Jammu and Kashmir Dehi Adalats Act, 2013

No: 15 Dated: Oct, 24 2013

THE JAMMU AND KASHMIR DEHI ADALATS ACT, 2013

(Act No. XV of 2013)

    An Act to provide for the establishment of Dehi Adalats at the grassroots level for the purposes of providing access to justice to the citizens at their doorsteps and to ensure that opportunities for securing justice are not denied to any citizen by reason of social, economic or other disabilities and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.

    Be it enacted by State Legislature in the Sixty-fourth Year of the Republic of India as follows :—

CHAPTER I

Preliminary

1. Short title and commencement.— (1) This Act may be called the Jammu and Kashmir Dehi Adalats Act, 2013.

(2) It shall come into force on such date as the Government may, by notification published in the Government Gazette, appoint, and different dates may be appointed for different sections of the Act.

2. Definitions.— In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,—

(a) “Act” means the Jammu and Kashmir Dehi Adalats Act, 2013 ;

(b) “Dehi Adalat” means a Court established under sub-section (1) of section 3 ;

(c) “Panchayat” means an institution (by whatever name called) of self-government constituted under the Jammu and Kashmir Panchayati Raj Act, 1989 ;

(d) “High Court” means the High of Jammu and Kashmir ;

(e) “notification” means a notification published in the Government Gazette and the expression “notified” shall be construed accordingly ;

(f) “Aadil” means the Presiding Officer of a Dehi Adalat appointed under section 5 ;

(g) “prescribed” means prescribed by rules made under this Act ;

(h) “Schedule” means the Schedule appended to the Act ;

(i) “Government” means Government of Jammu and Kashmir ;

(j) words and expressions used herein and not defined but defined in the Code of Civil Procedure, Samvat 1977 or the Code of Criminal Procedure, Samvat 1989 shall have the meanings respectively assigned to them in those Codes.

CHAPTER II

Dehi Adalats

3. Establishment of Dehi Adalats.—(1) For the purpose of exercising the jurisdiction and powers conferred on a Dehi Adalats by the Act, the Government, after consultation with the High Court, may, by notification, establish one or more Dehi Adalat for a Block or a Group of Contiguous Blocks : Provided that till the Dehi Adalats are established for any area, the existing Court of Judicial Magistrate of the First Class for the area shall continue to exercise powers and jurisdiction of a Dehi Adalat under the Act.

(2) The Government shall, after consultation with the High Court, specify, by notification, the local limits of the area to which the jurisdiction of a Dehi Adalat shall extend and may, at any time, increase, reduce or alter such limits.

(3) The Dehi Adalats established under sub-section (1) shall be in addition to the Courts established under any other law for the time being in force.

(4) The High Court may confer upon a Dehi Adalat, the powers and functions of a Judicial Magistrate of the First Class under any law for the time being in force.