Agartala, Mar 10: The first National Lok Adalat of the year will be held across Tripura on March 14 (Saturday), providing an opportunity for speedy and amicable settlement of a large number of pending disputes.

The Lok Adalat will sit at the Tripura High Court and also across all district and sub-divisional court premises in the state.

A total of 26,574 cases will be placed for disposal before 45 benches during the Lok Adalat. Of these, 21,390 cases are pending in courts, while 5,184 cases relate to pre-litigation disputes.

The cases scheduled for settlement include: 422 motor accident compensation cases, 204 matrimonial disputes, 5,084 bank loan recovery cases, 100 cases related to payment of BSNL bills, 20,718 compoundable criminal cases under various laws including the Motor Vehicles Act, TP Act, TG Act, and Excise Act, 28 cheque bounce cases under the NI Act and 18 service-related cases.

At the Tripura High Court alone, 40 cases will be taken up for disposal by a single bench.

Authorities have already issued notices to the parties concerned. To assist litigants during the proceedings, legal volunteers and “Adhikar Mitras” will operate help desks at the Lok Adalat venues.

The Executive Chairman of the Tripura State Legal Services Authority, Justice T. Amarnath Goud has issued necessary directions to ensure the smooth conduct of the National Lok Adalat.

Member Secretary of the authority, Jhuma Dutta Chowdhury, has appealed to all concerned to make use of the opportunity to resolve disputes quickly and without incurring legal expenses through the Lok Adalat mechanism.