Counted But Not Measured: Lok Adalat Disposal Statistics And The Access To Justice Mandate

Abstract

The performance of India’s Lok Adalats is reported almost entirely in two figures: the number of cases disposed of and the aggregate value of settlements. This article argues that these are measures of institutional throughput, and that throughput cannot report on the mandate the Lok Adalat exists to serve. Article 39A of the Constitution directs the State to secure justice on a basis of equal opportunity and to prevent the denial of justice by reason of economic disability, a distributive standard concerned with who is reached. Drawing on three competing paradigms of justice measurement- output, institutional capacity, and population experience the article shows that India already subscribes to an internationally agreed indicator, Sustainable Development Goal indicator 16.3.3, which would measure Lok Adalats in the terms that matter, and that the present reporting architecture is structurally incapable of speaking to it. Using the official record of e-Lok Adalat proceedings, the article demonstrates that aggregate reporting conceals variation of a magnitude that ought to inform policy. It concludes with four proposals, none requiring legislative amendment.