Lok Adalats Speed Up Disposal of Minor Cases as Over 2 Crore Matters Settled in Second 2026 Drive

The National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) on Saturday conducted the second National Lok Adalat of 2026 across the country, settling more than 2.07 crore cases in a massive nationwide exercise aimed at reducing litigation burden and delivering quicker, low-cost justice through negotiated settlements.

According to NALSA, 2,07,66,548 cases were settled till Saturday evening, including 1.87 crore pre-litigation matters and over 20 lakh pending court cases , involving settlements worth ₹3,440.81 crore . The figures are provisional and are expected to rise further once the remaining states and Union Territories complete the exercise and final data consolidation is done.

The Lok Adalat is yet to be conducted in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and West Bengal on June 13, in Telangana and Andaman & Nicobar Islands on June 20, and in Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and Karnataka on July 11. Officials attributed the staggered schedule to summer vacations, administrative reasons and election-related engagements in some states.

The latest exercise follows the first National Lok Adalat of 2026 held in March, which had disposed of a massive 4.06 crore cases involving settlements worth nearly ₹23,779 crore . Together, the first two quarterly Lok Adalats of the year have already crossed 6 crore settlements , with the final tally likely to increase substantially after pending states complete proceedings.

NALSA Member Secretary Sanjiv Pandey recently said that nearly 26 crore cases had been disposed of through National Lok Adalats between 2023 and 2025, underlining how the mechanism has evolved into one of the world’s largest mass dispute-resolution exercises. Including the first two drives of 2026, Lok Adalats have already crossed the 30-crore disposal mark in just over three years.

Unlike regular courts, Lok Adalats primarily deal with settlement-friendly disputes such as bank recovery cases, cheque bounce matters, traffic challans, motor accident claims, matrimonial disputes excluding divorce, labour disputes, consumer complaints and compoundable criminal offences . Most are pre-litigation matters that can be resolved before entering lengthy court proceedings.

India’s regular judiciary continues to face a mounting pendency crisis, with over 5.5 crore cases currently pending across district courts, High Courts and the Supreme Court, according to the National Judicial Data Grid. District courts alone account for nearly 4.9 crore pending matters .

Legal experts say the growing use of e-Lok Adalats , which allow litigants to attend hearings remotely through video conferencing, has significantly improved accessibility by eliminating the need for repeated travel to courts. They argue that the success of Lok Adalats highlights the need for broader judicial reforms including more judges, faster appointments, stronger mediation systems, greater use of technology and simplified procedures to accelerate disposal of regular court cases as well.