District Judiciary Srinagar, in collaboration with the District Legal Services Authority (DLSA) Srinagar, successfully organized the Ist National Lok Adalat for the year 2025 at the District Court Complex Mominabad Srinagar
District Judiciary Srinagar, in collaboration with the District Legal Services Authority (DLSA) Srinagar, successfully organized the Ist National Lok Adalat for the year 2025 at the District Court Complex Mominabad Srinagar and in the Court of Additional Special Mobile Magistrate/JMIC Pantha chowk Srinagar. The Nationanl Lok Adalat was held under the able guidance of Hon’ble Mr. Justice Atul Sreedharan, Administrative Judge District Court Srinagar and Executive Chairman of the J&K Legal Services Authority and Ms. Shazia Tabasum, Member Secretary of J&K Legal Services Authority, and under the overall supervision of Mr. Tasleem Arief, Principal District & Sessions Judge and Chairman of DLSA Srinagar, along with Mr. Sajad Ur Rehman, Secretary DLSA Srinagar.
The Lok Adalat served as a crucial platform for resolving disputes amicably, promoting a culture of reconciliation, and reducing the burden on regular courts. The Ist National Lok Adalat of the year was inaugurated by Chairman District Legal Services Authority Srinagar Mr. Tasleem Arief in the presence of esteemed judicial officers and staff at the District Court Complex Srinagar. The event underscored the judiciary’s commitment to ensuring access to justice for all and fostering harmony through amicable dispute resolution.
During the Lok Adalat, Ms. Shazia Tabasum, Member Secretary of J&K Legal Services Authority, along with Mr. Tasleem Arief, Principal District & Sessions Judge Srinagar, Mr. Sajad Ur Rehman, Secretary DLSA Srinagar, and Mr. Muzamil Hayat Kabli, Under Secretary J&K Legal Services Authority Srinagar observed the proceedings of the benches at District Court Srinagar.
The National Lok Adalat received an encouraging response from litigants, reflecting the trust and confidence in alternative dispute resolution mechanisms. Cases pertaining to civil, matrimonial, criminal compoundable offenses, bank recovery matters, and other disputes were taken up for settlement, with many cases being resolved on the spot. The success of the event highlighted the effectiveness of Lok Adalats in delivering swift and fair justice while reducing the pendency of cases in courts.
To facilitate the amicable settlement of cases, 13 benches were constituted, wherein the First Bench was presided over by Ms. Jeema Bashir (Presiding Officer, MACT, Court Srinagar) and Mr. Vinod Kumar (Special Judge NDPS, Cases Srinagar), in which 59 cases were taken out of which 42 cases were amicably settled & Rs:-19130000 was awarded as settlement amount and cheques amounting Rs: 3045000/- were onspot distributed by Ms. Jeema Bashir (Presiding Officer, MACT Court) Srinagar, and Mr. Vinod Kumar (Special Judge NDPS, Cases Srinagar), in presence of Worthy Mr. Tasleem Arief, Principal District & Sessions Judge Srinagar, and other Ld. Judicial Officers of District Court Srinagar. The 2nd Bench was presided over by Mr. Gowher MajeedDalal (4th Addl. District and Sessions Judge) Srinagar and Mr. Faizan Ul Haq Iqbal
(Addl. Spl. Judge Anti-Corruption), the 3rd Bench was presided over by Mr. Farooq Ahmad Bhat (Additional District & Sessions Judge Srinagar) and Mr. Abdul Bari (City Judge, Srinagar, )the 4th Bench was presided over by Ms. Renu Dogra (Principal Judge Family Court) Srinagar and Mr. Junaid Imtiaz Mir (Judge Small Cause Srinagar), the 5th Bench was presided over by Ms. Kusoom Pandita (Additional District Judge (Bank Cases) and Ms. Swati Gupta (2nd Additional District & Sessions Judge) Srinagar, the 6th Bench was presided over by Mr. Aadil Mushtaq Banday (Chief Judicial Magistrate) Srinagar and Mr. Faizan I Nazar
(Spl. Mobile Magistrate/Railway Magistrate) Srinagar, the 7th Bench was presided over by Mr. Touseef Ahmad Magray (Spl. Mobile Magistrate Traffic) and Mr. Fida Hussain Nayek
(Municipal Magistrate, Srinagar), the 8th Bench was presided over by Mr. Mohammad Ishtiyaq Alam Baba (Forest Magistrate) Srinagar and Mr.Zirgham Hamid and the 9th Bench was presided over by Ms. Massarat Jabeen (PT& E Magistrate) Srinagar and Ms. Shayesta Nazir (City Munsiff, Srinagar) the 10th Bench was presided over by Mr. Raja Arshad Hamid (Additional Spl. Mobile Magistrate Traffic) Srinagar and Mr. Varun Kumar (3rd Additional Munsiff) Srinagar and the 11th Bench was presided over Mr. Adnan Manzoor (Sub-Registrar/JMIC) Srinagar and Ms. Tasneem Kausar (Deputy LADC, DLSA Srinagar) and the 12th Bench was presided over by Ms. Shivani Attri (Additional Spl. Mobile Magistrate/JMIC Panthachowk) Srinagar and Adv. Baba Sajad and the 13th Bench was presided over by Dr. Farah Deeba (Officiating President District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission Srinagar) and Shabnum Munshi (Member District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission Srinagar).
Overall 85600 cases were taken up for settlement out of which 83297 cases were amicably settled & Rs.60798358 was awarded as settlement amount.
The Ist National Lok Adalat of 2025 witnessed a huge participation of officers/officials from different departments; litigants. The success of the Ist National Lok Adalat reflects the judiciary’s commitment to resolving disputes through mutual understanding and compromise. Such initiatives not only alleviate the backlog of cases in the courts but also strengthen the public’s faith in the legal system.
