A husband and wife who had been living separately for the past 10 years were reunited, and the custody of an eight-year-old child was resolved after five years of litigation, during the National Lok Adalat held in Chandigarh on Saturday.The day-long Lok Adalat, organised by the State Legal Services Authority and the District Legal Services Authority, Chandigarh, saw the disposal of more than 14,000 cases by 13 benches of serving judicial officers.In one prominent matter before Additional District and Sessions Judge Puneet Mohan Sharma, a woman had filed for divorce in July 2023 after a decade of separation. With the intervention of the court, Justice Deepak Sibal, executive chairman, State Legal Services Authority, and District and Sessions Judge H S Grewal, the couple chose reconciliation over litigation and affirmed their reunion.In another case before Civil Judge (Senior Division) Rahul Garg, a five-year-long matrimonial dispute involving the custody of an eight-year-old child was settled. The court, giving paramount consideration to the child’s welfare, granted permanent custody to the mother, while allowing the father visitation rights on the second and fourth weekends of each month.Other divorce petitions listed before the family court also ended in reconciliation, with couples agreeing to resume cohabitation and affirming their reunion in court.During Lok Adalat, criminal compoundable cases, cases under Section 138 of NI Act, bank recovery cases, MACT (Motor Accident Claims Tribunal) cases, matrimonial disputes, labour disputes, arbitration matters, other civil cases, municipal matters and traffic challans were taken up and disposed of with the consent of the parties.Among the 14,000 cases which were disposed of included 11,889 traffic challans involving amount of Rs 78,58,000; 241 criminal compoundable cases involving amount of Rs 1,25,22,441; 1,397 cases under Section 138 of NI Act involving amount of Rs 1,58,35,709; three bank recovery cases involving amount of Rs 2,80,522; 60 motor accident claim cases involving amount of Rs 7,14,60,000; 40 matrimonial/family disputes involving amount of Rs 2,05,000; 115 civil suits and rent cases involving amount of Rs 37,65,081; 26 executions involving amount of Rs 51,62,535, 23 civil miscellaneous, two criminal revision involving amount of Rs 89,55,740; nine criminal miscellaneous, five arbitration cases, five civil/rent appeal, 18 cases of 125 CrPC. involving amount of Rs 50,000; 13 cases of DV Act involving amount of Rs 75,000; 27 untrace cases, 22 criminal appeals involving amount of Rs 1,62,533; 79 cases of ROC/Shop Act involving amount of Rs 3,61,900; eight guardian cases and one case of water bill decided by Permanent Lok Adalat (PUS) were disposed of.Story continues below this adIn addition to above, 2295 pre-litigative cases involving amount of Rs 2,66,787 were disposed of by the Permanent Lok Adalat (PUS), 11 (pre-litigation) bank recovery cases (taken up by regular bench) involving amount of Rs 3,32,000, 17 Labour Dispute Cases involving amount of Rs 2,20,000 were disposed of by the Labour Court, 64 were disposed of by State and District Consumer Commissions, Chandigarh involving amount of Rs 3,51,57,436, 208 cases were disposed of by DRT-II, Chandigarh involving amount of Rs 94,18,69,574 and total 57 mutations have been disposed of by Tehsildar (Revenue), Chandigarh, said an official of DLSA.143 cases settled during National Lok Adalat at High CourtAs part of the nationwide initiative of the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA), the National Lok Adalat was held at the Punjab and Haryana High Court Saturday under the supervision of Chief Justice Sheel Nagu and Justice Anupinder Singh Grewal, chairman, High Court Legal Services Committee.Ten benches, headed by sitting judges of the High Court, heard 443 cases identified as suitable for amicable settlement. Out of these, 143 cases — primarily Motor Accident Claim matters — were successfully resolved, with settlements amounting to Rs 6.25 crore.The Lok Adalat aims to reduce pendency and provide an accessible, cost-effective, and expeditious mechanism for litigants to resolve disputes without prolonged trials, said an official of HLSC (High Court Legal Services Committee).