Justice Deepak Sibal, Judge of the Punjab & Haryana High Court and Administrative Judge for the Sessions Division, Patiala, has called on families with pending cases in Family Courts to set aside past conflicts and reunite for the sake of their children’s future. Justice Sibal made these remarks during his visit to the District Court in Patiala, where he was overseeing the National Lok Adalat, which was held on Saturday to address various cases, excluding non-compoundable criminal cases.
This National Lok Adalat was organized under the directions of NALSA and the Punjab State Legal Services Authority, and was supervised by Ms. Rupinderjit Chahal, District & Sessions Judge and Chairperson of the District Legal Services Authority, Patiala. During the Lok Adalat, 42,716 cases from different categories were taken up, and 21,529 cases were settled through mutual compromise, resulting in settlements amounting to ₹630,845,963.
Justice Deepak Sibal, along with Ms. Rupinderjit Chahal, participated in court proceedings and inspected the various benches constituted for the event. With the intervention of Justice Deepak Sibal, along with the efforts of Rupinderjit Chahal and the presiding officers of the Family Court benches, 63 cases were settled in the bench presided over by Muneesh Arora, Principal Judge of the Family Court, Patiala, and 126 cases were resolved in the bench presided over by Deepika Singh, Additional Principal Judge, Family Court, Patiala.
On this occasion, Justice Sibal reiterated his appeal to families with pending cases to put their differences aside for the future of their children. His intervention played a crucial role in the amicable resolution of family disputes, allowing 25 families to return home and lead happy, harmonious lives. Justice Sibal highlighted that holding Lok Adalats at regular intervals not only helps raise public awareness about their benefits but also plays a vital role in reducing the backlog of cases in courts.
During the National Lok Adalat, 25 judicial benches were constituted across the District of Patiala: 16 in Patiala, 4 in Rajpura, 3 in Nabha, and 2 in Samana. A separate Permanent Lok Adalat (Public Utility Services) bench was also set up to expedite the resolution of pending cases. Additionally, a Co-ordinate bench was constituted at the Women’s Cell Police Station in Patiala to address matrimonial complaints filed before the registration of FIRs. A bench in the Revenue Court of Patiala was dedicated to resolving cases related to mutation, partition, and other revenue matters.