Lok Adalat award on a criminal complaint is not executable as a civil court decree.

An award passed by a Lok Adalat on reference of a criminal complaint does not acquire the character of a civil court decree for execution. Section 21 of the Legal Services Authorities Act deems a Lok Adalat award to be a decree of a civil court only where that is consistent with the nature of the reference court's competence. Because a criminal court cannot pass a civil decree, an award recorded on settlement of a criminal complaint referred to Lok Adalat is treated as the order of the criminal court from which the matter was referred, not as an executable civil decree. An independent application for cheque amount may stand differently, but not on these facts.

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Issues: Whether an award passed by a Lok Adalat on reference of a criminal complaint can be treated as a decree of a civil court and executed as such by the civil court.

Analysis: Section 21 of the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 deems every Lok Adalat award to be a decree of a civil court or, as the case may be, an order of any other court. Where the reference emanates from a criminal court, the Lok Adalat acts within the ambit of the reference court's competence. Since a criminal court cannot pass a decree, an award recorded on settlement of a criminal complaint referred to Lok Adalat does not acquire the character of a civil court decree. It is to be treated as the order of the criminal court from which the matter was referred, and not as an executable civil decree. An award on an independent application for the cheque amount could stand on a different footing, but that was not the situation here.

Conclusion: The award arising out of the criminal complaint could not be executed as a decree of a civil court, and the refusal to receive the execution petition was .

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