Growing influence of mediation process in dispute resolution

Everyone knows courts in India right from district courts to the High Court are overflowing with cases, with figures touching stratospheric levels. As per latest statistics put out in late 2025, 53 million cases, including around one lakh cases in the Supreme Court, are pending. Civil disputes - land and property being the maximum, total 66 per cent of the cases in lower courts. Cases drag on, with 50 million of them stuck for more than a decade and a few nearly for 30 years. Also, not surprisingly, the government is the biggest litigant, figuring in more than 50 per cent of the cases.

To reduce this crippling pendency, courts have suggested alternate methods to resolve issues outside its precincts with out of the court mediation being one of them. One of the alternative dispute resolution mechanisms, it is a method whereby parties resolve their disputes by finding a mutually acceptable solution with the help of an independent, impartial and neutral third party, referred to as mediator. A welcome step by the judiciary for sure, but at the field level, things are seemingly different.

Speaking at a recent meeting in Goa, which was graced by the cream of Indian judiciary, including the Chief Justice of India, Justice A Amanullah of the Supreme Court said that there must be a change in mindset and confidence must be built among the public at the grassroots level for mediation to become a widely adopted practice in the country. The judge observed that people often tend to mingle mediation with arbitration, though the two are fundamentally different. A mediator cannot function with the mindset of an arbitrator, the SC judge asserted. “Successful resolution of a dispute through the mediation process gives immense satisfaction to the mediator.

People want to resolve disputes through mediation, as no one wishes for litigation or adversarial court processes to be carried forward across generations merely to reach a conclusion,” he said. Justice Amanullah said there should be no overlapping between mediation and the normal judicial system and the two should function in parallel. Confidence must be built at the grassroots level that mediation serves not only the interests of the parties involved but also the national interest.

Figures available in public domain point out that while the precise national totals vary, thousands of cases are settled via mediation in India annually, with figures showing around 53,000+ cases settled in 2021-22 and a jump to over 110,000 settlements between April 2022 and June 2023, showing growth in this Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) method, especially with the new Mediation Act 2023 boosting institutional efforts.

While there are hurdles, the pursuit of expanding the scope of mediation should not wait for ideal conditions, the apex court judge opined. Later, Supreme Court Justice N Kotishwar Singh said that India resolved disputes through conversation, conscience and community long before courts, statutes and even the word ‘mediation’ entered the legal vocabulary.

The event’s valedictory moment served as an affirmation that justice in India has always been strongest when it seeks reconciliation without declaring a winner or a loser, he said. “Mediation is not a concept being newly adopted, but wisdom being reclaimed,” Justice Singh added. Chairman of the Bar Council of India, which organised the meeting, Manan Kumar Mishra stated that it effectively addressed the core aspects of mediation and conveyed a clear national message on its growing significance in the present-day context. Hope is round the corner, one can surmise.