2[Lok Adalat or Permanent Lok Adalat.]—(1) The 2[Lok Adalat or Permanent Lok Adalat] shall, for the purposes of holding any determination under this Act, have the same powers as are vested in a Civil Court under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (5 of 1908), while trying a suit in respect of the following matters, namely:—
(a)the summoning and enforcing the attendance of any witness and examining him on oath;
(b)the discovery and production of any document;
(c)the reception of evidence on affidavits;
(d)the requisitioning of any public record or document or copy of such record or document from any court or office; and
(e)such other matters as may be prescribed.
(2)Without prejudice to the generality of the powers contained in sub-section (1), every 2[Lok Adalat or Permanent Lok Adalat] shall have the requisite powers to specify its own procedure for the determination of any dispute coming before it.
(3)All proceedings before a 2[Lok Adalat or Permanent Lok Adalat] shall be deemed to be judicial proceedings within the meaning of sections 193,219 and 228 of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860) and every 2[Lok Adalat or Permanent Lok Adalat] shall be deemed to be a Civil Court for the purpose of section195 and Chapter XXVI of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974).