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One of the major concerns in topical times is the legal assistance for the poor and the destitute. The only way to ensure that everyone has access to equal protection under the law is to provide legal aid and free legal advice. In a developing nation like India where majority of the population lacks the ability to defend their interests,it becomes the responsibility of the State to ensure that the underprivileged are able to achieve their legal rights. While the impoverished factions continue to lack access to the justice system, the wealthier ones use the courts to demand their legal rights. But what is worrisome is that our judicial system is overburdened.Thejudicial delays in making decisionsfurther increases the cost of litigation. Hence comes the importance of alternative dispute resolution processes. The provision of free legal aid is a step toward upholding their rights. The statutory backing in this direction was provided by the Legal Services Authorities Act of 1987. Additionally, in an attempt to establish a uniformity all across the nation, every State has established a State Legal Services Authority, and each High Court has established a High Court Legal Services Committee.In a aim to carry out the policies and directives of the NALSA, provide free legal services to the public, and hold Lok Adalats in the State, District Legal Services Authorities and Taluk Legal Services Committees have been established in the Districts and the majority of Taluks. To oversee and carry out the legal services programme as it pertains to the Supreme Court of India, the Supreme Court Legal Services Committee has been established. An innovative move in this approach is the widely anticipated Lok Adalat concept, which aims to provide the poor with quick and simple access to justice.

The present paper tries to elucidate the importance of the Lok Adalats as a means of alternate dispute resolution that ensures justice to the deprived sections of the society, and hence, reflects upon the necessity to educate people about the relevance of the same.

One of the major components of the ADR system, the concept of Lok Adalats aims at providing speedy settlement of disputes through conciliation and remedial talks. The Legal Services Authority Act, 1987 ensured the concept of Lok Adalats is followed in its true letter and spirit. However, there is still a lot to be done to ensure a speedy and satisfactory decision on the disputes. 

According to Manzoor Ellahi Laskar's study on the "Lok Adalat System in India," the perception of Lok Adalat is an original contribution made by India to international law. The Lok Adalats institution offers a method for quick justice to the victims for a fair resolution of their conflict. Gandhian ideals serve as the foundation for Lok Adalat's mechanism. One of the tools used in ADR systems is Lok Adalat. The conflict between the parties was known to as the "Panchayat" at the village level during the earlier era. The Panchayat used mediation as a technique of dispute resolution. The core of Lok Adalats is the idea that disputes may be resolved by arbitration, conciliatory action, or mediation.The general public can be benefited by the dispute resolution system of the Lok Adalats.

In their research work titled "Bread for the Poor": Access to Justice and the Rights of the Needy in India" Marc Galanter and Jayanth K. Krishnan state that while the Indian constitution is cherished and supported by the Indian people. However  when it comes to the courts where ordinary Indians may seek refuge under the judiciary, they encounter significant difficulties that delay justice and force them to pay high fees. Consumers fear going to court out of habitual litigiousness, but recent evidence shows that Indians take use of the bench at a reduced rate and that the pace of proceedings is slowing down. It is here that Lok Adalats have played a vital role as the alternative to dispute resolutions, thereby, lessening the gridlocked court system of India. 

KD Raju examined "Alternative Conflict Resolution System: A Wise Technique of Swift Redress in India" in his research. ADR (alternative dispute resolution) is said to have gained popularity in India in the contemporary environment. It assists in lowering case pending times, enhancing the administration of justice, and maintaining the rule of law in the world's most important democracy. The 1991 economic liberalisation resulted in heavier duties for the judiciary. The researcher makes an argument for using ADR as a tool to clear the backlog of cases in India's courts using methods of negotiation, arbitration, and conciliation. One of the ADR's instruments is the Lok Adalat.  However, in his essay, the researcher advocates to "Indianize" the ADR system as per the local scenarios. According to research, law schools should implement a programme to teach their students how to resolve disputes amicably in order to combat the conflict that arises from attorneys.

The meaning of the term ‘Lok Adalat’ in literally is ‘People’s Court’ because the term comprises two words namely[1]‘Lok’ and ‘Adalat’, Lok stands for the people and Adalat means the court. So, the term "people's court" refers to a court where decisions are made after accurate and extensive consideration. The first word of the name expresses the idea of popular opinion. The Lok Adalat is a body that uses the concepts of justice, equality, and fair play to resolve disputes. These admirable ideals serve as a guide for the Lok Adalats' conclusions, which are founded on concessions reached prior to such Adalats. The Lok Adalat is a voluntary mechanism that primarily focuses on two tasks: first, it offers the public a rapid, simple, accessible, non-technical, sympathetic, and disputant friendly platform for the resolution of their disagreements; second, it aids in preventing the docket explosion risk.

Although technically translated, a Lok Adalat implies a people's court, it is not a people's court in the sense that the term is used in certain other judicial systems of the Soviet type. Although the term "court for people" may be more appropriate, practically all courts serve the public. The Lok Adalat is not an Indian tradition's Nyaya Panchayat or Village Nyaya Panchayat. Additionally, it is not a Village Panchayat as defined by several States' Village Panchayat Acts. It is not a Jati Sabba or a Caste Panchayat. It is neither a Bench Court nor a statutory tribunal meant to adjudicate or arbitrate.[2] It seems to be a special institution designed to handle conflicts as they emerge between members of any part of society as well as conflicts before and after court proceedings, or throughout the pre- and post-litigative stages. It is merely an organization designed to encourage consensual settlement between parties, overseen by a group of people who have the credentials essential to contribute meaningfully to this process. The Lok Adalat is designed from such point of view, both in terms of organization and membership. A diverse group of concerned individuals, open to trying out consensual conflict resolution solutions, are driven by a shared goal for justice. The Lok Adalat, which differs from regularly established law courts in that it is a unique form of a voluntary endeavor for peaceful resolution of conflicts between the parties, is planned to supplement rather than replace the current adjudicatory apparatus.

Lok-Adalat - A Step towards Alternate Dispute Resolution:

An alternative conflict settlement mechanism called Lok-Adalat is created in India. India has a long tradition of using village elder mediation to settle disputes. The Panch Parmeshwar of Gram Panchayats is the foundation of the Lok-Adalat system. Former Indian Chief Justice Justice P.N. Bhagwati principally promoted the concept of Lok-Adalat. The Supreme Court Legal Services Committee, the High Court Legal Services Committee, the Taluk Legal Services Committee, and the District Authorities all hold mock courts (referred to as Lok-Adalat) as part of the non-adversarial Lok-Adalat system. They are held regularly so they can exercise the jurisdiction they want. Instead of being temples of swift justice, the overcrowded courtrooms have transformed into an uncomfortable compulsive forum. Instead of waiting in queues for years and passing on litigation by inheritance, people are inclined either to avoid litigation or to start resorting to extra judicial remedies.[3]

With 42nd amendment act of constitution of 1976, Article 39-A, has been inserted which requires the State to secure that the operation of the legal system promotes justice, on a basis of equal opportunity, and shall, in particular, provide free legal aid, by suitable legislation or schemes or in any other way, to ensure that opportunities for securing justice are not denied to any citizen by reason of economic or other disabilities. The entire mechanism of Lok Adalat designed and evolved is with the object of promoting justice. Justice has three connotations namely social, economic and political. ‘Access to Justice’ means an ability to participate in the judicial process. It is that human right which covers not only bare court entry but has many dimensions including time consuming factor.[4]

This system is based on Gandhian Principles. It is one of the components of ADR system. As the Indian Courts are overburdened with the backlog of cases and the regular Courts are to decide the cases involve a lengthy, expensive and tedious procedure. The Court takes years together to settle even petty cases. Lok Adalat therefore provides alternative resolution or devise for expeditious and inexpensive justice.[5]

Both pre-litigation and post-litigation efforts are invited by Lok Adalat to enable the entire society to create peace and harmony. The Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 makes provision for free legal aid which can be availed both before the Courts and Lok Adalat so constituted. The Court has to give guidance to parties (when parties are opting for any mode of ADR) by drawing their attention to the relevant factors, which parties will have to take into account, before they exercise their opinion as to the particular mode of settlement.[6]

 Lok Adalats: A Historical Perspective:

“Lok Adalat” is defined as a “forum where voluntary effort aimed at bringing about settlement of disputes between the parties is made through conciliatory and pervasive efforts”. The first Lok Adalat was conducted in Chennai in 1986, despite the fact that Lok Adalat camps had previously been launched in the Gujrat district of Junagarh by 1982. This initiative quickly gained popularity across the nation after being implemented by numerous other states, including Bihar, Haryana, Karnataka, Maharashtra, etc. The Legal Services Authorities Act of 1987, when implemented in its entirety, gave Lok Adalat prominence and made it useful for swift dispute settlement. According to popular belief, the "Lok Adalat" is a traditional form of dispute resolution that predominated in early India and has maintained its legitimacy even today.

The fight to offer legal help in India marked the early history of Lok Adalats. This movement was sparked by the worries of legal experts and the court who feared that without access to free legal services, the ordinary public would not have appropriate legal counsel.

In Vedic times, society was composed of patriarchal families. In these families, the Grhapati or Head of Family decided all disputes of members independently. Manu empowered a Grhapati to correct a wife, a son, a servant, a pupil and a younger brother with a rope or the small shoot of a cane, when they committed false.[7] So, in terms of modern jurisprudence, the Grhapati was the smallest court for judicial judgments in his family, whilst the king of the country was the highest and most powerful court for all civil and criminal issues in his realm.

During the Muslim period in India, these people's courts, known as panchayats, continued to function with slight modifications. At the time, these panchayats were competent to administer justice in all small civil and criminal cases in line with local, caste, trade, or family customs. The Muslim rulers historically enjoyed and occasionally exercised a broad power of supervision over all these popular courts, which existed even after British administration in India began.

However, the British rulers discouraged administering of justice through People's Courts or village Panchayats and established their own hierarchy of formal courts to render justice in civil and criminal matters. They moulded the ancient Indian legal system according to their vested interest with the result that the functioning of people's court withered away and became empty and suffocating with engulfing nothingness.[8]

Historically, the Lok Adalat is not a new concept in India. The founder of the present system of Lok Adalats in India was Sh.Hari Ballabh Parekh a social worker. He founded Anand Niketan Ashram in village Rangpuri of district Baroda in 1947-48 for providing help to uneducated Adivasis and other poor villagers. The first Lok Adalats in his Ashram was held in 1960 and thus, it started the settlement of disputes of the local Adivasis. Even in these days most of the disputes among Adivasis are being settled by this institution. In this way, the Lok Adalats movement in Gujarat started. 

Organization of Lok Adalats:

It is true that in spite of number of legislations the fate of weaker sections has not improved. The poor persons are the silent victims of injustice. It is no more a secret that crimes against women are increasing. Dowry death cases are being registered in number throughout the country. In order to protect the weaker sections it is thought that law should be utilized as an instrument of "Socio Economic" change. Further to protect weaker section from unnecessary litigation and to reduce the mounting arrears of cases in Law courts, Law Commission recommended for the establishment of Nyaya Panchayats. The basic idea behind the Scheme of Lok Adalat is to speed up clearance of pendency of huge arrears in Law Courts, and to reduce the Costs of litigations. One should not forget that speedy trial is fundamental right of a litigant and the accused. Nayaya Panchayat at the grass root level will secure social justice[9] Section 19 of the legal services Authorities Act, 1987 provides.[10]

1. Every State Authority or District Authority or the Supreme Court Legal Services Committee or every High Court Legal Services Committee or, as the case may be, Taluk Legal Services Committee may organize Lok Adalats at such intervals and places and for exercising such jurisdiction and for such areas as it thinks fit. 

2. Every Lok Adalat organized for an area shall consist of such number of serving or retired judicial officers; and  other persons, of the area as may be specified by the State Authority or the District Authority or the Supreme Court Legal Services Committee or the High Court Legal Services Committee or, as the case may be, the Taluk Legal Services Committee, organizing such Lok Adalat.

3. The experience and qualifications of other persons referred to in clause (b) of sub section (2) for Lok Adalats organized by the Supreme Court Legal Services Committee shall be such as may be prescribed by the Central Government in consultation with the Chief Justice of India. 

4. The experience and qualification of other persons referred to in clause (b) of sub section (2) for Lok Adalats other than referred to in sub section (3) shall be such as may be prescribed by the State Government in consultation with the Chief Justice of the High Court. 

5. A Lok Adalat shall have jurisdiction to determine and to arrive at a compromise or settlement between the parties to a dispute in respect of- any case pending before; or any matter which is falling within the jurisdiction of, and is not brought before, any court for which the Lok Adalat is organized:

6. Provided that the Lok Adalat shall have no jurisdiction in respect of any case or matter relating to an offence not compoundable under any Law.[11]

Benefits of Lok Adalat:

1. In Lok Adalat, court fees is not necessary to be paid, and if it has been, then it will be reimbursed once the issue is resolved there in accordance with the rules.

2. The dispute trials are conducted quickly and with procedural flexibility. When evaluating Lok Adalat's claim, procedural requirements including the Evidence Act and the Civil Procedure Code are not strictly followed. In contrast to ordinary courts of law, the parties to the dispute have the opportunity to participate and can speak with the presiding officer directly through their counsel. 

3. The Lok Adalat's decision is final, binding on the parties, and has the character of a civil court's judgement. It is also not subject to appeal, therefore it does not prolong the ultimate resolution of issues.

4. The Lok Adalat system benefits the general public by allowing for fast, inexpensive, and amicable conflict resolution.

5. Although the Lok-Adalat lacks any judicial or adjudicatory powers, they do have functions that are solely focused on conciliation and trying to reach a resolution.

6. A court can refer a case to the Lok Adalat Suo Motu or at the request of even one of the parties, provided that it does so after hearing from all parties and is satisfied that there are chances for settlement or that the case is appropriate for the Lok Adalat to take cognizance of, and it documents this satisfaction. In reality, courts have a responsibility to review every case to determine if Lok Adalats should be consulted.[12]

Lok Adalat Jurisdiction in Relation to offences 

The Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987's Proviso to Section 19 expressly states that Lok Adalat does not have jurisdiction over cases or matters involving offences that are not punishable under a legislation that permits compounding. The Sessions Judge should not have referred the matter to Lok Adalat since the offence under Section 498-A IPC is not a compoundable offence. Because anticipatory bail may only be granted by the sessions court or high court under Section 438 of the Cr.P.C., the sessions court should not send bail or anticipatory bail petitions to Lok Adalat. As a result, it is unnecessary to consider whether Lok Adalat should issue anticipatory bail. It is highly unusual and should not have been done by the petitioners to submit bail and anticipatory bail petitions to Lok Adalat. Without taking into account the fact that Lok Adalat does not have the authority to hear cases involving non-compoundable offences, the Sessions Judge.[13]

Cases Suitable For Lok Adalats:

Lok Adalats have competence to deal with a number of cases like:

1. Compoundable civil, revenue and criminal cases. 

2. Motor accident compensation claims cases

3. Partition Claims

4. Damages Cases

5. Matrimonial and family disputes

6. Mutation of lands case

7. Land Pattas cases

8. Bonded Labour cases

9. Land acquisition disputes

10. Bank’s unpaid loan cases

11. Arrears of retirement benefits cases

12. Family Court cases

13. Cases which are not sub-judice

Lok Adalats as a supplement to the existing judicial system 

However, a Lok Adalat is not a court in the sense it is generally understood. It is a setting where voluntarily made conciliatory and persuasive attempts are made in an effort to settle issues between the parties. To put it another way, Lok Adalat serves as a venue for ADR. In actuality, Lok Adalat added to the current system of delivering justice. In general, the CILAS has provided instructions for the management of Lok Adalats by State Legal Aid and Advice Boards. As a result, these Boards have been holding Lok Adalats across the nation. 

Lok Adalat dates and locations are typically set approximately a month in advance. Press, posters, radio, television, and movie slides all help to spread the word about the Lok Adalat's upcoming events. Before a Lok Adalat is convened, its organizers ask the presiding officers of several courts to review the cases that are currently pending there and determine whether conciliation is feasible. Law students and other social workers encourage the parties to conflicts to settle them through Lok Adalats once the instances are recognized and opportunities for reconciliation are discovered. On the day of Lok Adalats, transportation costs and food packages are given to the motivators as a reward.[14]

Table: Statistical information regarding Lok Adalats held

Year	Number of Lok Adalats	Number of cases taken	Number of cases settled	Amount settled
2007-2008	565	112079	63820	1974543320
2008-09	473	204625	410375	6092175259
2009-2010	508	57379	35890	1997577728
2010-2011	472	64239	44258	2607851123
2011-2012	765	109407	76407	4600428974
2012-2013	589	228157	190058	5047270928
2013-2014	338	449482	349648	6390488308
2014-2015	488	452322	353196	12122042132
2015-2016	642	1779152	1526190	21654579832
2016-2017	839	546830	352038	15972748764
2017-2018	1094	270713	91852	9788050481
Total	6773	4274385	3493732	88247756849

 Practical challenges that Lok Adalats are facing:

Despite India's well-organized and highly-integrated judicial system, there are four primary issues that the courts must deal with:

1. There are shockingly few courts and judges at all levels;

2. Case volume has increased in recent years as a result of many Acts passed by the Central and state governments.;

3. The great expense required in presenting a case in court for either prosecution or defence due to hefty court fees, attorney fees, and incidental costs and

4. Delays in case resolution cause a significant backlog of cases in all courts.

The basic goal of Lok Adalat is to address court-pending issues by talks, conciliation, and a convincing commonsense and humanitarian approach to the disputants' concerns. Today, when a big proportion of India's population and uneducated masses find conventional dispensation of justice through regular courts to be onerous and ineffectual, there is an urgent need for highly sensitised legal services that are effective for both the impoverished and ignorant people. In India, the Lok Adalat movement is no longer an experiment. It is now a success, although it has to be enhanced in several areas. Nowadays, the majority of cases are preferable handled peacefully through conciliation, mediation, and other means. Therefore, the Lok Adalat becomes necessary today for the legal empowerment of the socially underprivileged groups in order to reduce the accumulation of cases. In order to prevent rights violations in any situation and to ensure that in the event that they do occur, the needy and the impoverished are aware of the legal process to follow and do not hesitate to pursue legal action, it is urgent to educate people about the importance of understanding the concepts of legal aid. Undoubtedly, the Lok Adalats played a significant role in helping people once again believe that justice would be swift and easily accessible.

1. ‘Lok Adalat’by Om Prakash Tewari 2002, Pioneer Books 2. K.A. Abdul Gafoor, “The Concept of Permanent Lok Adalat and the Legal Services Authorites Amendment Act, 2002”, 5 SCC (Journal) 33 (2003). 3. Marc Galanter & Jayanth K. Krishnan, “Bread for the Poor: Access to Justice and Rights of the Needy in India”, 55 Hastings L.J. 789 (March, 2004). 4. A.M. AhamadiI, “Access to Justice in India”, 11 Legal Aid Newsletter, (1992) 17. 5. Awadh Prasad and G.N. Gupta, Lok Adalat – A Probe Into its Organisation and Working Process, 43(1976). 6. Justice N.C. Jam, Legal aid, Its Scope and Effectiveness of the Legal Aid Rules, AIR 1996 (Journal Section) pp. 184-186 7. K.N.C. Pillai, "Criminal Jurisdiction of Nyaya Panchayats," JILI, (1977) 439. 8. P. Parameswaran, "Dispensation of Justice: Problem of Cost, Quality and Delay," AIR 1991 Jour. 31. 9. Saumya Mishra, "The Criminal Justice System and Plea Bargaining in India, "CrPC 2008 Jour 145 10. Sayani Chakeraborty and Saumya Misra, “Lok Adalats” www.stpl.india.com-last visited on 5/5/22

1. N.C. Jain, “Legal Aid, Its Scope and Effectiveness of the Legal Aid Rules in This Regard,” AIR 1996 Jour 185.
2. Sayani Chakeraborty and Saumya Misra, “Lok Adalats” www.stpl.india.com-last visited on 5/5/15
3. Mediation and Case Management- Their co-existence and correlation- A paper presented during Indo-US
4. Judicial exchange at U.S. Supreme court by Niranjan Bhatt on 15/12/2012
5. Law of Arbitration and Conciliation & ADR systems , by Avatar Singh, Eastern Book Company
6. ‘Lok Adalat’by Om Prakash Tewari 2002, Pioneer Books
7. Arbitration and Conciliation Law of India, 7th Edn. (Reprint) by Kwatra G. K.
8. See H.S. Bhatia, Origin and development of Legal and Political system in India (1976) 46, Vol. I, See also M.K. Sharan, Court procedure in Ancient India (1978) 17
9. P. Parameswaran, "Dispensation of Justice: Problem of Cost, Quality and Delay," AIR 1991 Jour. 31.
10. Manohar Raj Sexena, Member, Metropolitan Legal and Advice Committee, Hyderabad, AIR 1986 Journal Section, p. 703 also sec. S.K. Sarkar, Law Relating to Lok Adalats and Legal Aid, 2010, pp. 95-94.
11. ibid
12. Section 19, The Legal Service Authorities Act, 1987 Inserted by Act 59 of 1994 Sec. 14
13. H.V. Venkatesh v Oriental Insurance Co. Ltd., 111(2002) ACC
14. Dr. B.R. Sharma, Lok Adalats in India- Some Reflections, AIR 1994 (Journal Section) pp.167-168.