Abstract

Lok Adalats have emerged well as an alternative dispute mechanism and it has gained statutory recognition under Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987.In common parlance, it means “People’s Court.”Lok Adalat is not a new concept in our country; its roots can be traced back to vedic period.The reference to this system can be found in the ancient works of Kautilya, Gautama, Brihaspati and Yagnavalkya; in ancient times, it were known as Panchayats, Gram Sabhas, Kula Courts or Sreni Courts. The first Lok Adalat was held on 14th of March, 1982 at Junagadh of Gujarat state; similarly first Lok Adalat was organized in Uttar Pradesh in the year of 1984 and in the state of Cuttack in the year of 1985 and these establishments of Lok Adalats had an influence on many states of the country including Bihar, Haryana, Goa, Sikkim, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Delhi, Haryana, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. The Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 was passed mainly for the purpose of establishments of various authorities such as Lok Adalats, National Legal Services Authority and authorities at state and district level for providing free legal aid and speedier justice to the weaker sections and underprivileged sections of the society. There is establishment of the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) at Delhi under the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 to provide free legal aid and various legal services to the weaker sections of the society. There are sections of society which are embodied under Section 12 of the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987, which includes women, children, members of SC/ST, industrial workmen, victims of trafficking in human beings or beggars as referred under Article 23 of Indian Constitution., victims of disaster, violence, flood, drought, earthquake, industrial disaster and various persons enumerated under the aforementioned Article.

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