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2011 Supreme(SC) 1106

P. SATHASIVAM, J. CHELAMESWAR
K. N. Govindan Kutty Menon – Appellant
Versus
C. D. Shaji – Respondent


Judgement Key Points

Certainly. Based on the provided legal document, here are the key points:

  • Section 21 of the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987, contains a deeming provision that treats every award of a Lok Adalat as a decree of a civil court, making it executable as such (!) (!) (!) .
  • The Act does not differentiate between references made by civil courts and criminal courts; awards passed by Lok Adalats on cases referred by either type of court are deemed to be decrees capable of execution (!) (!) (!) .
  • There is no restriction on the authority of Lok Adalats to pass awards based on compromises in cases referred by various courts, tribunals, or forums, including criminal courts under specific provisions (!) (!) (!) .
  • Even in criminal cases, such as those under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, if settled through Lok Adalat, the award must be considered a decree capable of enforcement by a civil court (!) (!) (!) .
  • The interpretation that awards from Lok Adalats in criminal cases are only orders of the criminal court and not decrees of a civil court is incorrect; such awards are to be treated as decrees under the deeming provision (!) (!) .
  • The courts below erred in holding that awards passed by Lok Adalats in criminal cases are not decrees, and accordingly, the orders denying enforcement should be set aside, with directions to proceed with execution in accordance with law (!) .
  • The final judgment emphasizes that awards by Lok Adalats are to be regarded as decrees of civil courts and are fully enforceable as such, regardless of whether the case was originally civil or criminal (!) (!) .
  • The appeal is allowed, and the matter is remanded to the appropriate execution court to proceed with the enforcement of the award as a decree of a civil court (!) .

Please let me know if you need further clarification or assistance.


JUDGMENT

P. Sathasivam, J.

1) Leave granted.

2) This appeal raises an important question as to the interpretation of Section 21 of the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 (in short ‘the Act’). The question posed for consideration is that when a criminal case filed under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 referred to by the Magistrate Court to Lok Adalat is settled by the parties and an award is passed recording the settlement, can it be considered as a decree of a civil court and thus executable?

3) This appeal is directed against the final judgment and order dated 24.11.2009 passed by the High Court of Kerala at Ernakulam in Writ Petition (C) No. 33013 of 2009 whereby the High Court dismissed the petition filed by the appellant herein.

4) Brief facts:

(a) The appellant herein filed a complaint being C.C. No. 1216 of 2007 before the Judicial Ist Class Magistrate Court No.1, Ernakulam against the respondent herein under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 (in short ‘the N.I. Act’). The Magistrate referred the said complaint to the Ernakulam District Legal Service Authority for trying the case for settlement between the parties in the Lok Adalat.

(b)






































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