Over 83,000 cases settled, ₹75 crore awarded in Himachal National Lok Adalat.
Shimla: As many as 83,325 cases were settled and compensation worth ₹75.03 crore was awarded during the National Lok Adalat held across Himachal Pradesh on Saturday.
A total of 1,28,711 cases—including pre-litigation and pending matters—were taken up before 128 Lok Adalat benches in courts across the state.
The mega settlement drive was organised under the patronage of Chief Justice Gurmeet Singh Sandhawalia, Patron-in-Chief of the Himachal Pradesh State Legal Services Authority, and the guidance of Justice Vivek Singh Thakur, Executive Chairman of the Authority.
To ease litigants’ burden, courts—particularly those of traffic magistrates—also provided an online ePay facility for payment of compounding fees in motor vehicle challan cases.
The Legal Services Authority said extensive awareness campaigns were carried out through SMS alerts, jingles and IEC material, with support from local bodies, NGOs, Panchayati Raj institutions, para-legal volunteers, legal aid defence counsels, public transport services and newspapers.
Member Secretary Ranjeet Singh Thakur, District and Sessions Judge, thanked the print and electronic media for their support, stating that public participation and wide publicity played a key role in making the National Lok Adalat a success.