About 68,000 cases settled in first national Lok Adalat of 2026 in J&K

JAMMU: About 68,000 cases were settled at the day-long National Lok Adalat across Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday, officials said.

An amount of over Rs 55.86 crore was awarded as compensation or settlement amount in motor accident claims, civil, criminal, labour disputes, electricity and water bills cases, land acquisition, family matters, cheque dishonour and bank recovery cases, according to an official spokesperson.

Continuing its endeavour to fulfil the constitutional commitment of providing swift, cost-effective, and efficient dispute resolution to the masses in general and the litigant public in particular, the J-K Legal Services Authority organised the first National Lok Adalat for the year 2026 across the Union Territory to promote amicable settlements in a wide range of cases, the spokesman said.

According to the available information, out of the total 76,707 cases taken up by 194 benches, 67,993 cases were amicably settled and disposed of involving an amount of over Rs 55.86 crore as compensation or settlement amount, he said.

To ensure maximum participation and effective disposal of cases, the spokesman noted that pre-Lok Adalat sittings and pre-counselling sessions were conducted well in advance across the districts of the Union Territory, encouraging parties to explore amicable settlement of their disputes.

Several awareness programmes, meetings and sensitisation sessions were also conducted by the Legal Services Institutions to promote the concept and importance of Lok Adalats among litigants and stakeholders, he said. (PTI)