New Delhi, Feb 3 (PTI) The Supreme Court Thursday said that an award passed by the Lok Adalat under a provision of the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 cannot be the basis for redetermination of compensation under the Land Acquisition Act 1894.

The apex court said that an application under section 28A of the Land Acquisition Act, which deals with redetermination of the amount of compensation based on the award of the court, cannot be maintained based on an award passed by the Lok Adalat under section 20 of the 1987 Act.

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Section 20 of the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 deals with cognisance of cases by the Lok Adalat.

Lok Adalat is an alternative dispute redressal mechanism and it is a forum where disputes or cases pending in the court of law or at the pre-litigation stage are settled or compromised amicably.

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A bench of Justices K M Joseph and P S Narasimha delivered its verdict on a batch of appeals against the May 2020 judgement of the Allahabad High Court.

It noted that the question which arises for consideration in the matter is whether the award passed by a Lok Adalat under section 20 of the 1987 Act can form the basis for redetermination of compensation as contemplated under section 28A of the 1894 Act.

“We declare that an application under section 28A of the Act cannot be maintained on the basis of an award passed by the Lok Adalat under section 20 of the 1987 Act. The impugned judgements stand set aside,” the bench said.

“We would, therefore, approve the view taken by the Bombay High Court….and hold that an award passed under section (20) of the 1987 Act by the Lok Adalat cannot be the basis for invoking section 28A,” it said.

It allowed the appeals filed against the high court verdict which had taken a view that award passed by the Lok Adalat can form the foundation for exercising power under section 28A of the 1894 Act.

The matter pertained to the notification issued under section 4(1) of the 1894 Act in March 1983 in respect of villages situated in tehsil Dadri for planned industrial development contemplated by the New Okhla Industrial Development Authority (NOIDA).

The apex court said that jurisdiction of a Lok Adalat under section 20 is to facilitate a settlement of disputes between the parties in a case.

“It has no adjudicatory role. It cannot decide a lis. All that it can do is to bring about a genuine compromise or settlement,” the bench noted.

The top court said it is the “province and duty” of the court in the ultimate analysis to give effect to the will of the legislature.

“When a legal fiction is employed by the legislature, it becomes a duty of the court to interpret it and to give it meaning. In gleaning its meaning, the court is duty-bound to ascertain the purpose of this legislative device,” it said.

The bench said an award passed by a Lok Adalat under the 1987 Act is the culmination of a non-adjudicatory process and the parties are persuaded even by members of the Lok Adalat to arrive at a mutually agreeable compromise.

“An award passed by the Lok Adalat is not a compromise decree,” the bench said.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)