Explain and distinguish between Lok Adalats and Arbitration Tribunals. Whether they entertain civil as well as criminal cases ?
Approach · directive: “explain / distinguish”
What it asks · Explain both mechanisms, bring out their differences (basis, method, finality, governing law) and answer whether each handles civil and criminal matters.
It asks 3 things — answer each
- Explain: what Lok Adalats and arbitral tribunals are and how each works
- Distinguish: basis, method, consent, finality and cost
- Whether each entertains civil as well as criminal cases
Open with · Article 39A asks the State to ensure justice is not denied by economic or other disabilities; Lok Adalats and arbitral tribunals both serve this as ADR forums, but work in opposite ways.
Cover
- Lok Adalat: Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987; legal services authorities from NALSA to taluk level; no court fee, fee refunded on settlement.
- Scale: over 7 crore 70 lakh cases resolved through National Lok Adalats in 2023.
- Arbitral tribunal: arbitrators chosen under an arbitration agreement decide on merits by applying law (Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996).
- Consent: a Lok Adalat needs agreement to the settlement; arbitration needs prior agreement to arbitrate, not to the outcome.
- Finality: a Lok Adalat award is a deemed decree with no appeal; an arbitral award can be set aside only on narrow grounds (Section 34).
- Permanent Lok Adalats for public utility services (Section 22-B) can decide on merits if conciliation fails — a hybrid.
- Civil or criminal: Lok Adalats handle civil disputes and compoundable offences only; arbitration is confined to civil and commercial disputes.
Close with · Lok Adalats carry Article 39A's equal-justice promise to ordinary litigants and arbitration gives commerce expert speed; both ease pendency, while serious crime stays with the courts.
Add value (verified)
- NALSA: a Lok Adalat award, deemed a civil court decree, is final — no appeal lies against it.Lok Adalats — National Legal Services Authority ↗“no appeal against such an award lies before any court of law”
- NALSA: Lok Adalats cannot take up divorce or non-compoundable offences.Lok Adalats — National Legal Services Authority ↗“Provided that the Lok Adalat shall have no jurisdiction in respect of matters relating to divorce or matters relating to an offence not compoundable under any law.”
- NALSA: Permanent Lok Adalats (Section 22-B) are standing bodies for compulsory pre-litigation conciliation in public utility services — the hybrid that can decide on merits.Lok Adalats — National Legal Services Authority ↗“Permanent Lok Adalats have been set up as permanent bodies with a Chairman and two members for providing compulsory pre-litigative mechanism for conciliation and settlement of cases relating to Public Utility Services”
- Article 39A: the State shall provide free legal aid so that no citizen is denied justice by reason of economic or other disabilities.The Constitution of India (as on 1 May 2024) - Legislative Department ↗“provide free legal aid, by suitable legislation or schemes or in any other way, to ensure that opportunities for securing justice are not denied to any citizen by reason of economic or other disabilities.”
- NALSA: no court fee is payable in a Lok Adalat, and fee already paid on a pending case is refunded when it settles.Lok Adalats — National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) ↗“There is no court fee payable when a matter is filed in a Lok Adalat. If a matter pending in the court of law is referred to the Lok Adalat and is settled subsequently, the court fee originally paid in the court on the complaints/petition is also refunded back to the parties.”
- Over 7 crore 70 lakh cases were resolved through National Lok Adalats in 2023 (NALSA's Executive Chairman, December 2024).Akashvani News (All India Radio), 10 December 2024 ↗“Over 7 crore 70 lakh cases resolved in 2023 through National Lok Adalats, says Justice B R Gavai”
Question: UPSC's CS (Main) 2024, GS Paper II — paper ↗. Approach: Minimalist IAS, checked 3 Oct 2026 (how we verify) — UPSC publishes no model answers. ·
Model answer· 225words · Minimalist IAS
Article 39A asks the State to ensure that no citizen is denied justice by reason of economic or other disabilities. Lok Adalats and arbitral tribunals both serve it as alternative dispute resolution (ADR) forums, but in opposite ways.
Lok Adalats: justice by compromise
- Basis: the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987; run by legal services authorities, NALSA to taluk.
- Method: conciliators help settle pending or pre-litigation disputes; no court fee, and fees are refunded on settlement.
- Scale: over 7 crore 70 lakh cases settled through National Lok Adalats in 2023.
Arbitral tribunals: justice by adjudication
- Basis and method: under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, arbitrators chosen under an arbitration agreement, paid by the parties, decide on merits by applying law.
How they differ
| Aspect | Lok Adalat | Arbitral tribunal |
|---|---|---|
| Consent | To the settlement | Only to arbitrate |
| Cost | Free; fee refunded | Parties pay arbitrators |
| Finality | Deemed decree; no appeal | Set aside only under Section 34 |
- Hybrid: Permanent Lok Adalats (Section 22-B) for public utility services may decide on merits if conciliation fails.
Civil as well as criminal cases?
- Lok Adalat: civil disputes and compoundable offences only; not divorce or non-compoundable offences.
- Arbitration: civil and commercial disputes only; crimes are not arbitrable.
Lok Adalats carry Article 39A's equal-justice promise to ordinary litigants and arbitration gives commerce expert speed; both ease pendency, while serious crime stays with the courts.
Prepared by Minimalist IAS to the answer standard of Shivam Singh (mentor, 7 years) · facts checked against official sources (how we verify) · updated 3 Oct 2026. UPSC publishes no model answers: compare your structure and coverage with this, then write your own.
