Ruling in KN Govindan Kutty Menon v CD Shaji, the Supreme Court recently held that an award made by a Lok Adalat, an alternative dispute resolution forum, in the settlement of a criminal case is executable by a civil court.
Holding that section 21 of the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987, does not distinguish between a reference by a civil court and a criminal court, the Supreme Court said: “Even if a matter is referred by a criminal court under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act and by virtue of the deeming provisions, the award passed by the lok adalat based on a compromise has to be treated as a decree capable of execution by a civil court.”
In KN Govindan Kutty Menon, a dispute over cheque bouncing had been referred to the Lok Adalat in Ernakulam, in Kerala. The parties had reached a compromise and the Lok Adalat made an award to Menon. As Shaji did not make the full payment, Menon filed an execution petition before the principal munsif judge in Ernakulam.
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The update of court judgments is compiled by Bhasin & Co, Advocates, a corporate law firm based in New Delhi. The authors can be contacted at lbhasin@bhasinco.in or lbhasin@gmail.com. Readers should not act on the basis of this information without seeking professional legal advice.
