Srinagar, March 17 -- The conduct of the first National Lok Adalat of 2026 across Jammu and Kashmir offers a useful lens to examine both the promise and the limitations of alternative dispute resolution in India. Lok Adalats have long been positioned as a mechanism to ease the burden on courts, provide quicker relief to litigants, and encourage settlements outside the adversarial framework. The sheer number of cases taken up and disposed of in a single day reflects the scale at which such initiatives operate, and the willingness of parties to embrace compromise when facilitated in a structured environment.

The figures are striking; over seventy-six thousand cases were listed, with nearly sixty-eight thousand settled. Compensation worth s...