Permanent Lok Adalat has no power to review its order, says Kerala HC
The Kerala High Court has held that the Permanent Lok Adalat has no power to review its own orders or reassess evidence as the Legal Services Authorities Act does not confer such powers on it.
The court made the observation recently while dismissing a petition by a BSNL customer against the refusal of the Ernakulam Permanent Lok Adalat to review its order regarding overcharge of calls. The petitioner sought to review the adalat's earlier order on the ground that the BSNL, being the sole custodian of billing and data usage records, had failed to produce those documents and explain the bill generation process.
Clear distinction
The court observed that clear distinction existed between rectification and review, with review needing statutory authorisation. The adalat's power of recall did not equate to rehearing for errors in judgment or re-litigation of merits, but allowed for correction of procedural errors such as failure to serve necessary notice on parties and so on.
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