National Lok Adalat: the 2026 dates and how it works

A Lok Adalat settles a matter by agreement between the parties. Its award is a decree of a civil court, and no appeal lies against it. This guide sets out what the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 provides and when the sittings are held.

What a Lok Adalat is

Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 (39 of 1987)

The award is a decree of a civil court: An award of a Lok Adalat is deemed to be a decree of a civil court, so it is enforced the same way a judgment after a full trial is enforcedSection 21(1), Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987
No appeal lies against the award: An award is final and binding on every party to the dispute, and no appeal lies to any court against itSection 21(2), Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987
The court fee already paid is refunded: Where a case already before a court is settled by a Lok Adalat, the court fee already paid in that case is refunded under the Court-fees Act, 1870Section 21(1), Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987
A case already filed, or one not yet filed: A Lok Adalat can take up a case already pending before a court, and also a matter that has never been brought before oneSection 19(5), Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987
Non-compoundable offences are excluded: A Lok Adalat has no jurisdiction over a case or matter relating to an offence that is not compoundable under any lawSection 19(5), proviso, Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987
Nothing is lost if there is no settlement: Where no settlement is reached, no award is made: the record of a pending case goes back to the court it came from and that court carries on from the stage it had reachedSection 20(5) and 20(7), Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987
The court refers the case: A pending case reaches a Lok Adalat when the parties agree, or when one party applies and the court is satisfied there are chances of a settlement, or when the court itself considers the matter appropriate — and no case is referred without the parties being heard firstSection 20(1), Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987
It has the powers of a civil court: A Lok Adalat has a civil court's powers to summon witnesses, require documents and receive evidence on affidavit, and its proceedings are judicial proceedingsSection 22, Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987

The 2026 national calendar

Sitting	Date
First	14 March 2026
Second	9 May 2026
Third	12 September 2026
Fourth	12 December 2026

These are the National Lok Adalat dates fixed by the National Legal Services Authority for the year. In several States and Union Territories the sitting is held on a different day, so a date below is the national one and not necessarily the one in a particular district.

the National Legal Services Authority's published National Lok Adalat schedule for 2026

The dates State Authorities have confirmed

The dates above are fixed nationally. A State Legal Services Authority publishes its own notice for the sittings held in that State, and it is not always the national day. Only the States whose Authority has published a notice appear below.

State or Union Territory	Sitting	Date in that State	Against the national calendar
Andhra Pradesh	Third	12 September 2026	The same day as the national sitting
Andhra Pradesh	Fourth	12 December 2026	The same day as the national sitting
Karnataka	Third	19 September 2026	The national sitting was on 12 September 2026
Tamil Nadu	Third	12 September 2026	The same day as the national sitting
Telangana	Third	12 September 2026	The same day as the national sitting

A State Legal Services Authority publishes its sittings one at a time, so a date confirmed for one sitting of the year is not a statement about the sitting after it: a State whose day is shown here for one sitting may have published nothing for the next. Where that Authority's own notice for a particular sitting has not been collected, the day it falls on in that State is not established here, and the national date is not put in its place.

The National Legal Services Authority publishes four sitting dates a year, and in several States and Union Territories the sitting is held on a different day — in 2026 the second sitting fell up to two months after the national date in some States. The date for a particular State is published by that State's own Legal Services Authority, and it is shown here only where that Authority's own notice has been collected. No date is stated for any other State, because attending on the wrong day costs a day's travel and a day's wages.

The Permanent Lok Adalat

Before a case is filed only: An application to a Permanent Lok Adalat is made before the dispute is brought before any court, and once it is made no party to it can take the same dispute to a courtSection 22C(1) and 22C(2), Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987
It can decide the dispute itself: Where the parties do not reach an agreement, a Permanent Lok Adalat decides the dispute itself, provided the dispute does not relate to an offence — an ordinary Lok Adalat cannot do this and simply returns the matterSection 22C(8), Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987
The award is final and binding: An award of a Permanent Lok Adalat, whether on merits or on a settlement, is final and binding on the parties and is deemed to be a decree of a civil courtSection 22E, Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987
The value it can hear: A Permanent Lok Adalat has no jurisdiction where the value of the property in dispute exceeds one crore rupeesSecond proviso to Section 22C(1), Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987, as substituted with effect from 20 March 2015
It is not bound by the Code of Civil Procedure: A Permanent Lok Adalat is guided by natural justice, objectivity, fair play and equity, and is not bound by the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 or the Indian Evidence Act, 1872Section 22D, Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987

Section 22B(1), Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987

transport of passengers or goods by air, road or water
postal, telegraph or telephone service
supply of power, light or water to the public
public conservancy or sanitation
service in a hospital or dispensary
insurance service
housing and estates
banking and financial service
education or educational institutions
housing and real estate
supply of a new LPG connection or refills

Section 22A(b), Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987

The matters a National Lok Adalat takes up

cheque dishonour cases under section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act
criminal cases in which the offence is compoundable
consumer disputes
civil suits, including property and land matters, pending before a court
bank recovery matters
motor accident compensation claims
labour disputes
electricity and water bill disputes
traffic challans and other petty offences
land acquisition compensation matters

the categories published for the National Lok Adalat sittings of 2026 by the National and State Legal Services Authorities

a case or matter relating to an offence that is not compoundable under any law

Section 19(5), proviso, Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987

Not established

The National Legal Services Authority publishes four sitting dates a year, and in several States and Union Territories the sitting is held on a different day — in 2026 the second sitting fell up to two months after the national date in some States. The date for a particular State is published by that State's own Legal Services Authority, and it is shown here only where that Authority's own notice has been collected. No date is stated for any other State, because attending on the wrong day costs a day's travel and a day's wages.
A State Legal Services Authority publishes its sittings one at a time, so a date confirmed for one sitting of the year is not a statement about the sitting after it: a State whose day is shown here for one sitting may have published nothing for the next. Where that Authority's own notice for a particular sitting has not been collected, the day it falls on in that State is not established here, and the national date is not put in its place.
Matrimonial matters appear in the categories published for National Lok Adalat sittings, and divorce is commonly listed as outside them. The Act itself bars only offences that are not compoundable, so what a particular sitting takes up is set by the Legal Services Authority organising it. Nothing is claimed either way here.
A Permanent Lok Adalat is established by notification for particular places and particular public utility services, so which one covers a given address, and which services it has been established for, varies. That is not established here.

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