{"id":128667,"date":"2026-10-12T21:59:02","date_gmt":"2026-10-12T16:29:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=128667"},"modified":"2026-10-12T21:59:02","modified_gmt":"2026-10-12T16:29:02","slug":"third-national-lok-adalat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/third-national-lok-adalat\/","title":{"rendered":"Third National Lok Adalat, Cases Settled, NALSA&#8217;s Role, Benefits"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><b>Third National Lok Adalat of 2026<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> was held across India on <\/span><b>12 September 2026<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> by the <\/span><b>National Legal Services Authority (NALSA)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. On a single day, courts and tribunals across the country, from <\/span><b>High Courts to taluka courts<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, work as forums for <\/span><b>settlement and conciliation<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> instead of long trials. A <\/span><b>Lok Adalat<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (\u201cpeople\u2019s court\u201d) is an <\/span><b>alternative dispute resolution<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> mechanism that helps both parties reach a <\/span><b>mutually agreed settlement<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. It covers <\/span><b>pre-litigation matters<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (disputes not yet in court) as well as <\/span><b>pending court cases<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Third National Lok Adalat 2026 Key Highlights<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>What it was:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> The <\/span><b>Third National <\/b><a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/lok-adalats\/\" target=\"_blank\"><b>Lok Adalat<\/b><\/a><b> of 2026<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> was organised across the country by <\/span><b>National Legal Services Authority (NALSA)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> on <\/span><b>Saturday, 12 September 2026<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Courtrooms and tribunals became spaces for <\/span><b>dialogue, conciliation and friendly settlement<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> instead of long, adversarial court fights.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Cases settled:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> As per <\/span><b>tentative figures till on 12 September 2026<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, a total of <\/span><b>2,10,39,112 cases<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> were settled through consent-based dispute resolution, with a combined settlement value of <\/span><b>\u20b913,589.28 crore<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Pre-litigation vs pending cases:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Of the total, <\/span><b>1,90,75,743 were pre-litigation matters<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (disputes that had not yet reached a court) and <\/span><b>19,63,369 were pending court cases<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. This shows how many people used the Lok Adalat to settle disputes before they turned into long legal battles.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Wide coverage:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Lok Adalat benches were set up across <\/span><b>26 States and 7 Union Territories<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, from <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/high-courts-in-india\/\" target=\"_blank\"><b>High Courts<\/b><\/a><b> down to taluka courts<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Judicial officers, advocates, para-legal volunteers and litigants all took part.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Why it matters for litigants:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Many people had been <\/span><b>waiting years for a resolution<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. The Lok Adalat gave them a chance to end the dispute through a <\/span><b>mutually agreed settlement<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, saving time, money and stress.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Words from the top:<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/chief-justice-of-india\/\" target=\"_blank\"><b>Chief Justice of India<\/b><\/a><b> Justice Surya Kant<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, who is also the <\/span><b>Patron-in-Chief of NALSA<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, said <\/span><b>access to justice must reach every doorstep<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. He urged citizens to use Lok Adalats as a <\/span><b>faster and simpler way<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to resolve disputes and build harmony.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><b>Justice Vikram Nath<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, Supreme Court Judge and <\/span><b>Executive Chairman of NALSA<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, highlighted their role in tackling <\/span><b>judicial pendency<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. He said the process reduces long-pending cases and spares parties from <\/span><b>prolonged litigation costs and delays<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Types of Cases Covered and Legal Status of Awards<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Cases taken up:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> The Lok Adalat dealt with a very wide range of disputes, including:<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><b>Cheque bounce cases<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><b>Motor accident claims<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><b>Matrimonial disputes<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><b>Labour matters<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and <\/span><b>service disputes<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><b>Consumer complaints<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><b>Land acquisition cases<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and <\/span><b>revenue cases<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><b>Succession disputes<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><b>Arbitration claims of small businesses<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><b>Compoundable criminal cases<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and <\/span><b>traffic challans<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><b>Bank recovery matters<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and <\/span><b>public utility grievances<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Priority for old cases:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> NALSA said <\/span><b>long-pending matters identified through the National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> were given special priority for resolution.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Awards have the force of a court decree:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Every award passed by a Lok Adalat carries the <\/span><b>status and finality of a civil court decree<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and is <\/span><b>binding on the parties<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>No appeal:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Lok Adalat awards are <\/span><b>not appealable<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, which brings the dispute to a final close.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Court fee refund:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Litigants are also entitled to a <\/span><b>refund of the court fee<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> they paid.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Part of a bigger system:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> The National Lok Adalat sits within NALSA&#8217;s wider legal services framework, which includes <\/span><b>free legal aid, legal awareness programmes, mediation and conciliation, victim compensation schemes, legal services clinics<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, and the work of <\/span><b>panel lawyers and para-legal volunteers<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. The goal is that <\/span><b>no one is denied justice because of economic or other disabilities<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Third National Lok Adalat in Haryana<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Who led it:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> In Haryana, the Third National Lok Adalat was held on <\/span><b>12 September 2026<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> under the <\/span><b>Haryana State Legal Services Authority (HALSA)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, guided by <\/span><b>Justice Harsimran Singh Sethi<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, Judge of the <\/span><b>Punjab &amp; Haryana High Court<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and <\/span><b>Executive Chairman of HALSA<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Where it was held:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> It was conducted across <\/span><b>all 22 districts and 38 sub-divisions<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> of Haryana.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Record numbers:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> A total of <\/span><b>8,82,297 cases<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> were taken up, and <\/span><b>7,00,033 were settled amicably<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, giving an impressive <\/span><b>disposal rate of 79%<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. These are the <\/span><b>highest figures ever recorded<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> by the state for a National Lok Adalat.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Money settled:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> An amount of <\/span><b>\u20b9230,06,65,824<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (about <\/span><b>\u20b9230 crore<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">) was settled or awarded during the event.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Benches and case types:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> A total of <\/span><b>184 benches<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> handled both <\/span><b>pre-litigation and pending matters<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, including <\/span><b>civil disputes, matrimonial cases, motor accident claims, bank recovery matters, cheque bounce cases under the Negotiable Instruments Act, traffic challans and compoundable criminal offences<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. The figures also include <\/span><b>pre-Lok Adalat sittings<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Public trust:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> The large turnout shows <\/span><b>growing faith in Lok Adalats<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> as an effective form of <\/span><b>alternative dispute resolution<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Settlements saved parties <\/span><b>time and litigation expenses<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and helped reduce <\/span><b>case pendency in Haryana&#8217;s courts<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>A related traffic drive in Delhi:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> The <\/span><b>3rd Special Lok Adalat (Traffic) of 2026<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> was held on <\/span><b>12 July 2026<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> under the guidance of <\/span><b>NALSA<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and the <\/span><b>Delhi State Legal Services Authority<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>What Is a Lok Adalat?<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A <\/span><b>Lok Adalat<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (&#8220;people&#8217;s court&#8221;) is an <\/span><b>alternative dispute resolution forum<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> where cases are settled through <\/span><b>mutual agreement<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> rather than a long trial. It works on <\/span><b>compromise, conciliation and goodwill<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> between both sides.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Who runs it:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> National Lok Adalats are organised by <\/span><b>NALSA<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, with State and District Legal Services Authorities carrying out the work on the ground, as seen in the Haryana example above.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Why people prefer it:<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><b>Faster:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> disputes are often resolved in a <\/span><b>single sitting<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><b>Cheaper:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> no heavy lawyer or litigation costs, and the <\/span><b>court fee is refunded<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><b>Final:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> the award is <\/span><b>binding and not appealable<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, so there are no endless appeals.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><b>Friendlier:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> it protects <\/span><b>relationships<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, which matters in family, neighbour and business disputes.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Why this edition stands out:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> With <\/span><b>over 2.10 crore cases settled<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and <\/span><b>\u20b913,589.28 crore<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> resolved in a single day, the <\/span><b>Third National Lok Adalat of 2026<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> shows how powerful consensual dispute resolution can be in reducing the <\/span><b>burden on courts<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and bringing justice closer to ordinary people.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Third National Lok Adalat 2026 was held on 12 September across India. Read about cases settled, NALSA&#8217;s role, key benefits and Haryana results.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":128357,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[786],"tags":[5107,5108,10833],"class_list":["post-128667","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-general-studies","tag-indian-polity","tag-indian-polity-notes","tag-third-national-lok-adalat","no-featured-image-padding"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/128667","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/29"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=128667"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/128667\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":128714,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/128667\/revisions\/128714"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/128357"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=128667"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=128667"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=128667"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}