Mega Lok Adalat: Tamil Nadu courts work together to settle 3.16 lakh cases in single day

CHENNAI: As part of a nationwide ' mega lok adalat', various courts in Tamil Nadu have disposed of 3.16 lakh cases in a single day. The award they amounted during Saturday's lok adalat touched a total of Rs 342.4 crore, Tamil Nadu State Legal Services Authority said.

Various courts, from the taluk level to the Madras high court, took part in the lok adalat, it said. They heard and settled criminal compoundable cases, instances of dishonoured cheques under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, motor accidents, civil disputes and appeals, original suits, writs and pre-litigation cases involving banks and other service providers.

A total of 447 branches at various venues, including the high court's principal seat at Chennai and its Madurai bench, took part in the lok adalat. They also heard around 2.9 lakh cases that were pending in various courts and awarded total settlements of Rs 247.7 crore. The courts cleared a total of 27,046 pre-litigation cases, involving Rs 94.84 crore.

Together, a total of 3,16,284 cases were settled for an overall award amount of Rs 342,44,90,173, the press statement said.

Justice R Sudhakar of the Madras high court said Tamil Nadu State Legal Services Authority and its district units would conduct special adalats to enable people affected by the heavy rainfall in Chennai to obtain documents such as voter ID cards, Aadhar, ration cards and other government-related documents lost in the floods.

The judge also handed over flood relief kits to IAS officer Gagandeep Singh Bedi, who is in charge of flood relief work in Cuddalore, the district that the rain devastated more than any other. The kits each contained 40 items including 5kg of rice and groceries to last a family for 15 days.