Lok Sabha Question No. 3235 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-08-05
Subject: Promotion of e-Lok Adalat
Ministry: LAW AND JUSTICE
Asked by: Anil Firojiya, Mohanbhai Kalyanji Kundariya, Bhavana Gawali (Patil), Krupal Balaji Tumane

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF LAW AND JUSTICE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. †3235 TO BE ANSWERED ON FRIDAY, THE 5 TH  AUGUST, 2022

## Promotion of e-Lok Adalat

- †3235.  SHRI ANIL FIROJIYA: SHRI MOHANBHAI KALYANJI KUNDARIYA: SHRIMATI BHAVANA PUNDALIKRAO GAWALI: SHRI KRUPAL BALAJI TUMANE:

Will the Minister of LAW AND JUSTICE be pleased to state:

- (a) the  details  of  steps  taken  by  the  Government  to  promote  e-Lok  Adalats  for  providing speedy and affordable justice to citizens across the country;
- (b) whether  the  Government  proposes  to  establish  more  e-Lok  Adalats  in  the  country  to dispose off the pending cases in High Courts and lower courts;
- (c) if so, the details thereof along with the number of e-Lok Adalats presently functioning in various States, State-wise and district-wise including Maharashtra; and
- (d) whether the number of pending cases in High Courts and lower courts have decreased due to e-Lok Adalats and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF LAW & JUSTICE (SHRI KIREN RIJIJU)

- (a) Steps taken by Legal Services Authorities to promote e-Lok Adalats include -  Standard Operating  Procedure  for  conduct  of  e-Lok  Adalat,  Technical  training  through  System officers to the Court Staff, Whatsapp groups for litigants, advocates and respondents for conveying  them  relevant  information/  link  for  attending  e-Lok  Adalats  and  Video conferencing link and cause list displayed on the website of the District Courts.
- (b) Lok Adalat is  not  a  permanent  establishment  and  is  organised  at  such  intervals  as  felt required  with  a  view  to  reduce  pendency  of  cases  in  courts  and  settle  disputes  at  prelitigation  stage.  During  the  covid  pandemic,  the  Legal  Services  Authorities  under  the
- (c)
- aegis of National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) ingeniously integrated technology to move Lok Adalat on to the virtual platform, better known as e-Lok Adalats. Since eLok  Adalats  are  organized  simultaneously  with  regular  Lok  Adalats,  benches  are constituted on the basis of volume of cases  referred by various courts or tribunals and institutions for pre-litigation cases. The first e-Lok Adalat was held in Madhya Pradesh on 27.06.2020.  The detail of e-Lok Adalats organized from June, 2020 to June, 2022 in 28 States/UTs including Maharashtra is at Annexure - A.
- (d) The  Lok  Adalats  are  most  effective  mode  of  Alternative  Dispute  Resolution  (ADR) mechanism in arresting the mounting arrears of the Courts including High Courts. 38.36 lakh pre-litigation cases and 8.34 lakh pending cases in Courts have been disposed of by e-Lok Adalats during June, 2020 to June, 2022.

*****

Statement as referred to in reply to Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. †3235 for answering on 05.08.2022 raised by Shri Anil Firojiya, Shri Mohanbhai Kalyanji  Kundariya, Shrimati Bhavana Pundalikrao Gawali and Shri Krupal Balaji Tumane, MPs  - Promotion of e-Lok Adalat

## Statement showing details of e- Lok Adalats organized from June, 2020 to June, 2022

| S. No.   | Name of the State Authority   | Pre-Litigation Cases   | Pre-Litigation Cases   | Pending Cases in Courts   | Pending Cases in Courts   | Total       | Total     |
|----------|-------------------------------|------------------------|------------------------|---------------------------|---------------------------|-------------|-----------|
| S. No.   | Name of the State Authority   | Taken Up               | Disposal               | Taken Up                  | Disposal                  | Taken Up    | Disposal  |
| 1        | Andhra Pradesh                | 659                    | 212                    | 22,058                    | 15,486                    | 22,717      | 15,698    |
| 2        | Arunachal Pradesh             | 141                    | 18                     | 67                        | 23                        | 208         | 41        |
| 3        | Bihar                         | 58,182                 | 17,469                 | 9,023                     | 3,078                     | 67,205      | 20,547    |
| 4        | Chhattisgarh                  | 13,052                 | 7,739                  | 13,443                    | 8,138                     | 26,495      | 15,877    |
| 5        | Goa                           | 0                      | 0                      | 170                       | 65                        | 170         | 65        |
| 6        | Gujarat                       | 46,189                 | 3,521                  | 37,738                    | 20,945                    | 83,927      | 24,466    |
| 7        | Haryana                       | 3,755                  | 3,625                  | 9,565                     | 4,985                     | 13,320      | 8,610     |
| 8        | Himachal Pradesh              | 130                    | 59                     | 416                       | 244                       | 546         | 303       |
| 9        | Jammu &Kashmir                | 2,281                  | 1,575                  | 8,923                     | 6,291                     | 11,204      | 7,866     |
| 10       | Jharkhand                     | 1,81,033               | 1,17,468               | 58,832                    | 37,411                    | 2,39,865    | 1,54,879  |
| 11       | Karnataka                     | 20,558                 | 11,885                 | 2,98,476                  | 1,73,188                  | 3,19,034    | 1,85,073  |
| 12       | Kerala                        | 3,985                  | 986                    | 35,541                    | 25,271                    | 39,526      | 26,257    |
| 13       | Madhya Pradesh                | 3,661                  | 312                    | 36,592                    | 8,385                     | 40,253      | 8,697     |
| 14       | Maharashtra                   | 1,57,34,249            | 35,13,112              | 16,67,214                 | 3,45,445                  | 1,74,01,463 | 38,58,557 |
| 15       | Manipur                       | 881                    | 738                    | 172                       | 91                        | 1,053       | 829       |
| 16       | Meghalaya                     | 133                    | 33                     | 25                        | 8                         | 158         | 41        |
| 17       | Mizoram                       | 1,856                  | 283                    | 168                       | 47                        | 2,024       | 330       |
| 18       | Odisha                        | 23,806                 | 1,143                  | 24,272                    | 4,236                     | 48,078      | 5,379     |
| 19       | Punjab                        | 5,327                  | 536                    | 9,387                     | 6,639                     | 14,714      | 7,175     |
| 20       | Rajasthan                     | 36,725                 | 6,438                  | 57,865                    | 29,674                    | 94,590      | 36,112    |
| 21       | Sikkim                        | 877                    | 241                    | 198                       | 55                        | 1,075       | 296       |
| 22       | Telangana                     | 887                    | 862                    | 12,450                    | 10,408                    | 13,337      | 11,270    |
| 23       | Tripura                       | 2,350                  | 505                    | 1,472                     | 169                       | 3,822       | 674       |
| 24       | Uttar Pradesh                 | 2,01,350               | 1,33,924               | 62,972                    | 39,738                    | 2,64,322    | 1,73,662  |
| 25       | Uttarakhand                   | 3,591                  | 408                    | 12,168                    | 4,210                     | 15,759      | 4,618     |
| 26       | West Bengal                   | 15,654                 | 1,924                  | 11,867                    | 8,777                     | 27,521      | 10,701    |
| 27       | Chandigarh                    | 0                      | 0                      | 70                        | 12                        | 70          | 12        |
| 28       | Delhi                         | 14,439                 | 11515                  | 95,489                    | 81,964                    | 1,09,928    | 93,479    |
|          | Grand Total                   | 1,63,75,751            | 38,36,531              | 24,86,633                 | 8,34,983                  | 1,88,62,384 | 46,71,514 |