What is Lok Adalats?

            The word "Lok Adalat" means 'People's Court.The Legal Services Authority Act makes provisions in relation to the establishment, powers and functions etc. of the Lok Adalat. The Preamble of the act makes it clear that the it has been connected to constitutes the Legal Services Authorities to provide free and Competent legal services to the weaker sections of the society to ensure that opportunities for securing justice are not denied to any citizen by reason of economic or other disabilities and organise Lok Adalats to secure that operation of the legal system promotes Justice on a basis of equal opportunity.

          Lok Adalat is an old concept. In ancient India it played important role in settlement of disputes and  its validity has not been taken away even in the modern days too.

       The Lok Adalat is an old form of adjudicating system prevailed in ancient India and its validity has not been taken away even in the modern days too.  This system is based on Gandhian principles. It is one of the components of ADR system. In British period the Institution of Lok Adalat was replaced by centralised judicial system. Local Courts were replaced by the Royal Courts.

As the Indian Courts are over burdened with the backlog of cases at the regular Courts are to decide cases which involve a lengthy, expensive and tedious procedure. The Court takes years together to settle even petty cases 

            The object of establishment of Lok Adalat is to settle the disputes quickly by counseling and discussions,  etc.  Its basis is to provide quick justice with the mutual and free consent of the parties. The provision for establishment of Lok Adalat has been enacted with the object to reduce burden on the Courts so that the problem of law's delay may be solved and people may get justice within due time. It is supplementary to the judicial system and not a substitute thereof.

Lok Adalat therefore, provides alternative resolution or devise for expeditious and inexpensive justice. 

               Lok Adalat saves not only time but also huge expenditure on judicial proceedings in the current judicial system. It provides quick justice at nominal expenditure. Thus, it provides less expensive Justice to the people.

      Experiment of ' Lok Adalat ' is an alternative mode of dispute settlement has come to be accepted in India as a viable, economic, sufficient and informal one.

         Lok Adalat is another alternative to judicial justice. This is a recent strategy for delivering informal, cheap and expeditious justice to the common man by way of settling disputes, which are pending in courts and also those, which have not yet reached Courts by negotiations,  conciliation and by adopting persuasive , common sense and Human approach to the problems of the disputants, with the assistance of specially trained and experienced members of a Team of Conciliators.

The Lok Adalat is not a Court. It may be taken as a para-judicial institution .

(See Also...What are Benefits of Lok Adalat )