MUMBAI: A National Lok Adalat held on Saturday in the state settled over seven lakh pre-litigation cases and more than two lakh post-litigation matters, the Maharashtra State Legal Services Authority (MSLSA) said. An amount of over Rs 30 crore was also collected from over 3 lakh unpaid traffic challans in a drive from August 12, till Saturday’s Lok Adalat. There were almost 37 lakh vehicles as part of pre-litigation cases at the Lok Adalat with dues over Rs 1500 crore in pending challans.In a Mumbai success story at the Motor Accidents Claim Tribunal an old claims dispute from 2002 ended with Insurance company handing over a Rs 14 crore cheque to victim’s family, following an order of the Bombay high court. The third National Lok Adalat, organised by MSLSA under the guidance of Bombay High Court Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekhar and the authority’s executive chairperson Justice Revati Mohite Dere, also held a special drive undertaken by all courts across the state for over five days prior to the day of Lok Adalat, in which almost 70,000 post-litigation disputes were resolved.The Lok Adalat received a massive response from all over Maharashtra, said an MSLSA release. Ms Azmi, its member secretary, and SA Deshpande, MSLSA deputy secretary, conducted periodic reviews prior to the Lok Adalat. Taluka legal services teams played a key role in ensuring a wide range of disputes were tackled. Motor accident claim petitions, bank recovery claims, criminal compoundable offences, matrimonial disputes, dishonour of cheques cases, cases relating to electricity matters, and matters relating to telephone bills formed a part of the Lok Adalat, and the number of cases shows its effectiveness, lawyers said.Settlements under Lok Adalat have statutory sanctity under the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987. The award in Lok Adalats has the effect of a deemed decree of a civil court, which paves the way to attain finality and its binding effect on all parties to the settlement. When a matter is settled in Lok Adalat, the parties get a refund of the entire court fees.The next Lok Adalat is scheduled for December 13, 2025.BOX: The Third National Lok Adalat in Maharashtra settled: 7,18,419 pre-litigation cases and 2,08,337 post litigation cases
