Lok Adalat and Free Legal Aid: Who Qualifies and How to Apply

Anyone with a settleable dispute can take it to a Lok Adalat for a same-day, fee-free hearing, and a settlement there becomes a final court decree with no appeal. If you also fall under Section 12 of the Legal Services Authorities Act 1987, your District Legal Services Authority gives you a free advocate to run the matter. You do not need money or a lawyer of your own to start.

Short on time? Jump to how to apply step by step. To check if you get a free lawyer, read who qualifies for free legal aid section 12.

Court cases in India are slow and costly. Article 39A of the Constitution promises that justice must not fail because a person is poor. The Legal Services Authorities Act 1987 turns that promise into two services run by the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) and its State and District units.

The first is free legal aid: a government-paid advocate for people who qualify. The second is the Lok Adalat, a “people's court” where a panel helps two sides settle by agreement. Both are free, and both are meant for ordinary citizens, not just the very poor.

Note: a Lok Adalat does not “win” your case for you. It helps both sides agree. If you need a forum that can rule against the other side, that is a regular court or tribunal, with one narrow exception explained below.

Section 12 of the Legal Services Authorities Act 1987 lists who is entitled to a free advocate and free legal services. You qualify if you are any one of the following:

• A member of a Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe.
• A victim of human trafficking or of begar (forced labour) under Article 23.
• A woman or a child. Women and children qualify regardless of income.
• A person with a disability.
• A person in undeserved want, such as a victim of a mass disaster, ethnic or caste violence, flood, drought, earthquake or an industrial disaster.
• An industrial workman.
• A person in custody, including in a protective home, a juvenile home, or a psychiatric hospital.
• A person whose annual income is below the prescribed ceiling.

On the income test: for a case before the Supreme Court, the ceiling is ₹5 lakh per year. For all other courts the ceiling is fixed by each State Government, so it varies from state to state. Check your own state figure with your District Legal Services Authority (DLSA) before you assume you are over the limit.

Two points people miss. First, under Section 13 the authority must be satisfied you have a genuine matter to prosecute or defend. Second, free legal aid covers court fees, advocate fees, drafting and certified copies, not just the lawyer.

A Lok Adalat works only by compromise. It can take up two kinds of matters: any case already pending in a court, and any pre-litigation dispute that has not yet been filed but is likely to be.

It is well suited to disputes that the law lets parties settle, for example:

• Motor accident compensation claims.
• Cheque bounce (dishonour) cases, which are compoundable.
• Money recovery, bank loan and credit-card dues.
• Matrimonial and maintenance disputes (not the divorce decree itself, but money and settlement terms).
• Labour and service matters, and land or partition disputes.
• Electricity and water bill disputes, and consumer complaints.

It cannot settle a matter relating to an offence that is not compoundable under the law. Serious crimes stay in the regular criminal courts. A Lok Adalat also cannot impose a result: if the two sides do not agree, there is no award.

1. Ask the court or the other side to refer the case to the next Lok Adalat. You can make this request orally or in writing to the presiding judge.
2. The court refers settleable cases on its own to National Lok Adalat dates. These are special days when Lok Adalats sit on a single day across the whole country, from the Supreme Court down to taluka courts.
3. On the day, the panel hears both sides and helps you agree terms.
4. If you settle, the panel passes an award. If you do not, the case simply goes back to the regular court and continues as before. You lose nothing by trying.

1. Go to your District Legal Services Authority at the district court complex, or your State Legal Services Authority. The front office is the help desk.
2. File a simple pre-litigation application naming both parties and the dispute. There is no court fee.
3. The authority issues a notice to the other side and lists the matter before a Lok Adalat.
4. If both sides attend and agree, you get an award the same day. If the other side ignores the notice or refuses, the Lok Adalat cannot force a settlement, and you are free to file a regular case in court.

You can ask for a free DLSA advocate at the same desk if you qualify under Section 12.

This is what makes Lok Adalat powerful. Under Section 21, every Lok Adalat award is deemed to be a decree of a civil court. It is final and binding on all parties, and no appeal lies against it in any court.

In plain terms: the settlement you sign is as enforceable as a judgment after a full trial. If the other side does not pay, you go straight to execution, the same as enforcing any court decree.

Because there is no appeal, read the terms carefully before you agree. A settlement award can be challenged only on a violation of the Section 20 procedure, by filing a writ petition in the High Court under Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution. You cannot reopen it simply because you later changed your mind.

If you qualify under Section 12, your District Legal Services Authority assigns you a panel advocate at no cost. To apply:

1. Visit the DLSA office in your district court complex, or the Front Office at the court.
2. Carry ID and any proof of your category, such as a caste certificate, disability certificate, or an income certificate if you are applying on the income ground.
3. Fill the legal-aid application. Many DLSAs and State authorities also accept applications online through the NALSA portal.
4. The authority checks your eligibility and that your case is genuine, then allots an advocate.

The same advocate can represent you in the Lok Adalat and, if no settlement happens, in the regular court.

There is a special body for utility-type disputes. Under Section 22-B, Permanent Lok Adalats are set up for Public Utility Services such as transport, post, telegraph, electricity, water and insurance, with a money limit up to ₹1 crore. Unlike an ordinary Lok Adalat, a Permanent Lok Adalat can decide the dispute on merits even if the two sides do not settle, as long as the matter is not a criminal offence. So for a stubborn electricity or insurance dispute, this forum can give you a binding decision without your opponent's consent.

Yes. There is no court fee to take a matter to a Lok Adalat. If a pending court case is settled at a Lok Adalat, the court fee you already paid is refunded to you. Free legal aid under Section 12 covers the advocate's fee, drafting, court fees and certified copies. You pay nothing for the service itself.

An ordinary Lok Adalat works only by agreement, so it cannot force a result. If the other side does not come or refuses, no award is passed. A pending case simply returns to the regular court, and a pre-litigation matter is left for you to file in court. The one exception is a Permanent Lok Adalat for public utility services, which can decide such a dispute on merits without the other side's consent.

Yes. Any pending case can be referred to a Lok Adalat, by the court or on a party's request. This is common on National Lok Adalat dates. If you settle, you get a binding award and a refund of court fee. If you do not, the case continues in court with nothing lost.

For a Supreme Court case, the income ceiling is ₹5 lakh per year. For all other courts, each State Government fixes its own ceiling, so the figure differs by state. Check your state's limit with your DLSA. Remember that women, children, SC/ST persons, disaster victims and persons with disability qualify regardless of income.

No. Under Section 21 the award is final and binding and no appeal is allowed. The only route is a writ petition in the High Court under Articles 226 and 227, and only on the narrow ground that the Section 20 procedure was violated. So read and agree to the terms carefully before signing.

Every district court complex has a District Legal Services Authority office and a Front Office. Your State Legal Services Authority and NALSA list contacts and the next Lok Adalat dates on their websites. You can walk in without an appointment.

• Decide whether your dispute is settleable (money, accident claim, cheque bounce, family money terms) or a serious crime that cannot go to Lok Adalat.
• If your case is already in court, write a one-line request to the judge to refer it to the next Lok Adalat.
• If it is not filed yet, note your District Legal Services Authority address at the district court complex.
• Gather your category proof (caste, disability, or income certificate) if you want a free DLSA advocate under Section 12.

• Section 12, Legal Services Authorities Act 1987 (eligibility): https://indiankanoon.org/doc/81155499/
• NALSA, Eligibility for free legal aid: https://nalsa.gov.in/legal-aid/
• NALSA, Lok Adalats (cases, no court fee, Section 21 award, National Lok Adalat): https://nalsa.gov.in/lok-adalats/
• NALSA, Permanent Lok Adalat under Section 22-B: https://nalsa.gov.in/permanent-lok-adalat/

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