The legal system in India has always been the backbone of the country’s civilization and democracy. India has always been the torchbearer of justice and the legal system all over the world. The land which has always endorsed and voiced for peace in India and the world has acknowledged the fact not once but many times. But catering Justice and equity to a population of 1.3 Billion can neither be easy nor can it be equal rather it invited the situation which makes the entire justice system equivocal and non-committal. When the citizens of the country realized that the judicial System have been over-burdened, heavy and it has already started lagging then they started settlements outside the court, at the end peace, tranquillity and social balance and morality are what matters to society. India has witnessed many times that people have often taken measures to settle criminal offences/actions outside the court.
Though the lawmakers of the Land never failed to acknowledge and understand the importance of Mediation hence they brought the enactment of The Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 where Sec 4 enunciated the purpose of a mediator. Mediation is a process that helps any dispute to get settled at a very basic and pre-mature stage much amicable and without much hassle. Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 is the second such enactment that discussed mediation rather the entire Act talks about the Alternative Dispute Redressal System. In the Civil Procedure Code,1908 Section 89 got itself inserted through the Civilprocedure Amendment, 1999.
Table of Contents
WHAT IS MEDIATION?
Mediation is a process that does not involve too many technicalities and formalities, it is a process which supposes to be very own to the parties, it is always on the party if they want to make the mediation binding upon them, at any time and stage of the process they can move out of the proceedings and go to the court for exercising their rights and liberties. Mediation is a process that can be asked by the parties at any stage of the adjudication in the court irrespective of the fact if the court holds the view of mediation or not. Mediation further gained its importance in the year 2011 when the supreme court of India was with the view that Mediation can establish justice and is an enormous method of catering and delivering justice to society. In the hotshot case of Babri Masjid, CJI of the Supreme court acted as a Mediator in the case.
Supreme Court also opined in the case of Krishnamurthy vs BS Nagaraj that mediation is one of the best methods of settling up family matters, child custody, maintenance, and many more. Hon’ble Supreme Court also asked the lower courts to keep trust and faith in mediation and hold the decisions culminating out of mediation to be sacrosanct and pious.
WHO SHOULD BE A MEDIATOR?
The Mediator to a particular case should be a person holding enough prudence to deal with a matter neutrally and should be unbiased. One acting as a mediator should be enough patient to hear out the parties as the parties stand very confused and unorganized when they are in the process of mediation. The mediator should hear out the parties individually, jointly, or severally.
The Mediator should be able to paint the entire problem with the minute address of the problem and jot down the points so that dispensation of justice can be done. The mediator should even act as a counselor in the episode of mediation so that the disputing parties understand and value the decision of the mediation. In family matters, Divorce Matters, Child Custody matters mediators play a very huge role as guardian angels as the mediator is almost the last hope they can have before taking the turn of their life.
Divorce Matters and other matrimonial disputes cannot be addressed by the court because of the stress that the court faces and deals with in other social imbalances, so the best remedy for the aforementioned matters is Mediation.
CJI NV RAMANNA’s IDEA
Recently the current Chief Justice of India N.V Ramanna in India Singapore Mediation summit ventilated his mind regarding the necessity of Mediation in our Judicial System, he also held that pendency of suit does not show how well is the system working/performing. He also opined that the vast majority of litigants in our country belong to the middle/poor class of the society, they will achieve immense solace if mediation takes its turn on the table. He also held the view that if mediation opts as an alternative dispute redressal system then justice will be much handier and there the judicial system will start taking up its boost as a structure of justice dispensation.
CONCLUSION
All process comes with flaws and hits but then polishing it and making it come to use is how society is designed. Mediation may fail at times due to the one eyedness or prejudiced idea of a mediator but then India in this current stage where an average lower bench is burdened with 10,000 cases disposal per day(to balance the system), there Mediation and other redressal systems should be taken as the first option. The country where its top law officer opines for mediation then it leaves no space to declare MEDIATION AS THE NEED OF THE HOUR
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