JODHPUR, March 31 -- The Rajasthan high court on Monday directed the state government to immediately issue orders extending the tenure of certain members of permanent Lok Adalats to ensure that these forums continue to function without interruption across the State. The order was passed by a Division Bench of Justice Dr. Pushpendra Singh Bhati and Justice Sandeep Shah while hearing a suo motu writ petition concerning the functioning of Permanent Lok Adalats in Rajasthan. The Court was informed that the non-extension of tenure of nine members had resulted in at least seven Permanent Lok Adalats becoming non-functional. The Bench said: "Permanent Lok Adalats are a unique institutional mechanism aimed at ensuring expeditious, inexpensive, and pre-litigation resolution of disputes concerning public utility services. Unlike traditional adjudicatory bodies, Permanent Lok Adalats are imbued with a dual function: first, to facilitate conciliation between parties, and in the event of failure thereof, to adjudicate the dispute on merits, thereby blending the principles of alternative dispute resolution with limited judicial authority. Their statutory mandate reflects a legislative intent to reduce the burden on overburdened courts while simultaneously securing access to justice, particularly for the common citizen who may otherwise be deterred by procedural complexities and costs. The importance of Permanent Lok Adalats lies in their ability to provide binding and enforceable awards through a simplified, non-adversarial process, thereby promoting substantive justice over technicalities." The Bench observed: "The non-functioning or ineffective functioning of such Permanent Lok Adalats has serious and far-reaching consequences on access to justice. In the absence of these forums operating as intended, litigants, especially those from marginalised or economically weaker sections, are compelled to approach courts, thereby exposing them to delays and procedural rigours which the statute specifically sought to obviate."...