Over 11.3 million cases settled in first National Lok Adalat of 2024

In a significant stride towards fostering an accessible and inclusive justice system, the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) successfully organised the first National Lok Adalat of 2024 in the taluks, districts and high courts of 34 states and Union territories on Saturday.

According to information from the state legal services authorities from across the country as of 6 pm on Saturday, a total of 1,13,60,144 cases were settled at the first National Lok Adalat, including 17,14,056 pending cases and 96,46,088 pre-litigation cases.

"The approximate value of the total settlement amount in these cases was Rs 8,065.29 crore. The number of settled cases will rise as reports are awaited from some State Legal Services Authorities," a release said.

It added that the figures show the effectiveness of alternative mechanisms for dispute resolution, reflecting the success of the National Lok Adalat in achieving its objectives.

"This National Lok Adalat marks a pivotal moment in NALSA's commitment to ensuring justice for all, transcending barriers, and redefining the landscape of dispute resolution in the country," the release said.

It added that this initiative, under the stewardship of Supreme Court judge Sanjiv Khanna, who is also the executive chairman of the NALSA, aligns with the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 and National Legal Services Authority (Lok Adalats) Regulations, 2009.

The lok adalats, with a statutory status, provide an expeditious, economical and efficient alternative dispute resolution mechanism, settling disputes amicably with final awards.

Addressing a broad spectrum of pre-litigation and pending cases, including criminal compoundable offences, traffic challans, revenue cases, bank-recovery cases, motor-accident claims, cheque-dishonour cases, labour disputes, matrimonial disputes (excluding divorce cases), land acquisition cases, IPR (intellectual property rights) or consumer matters and other civil cases, the National Lok Adalat embodies the NALSA's commitment to providing comprehensive legal remedies, the release said.