Section 01
Where the problem happens
Define the failure from the affected person’s journey.
Simple disputes can consume years when parties lack a trusted, enforceable and informed alternative.
Required local context
Record state/UT, district, city/block, village/ward or facility; service or incident; date and reference period; affected group; requested action; failed stage; delay, cost or harm; responsible authority; evidence source; privacy level; and what remains uncertain.
Data reference table
Evidence Snapshot
Read each value with its reporting period, population and limitations. A historical national reference is not a local baseline or proof that an IFT proposal works.
3 source-linked reference records. 3 measurement records still need data and a review of their relevance.
| Signal | Reference Value | Period / Population | How to Read It | Source Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pending court cases settled/disposed in National Lok Adalats | 1,75,07,060 cases Historical reference | Calendar year 2024 India; National Lok Adalats; pending-case category | Keeps pending court cases separate from pre-litigation matters. Limitations: Administrative counts are not unique people, trial judgments or proof of fairness, voluntary settlement quality or durable compliance. This is not total court disposal. | Ministry of Law and Justice; NALSA figures Official government parliamentary release Cases resolved through alternative dispute resolution mechanisms Published: 2026-01-29 Publication checked: 2026-11-04 Value, period and coverage checked in publication |
| Pre-litigation matters settled/disposed in National Lok Adalats | 8,70,19,059 matters Historical reference | Calendar year 2024 India; National Lok Adalats; pre-litigation category | Shows the separately reported pre-litigation component. Limitations: These matters were not necessarily pending court cases. Do not describe them all as court backlog removed or combine them with court-case counts without explaining the categories. | Ministry of Law and Justice; NALSA figures Official government parliamentary release Cases resolved through alternative dispute resolution mechanisms Published: 2026-01-29 Publication checked: 2026-11-04 Value, period and coverage checked in publication |
| Commercial pre-institution mediation applications where parties reached settlement | 877 applications Historical reference | FY 2024–25 India; reported PIMS commercial-dispute applications | A narrower mediation reference than all legal disputes. Limitations: The publication also reports 59, 568 applications received and 52, 730 non-starters in the period. These are not established same-cohort outcomes, so no settlement rate is calculated here. Does not cover all mediation or arbitration. | Ministry of Law and Justice; NALSA figures Official government parliamentary release Cases resolved through alternative dispute resolution mechanisms Published: 2026-01-29 Publication checked: 2026-11-04 Value, period and coverage checked in publication |
| Referral and consent | Not established Data required — not zero | Reporting period: Information Required Population and geography: Information Required | Proposed measure; no observed value is established here. Limitations: Define the measure, unit, reporting period and covered population; obtain a traceable dataset and review its suitability for this topic before using a number. | Source organisation: Information Required Direct source URL: not yet verified Source publication date: not established Verification status: Data required |
| Settlement time | Not established Data required — not zero | Reporting period: Information Required Population and geography: Information Required | Proposed measure; no observed value is established here. Limitations: Define the measure, unit, reporting period and covered population; obtain a traceable dataset and review its suitability for this topic before using a number. | Source organisation: Information Required Direct source URL: not yet verified Source publication date: not established Verification status: Data required |
| Durability | Not established Data required — not zero | Reporting period: Information Required Population and geography: Information Required | Proposed measure; no observed value is established here. Limitations: Define the measure, unit, reporting period and covered population; obtain a traceable dataset and review its suitability for this topic before using a number. | Source organisation: Information Required Direct source URL: not yet verified Source publication date: not established Verification status: Data required |
Different surveys, administrative records, estimates and reporting years are not interchangeable. No combined IFT score is calculated from these rows.
Evidence coverage and review log (CSV) · Structured evidence register (JSON)
Section 02
Why the problem happens
Test the system before blaming a person.
Late referral
Check process records, capacity, incentives, law, technology, funding and user experience before confirming this hypothesis.
Low awareness
Check process records, capacity, incentives, law, technology, funding and user experience before confirming this hypothesis.
Unequal bargaining power
Check process records, capacity, incentives, law, technology, funding and user experience before confirming this hypothesis.
Immediate errors, structural constraints, institutional incentives and local conditions may interact. Correlation, a complaint count or a dashboard gap does not by itself establish cause.
Section 03
Evidence
Build a traceable decision record.
- Question Required proof
- What happened? Dated case, service or incident record
- Where and to whom? Administrative level, facility and affected group
- How large is it? Denominator, period and comparable definition
- Why did it happen? Process trace, interviews and competing explanations
- What already exists? Law, scheme, budget, staffing and implementation status
- Did action work? Baseline, target, result, cost, equity and adverse effects
Official source ≠ verified conclusion. Data freshness, completeness, legal meaning, local resolution and independent review still matter.
Section 04
How the parts work together
What must work together.
Mediation
Define owner, lawful authority, standard, capacity, data, public interface, escalation and review.
Conciliation
Arbitration where lawful
Lok Adalat mechanisms
Online dispute resolution
Section 05
A solution suited to India
Design around rights, access and operating reality.
Offer screened, voluntary resolution with neutral facilitators, legal safeguards and enforceability.
BOUNDED PILOT
Pilot early mediation for one suitable dispute class and compare durable settlement.
Pre-register the target group, baseline, responsibilities, safeguards, cost, measurement period, escalation route and stop/redesign criteria. Include assisted and offline access where digital exclusion is possible.
Section 06
Roadmap
Move through evidence gates—not announcements.
- 01 · 0–30 days
- Map journey, law, owner and immediate harm
02 · 30–90 days - Verify records, bottleneck and affected groups
03 · 3–9 months - Run the bounded pilot with safeguards
04 · 9–24 months - Evaluate outcome, cost, rights and equity
05 · 2–5 years - Integrate capability, finance and institutions065+ years
- Scale only after transfer and maintenance review
Section 07
How to measure improvement
Measure public outcome and system integrity together.
Referral and consent
Baseline → target → actual → difference → decision
Settlement time
Baseline → target → actual → difference → decision
Durability
Baseline → target → actual → difference → decision
Participant fairness
Baseline → target → actual → difference → decision
Cost
Baseline → target → actual → difference → decision
Scale
Outcome improves, safeguards hold and receiving capacity exists.
Modify
Some benefit appears but design, equity, cost or reliability needs repair.
Stop
No credible benefit, unacceptable harm or a better alternative exists.
Section 08
Rights & safeguards
Efficiency cannot erase due process.
- No high-impact automated decision without accountable human review and appeal
- Collect and share only purpose-necessary data
- Protect complainants, witnesses, children and vulnerable people
- Publish definitions and limitations; never use ranks as political shaming
- Separate allegation, verification, finding and final legal outcome
- Keep accessible physical alternatives where digital-only service would exclude
