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The Hindu
09-07-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
National Lok Adalat in Chamarajanagar courts on July 12
Principal District and Sessions Judge G. Prabhavati said the National Lok Adalat will be held in all courts across Chamarajanagar district on July 12, as per the directions of the State Legal Services Authority. Addressing a press conference in the District Court premises on Tuesday, she said Lok Adalat benches will be set up in the courts of Chamarajanagar, Gundlupet, Yelandur, and Kollegal, with conciliators appointed to settle compromise-suitable cases through mutual agreement. She said the people can make good use of the Lok Adalat at their respective courts. Cases can be resolved through Lok Adalat if parties accept the suggestions given by conciliators. This saves both time and money for litigants and fosters better relationships between parties, she said. Except for Public Interest Litigations (PILs), various types of civil cases – including restoration of conjugal rights, maintenance, child custody, motor vehicle accident claims, industrial disputes, cheque bounce cases, cases under labour laws, electricity theft, illegal stone and sand transportation cases, and other compromise-suitable matters – can be settled in Lok Adalat, she explained. She added that pre-litigation disputes can also be resolved in Lok Adalat through preliminary consultation before being filed in court. The Lok Adalat on July 12 is expected to dispose of more cases than the previous one. In this connection, pre-consultations are underway in every court and District Legal Services Authority. If parties in any pending compromise-suitable case file an application in the respective court for transfer to Lok Adalat, such cases will be referred accordingly, she said. Senior Civil Judge and District Legal Services Authority Member Secretary Eshwar, and Bar Association General Secretary Rangaswamy were present.
New Indian Express
04-07-2025
- Politics
- New Indian Express
Lok Adalat is a win-win situation for both: SLSA
VIJAYAWADA: State Legal Services Authority (SLSA) Member Secretary and District & Sessions Judge BSV Hima Bindu on Thursday highlighted the advantages of resolving legal disputes through Lok Adalat and mediation, describing them as win-win mechanisms for both parties. Speaking at a press conference at the Secretariat, she called on all stakeholders to extend support for the National Lok Adalat scheduled across Andhra Pradesh on July 5. The Lok Adalats will be conducted in all courts, including the High Court and the Debt Recovery Tribunal in Visakhapatnam, under the supervision of Executive Chairman and High Court Judge Ravinath Tilhari. She noted that resolving disputes through Lok Adalat not only saves time and money but also strengthens interpersonal relationships. Unlike court verdicts, which often benefit one side and may lead to appeals, Lok Adalats promote mutual agreement. Hima Bindu informed that 1,15,071 cases have been shortlisted for possible resolution. The High Court Legal Services Committee, 13 District Legal Services Authorities, and 147 Mandal Legal Services Authorities have already held 1,841 pre-Lok Adalat sittings and launched public awareness campaigns.
The Hindu
16-06-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
National Lok Adalat in Bidar district on July 12
In accordance with the directions of the National Legal Services Authority and the State Legal Services Authority, a National Lok Adalat is scheduled to take place across all courts in Bidar district on July 12, Senior Civil Judge and Member Secretary of the Bidar District Legal Services Authority (DLSA) Prakash Banasode has said. Speaking at a press conference at his office here recently, Mr. Banasode said that preparations are under way for the Lok Adalat. 'The Lok Adalat will provide an opportunity to settle a wide range of cases, including property partition disputes, maintenance matters, cheque bounce cases, electricity-related cases, revenue and criminal compoundable cases, labour issues, banking cases, and pre-litigation matters, through mutual compromise,' Mr. Banasode said. Referring to the previous Lok Adalat on March 8 this year, Mr. Banasode noted that a total of 52,812 cases, including 10,044 pending court cases and 42,768 pre-litigation matters, were resolved across the district. 'For the upcoming Lok Adalat, the district aims to resolve as many pending cases as possible. Currently, there are 29,122 pending cases in Bidar and a focused effort is being made to settle a significant portion of them through compromise,' he said. The judge further stated that resolving cases in the Lok Adalat allows litigant public to receive a refund of court fees and decisions made are final, with no provision for appeal. 'This initiative not only facilitates swift and cost-free resolution of disputes but also helps parties move beyond animosity and rebuild harmonious relationships,' he said.
Hindustan Times
04-06-2025
- General
- Hindustan Times
Death penalty for painter who raped, murdered 8-year-old girl in Chandigarh
Calling it a crime most brutal, bestial and barbaric that clearly falls in the 'rarest of the rare' category, a special POCSO court in Chandigarh on Tuesday awarded death penalty to a 40-year-old man who raped and murdered an eight-year-old girl in the city in January 2024. The court of additional sessions judge Yashika ruled that the convict, Hira Lal, be hanged by neck, till he is dead, only after confirmation by the Punjab and Haryana high court. 'The entire record of the case, along with the duly sealed electronic evidence, be submitted before the high court for confirmation of death sentence under Section 366 (1) CrPC,' said the court. It also ordered the State Legal Services Authority to disburse a compensation of ₹17 lakh to the dependants of the victim. 'The victim was the daughter of very poor parents, who are labourers and residing in a single room in a rented accommodation. The mother had sent the victim to the shop for purchase of a thread/lace, from where she was kidnapped, raped and murdered by the convict. The victim and convict were neighbours, and the victim must have looked upon him as an uncle or a respected elder. The victim was only eight years old and the convict was 40 years old at the time of commission of crime. The convict cunningly lured her and took her to his room and then committed the barbaric crime,' said the court, chastising the convict. 'The rape of a minor girl child is nothing but a monstrous burial of her dignity in the darkness. It is a crime against the holy body of a girl child and the soul of the society,' it remarked. On Monday, the court had convicted Hira Lal, a painter by profession and a native of Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh, under Section 6 (aggravated penetrative sexual assault) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and Section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code. The child's body, with the throat slit and multiple stab wounds, was discovered near a dumping site in Ram Darbar on January 22, 2024, three days after she went missing on January 19. After the body was found, police had identified Hira Lal with the help of CCTV footage which showed him carrying a handbag. His house was raided and found locked since January 19, the same day the child went missing. Police broke the locks and found the slippers of the victim in the house that confirmed that the child was brought there. A chase spanning three states, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, ensued and finally, on the seventh day, police managed to trace him to Nawada, Arrah, in Bihar. The accused was subsequently found to have two wives and five children, the eldest being a 13-year-old daughter. According to police, he was cheating on both his wives, as none of them knew about each other. 'Rarest of rare: Extremely brutal, bestial and barbaric crime' The court remarked that the manner of commission of crime was extremely brutal, bestial and barbaric. The convict took the victim to his room, removed her garments, committed anal sex with her and also committed rape with her. In the postmortem report of the victim, there is mention of bite marks, having two semicircular arches with their concavities facing each other, in the form of bluish contusion, which was present over the right side of face. 'From this report, although it is not possible to assess how many times the victim was raped, it is proved beyond doubt that victim was brutally raped by the convict,' said the court. 'Convict hasn't shown any guilt or remorse' While pronouncing the death penalty for the convict, the court came down heavily on the convict for never showing any guilt or remorse on account of his barbaric deeds, right from the inception of the investigation, till the conclusion of the trial. The convict committed rape and brutal murder of a girl child, aged eight years and 11 months. The victim suffered nine major injuries, including cuts, abrasions and tearing of private parts, the court noted. 'As per the disclosure made by the convict, he had killed the victim by cutting her throat with a knife. The dead body of the victim was a heap of garbage near the public toilets. At that time her clothes were stained with blood at places. The convict tried to escape the consequences of his acts by hiding the body of the victim in the heap of garbage and by trying to abscond. He never showed any guilt or remorse... Rather, he has been raising false defences of blind rape and murder, misuse of blood sample and false implication,' the court held. 'Must use sword of justice with utmost severity' Before handing out the sentence, the court observed with concern how children were ignorant of the act of rape and not able to offer resistance: '...they become easy prey for lusty brutes, who display the unscrupulous, deceitful and insidious art of luring female children and young girls. Therefore, such offenders who are a menace to the civilised society should be mercilessly and inexorably punished in the severest terms. We feel that judges who bear the Sword of Justice should not hesitate to use that sword with the utmost severity, to the full and to the end if the gravity of the offences so demand.' Court quotes UN convention to make world better for children In the judgment, the court cited the UN convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) adopted in the United Nations General Assembly in 1989. 'The UNCRC is the most complete statement of children's rights ever made. It has been ratified by 196 countries and India has ratified the convention on December 11, 1992, and our nation is committed to the core principles of the convention, which includes survival and protection of children. Hence, adequate punishment must be granted to the offenders against children to safeguard the right of survival and protection, of children,' it said. .
New Indian Express
28-05-2025
- Politics
- New Indian Express
AP High Court raps police for intervening in civil dispute cases
VIJAYAWADA: In a significant ruling, the High Court has sharply criticised police interference in civil disputes, particularly those related to land issues, stating that they have no authority to intervene in such matters. The HC clarified that civil disputes between individuals should be resolved through civil courts under the Code of Civil Procedure (CPC) or through statutory bodies like the State Legal Services Authority, District Legal Services Authority, and Mandal Legal Services Authority. The court emphasised that police attempts to resolve civil disputes under initiatives like the Pre-Litigation Counselling Forum (PLCF) create confusion among parties and may escalate conflicts. The HC explicitly directed Visakhapatnam police to refrain from interfering in civil cases under any pretext. In a related case, 74-year-old S Shyamala from Visakhapatnam's Bay Colony approached the High Court, alleging harassment by the Visakhapatnam Commissioner of Police (CP), who repeatedly summoned her in connection with a civil land dispute. Shyamala sought court intervention to prevent police from pressuring her to resolve the dispute outside the legal framework.
