The District and Sessions Judge-cum-Chairperson, District Legal Services Authority, Priya Sood, Jalandhar, conducted a Lok Adalat at the Judicial Court Complexes in Jalandhar, Phillaur and Nakodar. Various categories of cases, including civil, matrimonial, MACT, compoundable criminal cases, traffic challans, and pre-litigation matters of banks, financial institutions, BSNL, PSPCL and revenue departments, were taken up during the proceedings.
DLSA Chairperson Priya Sood informed that 24 benches were constituted in Jalandhar, Phillaur and Nakodar. She further told that a total of 40,636 number of cases were taken up in the Lok Adalat and 39,920 number of were disposed of by way of compromise. Awards of Rs 16,27,57,005 were settled in the Lok Adalat. The DLSA chairperson and Rahul Kumar, CJM-cum-Secretary DLSA Jalandhar, inspected benches constituted at Jalandhar.
During the proceedings, a significant settlement was reached in a 23 years old matter between two litigants through the effective mediation of the bench presided over by Dr Sushil Bodh, Chief Judicial Magistrate, Jalandhar. The settlement process was closely overseen by the DLSA authorities, who emphasised the importance of amicable resolutions in reducing judicial pendency.
Secretary, DLSA Jalandhar, stated that Lok Adalats are being organised to facilitate disposal of cases through mutual compromise and settlement. For putting up the cases in Lok Adalat and for further information regarding any legal matter, any person can contact on Toll free No. 15100. He further informed that next Lok Adalat will be held on September 12.
Civil, criminal cases taken up at Kapurthala Lok Adalat
The National Lok Adalat organised across Kapurthala district on Saturday witnessed the settlement of 6,503 cases out of a total of 10,424 matters taken up, with awards amounting to nearly Rs 17.22 crore passed during the proceedings.
The Lok Adalat was conducted under the guidance of District and Sessions Judge-cum-Chairman, District Legal Services Authority (DLSA), Kapurthala, Harpal Singh, in compliance with directions issued by the Punjab State Legal Services Authority, Mohali.
A total of 14 benches were constituted for the National Lok Adalat, including seven at the District Courts Complex in Kapurthala, two each at Phagwara and Sultanpur Lodhi subdivisions, besides three revenue benches.
The benches dealt with a wide range of pending and pre-litigation matters, including criminal compoundable cases, cheque bounce cases under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, bank recovery disputes, Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT) cases, labour disputes, electricity and water bill matters, land acquisition cases, service matters, revenue disputes and other civil cases relating to rent, injunctions and specific performance.
Chief Judicial Magistrate-cum-Secretary, District Legal Services Authority, Kapurthala, Hirdejeet Singh, said Lok Adalats provide litigants an effective platform for speedy and amicable settlement of disputes, helping save both time and litigation expenses. He said the awards passed by Lok Adalats are final and binding and no appeal lies against such decisions in higher courts.
He further stated that court fees in settled civil matters are refunded to the concerned parties, offering additional financial relief to litigants. According to officials, litigants showed considerable enthusiasm in getting their disputes resolved through the Lok Adalat mechanism. The judicial benches in Kapurthala were presided over by Rashmi Kapila, Gurmeet Tiwana, Rana Kanwardeep Kaur Chahal, Navjeet Pal Kaur, Suresh Kumar, Amarjeet Singh and Mukesh Bansal.
Members and advocates participating in the benches included SS Malli, PS Ghuman, Hameesh Kumar, Manish Luthra, Parmjeet Kaur Kahlon, Vikas Uppal, Gurmeet Singh, Surinder Kumar Sharma, Wajit Dhillon, Harmandeep Singh Sahi, Dr Upasna Verma, Parmjeet Singh Sahota, Dr Ranvir Kaunsal and Anil Kumar.
The DLSA also announced that the next National Lok Adalat will be held on September 12, 2026. Special Lok Adalats for disposal of cases under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act will be organised in the district on July 18 and November 21, 2026.
Officials further informed that, as per directions of the National Legal Services Authority, New Delhi, a Special Lok Adalat for settlement of identified matters pending before the Supreme Court will also be organised from August 21 to 23, 2026. The public has been urged to take maximum advantage of National Lok Adalats and Special Lok Adalats for speedy and cost-effective resolution of disputes.
10,756 cases settled in Nawanshahr
Under the directions of National Legal Services Authority and Punjab State Legal Services Authority, a National Lok Adalat was organised on May 9 at the District Court Complex, Nawanshahr, under the leadership of District and Sessions Judge-cum-Chairman, District Legal Services Authority, Jatinder Pal Singh Khurmi and under the supervision of Civil Judge (Senior Division)-cum-Secretary, District Legal Services Authority, Dr Amandeep.
During the Lok Adalat, nine benches were constituted for hearing and settlement of various categories of cases. Out of a total of 11,245 cases taken up during the National Lok Adalat, as many as 10,756 cases were amicably settled on the spot with the mutual consent of both parties. Awards amounting to Rs 10,54,42,871 were announced during the proceedings.
District and Sessions Judge-cum-Chairman Jatinder Pal Singh Khurmi inspected all the benches set up for the Lok Adalat and stated that the primary objective of organising such Lok Adalats is to ensure speedy and amicable settlement of disputes through compromise and mutual understanding. He said that this mechanism helps save valuable time and money of litigants while also reducing bitterness and promoting social harmony among people.
The benches conducting proceedings during the National Lok Adalat included those presided over by Chairman, Permanent Lok Adalat (Public Utility Services) Ashok Kapoor, Principal Judge Family Court Baljinder Singh Mann, Additional District and Sessions Judge-I Aparajita Joshi, Additional District and Sessions Judge Dr Gagandeep Kaur, Civil Judge (Senior Division) Parvinder Kaur, Chief Judicial Magistrate Mahesh Kumar, Additional Civil Judge (Senior Division) Ravi Pal Singh Bhardwaj, Civil Judge (Junior Division) Tushar Kaur Thind and Civil Judge (Junior Division) Tarandeep Kaur.
Rs 7.83 cr awards announced at Hoshiarpur Lok Adalat
The second National Lok Adalat of the year was organised across Hoshiarpur district on Saturday under the guidance of the Punjab State Legal Services Authority, SAS Nagar. The Lok Adalat was conducted under the leadership of District and Sessions Judge-cum-Chairman of District Legal Services Authority, Rajinder Aggarwal.
A total of 20 benches were constituted, including nine at Hoshiarpur courts, two each at Dasuya, Mukerian and Garhshankar, besides five revenue court benches. During the proceedings, 30,912 cases were taken up, out of which 27,405 were settled on the spot. Awards amounting to Rs 7.83 crore were passed in various matters.
Cases related to cheque bounce under Section 138 of the N.I. Act, motor accident claims, traffic challans, matrimonial disputes, electricity and water bills, revenue matters and other civil disputes were heard during the Lok Adalat.
Special help desks were also set up by para legal volunteers and DLSA staff to facilitate payment of pending traffic challans. Secretary, District Legal Services Authority, Neeraj Goyal, said several long-pending civil and rent disputes were amicably resolved through mutual settlements.
