Dharwad Lok Adalat settles 29,691 cases, reunites 23 couples and helps 207 seniors

The National Lok Adalat held in Dharwad district settled 27,531 pre-litigation disputes through compromise, according to a release issued by the District Legal Services Authority (DLSA). A further 2,160 cases that were pending in the district's courts were also resolved at the sitting, taking the total number of matters settled to 29,691.

According to the release, 54,937 cases were pending before various courts in the district at the time. Of these, 3,908 were placed before the Lok Adalat for settlement, and 2,160 were settled. Separately, 31,090 pre-litigation disputes — matters that had not yet reached the courts — were taken up, of which 27,531 ended in compromise between the parties.

The total settlement amount in the pre-litigation matters was ₹29,11,872. The amount involved in the court-pending cases that were settled was ₹48,50,60,531.

Lok Adalats are forums constituted under the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987, to settle disputes amicably through conciliation and compromise, outside the regular trial process. They are intended to reduce the cost and delay of litigation. An award passed by a Lok Adalat is treated as a decree of a civil court and is final, with no appeal lying against it.

Conciliation efforts in matrimonial and maintenance cases produced results beyond the settlement of financial disputes. Nine couples were reunited through conciliation at the Dharwad Family Court, while 12 couples were reunited at the Hubballi Family Court. Two more couples were reunited through the Lok Adalat at the Kundgol court, taking the total to 23 couples.

A total of 207 senior citizens also settled their disputes through conciliation during the Lok Adalat, the release said.

Principal District and Sessions Judge and DLSA chairman N.V. Vijay extended his greetings to the families reunited through the conciliation process, the release added.

The figures from Dharwad reflect the wider role that Lok Adalats play in the legal services framework, where disputes that would otherwise occupy court time are referred to mediated settlement. Such sittings are organised at regular intervals at the national, state and district levels, and cover a range of matters including matrimonial disputes, maintenance claims, and claims by senior citizens.

While the settlement of 2,160 court-pending cases represents a small share of the 54,937 matters pending in the district, officials have pointed to the pre-litigation settlements as a way of preventing fresh litigation from entering an already burdened court system.