The Lok Adalat, according to bank officials, was planned keeping in mind the huge backlog of cases pertaining to the Negotiable Instruments Act.

On January 7, the bank sent the proposal to the Delhi Legal Services Authority, which approved it. Soon, the bank sent a list of 1.1 lakh cases for immediate settlement.

The DLSA has divided the cases into categories like home loan, credit card, auto loan and personal loan, which will be taken up by 100 metropolitan magistrates.

These cases will be settled through the three-fold mechanism of withdrawal, rescheduling and installments.

To facilitate instant disposal of these cases, the DLSA has set up a ‘centralised server’ containing details of the 1.1 lakh cases. This server will be connected to computers in the five courts. Once a case is settled, its file will be sent to the concerned judge for disposal.

Special counters will be set up for female litigants, disabled persons and senior citizens.

The concept is unique, as a litigant can walk into any district court complex, irrespective of where the case is pending, and can reach a settlement.

“Our purpose was to make the mechanism litigant-friendly and fetch maximum results within the stipulated time period,” Sanjay Sharma, project officer, DLSA, said.

The cases will be taken up between 11 am and 4 pm in the Karkardooma, Patiala House, Rohini, Tees Hazari and Dwarka courts complexes.

The ICICI Bank is providing technical support for the Lok Adalats. It will install 10 computers (two in each court) which will be connected to the common server.

The bank will even provide printers, photocopy machines in each Lok Adalat so that a copy of the settlement order “is provided to the opposite party then and there”. Also, file covers for “keeping the records of the settled cases.”