Over 11 million cases settled in third lok adalat across country
The lok adalat took place in the taluks, districts, and high courts of 27 states and Union territories
In a major push towards reducing the pendency of cases in the formal judicial system, the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) on Saturday concluded the third national lok adalat of 2024, settling a staggering 1.14 crore cases across the country. The lok adalat, organised under the leadership of Supreme Court judge Justice Sanjiv Khanna, who also serves as the executive chairman of NALSA, recorded a total settlement amount of ₹8,482.08 crore.
The lok adalat took place in the taluks, districts, and high courts of 27 states and Union territories (UTs). The remaining states and UTs, owing to the festivities of Ganesh Chaturthi and Onam, will hold their lok adalats after the celebrations.
As per the latest data available at 6.30pm on Saturday, a total of 11,456,529 cases were resolved. Out of these, 9,460,864 were pre-litigation cases, while 1,995,665 cases were pending in various courts. The diverse categories of cases resolved included criminal compoundable offences, traffic challans, revenue disputes, bank recovery issues, motor accident claims, cheque dishonor cases, labour disputes, matrimonial cases (excluding divorces), land acquisition matters, intellectual property rights disputes, consumer complaints and other civil matters.
In a statement issued by Santosh Snehi Mann, member secretary of NALSA, lauded the overwhelming response from people. “The present success reflects the trust of the people in lok adalats, significantly enhancing access to justice, especially for the underprivileged and marginalised sections of society. NALSA remains committed to organising more lok adalats and promoting alternative dispute resolution mechanisms across the country,” read the statement.
With the number of settled cases expected to rise as reports from other states are awaited, NALSA is committed to organising more lok adalats in the future to further promote access to justice across the nation, it added.
NALSA, which was established under the Legal Services Authorities Act of 1987, aims at reducing the burden on the formal judicial system by encouraging out-of-court settlements through lok adalats.
