

HYDERABAD: More than 4.2 lakh cases were settled and over Rs 266 crore disbursed to litigants at the third National Lok Adalat held across Telangana on Saturday.
Telangana Legal Services Authority (TSLSA) member secretary Ch Panchakshari said 4,20,626 cases were disposed of through compromise settlements, including 2,78,335 pre-litigation cases and 1,40,565 pending cases.
The settlements covered consumer and labour disputes, motor accident compensation claims, land acquisition matters, civil and criminal cases and other pre-litigation and pending disputes.
As many as 342 Lok Adalat benches were constituted across the state. Of these, 340 functioned in district courts, while two special benches operated at the Telangana High Court and two at the Hyderabad Debt Recovery Tribunals.
In a motor accident claims settlement, an insurance company disbursed Rs 5 crore in compensation to victims in the presence of the Chief Judge of the Hyderabad City Civil Court.
182 cases settled in HC
Two special Lok Adalat benches at the Telangana High Court, headed by Justice K Sujana and Justice Nandikonda Narsing Rao, settled 182 pending cases through compromise.
Victims in motor accident compensation cases received awards totalling more than Rs 14.81 crore, the TSLSA said.
Two denied bail in ganja case
Two accused in a ganja trafficking case were denied bail after the Telangana High Court found no change in circumstances since their earlier pleas were rejected. DRI said 27.15 kg of ganja was seized as part of an organised syndicate. The accused claimed they were merely couriers and that individual recoveries of 6.75 kg and 6.85 kg were below the commercial quantity threshold. The court held that the NDPS Act’s Section 37 bar applied.