Lok Adalat


Lok Adalat is one of the Alternative dispute resolution mechanism in India, it is a forum where cases pending on panchayat or at pre litigation stage in a court of law are settled. They have been given statutory status under the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987. Under this Act, the award made by the Lok Adalats is deemed to be a case of a civil court and is final and binding on all parties and no appeal against such an award lies before any court of law. If the parties are not satisfied with the award of the Lok Adalat, they are free to initiate litigation by approaching the court of appropriate jurisdiction.
Lok Adalat is very effective in settlement of money claims. Disputes like partition suits, damages and matrimonial cases can also be easily settled before Lok Adalat, as the scope for compromise through an approach of give and take is high in these cases. A Lok Adalat can take up civil cases and compoundable criminal cases.First time lok adalat was held in Gujrat in 1999