Clipped from: https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/opinion/time-to-implement-the-mediation-act/article70077244.ece
This will not only enable swift justice but also reduce the huge case load of courts
Mediation: The middle path | Photo Credit: Thailand Photographer.;iStockphoto
The Supreme Court proposed a separate standalone legislation on mediation more than five years ago, citing the mounting caseload on Indian courts and the nature of many civil disputes that can be settled amicably without the intervention of the courts — but the fate of the Mediation Act, 2023, remains unknown.
Three years eight months after the Supreme Court’s original recommendation, the finished Bill was passed by the Rajya Sabha on August 1, 2023, and the Lok Sabha on August 7, 2023, with Cabinet revisions. Finally, the Bill obtained the President’s approval and was published in the official Gazette on September 15, 2023.
The Act’s purpose and intention are to encourage and facilitate mediation, particularly institutional mediation, for the resolution of civil and commercial disputes, mandatory pre-institutional mediation in commercial disputes; to enforce mediated settlement agreements; to establish a body for the registration of mediators; to encourage community mediation; to make online mediation an acceptable and cost-effective process; and to address matters related to or incidental thereto.
The court-annexed mediation facilities have gained both renown and notoriety over the years, and courts and governments are now in the need of mediation institutions to operate at the national, subnational, and community levels. The Act drew the attention of interested national and international NGOs, societies, and law firms to establish institutional mediation service centres. However, the government’s intentions behind the Act’s non-operationalisation even after two years of enactment and Budget releases in successive budgets, are unknown.
The Mediation for the Nation, a 90-day mediation drive launched on July 1, 2025 by the Supreme Court’s Mediation and Conciliation Project Committee (MCPC) and the National Legal Service Authority (NALSA), is ending on September 30, and no one knows what its impact and successes have been. No mediation institutions in the country, which were originally consulted for conceptualising, drafting and finalisation of the Mediation Act, 2023, engaged in the 90-day mediation drive for the simple reason that their existence must be recognised by the Mediation Council of India.
Meanwhile, the National Judicial Data Grid reported a total case burden on Indian courts of 4.77 crore, with 3.66 crore being criminal cases and 1.11 crore being civil cases, with 16.71 lakh criminal and 9.77 lakh civil cases instituted the day before.
The government, legislators, courts, NGOs, and others understand how critical it is now to fully operationalise institutional mediation in order to increase access to swift justice and ensure that disputes are resolved peacefully. The ball is now in the government’s court.
The writer is former International Senior Advisor, United Nations Development Programme
Published on September 21, 2025
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