In Brief
The appellant filed a writ petition in the Madhya Pradesh High Court, which was referred to a Lok Adalat. The Lok Adalat members dismissed the writ petition on merits, even though no settlement or compromise was reached between the parties. The appellant challenged this, arguing the Lok Adalat exceeded its jurisdiction. The Supreme Court held that a Lok Adalat's authority is limited to facilitating compromise or settlement; it cannot decide matters on merits when settlement fails. Consent to place a matter before a Lok Adalat extends only to settlement efforts, not to merits adjudication. Therefore, the Court quashed the Lok Adalat's order and remitted the case to the High Court to decide the writ petition on merits.
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