From 2022-23 to 2024-25, more than 23.5 crore cases have been resolved in various Lok Adalats across India.
Lok Adalat Framework
- Established: under the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 to provide speedy and cost-effective justice as an Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) mechanism.
- Objective: Reduce pendency (e.g. more than 4.7 crore pendency as per NJDG), promote consensual settlements, and strengthen access to justice.
- Authority: Organised by the NALSA with the CJI as Patron-in-Chief.
- Enforcement: Awards are final, binding, equivalent to a civil court decree, with no appeal provision.
- Scope: Covers pre-litigation and pending cases, excluding non-compoundable offences and divorce matters.
- Types of Lok Adalats
- National Lok Adalat (NLA): Involve simultaneous, nationwide sittings on a single day at all levels of the judiciary, from the Supreme Court down to the Taluk Levels, aiming to clear a large volume of cases.
- Permanent Lok Adalat (PLA): Organized for cases related to Public Utility Services (e.g., transport, postal, telegraph, electricity, water supply) up to ₹ 1 Crore.
- E-Lok Adalats and Mobile Lok Adalats:
- E-Lok Adalats allow for remote participation and bring justice through digital platforms.
- Mobile Lok Adalats are organized to travel from one location to another to resolve disputes.
