Lok Adalat (Hindi: "People's Court") is a statutory forum established under the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 for the conciliated settlement of disputes, where cases are resolved through compromise between the parties rather than adversarial adjudication. Under Indian law, Lok Adalats are organised under Section 19 of the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987, and their awards are deemed to be decrees of civil courts, are final and binding on the parties, and are not appealable.
Legal definition
Section 19 of the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 provides for the organisation of Lok Adalats:
Section 19(1): Every State Authority or District Authority or the Supreme Court Legal Services Committee or every High Court Legal Services Committee or, as the case may be, Taluk Legal Services Committee may organise Lok Adalats at such intervals and at such places and for exercising such jurisdiction and for such areas as it thinks fit.
Section 19(5): A Lok Adalat shall have jurisdiction to determine and to arrive at a compromise or settlement between the parties to a dispute in respect of — (i) any case pending before; or (ii) any matter which is falling within the jurisdiction of, and is not yet brought before, any court for which the Lok Adalat is organised.
Section 20(1): Where in any case referred to in clause (i) of sub-section (5) of Section 19 — (i) the parties agree to a settlement, or (ii) the Lok Adalat is satisfied that there exist elements of a settlement which may be acceptable to the parties, the Lok Adalat shall formulate the terms of settlement and make an award accordingly.
Section 21 provides that every award of a Lok Adalat shall be deemed a decree of a civil court, shall be final and binding on all parties, and no appeal shall lie against such an award. No court fee is payable for matters referred to Lok Adalats, and any court fee already paid is refunded.
How courts have interpreted this term
P.T. Thomas v. Thomas Job [(2005) 6 SCC 478]
The Supreme Court held that a Lok Adalat is not a court and cannot adjudicate matters on merits. Its sole function is to facilitate a compromise or settlement between the parties. If no compromise is reached, the Lok Adalat must return the case to the court from which it was referred — it cannot impose a decision on the parties or pass an order on the merits of the dispute.
State of Punjab v. Jalour Singh [(2008) 2 SCC 660]
The Supreme Court reiterated that the jurisdiction of a Lok Adalat is limited to arriving at a compromise. A Lok Adalat cannot decide the rights of parties or adjudicate contested questions. Any purported "award" that amounts to an adjudication rather than a settlement is a nullity and liable to be set aside.
Types of Lok Adalats
- Regular Lok Adalat: Organised periodically by Legal Services Authorities at the national, state, district, or taluk level. Can handle both pre-litigation matters and pending cases.
- National Lok Adalat: Organised simultaneously across the country on a designated date by NALSA, typically several times a year. Handles specific categories of cases (motor accident claims, matrimonial disputes, labour cases, cheque bounce matters).
- Permanent Lok Adalat: Established under Section 22B of the Act for public utility services (transport, postal, telegraph, supply of power, insurance). Unlike regular Lok Adalats, Permanent Lok Adalats have the power to decide matters on merits if settlement fails, provided the case value does not exceed the prescribed limit.
Why this matters
Lok Adalats have become one of India's most successful judicial innovations. With no court fees, no procedural formalities, and final binding awards that cannot be appealed, they offer a fast, inexpensive, and effective alternative to regular court litigation. National Lok Adalat days routinely settle lakhs of cases in a single day — a remarkable achievement in a country facing a backlog of over four crore pending cases.
For litigants, referring a case to a Lok Adalat offers several advantages: the refund of court fees already paid, the finality of the award without the risk of appeal, and the speed of resolution. For the judicial system, Lok Adalats reduce the burden on regular courts by diverting cases that are amenable to compromise.
The principal limitation of Lok Adalats is that they depend entirely on the consent of both parties. If either party is unwilling to settle, the Lok Adalat has no power to impose a resolution (except in Permanent Lok Adalats for public utility services). This means that Lok Adalats work best for disputes where both parties have an incentive to settle, such as motor accident claims, insurance disputes, and matrimonial matters.
Related terms
Institutional framework:
Alternative dispute resolution:
Frequently asked questions
Is a Lok Adalat award appealable?
No. Under Section 21 of the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987, every award of a Lok Adalat is deemed a decree of a civil court, is final and binding on all parties, and no appeal lies against it in any court. However, the award can be challenged by way of a writ petition under Article 226 or 227 if it is vitiated by fraud, coercion, or illegality.
Is any court fee payable for Lok Adalat proceedings?
No. No court fee is payable for any case or dispute referred to or filed in a Lok Adalat. If court fee has already been paid on a case that is subsequently settled in a Lok Adalat, the entire court fee is refunded to the party who paid it.
Can criminal cases be settled in Lok Adalats?
Lok Adalats can handle compoundable criminal offences — offences that the parties can settle between themselves. Section 19(5) of the Act provides that a Lok Adalat has no jurisdiction in matters relating to offences not compoundable under any law. Non-compoundable criminal offences cannot be settled through Lok Adalats.
This entry is part of the Veritect Indian Legal Glossary, a comprehensive reference of Indian legal terminology grounded in statutory text and judicial interpretation.
Last updated: 2026-03-27. Veritect provides this content for informational purposes and does not constitute legal advice.