Estate Officer vs Colonel H.V. Mankotia (Retired)

The Supreme Court addressed the legality of a Lok Adalat's decision to dismiss a writ petition on merits, which the appellant contended was beyond the Lok Adalat's jurisdiction. The Court held that Lok Adalats are not empowered to decide the merits of cases and that such decisions are not legally valid. Consequently, the Court set aside the Lok Adalat's order and restored the writ petition for consideration on its merits.