Content

1. Lok Adalats: Justice That Speaks for the People
2. From Red Corridor to Naxal-Free Bharat: A Decade of Decisive Gains (2014–2025)

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Lok Adalats: Justice That Speaks for the People

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Why is it in News?

• PIB release (13 December 2025, Delhi) highlighted Lok Adalats as a key pillar of people-centric justice delivery.
• Emphasis on:
  • Expansion of National Lok Adalats and E-Lok Adalats.
  • Strengthening Permanent Lok Adalats (PLAs) for public utility services.
  • Their role in reducing pendency, speedy justice, and inclusive access.
• Context:
  • India’s courts face over 5 crore pending cases (NJDG).
  • Push towards ADR mechanisms aligned with Article 39A (Access to Justice).

Relevance 

GS-II (Polity & Governance)

• Access to justice.
• Judicial reforms.
• Alternative Dispute Resolution.
• Article 39A.

What are Lok Adalats? (Basics)

• Lok Adalat literally means People’s Court.
• A statutory Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) mechanism.
• Core philosophy:
  • Consensus, not contest
  • Conciliation, not adjudication
• Objective:
  • Speedy, inexpensive, informal, and amicable settlement of disputes.
• No strict application of:
  • Civil Procedure Code (CPC)
  • Indian Evidence Act

Constitutional & Legal Basis

Constitutional Foundation

• Article 39A:
  • Equal justice and free legal aid.
  • State obligation to ensure justice is not denied due to economic or social disability.

Statutory Backbone

• Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987
  • Institutionalised free legal aid and Lok Adalats nationwide.
  • Converted a social experiment into a legally enforceable justice mechanism.

Key Legal Features (LSA Act, 1987)

• Lok Adalats can take up:
  • Pending court cases
  • Pre-litigation disputes
• No court fee; if already paid → refunded.
• Procedure:
  • Purely non-adversarial.
• Award of Lok Adalat:
  • Deemed a civil court decree.
  • Final and binding.
  • No appeal permitted.
• Enhances:
  • Finality
  • Certainty
  • Speed

Institutional Architecture (4-Tier Structure)

Ensures justice from Supreme Court to grassroots.

National Legal Services Authority (NALSA)

• Head: Chief Justice of India
• Functions:
  • Policy formulation.
  • National Lok Adalat calendar.
  • Monitoring & coordination.

State Legal Services Authority (SLSA)

• Head: Chief Justice of High Court
• Functions:
  • Implement NALSA policies.
  • Organise State & High Court Lok Adalats.
  • Legal aid delivery.

District Legal Services Authority (DLSA)

• Head: District & Sessions Judge
• Functions:
  • District-level Lok Adalats.
  • Coordination with Taluk committees.
  • Local legal aid.

Taluk Legal Services Committee (TLSC)

• Head: Senior-most Judicial Officer
• Functions:
  • Grassroots access.
  • First contact point for citizens.
  • Rural & semi-urban justice delivery.

National Lok Adalats (NLAs): Mission-Mode Justice

• Conducted simultaneously across India on pre-notified dates.
• NALSA releases annual calendar.
• Covers:
  • Pre-litigation matters.
  • Pending cases at all judicial levels.
• Process:
  • Pre-Lok Adalat sittings.
  • Identification of settlement-prone cases.
• Technology:
  • Disposals updated on National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG).
• Innovation:
  • E-Lok Adalats during COVID → virtual participation.

Significance

• Massive scale settlement in single-day drives.
• Reduces backlog with:
  • Speed
  • Uniformity
  • Administrative coordination

Permanent Lok Adalats (PLAs)

Legal Basis

• Sections 22B–22E, LSA Act, 1987.

Scope

• Public Utility Services, such as:
  • Transport
  • Electricity
  • Water supply
  • Postal services
  • Telecom

Key Features

• Pre-litigation forum only.
• Jurisdiction: Disputes up to ₹1 crore.
• Composition:
  • Chairperson (judicial background)
  • Two members (subject expertise).
• Unique power:
  • If conciliation fails → PLA can adjudicate.
• Award:
  • Final and binding.

Importance

• Prevents routine service disputes from entering courts.
• Ensures certainty and continuity of essential services.

Performance & Impact

• Millions of cases resolved annually through:
  • National Lok Adalats
  • State/District Lok Adalats
  • Permanent Lok Adalats
  • E-Lok Adalats
• Tangible outcomes:
  • Reduced pendency.
  • Faster compensation (MACT, bank recovery, service disputes).
  • Cost and time savings.
• Intangible outcomes:
  • Increased public trust.
  • Reduced litigation fatigue.
  • Humanised justice delivery.

Advantages

• Speedy disposal.
• Zero or minimal cost.
• Informal, citizen-friendly process.
• Enforceable outcomes.
• Strengthens participatory justice.

Limitations & Critiques

• Only compoundable / settlement-friendly cases.
• Risk of:
  • Pressure to settle.
  • Unequal bargaining power.
• Limited scope in:
  • Serious criminal offences.
  • Complex constitutional disputes.

Conclusion

• Lok Adalats represent procedural justice with a human face.
• They shift focus from:
  • Winning vs losing → mutual settlement.
• In a system burdened by pendency, Lok Adalats demonstrate that:
  • Justice can be fast yet fair,
  • Efficient yet empathetic,
  • Legal yet humane.
• They reaffirm a core constitutional promise:
  Justice must reach the last person, not wait at the last step.

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From Red Corridor to Naxal-Free Bharat: A Decade of Decisive Gains (2014–2025)

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Why is it in News?

• PIB release (13 December 2025) highlighted near-elimination of Left Wing Extremism (LWE).
• Key claims:
  • LWE-affected districts reduced from 126 (2014) → 11 (2025).
  • Most-affected districts down from 36 → 3.
  • Target announced: Naxal-free India by March 2026.
• Significance:
  • One of the largest internal security turnarounds since Independence.
  • Demonstrates shift from reactive policing to integrated counter-insurgency + development strategy.

Relevance

GS-III (Internal Security)

• LWE strategy.
• Counter-insurgency doctrine.
• Role of development in security.

GS-II (Governance)

• Cooperative federalism.
• State capacity building.

What is Left Wing Extremism (LWE)? 

• Ideology:
  • Based on Maoist–Marxist revolutionary thought.
  • Advocates armed struggle against the Indian State.
• Organisational core:
  • CPI (Maoist) and its armed wing PLGA (People’s Liberation Guerrilla Army).
• Geography:
  • Historically concentrated in the Red Corridor:
    • Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh–Telangana belt, parts of Bihar, MP, WB.
• Nature of threat:
  • Internal security challenge under Seventh Schedule – Union responsibility.
  • Targets state authority, infrastructure, elections, and civilians.

Why Did Naxalism Grow? 

• Chronic underdevelopment and tribal alienation.
• Land and forest rights issues.
• Weak local governance and service delivery.
• Poor connectivity enabling insurgent sanctuaries.
• Exploitation of grievance narratives by armed cadres.

Strategic Shift After 2014: The Core Doctrine

From fragmented responses → unified national strategy

Guiding Principles

• Dialogue → Security → Development → Coordination
• Clear political resolve and time-bound target (March 2026).

Measurable Outcomes: 2014–2025

Decline in Violence (2004–14 vs 2014–24)

• Violent incidents: –53%
• Security force deaths: –73%
• Civilian deaths: –70%

Territorial Shrinkage

• Total affected districts: 126 → 11
• Most-affected districts: 36 → 3
• Police stations reporting incidents: 330 (2013) → 52 (2025)

Operational Successes (2024–2025)

• 2025 (till date):
  • 317 Naxals neutralised.
  • 862 arrested.
  • 1,973 surrendered.
• Leadership decapitation:
  • 28 top leaders neutralised since 2024.
• Major operations:
  • Operation Black Forest.
  • Clearing of Abujhmad and PLGA core zones.
• Result:
  • Collapse of Tactical Counter Offensive Campaign (TCOC) 2024.

Security Perimeter Strengthening

• 586 fortified police stations (vs 66 pre-2014).
• 361 new forward camps in last 6 years.
• 68 night-landing helipads for rapid deployment.
• Bastions liberated after 30 years:
  • Budha Pahad, Parasnath, Chakrabandha, Baramasia, Abujhmad.

Financial Choking of Naxals

• Dedicated anti-Naxal vertical in NIA.
• Asset seizures:
  • NIA: ₹40+ crore.
  • States: ₹40+ crore.
  • ED attachments: ₹12 crore.
• Impact:
  • Disruption of logistics, propaganda, and urban support networks.

Capacity Building of States

Security Funding

• ₹3,331 crore under SRE scheme (155% increase).
• Special Infrastructure Scheme (SIS):
  • ₹371 crore (SF & SIB).
  • ₹620 crore + ₹140 crore for fortified police stations.
• SCA to LWE districts: ₹3,817.59 crore.
• ACALWEMS:
  • Camp infrastructure + hospitals.

Human Resources

• Bastariya Battalion:
  • 1,143 recruits.
  • Local youth from worst-affected districts.
• Converts former conflict zones into security manpower hubs.

Infrastructure as Counter-Insurgency

Roads

• 12,000 km constructed (2014–25).
• 17,589 km approved, ₹20,815 crore.
• Ends Maoist geographical isolation.

Telecom

• 2G towers: 2,343.
• Additional towers: 2,542.
• 4G saturation:
  • 8,527 towers approved.
• Strategic impact:
  • Intelligence flow.
  • Civilian–state integration.
  • Governance reach.

Financial Inclusion

• 1,804 bank branches.
• 1,321 ATMs.
• 37,850 banking correspondents.
• 5,899 post offices.
• Result:
  • Weakens parallel Maoist “taxation” system.
  • Integrates locals into formal economy.

Education & Skill Development

• 48 ITIs (₹495 crore).
• 61 Skill Development Centres.
• Focus:
  • Youth employment.
  • Reducing recruitment pool.
• Long-term deradicalisation through livelihoods.

Surrender & Rehabilitation Policy

• High-rank cadres: ₹5 lakh.
• Middle/lower rank: ₹2.5 lakh.
• Monthly stipend: ₹10,000 for 36 months.
• Result:
  • 1,000+ surrenders recently.
  • Collapse of cadre morale and cohesion.

Strategic Assessment

Why the Strategy Worked ?

• Simultaneous pressure:
  • Security + Development + Finance + Ideology.
• No safe havens:
  • Physical, financial, or informational.
• Local participation:
  • Tribal youth in forces.
• Institutional coordination:
  • Centre–State–Agency alignment.

Challenges Ahead

• Residual pockets in dense forests.
• Risk of ideological mutation into:
  • Urban networks.
  • Digital propaganda.
• Need for:
  • Sustained governance.
  • Rights-based development.
  • Post-conflict reconciliation.

Conclusion

• Between 2014 and 2025, India has broken the territorial, financial, and ideological spine of Naxalism.
• The Red Corridor has been reduced to isolated remnants.
• While vigilance must continue till March 2026, the evidence is decisive:
  • LWE is no longer a pan-Indian insurgency but a residual security issue.
• The transition from guns to governance marks one of India’s most consequential internal security successes.

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