Allahabad High Court
Amar Pal Singh vs State Of U.P. And 3 Others on 4 September, 2017
Bench: Amreshwar Pratap Sahi, Rajiv Lochan Mehrotra
HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT ALLAHABAD
?A.F.R.
Court No. - 37
Case :- WRIT - C No. - 32477 of 2017
Petitioner :- Amar Pal Singh
Respondent :- State Of U.P. And 3 Others
Counsel for Petitioner :- Dharmendra Kumar Mishra,Saroj Kumar Tiwari,Shyam Surat Shukla
Counsel for Respondent :- C.S.C.,Baleshwar Chaturvedi
Hon'ble Amreshwar Pratap Sahi,J.
Hon'ble Rajiv Lochan Mehrotra,J.
Heard learned counsel for the petitioner.
This writ petition had been adjourned in order to gather the status of the proceedings that have been initiated by the petitioner before the Lok Adalat in Case No. 179 of 2016, which is still pending adjudication and which application had been filed by the petitioner himself with regard to the billing dispute and consumption of electricity for which a demand and a consequential recovery has been raised by the respondent-Electricity Department.
We have considered the submissions raised and we find that under the provisions of Section 22C(2) of the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 once a party chooses to approach the Lok Adalat then according to the aforesaid provision no party to that application can invoke the jurisdiction of any Court in the same dispute.
Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that it is not the same dispute which is raised here and it relates to the recovery which is an outcome of the dispute and where the liability is not being accepted by the petitioner. The dispute raised before the Lok Adalat is with regard to the liability and also claim for damages and hence it cannot be said that the dispute is the same.
Whether the dispute is same or not, this Court under Article 226 of the Constitution of India has wide powers to entertain any such dispute and is not demanded of it's authority to examine a claims, but at the same time the Court exercises restraint in order to allow the parties to get their disputes settled by any statutory remedy available.
In the instant case, the petitioner himself has approached the Lok Adalat. It is also stated at the Bar that the respondent-Electricity Department has already filed a written statement but on account of the vacancy of the presiding officials of the Lok Adalat, the case could not proceed for the past more than one year.
It is in between that the recovery proceeding has been initiated that has compelled the petitioner to approach this Court under Article 226 of the Constitution of India.
We find that the Lok Adalat has been given wide powers as per Section 22 read with Section 22D to proceed to decide a case by adopting its own procedure and to be not bound by the procedure under the Civil Procedure Code, even though the Lok Adalat is deemed to be a civil court within the meaning of law applicable.
The petitioner having availed of the said remedy, which our mind is also an efficacious remedy, inasmuch as the matter can be resolved amicably as well or otherwise by deciding the said dispute. We do not propose to entertain this petition. At the same time a civil suit may not be maintainable, keeping in view, the bar contained under the provisions of the Act for recovery of such dues.
However, it is not necessary to go into this question inasmuch as learned counsel for the petitioner submits that if a direction is issued to the permanent Lok Adalat to proceed with the matter and dispose of the same, the matter can be resolved at the earliest. It is also stated at the Bar that the permanent Lok Adalat has now been permanently constituted and is functioning.
We accordingly, dispose of this writ petition with liberty to the petitioner to approach the permanent Lok Adalat and press his application and the permanent Lok Adalat shall endeavour to dispose of the claim of the petitioner as expeditiously as possible preferably within six weeks from the date of the presentation of a certified copy of the order before the Presiding Officer.
The recovery proceedings that has been initiated shall be governed by any such direction issued by the Lok Adalat.
Order Date :- 4.9.2017
S.Chaurasia
