Traffic challans dominate Ranchi Lok Adalat

Ranchi: Around 30,000 traffic-challan notices were issued in Ranchi for Saturday’s National Lok Adalat, drawing a large number of motorists to the civil court to settle pending cases.

The Ranchi District Legal Services Authority issued around 50,000 notices for the Lok Adalat, with traffic and motor vehicle cases accounting for nearly 30,000, according to its secretary Rakesh Roshan.

Special benches were set up at the Ranchi Civil Court to deal with motor vehicle cases. Several motorists who appeared at the Lok Adalat said they had expected some relief in the fines imposed on them.

Chandramohan, an autorickshaw driver from Dhurwa, said he had bought his vehicle seven to eight months ago and had received around 17 traffic challans during that period. He said he sometimes received three or four challan messages in a month.

Raziah, from Doranda, said she had come to the Lok Adalat expecting relief but had so far received six challans which she disputed.

The complaints highlight a gap between what some motorists expected from the Lok Adalat and what they experienced during the proceedings.

Roshan said motor vehicle cases should receive greater consideration for relief in future Lok Adalats.

The National Lok Adalat was held across Jharkhand on Saturday, with 295 benches constituted across the state. The main programme was held in Dhanbad and inaugurated by Justice Sujit Narayan Prasad, while proceedings at district legal services authorities, including Ranchi, were inaugurated virtually.

Apart from motor vehicle cases, the Lok Adalat dealt with cheque-bounce cases, electricity theft, excise and forest matters, family disputes and civil and revenue cases.