e-Challan Lok Adalat 2026: Dates, Token Booking and Discounts

Last verified: 12 Aug 2026

What is a Lok Adalat, and why do traffic challans end up there?

NALSA describes a Lok Adalat as “one of the alternative dispute redressal mechanisms, it is a forum where disputes/cases pending in the court of law or at pre-litigation stage are settled/compromised amicably.” Traffic challans fit because most petty Motor Vehicles Act offences are compoundable — closable by paying a sum instead of by trial — and they clog magistrates’ lists.

Two features make it different from simply paying online. First, the award is “deemed to be a decree of a civil court and is final and binding on all parties and no appeal against such an award lies before any court of law.” Second, where a case already pending in court is referred and settled, the court fee originally paid is refunded.

The catch is scope. Lok Adalat is for challans that have already reached a court — a Virtual Court or a regular magistrate. If yours is still showing as payable on a portal, you do not need one; see how to pay an e-challan online. For what pushes a challan into the court track in the first place, see court challan vs on-spot challan.

What are the traffic challan Lok Adalat dates in 2026?

National Lok Adalats follow one NALSA calendar, and every state legal services authority republishes the same dates. Haryana SLSA and Andhra Pradesh SLSA both list 2026 as:

Haryana SLSA records these as being held “on all subject matters”, which is why traffic matters are taken up alongside everything else. As at 12 August 2026, two sittings remain: 12 September and 12 December.

The national date tells you when courts across India sit; the local arrangement is notified by your State or District Legal Services Authority, and is not always a single day. Delhi’s DSLSA notified the May sitting for 09.05.2026 but stretched the March one across 14.03.2026 to 22.03.2026, including Sundays. States also add sittings outside the national calendar — DSLSA has notified Special Lok Adalats on 18.07.2026 and 21.11.2026 for Negotiable Instruments Act cases, and the West Bengal Traffic Police Branch Headquarters separately organises traffic Lok Adalats “for disposal of long pending cases/prosecutions”, arranged in consultation with the District and Sessions Judges and covering the MV Act 1988, the CMVR 1989 and the West Bengal Motor Vehicles Rules. See West Bengal.

How does the traffic challan Lok Adalat token work?

“Token” is the everyday word for the appointment slip. Delhi runs the most developed version — the Digital Traffic Lok Adalat at traffic.delhipolice.gov.in/lokadalat/. Per Delhi Traffic Police’s published instructions:

1. Enter the vehicle number and captcha. An OTP goes to the vehicle owner’s registered mobile number.
2. If that number is not registered against the vehicle, a registration prompt appears — use the “Update Vehicle Owner Mobile Number” button on the home page first.
3. After OTP verification your pending challans and notices are listed. Select the ones to be taken up, choose a court complex (subject to availability of courts/benches), and pick a Forenoon or Afternoon slot.
4. Tick the undertaking: “I will not contest the challan on the Virtual Court portal, i.e., vcourts.gov.in.”
5. Submit, then Print — you carry the printed appointment details and challans to court.

The caps are strict. A private vehicle may bring a maximum of five notices and two challans to one sitting; a commercial vehicle, one notice and one challan — and for commercial vehicles printing is permitted only where the fine amount is less than ₹10,000. Delhi Traffic Police states plainly that “Disposal shall be allowed only for compoundable challans/notices.” A reprint facility is available before the court date, and if you fail to appear you must book a fresh appointment for the next Lok Adalat.

Booking is tied to a notified sitting rather than open year-round, so the portal only accepts appointments in the run-up to a scheduled Lok Adalat date. Delhi’s wider two-track system is covered on Delhi e-challan.

Most states have no such portal. Andhra Pradesh’s SLSA simply says “Litigant public may approach the Legal Services Institution in the nearest court compound for settling their cases through National Lok Adalat” — you walk in, or ask the court where your case is pending to refer it. Uttar Pradesh routes through UPSLSA and its 74 District Legal Services Authorities, Madhya Pradesh’s benches sit on a single day across all courts from taluka level upward, and Rajasthan’s RSLSA holds statewide sittings several times a year. See Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh and Haryana.

How much discount do you actually get at a Lok Adalat?

Nobody publishes a figure in advance, because there isn’t one. The bench decides the settlement amount case by case on the day. Madhya Pradesh’s MPSLSA position is exactly that — concessional settlement amounts are decided by the bench on the day and are not published in advance as a fixed statewide discount. Uttar Pradesh is the same: any reduction is decided at the sitting, not as a fixed published percentage.

So the percentages that circulate (“75% off at Lok Adalat”) do not come from NALSA or any SLSA. What is dependable is the rest of it: the case closes that day and the award cannot be appealed.

Is “e challan 50 discount” the same thing, and what about a Telangana traffic challan discount?

No — a different mechanism entirely. A discount scheme is an executive decision by a state government or police force, applied on the payment portal, open to everyone for a fixed window, with no court and no bench involved.

Karnataka is the clearest case. The state has run recurring limited-window challan-discount drives on pending e-challans, but the dates are announced through the press rather than kept as a standing notice on the police or transport portals — so there is no official page listing past or current windows. Check btp.karnataka.gov.in or ksp.karnataka.gov.in before assuming one is active; outside an active window the full notified amount is payable. See Karnataka.

Telangana is the state most often named in discount searches, and the one to be most careful about. Verify any claimed Telangana discount on the official portal before acting: the Telangana Police e-challan site carries a standing warning, in English and Telugu, about fake e-challan websites and apps, and says to trust SMS only from the sender header “ECHALN-*”. A forwarded message announcing a discount window is exactly the format that gets faked. See Telangana. For contrast, no discount, amnesty or one-time-settlement scheme is published on any official state source for Gujarat, and no Tamil Nadu-specific Lok Adalat schedule or discount appears on an official page either — see Tamil Nadu.

Which challans can a Lok Adalat not settle?

The statutory bar is absolute: “Any matter relating to an offence not compoundable under the law shall not be settled in Lok Adalat.” Compoundability is fixed by Section 200 of the Motor Vehicles Act, and two common offences fall outside it.

• Drunken driving under Section 185 is not in the Section 200 list at all. It cannot be compounded or settled at a Lok Adalat, and must run its course before a magistrate. See drunk driving.
• Dangerous driving under Section 184 is only partly compoundable — Section 200 brings in only clause (c) of the Explanation, the use of handheld communication devices. Jumping a red light is clause (a), so a Section 184 red-light charge is a court matter and outside Lok Adalat. Some states book signal jumping under a different, compoundable provision instead, so read the section printed on your own challan. See red light and dangerous driving.

Delhi’s published schedule mirrors this, marking jumping a red light, stop-sign violation, dangerous driving and drunken driving as “*Court challan” with no compounding amount, the final figure left to the court’s discretion.

One last distinction. If your complaint is that the challan is wrong rather than expensive, a Lok Adalat is the wrong forum — see disputing a wrong e-challan. If you are minded to wait for the next sitting rather than pay, read what happens to unpaid e-challans first. To see what is actually pending against your vehicle, start with how to check your e-challan, and for notified amounts by offence use the fines list or the challan calculator.

TrafficChallan.com is an independent information website, not affiliated with any government body. Challan payments happen only on official government portals we link to.