Make mediation compulsory: SC judge

Inaugurating a two-day regional conference on mediation involving the states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Chattisgarh and Puducherry here on Saturday, Kalifulla said between 2005 and 2015 just 38, 592 cases were referred for mediation by courts in Tamil Nadu of which a mere 6,369 cases were settled, marking just 18 per cent. 

Calling on the subordinate judicial officers to get proactive and bring down pendency by resolving to achieve near-centum success in their mediation efforts, the judge said that available data only revealed “our own shortcomings” and lack of motivation as far as mediation was concerned in the State. 

Chief Justice of the Madras High Court Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul stressed the need to weed out the element of belligerence in litigation. He said it was unfortunate that litigants won cases by spending more money on the case than the relief they obtained. 

Chief Justice of Chattisgarh High Court Justice Navin Sinha said at least for certain cases, mediation could be made a compulsory pre-litigation requirement similar to what happened in the USA. He felt that making mediation compulsory before a case was filed in the court could help bring down the huge volume of cases reaching the court. 

Jutice Satish K Agnihotri, in his address, quoted Vedas to establish that mediation and conciliation was an effective alternative approach when compared to litigation to settle cases. He described Lord Krishna as the first ever mediator.