Highlighting the importance of mediation as a mode, Chief Justice of India (CJI) NV Ramana today said that to resolve disputes through mediation could go a long way in saving judicial time and resources.
To make this point clear, he recounted an episode from Mahabharata when Lord Krishna attempted mediation in a bid to prevent the Kurukshetra war. If this mediation was accepted by the Kauravas, the entire clan could have been saved.
“We all know the consequences of failed mediation and imagine how many lives could have been saved if Lord Krishna succeeded,” the CJI said.
The CJI spoke this while he was addressing the two-day national conference on “Mediation and Information Technology” at Ekta Nagar, Narmada, Gujarat.
The conference was inaugurated by the President of India, Shri Ramnath Kovind.
While speaking on the topic the CJI Ramana also underlined the role of courts in advancing mediation.
“An active effort must be taken by courts to make mediation and negotiation mandatory for case management. Lawyers must pursue every chance of pre-litigation mediation,” he said
He reiterated that such alternate dispute resolution mechanisms always save a lot of judicial resources, which can result in more justice as more cases can be dealt in same frame of time.
“Mediation and negotiation at pre litigation stage are one of the most empowering method to resolve disputes as they maximise stakeholder participation. ADR is based on participation model,” the CJI said.