Karnataka High Court Voids Lok Adalat Award Lacking Party Signatures
The Karnataka High Court has nullified a Lok Adalat award that settled a case based on a joint memo signed only by the lawyers and not the parties involved. A single-judge bench of Justice M. Nagaprasanna delivered this ruling, accepting a writ petition challenging the Lok Adalat's decision in a Motor Vehicle Accident Claims Tribunal matter. The petitioners, who were the claimants, argued that their counsel had consented to the settlement without their approval and that they had not signed the joint memorandum.
The case originated from a fatal road accident where a man died, and his wife and son, the petitioners, sought compensation. The Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal initially awarded them ₹9,18,600 with interest. However, the insurance company challenged this order in the High Court. During the appeal process, the case was referred to the Lok Adalat, where the compensation amount was subsequently reduced to ₹7,82,000 based on the aforementioned joint memo.
Upon reviewing the records, the court observed that the joint memo indeed had empty spaces for the parties' signatures, with only the signatures of the respective lawyers and the insurance company's representative present. Citing precedents from Kirti v. Oriental Insurance Company Ltd. (2021) and K.R. Jayaprakash v. State of Kerala (2021), the court affirmed that parties are not bound by agreements or concessions made by their lawyers without explicit client consent, as lawyers generally lack the authority to relinquish their clients' rights or agree to terms contrary to their interests. Consequently, the High Court allowed the writ petition, setting aside the Lok Adalat award and ordering the original appeal (M.F.A. No.100905/2014) to be relisted for a fresh hearing according to law. The case was titled Smt. Shaila Vs. The Managing Director, ICICI Lombard GIC Ltd.
Source: CourtBeat News (Kannada)
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