Third National Lok Adalat: Over 15 Lakh Cases Settled In A Day

The Legal Services Authorities across the country, under the aegis of National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) and the leadership of Mr. Justice U.U. Lalit, Executive Chairman, NALSA, organized the third National Lok Adalat of 2021 in 33 States/UTs yesterday in virtual and hybrid mode. The schedule for conducting the next National Lok Adalat of this calendar year is in December 2021. Justice U.U. Lalit actively monitored the functioning of Lok Adalats through video conferencing.

He virtually joined the ongoing proceedings of the benches constituted at district levels and remote areas in Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Kerela, and Tamil Nadu among other states.

He interacted with more than 50 Presiding Judges of Lok Adalat Benches of States mentioned above and welcomed their suggestions for the efficient disposal of cases through Lok Adalats. Appreciating the work done at the ground level by the Presiding Officers, Justice Lalit emphasized that National Lok Adalats are imperative to reduce the vast pendency in the country's justice system.

For the first time, a virtual connection has been made up to the Taluka Level, i.e., Pindwara in Sirohi District, which is a Tribal area of Rajasthan; Keshkal in Kondagaon District, which is a Naxalite affected area of Chhattisgarh.

A total of 33,12,389 cases were taken up, out of which 18,50,067 were pre-litigation cases, and 14,62,322 were pending cases. Over 15,33,186 cases were disposed of in a single day.

The category of cases included MACT, matrimonial, cheque bounce cases under NI Act, labor disputes, other civil cases, criminal compoundable cases, revenue cases, etc. The NALSA has shifted to dynamic preparation strategies for the National Lok Adalats, looking at the pending cases due to the ongoing pandemic.

In an earlier meeting, Justice Lalit had stressed various strategies for successfully conducting the National Lok Adalat and had welcomed the suggestions put forth by the Executive Chairpersons of SLSAs.

NALSA further directed the LSAs to observe the COVID-19 protocol prevalent in the States/UTs as per the guidelines issued by the Government of India and State Governments. The National Lok Adalat has been postponed in Maharashtra, Odisha, Karnataka, and Goa due to ongoing pandemic and other local circumstances, which will be held on 25.09.2021, 19.09.2021, 30.09.2021, and 25.09.2021, respectively.