India’s judicial system, grappling with a caseload that has strained courts for decades, is set to test a large-scale mediation model on July 11 when the National Lok Adalat convenes in Mysuru. The Chief Justice of India, as patron-in-chief of the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA), is spearheading this push to steer cases away from traditional litigation and toward negotiated settlements.
The event in Mysuru district alone aims to dispose of 135,901 pending matters, a single-day target that underscores the scale of the backlog problem. The Chief Justice of India holds the nation’s highest judicial office, presiding over the Supreme Court. In 2025, the role has been central to judicial reforms, particularly efforts to reduce backlogs through alternative dispute resolution.
By leading NALSA as its patron-in-chief, the CJI directly ties the judiciary’s top leadership to the people’s court system. This institutional arrangement was codified under the Legal Services Authorities Act of 1987, which created the framework for free legal aid and out-of-court settlements.
NALSA itself was formally established in 1995, giving statutory shape to a network of legal services institutions across the country under judicial oversight.
A Push for Alternative Dispute Resolution
The July 11 National Lok Adalat represents the most immediate test of this strategy. The 135,901 cases slated for resolution in Mysuru district courts cover a broad range of civil and criminal matters that have accumulated in the system. Lok Adalats function as court-annexed mediation sessions where parties can settle disputes without lengthy trials.
The process is designed to be informal, swift, and binding when both sides agree. For a district like Mysuru, clearing such a large number of cases in a single event would relieve significant pressure on the judiciary and provide litigants with faster closure.
NALSA’s statutory mandate includes organizing these people’s courts on a regular basis. The authority’s origins trace to the 1987 act, which laid the groundwork for a structured system delivering free legal services to eligible individuals and promoting alternative dispute resolution. The formal establishment in 1995 created a permanent institutional backbone, with a network stretching from the national level down to districts. The Chief Justice of India’s involvement as patron-in-chief signals the judiciary’s institutional commitment to making this system work.
The July 11 event is the most visible expression of that commitment in the current calendar year.
Testing the Apex Level
Beyond the Mysuru district initiative, a separate Special Lok Adalat scheduled for August will handle 43 Supreme Court cases originating from Dakshina Kannada. This selection of apex court matters marks a novel development: the nation’s highest judicial forum sending cases back to mediation.
The 43 cases represent a deliberate test of whether alternative dispute resolution can function at the Supreme Court level. If these matters are resolved efficiently through the Special Lok Adalat, it could demonstrate that even complex constitutional and legal questions can benefit from negotiated outcomes outside the adversarial system. The significance of the August session lies in its potential to expand the approach. Traditionally, Lok Adalats have handled cases from lower courts; the involvement of Supreme Court matters opens a new frontier.
The Chief Justice of India’s leadership of NALSA provides the authority to make such an experiment feasible. The outcome will be watched closely by legal observers and court administrators alike.
A successful resolution of the 43 cases would strengthen arguments for extending alternative dispute resolution mechanisms to other high-stakes litigation.
Broader Implications for Judicial Reform
The July 11 and August events are part of a sustained effort to address India’s longstanding challenge of pending cases. NALSA’s role in this effort is to provide free legal services to those who cannot afford them and to organize Lok Adalats that ease the load on traditional courts.
The authority was created with the explicit purpose of making justice more attainable for a broader section of the population, regardless of economic or social standing. The Chief Justice of India’s patronage reinforces the judiciary’s direct commitment to that mission. If the Mysuru Lok Adalat succeeds in clearing a significant portion of its 135,901 case target, it could serve as a model replicated in other districts across India.
District courts carry the bulk of the nation’s caseload, and any methodology that reduces their backlog has national implications. Similarly, success at the Supreme Court level in August could prompt the judiciary to refer more apex cases to mediation.
The combination of district-level mass resolution and apex court experimentation represents a two-track strategy. What unfolds in the coming weeks will provide early indications of whether this approach can meaningfully reshape how millions of Indians experience the justice system.
