Bengaluru, July 13 -- As identity documents come under heightened public scrutiny during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, a Bengaluru advocate has urged the Karnataka High Court and the Karnataka State Legal Services Authority (KSLSA) to stop referring delayed birth and death registration petitions to Lok Adalats, arguing that only judicial magistrates are empowered to decide such cases.
In a representation submitted to the Registrar General of the High Court and the Member Secretary of KSLSA, advocate R. Vananda Murthy said petitions filed under Section 13(3) of the Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969 involve the exercise of judicial powers and cannot be disposed of through Lok Adalats.
The memoran...