Recently, when justice Roshan Dalvi of the Bombay high court referred a matrimonial dispute case for mediation, she passed it on to advocate Tanu Mehta. The judge remembered Mehta as the one who had done a course in mediation from a university abroad.
Recently, when justice Roshan Dalvi of the Bombay high court referred a matrimonial dispute case for mediation, she passed it on to advocate Tanu Mehta. The judge remembered Mehta as the one who had done a course in mediation from a university abroad.
Mehta, one of the lawyers on the HC mediation panel since 2012, has done her masters in Conflict Resolution and Mediation from the Tel Aviv University, Israel. She is probably the only lawyer on the panel with a degree specialising in mediation.
"In India, mediation is at a very nascent stage, it is because the set-up is different, and people are sceptical. People should count the cost of unproductive years while staying in a conflict zone. If that is clear, then automatically they will opt for easier methods of conflict resolution, one of which is mediation," says Mehta.
Practising as an advocate in the Bombay high court since 1997, she decided to take a break in 2010 to learn a new skill, and happened to come across the course. "It was a full-time course meant for middle-level professionals. It covered several subjects dealing with conflict resolution. Disputes whether between communities, individuals, organisations and societies were analysed, studied, understood and observed.
"Across the world, most differences can be settled through a constructive dialogue, and mediation helps parties to get back on track and move ahead," she adds.
Mediation is a form of alternate disputes resolution, which is seeing a tremendous increase in the state. Every year, thousands of cases are referred to and settled. In India though, most cases referred are matrimonial disputes, property disputes, commercial disputes or petty matters.
Mehta says, "Mediation addresses peoples' needs, while courts address people's rights. In a given case, the need of the person would be different from the right s/he has on the disputed thing. A mediator can help them recognise this and, instead of fighting it out in court, where normally one wins and the other loses, through mediation, both can win."
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