AGARTALA, Dec 9 (TIWN): The National Lok Adalat has begun at Court premises of Dist & Session judge of West Tripura, organized by Tripura State Legal Service Authority.

Lok Adalat is a system of alternative dispute resolution developed in India. It roughly means "People's court". India has had a long history of resolving disputes through the mediation of village elders. The system of Lok Adalats is based on the principles of the Panch Kameshwar of Gram Panchayats which were also proposed by Mahatma Gandhi the idea of Lok Adalat was mainly advocated by Justice P.N. Bhagwati, a former Chief Justice of India.

Lok Adalat is a non-adversarial system, whereby mock courts (called Lok Adalats) are held by the State Authority, District Authority, Supreme Court Legal Services Committee, High Court Legal Services Committee, or Talk Legal Services Committee.

They are held periodically for exercising such jurisdiction as they determine. These are usually presided over by retired judges, social activists, or other members of the legal profession. The Lok Adalats can deal with all Civil Cases, Matrimonial Disputes, Land Disputes, Partition/Property Disputes, Labour Disputes etc., and compoundable criminal Cases. The first Lok Adalat was held on March 14, 1982 in Gujarat.