If you have long pending traffic challan or are stuck in a long-standing legal dispute, now’s your chance! NALSA (National Legal Services Authority) is organising a nationwide Lok Adalat on May 10, 2025. This means people in Delhi, Mumbai, and other parts of the country can settle their traffic challans, and also sort out other disputes related to property, family (except divorce) and even other cases such as settling motor vehicle-related claims, money recovery, electricity and water bill cases in a speedy, quick fashion. Last National Lok Adalat held on March 8 this year was a very successful one. As per twitter handle of NALSA more than 1.57 crore cases were disposed in a single day and settlement amount was Rs 5473. 27 crore.
https://x.com/NALSALegalAid/status/1898380152570249386
Read on to know more about some of the cases in Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, and other parts of India, which have been resolved through Lok Adalats, and how you can get back your money stuck in cases related to property, traffic challans, and other issues.
Courts where you can go for settlement in Delhi
Across Delhi, National Lok Adalat sessions will take place in Dwarka, Karkardooma, Patiala House, Rohini, Rouse Avenue, Saket, and Tis Hazari court complexes, between 10 am and 4 pm on May 10, 2025.
Kind of cases that you can try settling in a National Lok Adalat
Most people throng to Lok Adalats to get their traffic challans waived. Himanshu Gupta, Founder and CEO of Lawyered, recounts a case of drinking and driving in Gurgaon, where the penalty was Rs 10,000.“During the last National Lok Adalat on March 8, 2025, we managed to bring down the Rs 10,000 fine for this drink and drive case to Rs 3,000, reducing the challan value by 70%”, he adds.However, experts also note that Lok Adalats do not typically cater to cases where drinking and driving has caused substantial injury or there is loss of human life, or the person in concern has a track record of repeated violation.
The upcoming Lok Adalat, like its previous versions, expects to clear up to 1,80,000 challans/notices. Compoundable challans/notices up to January 31, 2025, will only be considered. Per private vehicle, only 5 notices and 2 challans, i.e., a total of 7 notices/challans will be taken, while for every commercial vehicle, only 2 notices/challans will be considered.
Fazl Askari, Senior Associate, PSL Advocates & Solicitors, was slapped with a Rs 20,000 penalty for violating GRAP-IV norms this year. He approached Lok Adalats, which noted that a BS – IV diesel hybrid car is a different vehicle category not covered under the notification since it is categorised as a mild hybrid vehicle distinct from typical petrol or Diesel cars.
“In the end, I did not have to pay a single rupee in fines. Essentially, under the act and the rules, Petrol and Petrol/CNG are separate classes of vehicles; similarly, diesel and Diesel (Smart) Hybrid are separate and distinct classes of vehicles – one a polluting kind, the other is a non-polluting kind, hence the exemption in the law, and no penalty for me.”
Vipul Wadhwa, Partner, Singhania & Co. highlighted 2023 a motor vehicle accident claims-related case, which was resolved in Lok Adalats within a single day.
“In a 2023 motor accident matter in Punjab, a family battling for compensation after the death of the sole earning member managed to settle their claim for Rs. 25 lakh in a single day through the National Lok Adalat. What could have dragged on for years in the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal was resolved quickly with both parties walking away satisfied”, he says.
Long-standing property dispute settled in Mumbai in the Lok Adalat
In a National Lok Adalat last year, a 20-year-old property dispute in Juhu, Mumbai, was resolved in a Lok Adalat. The property, located in a prime area of India’s financial capital, was valued at well over Rs 75 crore
Explains Advocate V K Dubey, founder of VK Dubey Associates, a Mumbai-based law firm, “Four parties, laying ownership claim to the same property, had been entangled in a legal dispute for a long time. However, the final awardee, who was granted ownership, proved that the documents being provided by other parties were fake and forged”.
As Dubey highlighted, the documents provided by one of the other claimants dated back to 1970 and mentioned the area’s pincode. This led to questions being raised on the authenticity of the documents, since the PIN code system was introduced in India only in 1972.
“As a result, all three parties were granted nominal awards each (around Rs 50-60 lakh), and the case was speedily disposed of”, Dubey highlighted.
In another case in Jaipur, as Wadhwa explains, two brothers involved in a 12-year-old property dispute over ancestral land opted for a Lok Adalat session, saving nearly Rs. 30 lakh each in pending litigation costs. They left with a signed partition agreement
“One of the most compelling aspects of Lok Adalats is how they make justice accessible, especially in cases where litigation costs would outweigh the outcome”, he adds.
However, note that property-related disputes can only be resolved via Lok Adalats if both parties mutually agree to settle the issue through this process. If even one party disagrees and does not want to opt for resolving the dispute through mediation in Lok Adalat, the matter will then proceed to the regular court.
Are rulings delivered by Lok Adalats final and binding?
Yes. The cornerstone of the awards and rulings passed by Lok Adalat lies in their conclusive nature. The award passed by the Lok Adalat is considered equivalent to a decree passed by a Civil Court.
Says Advocate Gaeti Khan, “The award (decision) made by the Lok Adalat is final and binding on all parties and no appeal against such an award lies before any court of law”.
The challenge to Lok Adalat’s decisions can only be made under certain, exceptional circumstances. Explains Arman Roop Sharma, Partner, Anand Sharma & Associates, “. The Award passed by the Lok Adalat can be challenged by way of Writ in the High Court, where the party challenging it has to specifically allege that the award has been obtained by way of fraud, misrepresentation, or coercion. In other words, they have to prove that the settlement was not voluntary, the award is violative of the law, or was passed without jurisdiction. The High court also cannot set aside the award in a casual manner without including the reason for the same. So, the Statute intends to uphold the finality of the award of the Lok Adalat”.
