March 16, 2026 : The first National Lok Adalat of the year witnessed the speedy disposal of long-pending cases in Dantewada district. Under the guidance of Principal District and Sessions Judge Santosh Kumar Aditya, a total of 10 benches were constituted by including the courts of the revenue districts of Dantewada, Sukma, Bijapur and Bacheli. Separate benches were also formed in the revenue courts.
A total of 4,810 pending regular cases from various courts were placed before the Lok Adalat. Out of these, 4,728 cases were successfully resolved and an award amount of ₹4,10,52,768 was passed. The Lok Adalat was conducted in both virtual and physical modes.
At Dantewada Court, Bench No. 1 was presided over by Principal District and Sessions Judge Santosh Kumar Aditya. Bench No. 2 was headed by Family Court Judge Harish Kumar Awasthi, while Bench No. 3 was presided over by First District and Additional Sessions Judge Mohan Prasad Gupta. Bench No. 4 was chaired by District and Additional Sessions Judge (Special Court for Naxal Cases) Sunil Kumar Jaiswal, and Bench No. 5 was led by Second District and Additional Sessions Judge D.P. Singh Dangi.
Similarly, Bench No. 6 was presided over by Chief Judicial Magistrate and Senior Civil Judge Apurva Dangi, while Bench No. 7 was headed by Judicial Magistrate First Class and Junior Civil Judge Harshvardhan Jaiswal.
In Bijapur Civil Court, Bench No. 1 was presided over by Chief Judicial Magistrate and Senior Civil Judge Rozmeen Khakha. In Sukma Civil Court, Bench No. 1 was chaired by Chief Judicial Magistrate and Senior Civil Judge Ramesh Chauhan. In Bacheli Civil Court, Bench No. 1 was headed by Judicial Magistrate First Class and Junior Civil Judge Shweta Thakur.
Chief Judicial Magistrates of Dantewada, Sukma and Bijapur, along with Judicial Magistrates First Class of Dantewada and Bacheli, referred a large number of cases to the Lok Adalat for settlement through mutual compromise.
Several institutions and departments played an important role in the success of the Lok Adalat, including State Bank of India, Antyavasayi Cooperative Development Committee, Gramin Bank, Electricity Department, Shriram Finance Company, Nagar Panchayat Barsur, Cholamandalam Finance Company, BSNL, Bank of Baroda, Punjab National Bank, Women and Child Development Department and the Health Department.
On the occasion, Principal District and Sessions Judge Santosh Kumar Aditya presented saplings to the parties, spreading a message of environmental conservation and encouraging people to plant more trees. He also expressed gratitude to all judges, staff members, litigants and media personnel for their valuable support in making the event successful.
