E-Lok Adalats

Why in News?

• E-Lok Adalats has taken up more than 259 lakh cases between June, 2020 and September this year.
• Of them over 53 lakh cases were disposed off. Law and Justice Minister Kiren Rijiju said this in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha.
• To reduce the pendency of cases in courts and also to settle the disputes at pre-litigation stage, Lok Adalats are organized by Legal Services Institutions.
• During the COVID pandemic, the Legal Services Authorities innovatively leveraged technology and introduced E-Lok Adalat, wherein affected parties could get their matter resolved without physically visiting the venue of the Adalat.
• Lok Adalat is one of the important Alternative Disputes Resolution Mechanism available to common people.
• Chhattisgarh was the first state to start e-Lok Adalats.

About ‘Lok Adalat’:

• The term ‘Lok Adalat’ means ‘People’s Court ’and is based on Gandhian principles.
• As per the Supreme Court, it is an old form of adjudicating system prevalent in ancient India and its validity has not been taken away even in the modern days too.
• It is one of the components of the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR)system and delivers informal, cheap and expeditious justice to the common people.
• The first Lok Adalat camp was organized in Gujarat in 1982as a voluntary and conciliatory agency without any statutory backing for its decisions.
• In view of its growing popularity over time, it was given statutory status under the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987.
• The Act makes the provisions relating to the organization and functioning of the Lok Adalats.