Nari Adalat is a semi-formal adjudicatory forum set up by the Indian Government under the Mission Shakti to provide women with an alternate Grievance Redressal Mechanism for resolving cases of petty nature faced by them at the local level.
In English, the term Nari Adalat means “Women’s Court”. As the name suggests, Nari Adalats seek to resolve petty issues and disputes faced by women.
It may be noted that Mission Shakti is an integrated women empowerment program. The program is carefully designed to touch upon and address all concerns and issues of women, responsively, in a comprehensive manner, and during their entire lifecycle continuum.
One of the components included in Mission Shakti is ‘Nari Adalat’. Initially, it is being started on a pilot basis, for providing women with an alternate Grievance Redressal Mechanism for resolving cases of petty nature like harassment, subversion, curtailment of rights or entitlements, etc faced by them at the local level.
Parivarik Mahila Lok Adalats
Earlier, the National Commission for Women (NCW) used to provide financial assistance to Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) for organizing Parivarik Mahila Lok Adalats (PMLAs) till the year 2014-2015. Thereafter, the scheme has been discontinued by the NCW.
The matters redressed through these Lok Adalats related to family affairs, matrimonial disputes, bigamy, succession, and motor vehicle accident disputes related to labour.
The NGOs in association with District Legal Aid and Advisory Boards, activists, advocates, and other stakeholders, used to organize PMLAs.
Till the discontinuation of the scheme in 2014-15, a total of 298 such Adalats were held.