**Executive Summary**
This report, dated January 29, 2026, details the cases resolved through Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) mechanisms in India. It presents data on commercial disputes settled through pre-institution mediation under the Commercial Courts Act, 2015, since the 2018 amendment, as well as cases settled through Lok Adalats. The data covers various periods, with the most recent data updated to September/November 2025.
**Key Points / Main Content**
* **Pre-Institution Mediation and Settlement (PIMS):**
* Under Section 12A of the Commercial Courts Act, 2015, parties must exhaust the mandatory remedy of PIMS before approaching the Court if the commercial dispute doesn't require urgent interim relief.
* The data presented covers the period from July 2018 to September 25, 2025, including the number of applications received for mediation, the number of applications where mediation remained a non-starter, and the number of parties who reached a settlement.
* ADR is party autonomy driven, and parties can use ad hoc mediation and various mediation institutions, for which no formal data is available.
* **Lok Adalats:**
* Organized under the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987, and the National Legal Services Authority (Lok Adalats) Regulations, 2009.
* Aims to settle disputes/cases pending in the court or at the pre-litigation stage amicably.
* Award made by Lok Adalat is considered a decree of a civil court, final, binding, and not appealable.
* Data is provided for the disposal of cases in National Lok Adalats and State Lok Adalats.
* Data includes the number of pre-litigation cases, pending cases, and total cases settled/disposed of, spanning from 2021 to 2025/26.
* **Permanent Lok Adalats (Public Utility Services):**
* Data provided for the disposal of PLAs for the years 2021-22 to 2025-26 (up to Nov. 25).
* **Arbitration Council of India:**
* Part IA of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 provides for the establishment of the Arbitration Council of India.
* The Arbitration Council of India is yet to be established.
**Impact Analysis**
**Stakeholder: Parties involved in commercial disputes**
* **Impact:** Affected by the mandatory requirement of exhausting PIMS before approaching court, unless urgent interim relief is needed.
* **Action Required:** Participate in the PIMS process in good faith before pursuing litigation.
**Stakeholder: Litigants and Parties with Pending Cases**
* **Impact:** Have the opportunity to resolve disputes amicably through Lok Adalats, potentially leading to faster and less costly resolutions.
* **Action Required:** Consider participating in Lok Adalats to resolve pending cases or pre-litigation disputes.
**Stakeholder: National Legal Services Authority (NALSA)**
* **Impact:** Responsible for maintaining information on cases settled/disposed of in Lok Adalats.
* **Action Required:** Continue to organize and maintain records of Lok Adalat proceedings.
**Stakeholder: Judiciary/Courts**
* **Impact:** Reduction in caseload due to cases being resolved through ADR mechanisms.
* **Action Required:** Acknowledge the awards of Lok Adalats as decrees of a civil court.
Key Entities Referenced
Commercial Courts Act, 2015: The primary legislation enabling pre-institution mediation for commercial disputes.
Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987: Provides the legal framework for Lok Adalats.
Lok Adalats: Alternative dispute resolution mechanism operating under the Legal Services Authorities Act.
Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996: Act that provides for the establishment of the Arbitration Council of India.
Ministry of Law and Justice: Government ministry responsible for the information provided in the document.
Ministry of Law and Justice
CASES RESOLVED THROUGH ALTERNATIVE
DISPUTE RESOLUTION MECHANISMS
प्रव तथ: 29 JAN 2026 8:37PM by PIB Delhi
Being part of ADR, under the Pre-Institution Mediation and Settlement (PIMS) mechanism under Section
12A, where a commercial dispute of specified value does not contemplate any urgent interim relief, the
parties have to first exhaust the mandatory remedy of PIMS before approaching the Court. This is aimed at
providing an opportunity to the parties to resolve the commercial disputes through mediation.
The details of commercial disputes settled through pre-institution mediation under the Commercial Courts
Act, 2015, since the amendment in the year 2018, are as follows:
Period No. of applications No. of application No. of application where
received for mediation where mediation parties reached for
remains non- starter settlement
July, 2018 to 3680 1660 25
March, 2019
2019-20 18080 14470 167
2020-21 18364 14014 186
2021-22 32335 28441 368
2022-23 46412 41898 1449
2023-24 51019 47185 1139
2024-25 59568 52730 877
2025-26 (up 47218 30353 643
to Sep 25)
v. as the ADR is party autonomy driven and the parties for ADR take recourse with
ad hoc mediation and various mediation institutions, for which no formal data is available.
Lok Adalats are organised across the country under the provisions of the Legal Services Authorities Act,
1987 read with National Legal Services Authority (Lok Adalats) Regulations, 2009 for the subject matters
as prescribed under the said Act and Regulations in the Courts and Tribunals as defined under Section 2(aaa) of the said Act. In Lok Adalats, the disputes/ cases pending in the court of law or at pre-litigation
stage are attempted to be settled amicably. The Lok Adalat has been given statutory status under the Legal
Services Authorities Act, 1987, recognizing its efficacy as an expeditious, less costly and speedier system
of administration of justice. Under Section 21 of the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987, the Award
made by Lok Adalat is deemed to be a decree of a civil court and is final and binding on all parties to the
dispute and no appeal lies to any court against the Award.
The National Legal Services Authority maintains information only with respect to cases settled/disposed
of in Lok Adalats. The details of pre-litigation and pending cases settled/disposed of through Lok Adalats
during the last five years are as follows:
(i) Disposal of cases in National Lok Adalats
Years Pre-litigation Pending Cases Total
2021 72,06,294 55,81,743 1,27,88,037
2022 3,10,15,215 1,09,10,795 4,19,26,010
2023 7,10,32,980 1,43,09,237 8,53,42,217
2024 8,70,19,059 1,75,07,060 10,45,26,119
2025 12,65,89,535 2,18,35,515 14,84,25,050
(ii) Disposal of cases in State Lok Adalats
Years Pre-litigation Pending Cases Total
2021-22 1,14,278 4,18,251 5,32,529
2022-23 94,939 7,56,370 8,51,309
2023-24 2,19,230 9,87,873 12,07,103
2024-25 8,05,731 5,39,083 13,44,814
2025-26 (up to Nov 25) 3,47,069 2,42,617 5,89,686
(iii) Permanent Lok Adalats (Public Utility Services)
Years Disposal of PLAs
2021-22 1,18,1362022-23 1,71,138
2023-24 2,32,763
2024-25 2,37,980
2025-26 (up to Nov. 25) 1,68,808
Part IA of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 inter-alia provides for the establishment of the
Arbitration Council of India. The Arbitration Council of India is yet to be established.
This information was given by MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) OF THE
MINISTRY OF LAW AND JUSTICE; AND MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF
PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS Shri Arjun Ram Meghwal in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha
today.
***
Samrat/
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