The Legal Services Authorities across the country, under the aegis of National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) and the leadership of Hon’ble Mr. Justice U.U. Lalit, the Supreme Court Judge, and Executive Chairman, NALSA, organised the third National Lok Adalat of the year 2021 in 33 States/UTs on 11th September in both virtual and hybrid mode. The Next National Lok Adalat of this calendar year will be organised in the month of December, 2021.
During the last National Lok Adalat, a total number of 27.06 Lakhs cases were disposed off by all 37 States/UTs. The Executive Chairman, NALSA had himself actively monitored the working and functioning of the Lok Adalats through virtual conferencing.
Continuing the trend today as well, Justice Lalit virtually joined the ongoing proceedings of the benches constituted at District levels and remote areas in several States/UTs starting from Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Kerela and Tamil Nadu. It is for the first time that a virtual connect has been made upto 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.
Justice Lalit interacted with more than 50 Presiding Judges of Lok Adalat Benches of aforesaid States and welcomed their suggestions with respect to the efficient disposal of cases through Lok Adalats. His Lordship appreciated the work done at the ground level by the Presiding Officers and laid emphasis on the aspect that National Lok Adalats are imperative to reduce the huge pendency in the justice system of the country.
Across the country, the latest data available till 4:00 pm indicates that 40,69,171 cases were taken up out of which 23,47,069 were pre-litigation cases and 17,22,102 were pending cases. Over 17,13,024 cases were disposed of in a single day, indicating a huge achievement and success for the Legal Services Authorities. It was on account of the keen participation by the stakeholders that the Legal Services Authorities have been able to achieve this huge disposal. The details are as follows:
| Pre-litigation Cases | Pending Cases | Total | ||||||
| Taken Up | Disposed Of | Settlement Amount (Rs) | Taken Up | Disposed Of | Settlement Amount (Rs) | Taken Up | Disposed Of | Settlement Amount (Rs) |
| 2347069 | 1028994 | 4735639864 | 1722102 | 684030 | 25224842625 | 4069171 | 1713024 | 29960482489 |
In order to ensure maximum settlement between the parties in cases like MACT, matrimonial, cheque bounce cases under NI Act, labour disputes, other civil cases, criminal compoundable cases, revenue cases and other category of cases.
With the rise in pending cases due to the ongoing pandemic, NALSA has shifted to dynamic preparation strategies for the National Lok Adalats. For today’s National Lok Adalat, a consultative and interactive meeting was organized on 6th September, wherein Justice Lalit had stressed upon 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 COVID-19 protocol prevalent in the States/UTs as per the guidelines issued by the Government of India as well as 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.