‘Grand’ settlement for Rs 97,000 case

A litigation involving Rs 96,903 was settled for just Rs 1,000 thanks to the Lok Adalat conducted by the TN State Legal Services Authority (TNSLSA).

D Dharmalingam of Malivakkam village in Tiruvallur had taken a loan from Karur Vysya Bank and Rs 96,903 remained payable by him. However, Dharmalingam met with an accident in his factory and he lost all the fingers in his right hand.

Hence, he could not work, earn and repay the loan amount. The TNSLSA conducted a special lok adalat, before which the pre-litigation cases involving Karur Vysya Bank were posted, on Wednesday.

Negotiations were made between the borrower and the bank officials in the adalat. The bank officials, considering the present situation of Dharmalingam, finalised the settlement for Rs 1,000 on humanitarian grounds.

According to the TNSLSA member-secretary, as many as 1,809 adalats were conducted from January to April this year and more than 30,000 cases involving Rs 236.71 crore were settled.