A staggering amount of ₹5,473 crore in compensation, resulting from out-of-court settlements for 1.5 crore cases, was settled at the National Lok Adalat camps across the country on Saturday.

The camps, organised by the National Legal Services Authority (Nalsa) across taluks, districts, and high courts in 34 states and Union Territories, were held under the personal supervision of Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna and second seniormost Supreme Court judge Justice Bhushan Ramkrishna Gavai.

According to Shreya Arora Mehta, district and sessions judge and officer on special duty, Nalsa, the initiative marks a significant step towards enhancing access to justice through alternative dispute resolution mechanisms.

The next National Lok Adalat will be organised in Maharashtra, Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu on March 22, 2025, Mehta said.

The Lok Adalats align with the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987, and the National Legal Services Authority (Lok Adalats) Regulations, 2009. With the statutory status, it serves as a crucial forum for an expeditious, cost-effective, and effective resolution of disputes.

The first National Lok Adalat of 2025 addressed a broad spectrum of disputes, including pre-litigation and pending cases related to criminal compoundable offences, traffic challans, plea bargaining, revenue cases, bank recovery matters, motor accident claims, cheque dishonour cases, labour disputes, matrimonial disputes (excluding divorce cases), land acquisition cases, IPR matters and consumer matters, among others.

According to the reports received from the State Legal Services Authorities, till 6pm on Saturday, a total of 1,57,55,783 cases have been successfully settled, comprising 1,34,93,613 pre-litigation cases and 22,62,170 pending cases. The approximate value of the total settlement amount in these cases stands at ₹5,473 crore. These figures are expected to rise as final reports are awaited from various State Legal Services Authorities.