By Binny Yadav
The iconic Bollywood dialogue: “Tareekh pe Tareekh” from a film released over three decades ago continues to resonate in 2025. India’s judicial system is overwhelmed, with around 51 million cases pending as of December 2024. Endless delays often result in justice being denied, despite the advent of Alternate Dispute Resolution (ADR) mechanisms designed to alleviate this burden.
The district courts alone bear 87 percent of these cases, while over 1,80,000 cases in High Courts have been languishing for more than 30 years. Although the Mediation Act of 2023 aimed to institutionalize mediation as a viable alternative, its potential remains untapped because the Act has yet to be fully notified, and the Mediation Council of India (MCI), responsible for its implementation, is still non-existent.
The Rise and Stumble of Mediation
When mediation was first introduced as part of ADR in 2006, it was envisioned as a quick, cost-effective solution to reduce the courts’ workload. Unlike arbitration, which is governed by the Arbitration and Conciliation Act of 1996 and allows for challenges in courts, mediation offers a binding settlement agreement in a time-bound manner. However, without a notified governing body like the MCI, the progress of mediation remains inconsistent.
“Mediation is a collaborative process that builds bridges between disputing parties,” says Puja Anand, a Supreme Court advocate and trained mediator. She highlights the win-win nature of the process, where all parties reach agreements mutually beneficial to everyone involved.
The Delhi High Court Mediation Centre (DHCMC), established in 2006, exemplifies the mediation’s potential. Once resisted by lawyers fearing loss of earnings, it has evolved into a state-of-the-art facility settling nearly 25 percent of court-referred cases. Between February 2020 and 2023, it also resolved many pre-trial disputes brought directly by parties, proving mediation’s utility beyond court mandates.
Challenges: Notification Delays And Structural Gaps
Despite its benefits, mediation has struggled to take off as the preferred choice for dispute resolution. The lack of a fully notified Mediation Act and an operational MCI has hindered progress.
“There are glaring gaps in infrastructure and trained mediators,” says Justice Mukta Gupta (retd), who also emphasizes the need for community sensitization, particularly in rural areas. She adds that pre-litigation mediation, a key provision of the Mediation Act, must be promoted as the first step in dispute resolution.
Legal experts, including Veena Ralli, Organising Secretary, DHCMC, agree on the importance of establishing the MCI. “Mediation cannot be left to ad hoc practices. A certification and accreditation mechanism is necessary to maintain quality and consistency,” she says.
Cultural Resistance And The Road Ahead
One of the biggest challenges to mediation is the lack of willingness among litigants. Justice Gupta points out that many parties accept mediation only to buy time or impress the courts, rather than genuinely seeking resolution.
Experts believe that the key to making mediation effective lies in:
1. Notifying the Mediation Act and forming the MCI.
2. Enhancing infrastructure for both court-annexed and private mediation.
3. Promoting community awareness about mediation’s benefits.
4. Encouraging advocates and litigants to adopt mediation as a preferred option.
“Mediation has the potential to become a way of life,” says Justice Gupta, “but it requires both systemic and cultural shifts.”
—The writer is a New Delhi-based journalist and a trained mediator