KOLKATA: The State Legal Services Authority-West Bengal (SLSAWB) will on Saturday introduce mobile Lok Adalat service, which will help citizens settle traffic disputes and pay traffic fines.
A bus, which will be converted into the court, complete with judicial officials, resource persons and advocates, will be flagged off from Writers’ Buildings in presence of SLSAWB executive chairman Justice T S Sivagnanam at 10.30am. It will be stationed there for a few hours, and then, shift to KC Das in Esplanade from 1pm.
Secretary, District Legal Services Authority (DLSA), Kolkata, Gautam Kumar Nag said the stress would be on settling traffic offences committed on Saturday. “Offenders will be asked to go to the mobile Lok Adalat to resolve their disputes. Traffic Police will encourage violators on Saturday to pay spot fines there, where the amount will be less than the original penalty,” said Nag.
SLSAWB member-secretary Raju Mukherjee said that apart from the bus-court, over 200 benches would operate across the state on Saturday, aiming to adjudicate more than 1 lakh cases. A bench in Uluberia will have a third-gender member.
Those Lok Adalats will settle pre-litigation disputes of pending cases related to electricity, banking, motor accident claims cases, workmen compensation and labour disputes, including employees’ compensation cases. So far, 75 compensation cases have been referred for the first time. “Among the cases that will be heard are pending land acquisition cases and old commercial matters. Even shops and establishments cases are to be heard at Bankshall and other district courts. Matrimonial disputes and compoundable criminal cases will also be heard,” Mukherjee said.
