Allahabad High Court: Lok Adalat Cannot Dismiss Cases for Non-Appearance

The Allahabad High Court ruled that a Lok Adalat has no authority to dismiss a case for non-appearance of parties or act on its own motion.

Justice Anish Kumar Gupta observed that the forum’s jurisdiction is limited to facilitating settlements. If no compromise is reached, the matter must be returned to the referring court.

The Court set aside a Lok Adalat order dismissing a cheque bounce complaint under Section 138 Negotiable Instruments Act (NI Act) and remanded the case to the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Etah, for continuation from the stage at which it was referred.

[Rajeev Jain v State of Uttar Pradesh]