Lok Adalats provide an alternative dispute resolution mechanism in India to reduce pending cases in courts. The National Legal Services Authority monitors and evaluates legal aid programs in India. Lok Adalats have jurisdiction to settle a wide range of pre-litigation cases, including property and family disputes. They have proven effective, with one Lok Adalat in 2013 settling over 71 million cases across India.

1. LOK ADALATS ARE NEED OF
THE HOUR FOR JUDICIARY IN
INDIA
Guided by:
Asim Vidvarthi
Submitted By:
Suneeta Mohapatra
Roll No. 06
LLM

2. CONTENTS
What is Lok Adalat?
Statutory Provisions
Need of Lok Adalat
Number of Cases Solved by Lok Adalat
NALSA
Lok Adalat in India
Working of the Lok Adalat
Jurisdiction of the Lok Adalat

7. NATIONAL LEGAL SERVICES AUTHORITY
(NALSA)
 The National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) has
been constituted under the Legal Services
Authorities Act, 1987 to monitor and evaluate
implementation of legal aid programmes and to lay
down policies and principles for making legal
services available under the Act.
 NALSA lays down policies, principles,
guidelines and frames effective and economical
schemes for the State Legal Services
Authorities to implement the Legal Services
Programmes throughout the country.

8. STATUTORY PROVISIONS:
Article 39 (A)
Legal Services
Authorities Act,
1987(Chapter VI )

9. CHAPTER VI-A
PRE-LITIGATION CONCILIATION AND
SETTLEMENT OF
THE LEGAL SERVICES AUTHORITIES ACT
 Section 22 A – Definition of permanent
lok adalat & public utility service
 Section 22 B - Establishment of
Permanent Lok Adalats

10. NEED FOR LOK ADALATS
As Justice Ramaswamy said: “ Resolving
disputes through Lok Adalat not only
minimizes litigation expenditure, it saves
valuable time of the parties and their
witnesses and also facilitates inexpensive
and prompt remedy appropriately to the
satisfaction of both the parties”

11. JUSTICE P.N.BHAGWATI STATES IN THE
REPORT OF THE LEGAL AID COMMITTEE
“Legal aid implies providing an arrangement in the
society so that the machinery of administration of
justice becomes easily accessible and is not out of
reach of those who have to resort to it for
enforcements of the rights given to them”.

12. Law Courts in India face mainly four
problems:
 The number of courts and judges in all grades are
alarmingly inadequate.
 Increase in flow of cases in recent years due to
multifarious Acts enacted by the Central and State
Governments.
 The high cost involved in prosecuting or defending a case
in a court of law, due to heavy court fee, lawyer's fee and
incidental charges.
 Delay in disposal of cases resulting in huge pendency in
all the courts.

13. STATEMENT SHOWING THE DETAILS OF NUMBER OF CASES
SETTLED IN NATIONAL LOK ADALATS HELD ON 23.11.2013.
S.NO. STATE NUMBER OF CASES SETTLED
State No. Of Cases State No. Of Cases
Andhra Pradesh 1,13,195 2 Arunachal Pradesh 441 3
Assam 53,191 4 Bihar 2,22,164 5
Chhattisgarh 2,20,858 6 Goa 867 7
Gujarat 86,319 8 Haryana 1,80,193 9
Himachal Pradesh 16,416 10 Jammu & Kashmir 59,267 11
Jharkhand 1,06,041 12 Karnataka 94,997 13
Kerala 11,897 14 Madhya Pradesh 20,08,398 15
Maharashtra 4,08,222 16 Manipur 439 17
Meghalaya 972 18 Mizoram 510 19
Nagaland 1,439 20 Odisha 1,84,108 21
Punjab 3,46,423 22 Rajasthan 2,54,922 23
Sikkim 343 24 Tamil Nadu 13,77,252 25
Uttar Pradesh 9,22,768 27 West Bengal 30,968 29
Delhi 3,75,343 34 TOTAL 71,78,178

14. CASES SUITABLE FOR LOK
ADALAT
Lok Adalats have competence to deal with a
number of cases like:
a)Partition Claims b)Damages Cases
c)Matrimonial and family disputes
d)Mutation of lands case
e)Land Pattas cases
f)Bonded Labour cases
g)Land acquisition disputes
h)Bank’s unpaid loan cases
i)Arrears of retirement benefits cases
j)Family Court cases
k)Cases which are not sub-judice

15. WORKING OF THE LOK ADALATS
 Section 20 of
Legal Services
Authority Act 1987
provides about the
working of Lok
Adalats.
 Moni Mathai v.
Federal Bank

16. JURISDICTION OF LOK
ADALATS:
According to Section 19(5) of Legal
Services Authority Act,1987, lok
adalats can decide case by
compromise and settlement.
State of Kerala v. Ernakulum District
Legal Services Authority(AIR 2008
Kerala 70)
Union of India v. Annatto (AIR 2007
SC 1561)