrogation 3 Ullas Krishnan Field Analysis and Data Collection 4 Sumesh S Research & Comparison Analyst 5 Mary C A Checklist- Data Collection 6 P K Jayasree Checklist- Data Collection 7 Shaji B Checklist- Data Collection
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2.3. Existing Issue
Panmana village of the Chavara block panchayat in Kerala's Kollam district has been claimed by deadly chemicals which have spread in all its wards-Ponmana, Mekkad and Chittoor. The toxic effluents from the government-owned Kerala Minerals and Metals Limited (KMML) plant in Chavara have had a free run ever since the factory was set up in 1984, when it began dumping deadly waste into a patch of ground within its premises. Today, that little toxic spot has spread to cover the entire village. The iron-oxide sludge mixed with acid and heavy metals has been leaking from the old effluent ponds, where it had been accumulating for decades, causing cancer and skin diseases. The canals which once had crystal-clear water are now overflowing with foaming waste. Domestic wells and ponds have been run over by pale effluents. The vegetation has been nearly wiped out. Panmana, once a green patch by the sea, is a picture of industrial apocalypse. Pulmonary cancer When Vijaya, 58, a well-known classical vocalist, tries to hum an old kirtan, her voice sounds sharp and brittle like shards of glass. She gags and retches as if someone has grabbed her throat. By noon every day, when fumes from the KMML plant get more virulent, Vijaya has to be shifted to an inner room with all its windows closed, where she struggles to breathe with an inhaler. Vijaya, of the once-famous local singers Santha-Vijaya Sisters, is struggling with pulmonary cancer. There are many others undergoing treatment. Some of them don't want to come out in the open. If people are found to have cancer in their families, they would not be able to marry off their daughters," says D. Suresh Kumar, secretary of Polluted Area Welfare Society, a local organisation. Breast cancer Leela, 48, had an operation for breast cancer this September. "We live close to KMML, and we know what we drink and what we inhale is poisonous. But we have no option; my husband is a KMML employee," she says. Sathy Devaky, 53, was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2012, and one of her breasts had to be removed. Now she suffers from severe headaches and is also being treated for skin allergy. Many complain of lost livelihood. "I depended on fishing from Vattakkayal lake. It has turned into an acid pond now," says 60-year-old P. Subhashini. K. Radhakrishnapillai, 59, lost his 1.5 acres of paddy. "My fields are contaminated with iron-oxide sludge, and I can't cultivate them again," he says.
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About 2,500 residents have fled the village, leaving behind 5,000 to survive on the two-hour water supply that KMML provides. There is no other source of potable water. And not all areas get a regular supply. Skin Cancer Nine-month-old Anakha has developed a skin allergy as her mother Suma has no option but to use contaminated water in the well for bathing and cooking. "KMML is not distributing water in our locality," says Suma, who lives on the northern side of Chittoor. S. Sreekumari, 55, of Chittoor has been receiving cancer treatment, for the past 10 years
Paddy fields in the area have become effluent ponds. Untreated radioactive and acidic trade effluents are discharged unhindered into the paddy fields and Ponds. See some of the pictures from Panmana village in the vicinity of KMML.
Nearly 300 families living within a radius of 500 metres of a metals industry in Kerala's Kollam district have been suffering for almost a decade because of toxic waste from the plant contaminating their groundwater.
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2.4. Data Collection and Survey 2.4.1 Interview & Data collection 1. Anoop, a class 7 student with severe allergies on his feet. 2. Chellama, in her 70s, having sores on her back and burns marks on legs, living next to the Kerala Minerals and Metal Limited in Panmana village has only brought suffering and diseases. 3. Neetu, a medical student : "All of us here are suffering from some sickness or the other. There are people with breathing problems, skin problems, even cancer"
4. Susamma, a mother of three, says, "There is no water to drink anywhere. We get water supply once a week in a limited quantity." 5. Kana Vally ,Chitoor: 45 years she was staying there in the same area. 11 years before they are using the paddy fields water for all there daily needs. But now they are affected with mental disorder and incurable skin disease ( melanoma) 6. Sudha, Panmana , Opposite KMML: Because of leakage of poisonous gas and other effluents the whole family is affected with skin disorder and chronic bronchitis. 7. Ajitha, House Wife, Thekkapdam: Staying near to the acid pond, and eleven years before the life was normal and now its become horrible that they even cant get out of the house. MK Salim, an activist from Kollam, says, "People cannot live here. They don't know anything about the Public Insurance Act which is still in effect. Ministers come and go. The annual environmental statement KMML submitted to the Kerala State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) has admitted that the main waste materials produced during the production of titanium dioxide are iron-oxide sludge and effluent treatment plant (ETP) sludge. Untreated radioactive and acidic trade effluents are discharged unhindered into the paddy fields and Ponds. Paddy Fields in Panmana Village :
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2.4.2 Checklist Questions 1. What is your age ? A B C D E F 0 to 15 16 to 30 31 to 45 46 to 60 61 to 75 76 to 90
2. What is your Gender? A B Male Female
3. Is there any female member pregnant, staying here in the vicinity of this affected area or Panmana village. A B Yes No
4. Is that you have any vulnerable diseases or cancer related or any diseases which causes any discomfort from living here in Panmana village then which group you related to ? A B C D E F 0 to 15 16 to 30 31 to 45 46 to 60 61 to 75 76 to 90
5. What is you diseases and in which group it comes mainly? A B Cancer Other diseases
6. if Cancer then which type its related to ? A B C Skin Breast Pulmonary
7.Do your family members have any symptoms of caner or any cancer related issue ? A B Yes No
8. Is that you or your family staying here in this village before 1984 ? A B Yes No
9. Quality of air ( oxygen content ) in house and its area was checked with MQ2 gas sensor and its ppm (Parts-per-million) was recorded ? A B C D E 0 to 139 140 to 150 151 to 200 201 to 300 300 and above
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10. Do you have any medical or health insurance policy, if then its private , govt or personally provided or company provided.
A B C Govt Private No
11. Is there any member in you family undergoes treatment of cancer and amputated any parts because of severe condition or removed any body organs ?
A B Yes No
12. Is that your family run by single bread winner? if “yes” then does he / she was affected with any chronic diseases.
A B Yes No
13. What percentage do you feel or assume that the hazardous waste or polluted gas affected your lively hood, plants, agriculture, vegetation and water system.
Vegetation % Irrigation % Drinking Water %
14. Do you belong to APL or BPL ?
APL BPL Yes No
15. Do you have any suggestions to overcome the diseases to put forward. 16. Is there any other resolution you have to the government? 17. Any requirements you need immediately from govt or company to overcome this pathetic situation? 18. Any urgent medical facility requirements needed? 19. any suggestions for the rehabilitation process? 20. Any other alternatives and concerns?
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3 Chapter III 3.1 KPI, Graphs and Analysis- from Checklist Total Number of Sampling Data-Investigated 360 - members POPULATION - AG E G RO UP Total No 120 112
100 89
80 67 60 45
40 32 TotalNumbers 20 15
0 0 to 15 16 to 30 31 to 45 46 to 60 60 to 75 76 to 90 Age Group
Age Group Population
75 to 90, 15, 4% 0 to 15, 45, 12% 60 to 75, 32, 9%
0 to 15 16 to 30 16 to 30, 67, 19% 31 to 45 46 to 60 46 to 60, 112, 31% 60 to 75 75 to 90
31 to 45, 89, 25%
GENDER - POPULATION Gender Total No Male 182 Female 172 Total Population 360 Male Female 48% Female Male 52%
Age group sample data was collected from the 105 families in the Panmana Village
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Diseases Affected Population Age Group 239 – Sampling Data Diseases Affected - Population 80 70 70 60 62 50
40 42 40 Sampling Sampling Data - 30
20 20 Number Number 10 5 0 0 to 15 16 to 30 31 to 45 46 to 60 60 to 75 75 to 90 Diseases Affected 42 62 70 40 20 5 Age Group
Cancer / Other Diseases 239 - Sampling Data Cancer / Other Diseases
55 184 Total No
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Total No Cancer 55 Other Diseases 184
Cancer Other Diseases
Its found that the intensity of increased cancer patient from Kerala state population in 2016 (sampling data of 1,00,000) is 1.35% . In this village, the percentage is notified as 18-20 %, it’s a huge variation cited in the past years after 1984.
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Cancer Type : Affected In Panmana Area 55 - Sampling Data Different Type of Cancer
8
Skin Cancer 25 Breast Cancer Pulmonary Cancer
22
Cancer patients are divided to understand the actual influence of hazardous chemical inhalation and skin disorder affected by the people in Panmana Village near to the acidic and hazardous environment Genetic Disorder-Cancer 55 - Sampling Data Genetic Disorder
50 46 45 40 35 30 25
20 Number 15 9 10 5 0 Hereditary Non - Hereditary Total No 9 46 Gentics Groups
Intensity of cancer patients generated in this Panmana Village are is increasingly between the age group 31-40 age group and infants which are born after the commission of the KMML company in 1984. Genetic disorder was not basis of the cancer related issues found in this area, its truly affected by the hazardous and poisonous gas inhalation by the age group and the different type of environmental living condition affected by the industry effluents.
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Air Quality Check – MQ2 Sensor 130 - House Area House Area
Dangerous 4 300 and 300 above
Critical 15 201 to 201 300
Very Bad 76 151 to 151 200
Bad 33 140 to 140 150
Good 2 0 to 0 139
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
When the gas concentration is high enough and less oxygen, the sensor usually outputs value greater than 200 is bad and hazardous if above 300. See Appendix -2 for More details data analysed, and sensor used. Percentage of Woman carrying 71 - Female (18-45 age group) Pregnant Woman Percentage in Total Female
12 71 59
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
59 Pregnant 12 Total 71
Pregnant Total
Babies living in areas with high levels of air pollution have a greater risk of death than those surrounded by cleaner air, a study has found. It is not the first study to
16 | P a g e investigate the link between air pollution and infant mortality , but the study drew particular focus on different pollutants and its analysis at different points in babies’ lives. Their bodies are less able to metabolize, detoxify, and excrete the toxicants contained in air pollution. They inhale more air per unit of bodyweight than adults. Their lungs are still developing, and air pollution can interfere with this biological process. Health Insurance Policies 254 – Sample Health Insurance
180 167 160
140
120
100
80 67 60
40 20 20
0 Govt Medical Private Medical No Insurance Total No 67 20 167
Amputated or removed body parts 132 – Sample
Family Member - Amputated AMPUTATED / ORGANS REMOVED
120 112 Yes No
100 15% 80
60
40
20 20
0 Total No 85% Yes No
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Single Bread winner in a family 132 – Sample 90% 77% 80% 70% 60% Total No, 77% Total No, 23% 50% Total No 40% 30% 23% 20% 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% 10% 0% BPL APL BPL APL
Percentage of their environment affected 100 – Sample % of Area and Environment affected
100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% Vegitation Irrigation Drinking Water
Social Economic condition 100 – Sample Economic Imbalance
BPL 70% APL 30 % Total No
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
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4. Chapter IV 4.1 Findings & Suggestions Below are the findings and suggestions we have formulated on behalf of the onsite investigation and survey in Panmana Village, Kollam District. 4.1.1 Findings • The area was severely affected with poisonous gas and hazardous particles in the air. • The gas composition and dust particles are dangerously high. • Exposure to the gas and poisonous atmosphere, most of the people are affected with skin disorder • 100% Carcinogenic environment • Babies and infants are severely affected by the contamination of air and other drinking sources • Impact of hazardous environment leads to skin cancer and pulmonary cancer • Cancer causing or carcinogenic issues was not because of hereditary leads • Most of the people are under BPL • Most of them doesn’t provide themselves with any health insurance policy • There was no support from government received. • Compensation or rehabilitation proposal was not accepted by the company • Violation of Art 21 • Violation of Part III of constitution • Environmental hazardous waste management was not properly followed as per rules and regulations • Clear violation of Industry Act, 1947 and Environmental protection Act, 1986 rules and regulations. • Most of the families are run by single bread winner. They are currently facing inability to do their duties and daily labour because of this ill affected environment. • Most of the family members have undergone surgery and amputation procedures • Quality of air was very bad and dangerous to health • Inadequate rehabilitation or medical facilities • Don’t have any immediate medical support available for infants and pregnant woman. • Lack of first aid and Medial precautions knowledge. • Highly dangerous micro particles in the air which is less than .07 microns • Lack of Government support
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4.1.2 Suggestions We enjoyed a strong response rate across all categories, with the largest respondent categories drawn from private and public person interactions. The Supreme Court explicitly recognised (Sanitation in Ratlam) the impact of a deteriorating urban environment on the poor. It linked basic public health facilities to human rights and compelled In the historic case of the oleum gas leak from the Shriram Food and Fertiliser factory in Delhi, in 1986, the Supreme Court ordered the management to pay compensation to the victims of the gas leak. The "absolute liability" of a hazardous chemical manufacturer to give compensation to all those affected by an accident was introduced in this case and it was the first time compensation was paid to victims. Legal and Judicial Response Judiciary is one of the balancing pillars of democracy. The role played by the judiciary in the protection of environment is no less than that of the legislature and executive. Perhaps, its role is more prominent in the implementation of the environmental policies in our country. In spite of the provisions for environmental protection in the enactments and Constitution of India, the degradation of the environment continues unabated. In the UP Pollution Control Board vs. Bhupendra Kumar Modi & Anr, the Supreme Court has said that “the message must go to all persons concerned, whether small or big, that the courts will share the Parliamentary concern and Legislative intent of the Act to check the escalating pollution levels and restore the balance of our environment.” Instruments of Judiciary for Environment protect The judiciary of India has been performing its role in the protection of environment through the following instruments • Tort law and Common law. • Innovative interpretation of Article 21 and protection of human rights. • Relaxation of the rule of locus standi and Public Interest Litigation. • Development of environmental principles. • Doctrine of public trust. Article 21 guarantees “right to life” and says that no person shall be deprived of his life and personal liberty, except according to procedure established by law. The right to life under Article 21 of the Indian Constitution has been interpreted in such a way by the judiciary in India that now it includes the right to healthy environment. This right
20 | P a g e to life has been given wide interpretation by the Supreme Court in context of environment Similarly, in M.C. Mehta v Kamal Nath, the Court decided that: “any disturbance of the basic environment elements, namely air, water and soil which are necessary for life would be regarded as hazardous for life within the meaning of Article 21 of the Constitution.” Similarly, in M.C. Mehta vs. Union of India (3), the Supreme Court held that air pollution in Delhi caused by vehicular emissions violates right to life under Article 21 & directed all commercial vehicles operating in Delhi to switch to CNG fuel mode for safeguarding health of the people In Rural Litigation and Entitlement Kendra v. State of UP, the Hon'ble Supreme Court observed that protection of environment is not only a duty of the state under Article 48-A, but the citizens of India are also duty bound to protect the environment under Article 51-A (g) of the Constitution. In Naresh Dutt Tyagi v. State of Uttar Pradesh, fumes released from the pesticides leaked to a nearby property through ventilators that resulted in the death of three children and foetus in a pregnant woman. It was held by the court that it was a clear- cut case of negligence. As considering all above facts the main suggestions put forward by the Team Lead and other members in the team are cited below. • Provide rehabilitation procedure by the company or government • Re-shift all of them to a new locality or place • Provide enough compensation • KMML or government should support all cancer patient in their medical cost • Strict rules to be applied against the company for polluting natural resources • Polluter pay principle should be applied against the company • Should provide some grants or monthly payment for the single bread winner family affected with cancer or severe ill health • Ensure all people protected by health insurance policy owned by company or government
• Install green air system to filter surrounding air and increase O2 content. • Reduce carbon emission • Apply green revolution policies and solution to recover the current hazardous environment to normal life
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Appendix: 1. Images of onsite Survey and Data collection.
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2. Device used for Air Quality and particle Check 2.1 MQ2 Gas sensor Details
This is a robust Gas sensor suitable for sensing LPG, Smoke, Alcohol, Propane, Hydrogen, Methane and Carbon Monoxide concentrations in the air. MQ2 Gas sensor works on 5V DC and draws around 800mW. It can detect LPG, Smoke, Alcohol, Propane, Hydrogen, Methane and Carbon Monoxide concentrations anywhere from 200 to 10000ppm. When measuring gases like carbon dioxide, oxygen, or methane, the term concentration is used to describe the amount of gas by volume in the air. International Journal for Research in Applied Science & Engineering Technology (IJRASET) ISSN: 2321-9653; IC Value: 45.98; SJ Impact Factor: 6.887 Volume 7 Issue IV, Apr 2019- Available at www.ijraset.com. 2.2 Device working model
NodeMCU ESP8266 & MQ2 Gas Quality Checker Clean Air CO ,CO2– Emission Description Carbon emission was checked with the help of MQ2 sensor and humidity sensor DHT11. Parts-per-million (abbreviated ppm) is the ratio of one gas to another. For example, 1,000ppm of CO means that if you could count a million gas molecules, 1,000 of them would be of carbon monoxide and 999,000 molecules would be some other gases.
MQ2 Sensor NodeMCU + Sensor
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LOK ADALAT
Partial fulfilment of the requirement for the LLB Unitary Degree Course in Law (Evening) of the University of Kerala Submitted by Team - D
THE KERALA LAW ACADEMY LAW COLLEGE THIRUVANANTHAPURAM
DECEMBER 2019
1
LOK ADALAT
Part I
A
Lok Adalat (People’s Court) is one of the Alternative dispute resolution mechanisms in India. It is a forum where cases pending on panchayat or at pre litigation stage in a court of law are settled. They have been given statutory status under the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987. Under this Act, the award (decision) made by the Lok Adalats is deemed to be a decree of a civil court and is final and binding on all parties and no appeal against such an award lies before any court of law. If the parties are not satisfied with the award of the Lok Adalat (though there is no provision for an appeal against such an award), they are free to initiate litigation by approaching the court of appropriate jurisdiction.
History and Evolution of Lok Adalats
In the year 1959, the then Union Law Minister gave a statement on the floor of the Parliament saying that small disputes must be left to be decided by the system of Panchayat Justice the People‘s Courts or institutions like Lok Adalat. The relevant part of the statement as mentioned above is quoted as under:
“There is no doubt that the system of justice which obtained today is too expensive' for the common man. The small disputes must necessarily be left to be decided by a system of panchayat justice call it people's Court, call it popular Court call it anything but it would be certainly subject to such safeguards as we may desire in the village level that the common man can be assured of a system of judicial administration which would not be too expensive for him and which would not be too dilatory for him”1
The term ‘Lok-Adalat’ in other words can be called as ‘People’s Court’. "Lok" in the local parlance means ― “people" and "Adalat " means ―”Court”. Therefore, in other words, Lok Adalat is a court for the people or rather for the benefit of people. It is a means of addressing grievances and delivering speedy justice. Lok Adalats have minimal similarities with the conventional judicial mechanism. Basically, the procedural and formal requisites of regular courts are done away with, and the unnecessary clutter are washed
1 Rajya Sabha. DEB, 1959 Vol. 27, No. 3, Col 388, p.71 - 72
2 out and replaced with flexibility and permanency in settlement of the dispute and this makes the Lok Adalat more people friendly.
Lok Adalat is a system of alternative dispute resolution which finds its origin in India and got established as a system with the changing times. India has the history of resolving disputes through the intervention, conciliation, mediation and counselling by village elders and gentries popularly known as the ―panch or ―panch parmeswar. This system though effective was vulnerable to various maladies. Therefore renovating and augmenting it with a guided system was a great achievement in the legal history of India.
The modern idea of Lok-Adalat was mainly proposed and implemented by Justice P.N. Bhagwati, former Chief Justice of India. Lok-Adalat is a non-adversarial system of dispute resolution, whereby courts (called Lok-Adalats) are organised by the National Legal Services Authority, State Legal Services Authority, District Legal Services Authority, Supreme Court Legal Services Committee, High Court Legal Services Committee and Taluk Legal Services Committee, as the case may be. These Lok-Adalats are organised regularly on specified dates and have jurisdiction as per law to take up suitable matters for disposal. The Hon‘ble Courts, Committees and the respective State governments issue guidelines as and when necessary to regulate the Lok-Adalats and make them more effective. The burdened courthouses have become a place for arduous quest rather than being a journey of justice. The pain and agony of protracted hearing, huge delay in disposal of cases and in many instances continuation of the court cases from one generation to other has not only decreased the faith of people in the Justice Delivery system but certainly has prompted many of them to take recourse to unrecognised out of court settlement and approach unauthorised agencies.
An effective justice delivery mechanism is pivotal for maintaining a proper social order, peace, tranquillity and for overall progress of any country and India is no exception. It is the primary duty of the State to ensure free, fair, equal and timely justice for all by not only enacting Laws dealing with various subjects of individual, social, political, economic and other relevant fields but also by establishing a free, competent and empowered Judiciary to adjudicate those disputes that may crop up either at individual level, group level or other macro levels. In order achieve the above goal, a potent judiciary should not only look at the age old court room based adversarial system of dispute resolution but should also consider other effective modes of alternative dispute resolution where both sides of the dispute end up in a win-win situation without having to be troubled by any of the latches of the traditional court based dispute resolution.
In quest of the above, the organisation of Lok Adalats has evolved as one of the most important modes of alternative dispute resolution. The first Lok Adalat was organised in 1982, in a village called ―Una, in Junagarh district of Gujarat. A fairly modified model of the Lok Adalat system which continues till today, traces its roots to
3
Chennai, where first of such kind of modern Lok Adalat was organsied in the year 1986. The institution has developed, modified, adapted, and advanced in order to provide speedy and equitable justice at door steps in a very cost effective manner.
The resolve of justice dispensation is that it is designed to enable the general public to state their grievances against other citizens or state agencies, and successfully arrive at a settlement which is not only permanent but mutually satisfactory. Morality, honesty and the principles of free and fair trial are the high and lofty ideals upon which this institution of Lok Adalat is founded.
The Lok Adalat was conceptualized due to the drawbacks of the Indian legal system to provide efficient, effective, and low cost justice. The evolution of this concept was a part of the plan to relieve the heavy burden on the Courts. The pendency of cases are a bane to the judiciary, and to the people who come to the court in the dream of getting justice. It is a well known fact that Justice Delayed, in effect, is Justice Denied. This phrase is not wrong, what with over 8,000,000 cases flooding in various courts and tribunals in the country at various stages, the main concern of judges and appellate forums today is to speed up the judicial process. The reason that caused the creation of such courts were only the huge number of pending cases, shortage of judges and to give relief to the litigants who are suffering due to the delay. Each year bthe number of litigants increase and now courts are facing a losing battle the drawbacks being their low strength of judges and infrastructure.
There is serious problem of overburdening of courts. To lessen the heavy burden on the courts, it would be in the apt if the pendency can be reduced by the 'Alternative Dispute Resolution' Methods before they enter the arena of Court.
Lok Adalats are a perfect mix of all three forms of traditional ADR: arbitration, mediation, and conciliation. Conciliation is used, with help of arbitration with the fact that decisions are binding, and are an example of legal decentralization as disputes are returned to general public from where they are locally settled.
History of Lok Adalats
Lok Adalat has originated from an old form of Justice delivery system which was prevalent since vedic times. In ancient India the disputes were settled on basis of principles of honesty, fair play and moral character which is in core structure of Indian culture and civilization. The said system was present in the ancient India at the village level in name of People's Court or Popular Court or Panchayats. The village Panchayats or People's Court, as an important and indispensable part of justice delivery system, played a very important role in those times. The relevance and functioning of this system has been discussed in the texts of Yajnavalkya, Narad, Gautama, Kautilya Brihaspati,
4
Manu and Bhrigu. Generally, these People's Court was of three kinds namely Puga, Sreni and Kula.
During Vedic times, society was composed of ―patriarchal families‖. In those families, the Grihapati (Head of Home) decided all disputes at the house independently. Manu the ancient law promulgator empowered a Grihapati to discipline a wife, a son, a servant, a pupil and a younger brother with a rope or the small shoot of a cane, when they committed any wrong2. So, in Ancient India, the Grihapati was the junior most court for judicious decisions in his family whereas the king of the country happened to be the foremost and supreme court for all civil and criminal cases in his kingdom. The above enumeration shows the order of authority commencing from the lower to the highest. If one fai1ed, the next in authority could take up the matter and so on until the matter was taken up by the king himself.
During Muslim period in India, these people's court with different names as panchayats continuously functioned with minor variations. Throughout the Muslim rule there was no direct or systematic state control of the administration of justice in the villages where most of India lived3 . At that time, these panchayats were empowered to dispense justice in all small civil and criminal matters in accordance with the custom or usages of the locality, caste, trade or family. The Muslim rulers traditionally enjoyed and occasionally exercised a general power of supervision over all these popular courts. The procedure followed by these courts was quite simple, systematic and informal. There was no regular administration of justice; no certain means of filing a suit and fixed rules of proceeding after the suit had been filed4. These People's Court or Village Panchayats worked for a long time and existed even at the time of commencement of the British rule in India.
The British frowned upon administering of justice through People's Courts or village Panchayats and established their own courts to render justice in civil and criminal matters. They modified the ancient Indian legal system according to their vested interest with the result that the functioning of people's court died a slow death away and became empty and suffocating with engulfing nothingness5. In this way, they gave a death blow to the functioning of people's courts.
2 H.S Bhatia, Origin and Development of Legal and Political system in India (1976) 46 Volume I, and M.K.Sharan, Court Procedure in Ancient India (1978) 17 3 Sen Gupta, Evolution of ancient Indian Law (1953) 112 4 U.C.Sarkar, Epoches in Hindu Legal History (1958) 250 5 P. Parameswaran, “ Dispensation of Justice: Problem of Cost, Quality and Delay,” AIR 1991 Journal 31
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Kinds of Courts similar to Lok Adalats In Ancient India
Colebrooke classified the popular courts in Ancient India into three categories6(i) Puga, (ii) Sreni and (iii) Kula
PUGA
The word ‘puga’ or ‘gana’ had denoted the local corporations of town and villages. The Pugas were of communities residing in villages or in towns. They comprised of persons dwelling in the same place irrespective of their castes or employments. They were competent to decide cases in which the local public was interested. Yajnavalkya mentions that the puga court consisted of members belonging to different castes and professions but staying in the same village or town.7 It is thus evident that Puga court as the highest people's court had played a prominent part almost throughout the country in the long course of the history. Medhatithi also says about the village council (Kulani) as group of relatives, which used to be the impartial persons comprising of agnatic and cognative of the litigants. They were paid salary to discharge their judicial functions8.
So, it is revealed from the study of Hindu literature that Kula courts were used to attempt to settle family matters by family laws and customs. Kula Courts were the most popular lowest court in the entire strata of local courts. Thus, this was the hierarchy of the people's courts in which Kula was at lowest and the Puga was at highest level. These Courts were vested with judicial powers on the basis of the sovereignty of the people. The basic idea behind functioning of these courts was that the administration of justice was not the sole duty of the King alone but the people also shared the responsibility of the State in dispensing of justice.
SRENI
The term ‘Sreni’ was used to denote the courts of guilds, which became a prominent feature of the commercial life in ancient India. Generally, the Sreni was represented by associations of traders or artisans or persons belonging to different tribes. They appeared to be industrial courts or the courts of profession or courts of disciplinary bodies of different merchant guilds. Modern friendly societies and trade unions have analogous functions and bear almost a historic origin from the Srenis. The basic feature of the Sreni courts was that its members belonged to the same caste as a rule but they could also came from different castes who had same profession.
6 R.C. Majumdar, Corporate life in Ancient India (1969) 128-129 7 M.K.Sharan, Court procedure in Ancient India (1978) 26 and Birendra Nath, Judicial Administration in Ancient India (1979) 76 8 V.kane, History of the Dharmasastra, (1973) Volume III, 280-281
6
KULA
The Kula court was the informal body of family elders. It was the lowest people's court, which was headed by Kinsmen9. According to Mitaksara, Kula was a group of relatives of the parties to the dispute. All social matters concerning that particular community could be investigated and decided at this level10. This was a common discussion of persons collectively related by blood as of a family or tribe. They could also be related distantly by marriage. Kulas or joint families were often very extensive in ancient India; if there was a quarrel between two members, the elders used to attempt to settle it.
Courts similar to Lok Adalat in Medieval Period
In the Muslim world, law and political theory are considered to be as much derived from divine revelation, as is religious dogma. Islam did not recognize the institution of kingship to start with. It believed in the democracy of the people. Hence the absence of any particular rules in the holy Quran for the guidance of kings who are subject to the same laws as others. There is no distinction between the canon law and the law of state. Law being of divine origin demands as much the obedience of the king as of the peasants11.
So, it is the duty of a king to uphold the authority of the Islamic law and to keep himself within the four walls of it. Holy law served as an effective check on the sovereign authority.19 On the basis of this idea, in India, the Muslim beginning was made by Mohammudbin-quasim in 712 A.D. He came to India as invader and returned thereafter. The real penetration into India was made by Qutub-uddin-aibek who, in reality established his supremacy in the whole of northern India. The Muslim, thereafter continued to rule over India for centuries till the year 1857 when the last Mughal King Bahadur Shah Jafar was dethroned by the British and they established themselves as the next rulers of India. The study emphasizes that Muslim rulers did not interfere with the laws of Hindus or its machinery of administration and the Hindus continued to be governed by their own law in personal matters.
Judicial system was organized on the basis of revenue divisions of the empire which was made for administrative purpose. There was a systematic differentiation and gradation of the courts existed at the Capital, in Provinces, Districts, Paraganahas and villages for deciding civil, criminal and revenue cases12. The hierarchy of courts during
9 M.G. Chitrakara, Lok Adalat and The Poor (1993)22 10 M.G. Chitrakara, Lok Adalat and The Poor (1993)24 and 27 11 H.S.Bhatia, in Origin and Development Of Legal And Political System In India (1976) Volume II 184 12 0 M.B. Ahamad, The Administration of Justice in Medieval India (1941) 104-105 R.P Khosla in Administrative Structure of the great Mugals (1991) 126
7
Muslim period was as follows: (a) Central Courts (b) Provincial Courts (c) District Courts (d) Parganah Courts (e) Village Courts.
The judicial structure also gave place to the then existing legal institutions in India, such as village panchyats which served an extremely useful purpose in settlement of disputes during ancient India.
Position of Courts in Muslim Rule similar to Lok Adalats
The Muslim rulers established their own courts system for providing justice to all. But the local courts or Gram Panchayats as dispute resolution institutions continued functioning with minor variations even in Muslim rule in the Medieval India. During Muslim rule, the royal courts existed in administrative centers, but these did not produce a unified national legal system of the kind that developed in the West.13 The law made by the Muslim rulers did not penetrate into the villages. Throughout the Muslim rule, there was no direct or systematic state control of the administration of justice in the villages where most of Indian lived14. It is revealed from the study that the Indian villagers settled their dispute through the panchayats which dispensed justice independently. These panchayats were not directly connected with the royal courts. However, the Muslim rulers traditionally enjoyed and occasionally exercised a general power of supervision over all these popular courts. In theory, only the Royal Courts were empowered to decide the criminal cases as well as to execute punishments. These popular courts could pronounce decrees in civil cases at village level and invoke Royal power in order to enforce them. While some adjudication was enforced by governmental power and mostly depended on boycott and ex-communication as the ultimate sanctions15. So, the study shows that even in Muslim rule, the disputes at the lowest level were disposed of by the panchayat or the people's courts. The people were satisfied by the decisions of these popular courts because the matters were decided by their own representative. In this way, these courts relieved the government to a very great extent of its judicial functions.
Courts in British Period whose working was similar to Lok Adalats
It is quite evident from the historical facts that the British entered in India with the purpose to establish their trade and business. But, gradually, they started to interfere in the governance and administration of the country and developed their own administrative and judicial system. So, the philosophy of the administration of justice during British period has initially a different history. In the beginning the magisterial functions were delegated to the native people due to reason that British were not acquainted with local
13 Upendra Bakshi and Marc Galanter, Panchayat Justice: An Indian Experiment in legal Acaess in M. Capelettii(edited) Access to Justice (1979) Volume III 343 14 N. Sen Gupta, Evolution of Ancient Indian Law (1953) 112 15 Jadhunath Sarkar, Mugal Administration (1935) 29
8 languages and the local laws. Besides, there was a lurking fear in the mind of the British that the act of punishment of the members of the native population could lead to agitation at any time. The result, therefore, was that they inducted Indians to discharge the judicial functions in the early days of company rule. There is ample evidence to show that an Indian in the service of company since 1614 exercised the powers of the Magistrate in the earliest days of Madras settlement16.However, it was only after the court reorganization in 1861 that justice was administered at higher level by judges trained in common law. The result of the induction of British judges in the Indian judicial system shaped the entire working of the local courts. The people's courts thus entered into an era of lessening importance, until, it went into eclipse, as a result of British policy of feudalistic control of the countryside17.
Legislation Regarding Lok Adalats in the Post-Independent India
The formation of the Committee for Implementing Legal Aid Schemes (CILAS) by the Union Government in 1980 under the Chairmanship of Justice P.N. Bhagwati and later on under the Chairmanship of Justice R.N. Mishra gave a big boost to the legal aid movement and the concept of legal Aid camps and Lok Adalat in particular18.
Hence, the Lok Adalat movement as a part of the strategy of Legal Aid Movement was started in Gujarat in March, 1982. The first Lok Adalat was held at village "Una" in Junagarh District and inaugurated by justice D.A. Desai, the then judge of the Supreme Court of India. Keeping in view the successful working of Lok Adalats, the Lok Adalat programme was adopted by other states, such as Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Haryana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and the Union Territories of Delhi, Pondicherry, etc19.
The Lok Adalats, which were being organised on an informal basis, had got legal recognition under the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 (for brevity 'the Act‘)20. The Act came into force on account of several amendments on November 9, 1995. The Act contains the detailed provisions about the set-up of Lok Adalats, their jurisdiction, powers, procedure and functioning, etc. The Act has been again amended by the Parliament, with the intention to constitute 'Permanent Lok Adalats' for deciding the disputes concerning 'Public Utility Services'. The objective of bringing this Act into existence was to devise more ways of reaching the poor man and evolving speedy and less expansive system of
16 V.N.S.Rao, A Sketch of three centuries of Court in Madras (1640-1947) (1984) 81 17 V.N.S.Rao, A Sketch of three centuries of Court in Madras (1640-1947) (1984) 81 18 P. Bhargava, Lok Adalat: Justice at the Door Steps(1998) 17 19 P. Bhargava, Lok Adalat: Justice at the Door Steps(1998) 18 20 Act no 39 of 1987
9 administration of justice. Now, the Lok Adalat system is working in accordance with the provisions of the Act.
Legislation Regarding Lok Adalats
The Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 gave a legal status to Lok Adalats, pursuant to the Constitutional mandate in Article39-A of the Constitution of India. The said act contains various provisions for resolving of disputes through Lok Adalat. Thus, the age old concept of Lok Adalat has, now, legal standing. It enables the Act to establish Legal Services Authorities to provide free and competent legal services to the weaker sections of the society so as to ensure that opportunities for securing justice are see that the same are not denied to any citizen by reason of economic or other disabilities. Further the Act empowers LSA‘s to organize Lok Adalats to secure that the operation of the legal system promotes justice on a basis of equal opportunity21.
Need for Lok Adalat
In the present system, the litigant, who is the heart of judicial structure, is the most neglected and exploited in the system. He is basically a consumer of justice and he should receive equal, effective, inexpensive and speedy trial and justice. It is imperative to reach the goal of equal access to justice, which is a Constitutional commandment and statutory imperative22.
Unmanageable burden of pending cases, unmanageable arrears and delay in disposal of cases in courts at all levels-lowest to the highest-along with high expenses have undoubtedly attracted the attention of not only the lawyers, litigants, social activists, legal academicians and parliament but also Judges of the courts. At present the arrears of cases as so huge that unless they are disposed of on a war footing the system may crumble down in a few years time. It appears that the justice system presently in this country is about collapse. So, it is but natural that the alarming situation of the Indian judiciary has attracted attention of anyone concerned with law reforms.
The sole consideration, therefore, is how to reduce the delay in disposal of cases, make the system resilient by removing its stratification, making the system less formal and inexpensive so as to make justice within the reach of the poor23.
The surprising growth in the arrears of cases has compelled the members of Law Commission of India to deliberate on the revival of indigenous legal system and recommended it‘s restructuring to provide a new model or mechanism for dissolving
21 Institute of Management Ahmedabad, Rule of Alternative Dispute Resolution Method in Developmental Society; “Lok Adalat” in India Anuarg K Agarwal , W.P No. 2005-11-01. P.7 22 KLJP’s The Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987, Sathhpal Puliani 2003, New Edition P.76 23 Law Commission of India: 114th Report on Gram Nayayalaya 1986 page 7
10 disputes on the principles of participatory justice. A need has been felt for decentralization of the system of administration of justice to reduce the volume of a work.
The Purpose of the Lok Adalat was/has been to provide a supplementary to the mainstream legal system. The sanctity for holding Lok Adalat or people's court lies in the growing dissatisfaction with the existing legal system and the need for immediate relief for poor, helpless, economically and socially disadvantages position, etc., who are in distressed familiar circumstances. The requirement of immediate redressal and speedy disposal of disputes was felt most acutely in the present socio-legal circumstances. In view of these circumstances, an attempt was made to bring justice to the door steps.
The Lok Adalat was organized with the following objectives amongst others:
(1) Provide speedy justice
(2) To create awareness among the public about the conciliatory mode of dispute settlement and legal validity of Lok Adalat
(3) To fasten up the process of organizing Lok Adalat
(4) To encourage the public to settle their outside the normal court procedure
(5) To allow the public to participate in the justice delivery system
The immensely huge population of India and the less fortunate masses have found the delivery of justice through regular courts very complex and inefficient. The social conditions prevalent in the Indian society due to the economic structure, a highly sensitized professional and cheap legal service is required which is effective for the poor and exploited masses. The institution of Lok Adalat tries to resolve the people‘s disputes by discussions, counselling, persuasions and conciliation, which result in quick and cheap justice.
The purpose of the Lok Adalats has been to reduce the burden of the courts. Therefore, the Lok Adalats base their decisions on mutual consent and compromise. The Lok Adalat makes the decision only after the parties have agreed on the amicable settlement and have consented to it. The Lok Adalat is no more on trial basis in India. It is now a grand success and but needs to be reformed in certain matters24.
The objective of the Legal Service Authorities Act as stated in its preamble is, that the Act is enacted by the Parliament to provide free and competent legal services by the State to the weaker sections of the society to secure them speedy justice and to ensure that they are not deprived of it by reason of economic or other disabilities, and also to
24 KLJP’s The Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987, Sathhpal Puliani 2003, New Edition P.74
11 organize Lok Adalat with a view to ensure that the operation of the legal system in the country promotes justice among citizens on a basis of equal opportunity.
Organization of Lok Adalats
The below mentioned bodies may organize Lok Adalats at such intervals and places and for exercising such jurisdiction and for such areas as it thinks fit25:
(1) National Legal Service Authority
(2) Supreme Court Legal Services Committee
(3) State Legal Services Authority
(4) High Court Legal Service Committee
(5) District Legal Services Authority
(6) Taluk Legal Services Committee
Thus the person who needs free legal aid can approach the Legal Services Authority at any level- national, state, district or taluq. The National Legal Services Authority (NLA), created by the Central Government, has power to lay down the policy and give directions to the State Legal Services Authority in this behalf. But National Legal Services Authority does not directly create any Lok Adalat. Lok Adalat is an ad hoc body created from time to time by the State Legal Services Authority or District Legal Services Authority which themselves are the creatures of the State government under powers of nomination conferred by this Act. The latter operates for a specified area and period of time in respect of matters which come to it in one of the two ways specified in the Act that is to say, first, where the District Legal Services Authority refers the dispute and second, where the presiding officers of the court or tribunal makes a reference on the joint application of the parties. However it does not indicate that if some of the parties to the suit make a joint application, while the other do not, even then it will get jurisdiction to transfer the matter to the Lok Adalat for decision.
Procedure of Lok Adalat
The procedure followed at a Lok Adalat simple and devoid of the regular formalities of the Court. The Lok Adalat is normally presided over by a sitting or retired judicial officer who is the chairman, with two other members, usually a lawyer and a social worker. Thus every Lok Adalat organised for an area shall consist of such number of-
(1) Serving or retired judicial officers; and
25 Section 19, The Legal Service Authority Act, 1987
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(2) Other persons, of the area as may be specified by the State Authority or the District Authority or the Supreme Court Legal Services Committee or the High Court Legal Services Committee, or as the case may be, the Taluk Legal Services Committee, organising such Lok Adalat
(3) The experience and qualifications of other persons referred to in clause (b) of sub section (2) for Lok Adalats organized by the Supreme Court Legal Services Committee shall be such as may be prescribed by the Central Government in consultation with the Chief Justice of India.
(4) The experience and qualification of other persons referred to in clause (b) of sub section (2) for Lok Adalats other than referred to in sub section (3) shall be such as may be prescribed by the State Government in consultation with the Chief Justice of the High Court.
(5) A Lok Adalat shall have jurisdiction to determine and to arrive at a compromise or settlement between the parties to a dispute in respect of-
(i) any case pending before; or
(ii) any matter which is falling within the jurisdiction of, and is not brought before, any court for which the Lok Adalat is organized: Provided that the Lok Adalat shall have no jurisdiction in respect of any case or matter relating to an offence not compoundable under any Law.
Cognizance of cases by Lok Adalats
Section 20 provides:
(I) Wherein any case referred to in clause (i) of sub-section (5) of Section 19; (i) (a) the parties thereof agree; or (b) one of the parties thereof makes an application to the Court for referring the case to the Lok Adlat for settlement and if such court is prima fade satisfied that there are chances of such settlement: or (II) (ii) the Court is satisfied that the matter is an appropriate one to be taken cognizance of by the Lok Adalat, The Court shall refer the case to the Lok Adalat: Provided that no case shall be referred to the Lok Adalat under sub- clause (b) of clause (i) or clause (ii) by such court except after giving a reasonable opportunity of being heard to the parties
(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in any other law for the time being in force, the Authority or Committee organizing the Lok Adalat under sub-section
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(1) of Section 19 may, on receipt of an application from any one of the parties to any matter referred to in clause (ii) of sub-section (5) of Section 19 that such matter to the Lok Adalat, for determination: Provided that no matter shall be referred to the Lok Adalat except after giving a reasonable opportunity of being heard to the other party(3) Where any cause is referred to a Lok Adalat under sub-section (1) or where a reference has been made to it under sub-section(2), the Lok Adalat shall proceed to dispose of the case or matter and arrive at a compromise or settlement between the parties. (4) Every Lok Adalat shall, while determining any reference before it under this Act, act with utmost expedition to arrive at a compromise or settlement between the parties and shall be guided by the principle of justice, equity, fair play and other legal principles. (5) Where no award is made by the Lok Adalat on the ground that no compromise or settlement could be arrived at between the parties, the record. of the case shall be returned by it to the Court, from which the reference has been received under subsection (1) for disposal in accordance with law. (6) Where no record is made by the Lok Adalat, on the ground that no compromise or settlement could be arrived at between the parties, in a matter referred to in subsection (2) that for Lok Adlat shall advise the parties to seek remedy in a Court. (7) Where the record of the case is returned under sub- section (5) to the Court, such court shall proceed to deal with such case from the stage which was reached before such reference under sub-Section (1).40
Powers of Lok Adalats
The Lok Adalats have been conferred power of the Civil court under the C.P.C for the purpose of holding any determination under this Act, while trying a suit and every proceedings of the Lok Adalat shall be deemed to be judicial proceedings for the purpose of summoning and enforcing the attendance of any witness and examining him on oath.
Every Lok Adalat has the requisite powers to specify its own procedure for the determination of any dispute coming before it. All proceedings before a Lok Adalat are deemed to be judicial proceedings within the meaning of sections 193, 219 and 228 of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860) and every Lok Adalat is deemed to be a civil court for the purpose of section 195 and Chapter XXVI of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974).
The Act gives to Lok Adalat the powers of civil court in respect of summoning and enforcing attendance of any witness and examining him on oath: discover and production of any document: reception of evidence on affidavits; requisitioning of any public record, document from any court or office, and other matters to be prescribed by rules framed under the Act. In addition, it can specify its own procedure for the determination of any
14 dispute coming before it. Proceedings before it are deemed to be judicial proceeding and members public servants.
Advantages of Lok Adalat
There are many advantages that litigant gets through the Lok Adalats. They are
(1) Court Fee: There is absolutely no court fee for case in the Lok Adalats. If the case is already filed in the regular court, the fee paid will be refunded if the dispute is settled at the Lok Adalats. (2) No Strict Application of Procedural Laws: Lok Adalats are devoid of strict application of the procedural laws and the Indian Evidence Act while settlement of dispute by the Lok Adalat. The parties to the disputes can interact with the judge directly and explain their case which is not possible in a regular court of law. (3) Disputes can be directly referred to Lok Adalats: It is not necessary that always a case has to always go through the regular court then referred to regular court. Cases can be directly referred to Lok Adalats. (4) Award are binding on the Parties: the decision of the Lok Adalats is binding on the parties to the dispute and its order is capable of execution. No appeal lies against the order of the Lok Adalats whereas in the regular law courts there is always a scope to appeal to the higher forum on the decision of the trial court, which causes delay in the final settlement of the dispute. In a regular court, decision is that of the court but in Lok Adalat it is mutual settlement and hence no case for appeal will arise. (5) Expeditious Remedy: Disposal in Lok Adalats in cheap, fast, effective, less cumbersome and efficient. (6) Peace in the Society: As the scheme involves mutual amicable settlement, it promotes peace and harmony among the public. Its process is voluntary and works on the principle that both parties to the disputes are willing to sort out their disputes by amicable solutions. Through this institution, disputes can be settled in a cheap, faster and effective way at all the three stages of trial i.e. pre-litigation, pending-litigation and post litigation. (7) Convenient: The scheme of the Lok Adalat is that the parties to the disputes sort out their disputes by way of mediation by the Judges, who would be guiding them on the principles of fair trial. (8) Reduces the Burden of the Court: The scheme also helps the overburdened Court reduce the overwhelming pendency and as the award becomes final and binding on both the parties, no appeal is filed in the Appellate Court and, as such, the burden of the Appellate Court is also reduced. In our country, number of Judges is very less as to the cases filed and, hence, to reduce the accumulation of cases, the Lok Adalats are the need of the day. (9)
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Disadvantages of Lok Adalat System
(1) Cases Placed Before Lok Adalat
In fact Lok Adalat is brought into force to settle the cases quickly but in reality number of cases placed before the Lok Adalat delayed beyond imagination and parties might have spent large sums in the form of court fee, advocates fee and other miscellaneous expenses.
(2) Litigant is Not Living Person
Majority the cases placed before the Lok Adalat i.e., to the extent of about 90 % are not between living persons, but against non living persons. They are Motor Vehicles Accidents Claims Cases, Bank Suits, Telephone bills cases, Electricity Board cases, Municipal cases Panchayat cases and in these cases Bank, Electricity Board, Municipal Corporation are only legal persons. Here the aggrieved persons are faced with bureaucratic torture. Usually in these cases meeting are held with the officers prior to sitting of Lok Adalat and Lok Adalats are held with best minimum norms fare as discussed and finalized in the prior sittings. After fixing the norms, the parties are not required to be persuaded for amicable settlement at Lok Adalats. But these cases are kept in Lok Adalats to show a statistical success of disposal of cases. In cases of insurance, meeting with the officers of the companies are held in advance, the matters are discussed on several considerations without participation of other side (which is opposed to principles of natural justice). These are few cases, which are said to be decided justly. Most of the cases relating to compensations are settled not to the advantages of claimants.
(3) The Presiding Officers Not to Act as Facilitator But act as Judges
The presiding officers of Lok Adalat are chosen from the retired judicial officers and others of that area who are having prescribed qualifications and experience. But usually these officers are not in a position to convince the parties for the settlement of cases in an amicable manner, since they are not trained members. Especially the presiding officer of the court mentality is just like in adversarial proceedings and tries to behave just like he is sitting in the court and plays not an active rule but passive rule. He ignores that he is only facilitator but not decision maker as judge. Other members who conduct Lok Adalat by the nature do not fall in line with their brother members in Lok Adalat and invite adverse remarks of their superiors.
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(4) Technical Matters and Other Matters
The Lok Adalat is not trying to settle technical matters and other suits like partition, partnership, trust, contracts and easements or such other family disputes are generally not touched by Lok Adalats.
(5) Lok Adalat Not Settling the Cases Afresh
The members of National Legal Service Authority, Supreme Court Legal Services Committee, State Legal Services Authority, High Court Legal Service Committee, District Legal Services Authority and Taluk Legal Services Committee are organizing Lok Adalat with an intention to settle the cases which are referred to Lok Adalat afresh but many of these cases are being settled in advance by pre-arranged meeting between three parties and they are being shown as disposal of cases during the Lok Adalats. The judges do not accept the compromise already arrived at by the parties and persuade the parties or their advocates to keep the matter alive till this Lok Adalat is organized to highlight higher figures of disposal.
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LOK ADALAT
PART I
B
Case No-1
Sl No- 35553 Booth No- SMEC Petitioner- STATE BANK OF INDIA, TRIVANDRUM Respondent-
The petitioner bank intends to settle the matter more fully described hereunder in the Lok Adalat to be constituted by the Legal Service Authority inorder to avoid litigation and recovery proceedings against the respondents for the outstanding dues in the loan amount. Hence it is requested that the respondent may be summon to attend the adalat and an award may be passed on mutually agreed terms and conditions if the matter is settled.
DETAILS AND REMARKS Loan Account No-65293358229 Nature of Loan- CCOD Address of the Borrower- Kizhuvila Veedu Poonkulam Pachalloor TVM-695027 Date of Loan- 25/09/2015 Amount of Loan- Rs 50000/- Name of Guarantor- NA Address of Guarantor- NA Present outstanding liability-58391 + interest + arbitration charges Name of Judicial Officer- Adalat Case No-35552 Settlement- The above appeal is to be settled of Rs 30000/- (Thirty Thousand ) in payment
This case referred to Lok Adalat organized by District Legal Service Authority under section 19 of the Legal Service Authority Act (Act 39 of 1987) coming on before us for endeavours for settlement of the dispute between the parties being subject matter of this case in the presence of the parties and their counsel and after a full and frank discussion of all issues factual and legal arising from the cause, the parties having agreed before as that there shall be an award/ order/ decree in terms of settlement here to made and the parties and their counsel herein having in acceptance of the same signed this in our presence, it is decreed or ordered. Before under section 20 (1) (i) a/ 20 (1) (i) b/ 20 (1) (II) of the Legal Service Act (Act 39/87)
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Case No-2
EP No- 1496/2017 In AC No 276/2015 Between Decree Holder/ Claimant Shriram Transport Finance Ltd IV Floor, Capital Tower Statue TVM
Judgment Debtor / Respondent 1. Bijukuttan M S/o Murugan Asari 7/599 MR AE 40 Mele Kuzhivila Veedu Maruthenkuzhi Trivandrum-695030
2. Prasanth P S/O Prabhakaran TC-21/1926-4 Sneha Nivas Panayil Lane Karamana P.O. Trivandrum-695002
Award Date of Decree-16th June 2016
The respondents are directed to pay to the claimant Claim sum of Rs 69510/- Interest at the rate of 12% from 10/09/2015 till realization Rs 1500/- towards cost Total Rs 82827/-
This case referred to Lok Adalat organized by District Legal Service Authority under section 19 of the Legal Service Authority Act (Act 39 of 1987) coming on before us for endeavours for settlement of the dispute between the parties being subject matter of this case in the presence of the parties and their counsel and after a full and frank discussion of all issues factual and legal arising from the cause, the parties having agreed before as that there shall be an award/ order/ decree in terms of settlement here to made and the parties and their counsel herein having in acceptance of the same signed this in our presence, it is decreed or ordered.
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SETTLEMENT
Both parties present matter settled for Rs 20000/- (Twenty Thousand) The amount shall be paid on or before 25 March 2020 In default the bank is at liberty to initiate legal measures
Name of Judicial Officer Arbitral Tribunal Trivandrum
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CASE No- 3 Railway cc 2015/18 294 (b) / PL 341 and 323 Case No cc 6/19 CJMC Trivandrum
The incident happened on 08/09/2018 inside the coach 9, 10 and 11 of Maveli express (Train No 16603) The complainant was on duty in the coach number 9, 10 and 11 of Maveli Experss
The respondent abused and caused physical injuries to the complainant when the train approached the varkala railway station .
Complainant/ Respondent Anish S/O madhusudhanan Vishnavam Thiruvathilkal Kottayam
Suresh R S/O Rajan Asari Suresh Bhavan Karimtottam Kollam
SETTLEMENT
Matter Settled Offences under section 341 & 323 IPC
Name of Judicial Officer-
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Case No- 4 Sl No- 35565 Booth No-SMEC Petitioner- SBI , TRIVANDRUM Respondent-Sunith Varghese
The petitioner bank intends to settle the matter more fully described hereunder in the Lok Adalat to be constituted by the Legal Service Authority inorder to avoid litigation and recovery proceedings against the respondents for the outstanding dues in the loan amount. Hence it is requested that the respondent may be summon to attend the adalat and an award may be passed on mutually agreed terms and conditions if the matter is settled.
DETAILS AND REMARKS Loan Account No-65293443580 Nature of Loan- Loan Address of the Borrower- TC-78/1108 Jusa Road KochuThoppu Valla Kadav-695008
Date of Loan- 05/08/2015 Amount of Loan- Rs 50000/- Name of Guarantor- NA Address of Guarantor- NA Present outstanding liability-54429 + interest + arbitration charges Name of Judicial Officer- Adalat Case No-35565 Settlement- The above appeal is to be settled. Amount to be paid is Rs. 5852/- (Rs 3000 today itself). Balance to be paid within 6 months Settled
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Case No-5
Sl No-35637 Booth No-SMEC Petitioner- SBI , TRIVANDRUM Respondent-Shyju J.U.
The petitioner bank intends to settle the matter more fully described hereunder in the Lok Adalat to be constituted by the Legal Service Authority inorder to avoid litigation and recovery proceedings against the respondents for the outstanding dues in the loan amount. Hence it is requested that the respondent may be summon to attend the adalat and an award may be passed on mutually agreed terms and conditions if the matter is settled.
DETAILS AND REMARKS Loan Account No- 36987503335 Nature of Loan- Loan Address of the Borrower- Tharavila Veedu Parayatthu vila Trivandrum
Date of Loan- 05/07/2015 Amount of Loan- Rs 248000/- Name of Guarantor- NA Address of Guarantor- NA Present outstanding liability-54109+ interest + arbitration charges Name of Judicial Officer- Adalat Case No-35637
This case referred to Lok Adalat organized by District Legal Service Authority under section 19 of the Legal Service Authority Act (Act 39 of 1987) coming on before us for endeavours for settlement of the dispute between the parties being subject matter of this case in the presence of the parties and their counsel and after a full and frank discussion of all issues factual and legal arising from the cause, the parties having agreed before as that there shall be an award/ order/ decree in terms of settlement here to made and the parties and their counsel herein having in acceptance of the same signed this in our presence, it is decreed or ordered.
Settlement- The above appeal is to be settled. Amount to be paid is Rs. 98000/-. Balance to be paid within 14 months Settled
Name of Judicial Officer-
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PART II A Client Interview
1. Name and Address of Client- Laila Kumari Tc- 14/713 Nandavanam Palayam 2. Nature of Case- Money Suit 3. Case Type- Civil 4. Date of Case- Commenced one year before 5. Plaintiff/ Respondent- Laila Kumari Sudarmma 6. Referred to Adalat by- Court 7. No of Hearings- 1 8. Legal Advisor - Adv. Aji 9. Legal Solution seeking- The case is a fabricated one. Money transaction is only an allegation, hence requires justice 10. Award-Settled 11. Opinion about Lok Adalat- Lok Adath helped to get justice. It was less expensive. The case was settled without time delay in the presence of both the parties. It was the most advantage of this system 12. Is Lok Adalat good for society. Why?- Yes, It can settle issues in an amicable manner, so it is acceptable to all sections of the society
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PART II B Advocate’s Interview
1. Name and Address of Advocate- Adv. Sangeetha
2. How long have you been handling cases- ? More than 5 years
3. Case type you handle ? – Civil in nature
4. How do cases reach here? - As per reference by the court
5. The nature of cases mostly handled here-? The cases related with electricity board, BSNL, bank loans, land disputes etc.
6. Is this beneficial for the clients. Why?- Yes because it is less expensive and decisions are time bound.
7. Is award given that day itself-? Mostly on that day itself
8. How do you reach the settlement of cases- ? Through the process of mediation after hearing the arguments of both the sides and suggests solutions legally
9. What is basic thing an advocate should do as part of this system-? The first thing is that the advocates who interested to provide their service should register themselves in this system
10. Opinion about Lok Adalat- ? The cases accumulated in the courts can be minimized through this system. it is beneficial for the citizens as well as for the judiciary
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