Chief Justice of India N V Ramana on Saturday emphasised the need for the popularisation of mediation, across various platforms, including online as well, saying active efforts must be taken by courts to make negotiation and mediation mandatory as part of case management.
"The disruptive impact of the pandemic, in some ways, has led us to an era of transformation. These testing times have forced us to innovate. We all had to learn new technical skills and adopt new ways for the betterment of society. During the pandemic, India was at the forefront in adopting technology to enable access to justice. To make the idea of access to justice effective, and user-centric, the need of the hour is the popularisation of mediation, across various platforms," he said.
The CJI was speaking at the inauguration two-day national conference on mediation and information technology at Ekta Nagar, Narmada, Gujarat.
He said in our country, due to obstacles in formal litigation, people hesitate to approach judicial forums. The concept of ADR, through Lok Adalats, Gram Nyayalayas, mediation and arbitration centres, has the potential to transform the legal landscape of India by providing millions of people a platform to settle their grievances.
Imbibing effective ADR mechanisms into the judicial process can reduce pendency, save judicial resources and time, and allow litigants a degree of control over the dispute resolution process and its outcome, he added.
The programme was attended by President Ram Nath Kovind and law minister Kiran Rijiju and judges from the Supreme Court and the High Courts.
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