Mediation, not litigation, is the best way out: Justice SA Bobde

Supreme Court judge Justice SA Bobde on Monday said a large number of people in the country are not interested in fighting litigations, but in solving their problems, and therefore, there is a need to promote mediation, reconciliation and lok adalats for resolution of disputes. He was in the city to inaugurate the new building of the Gujarat State Legal Services Authority.

Justice Bobde, who is also the executive chairman of National Legal Services Authority, said taking disputes to court rarely addresses the issues underlying the conflict as on many occasions there is ego problem, prejudice, and hatred against each other. He pointed out that emotions are a determining factor in relationships, but there is nothing in court proceedings that can address emotions. Therefore, he added, mediation is one of the best possible solutions for lasting peace.

He further said court proceedings subject litigants to high-level of anxiety, anticipation, and frustration, whereas mediation eliminates all of them.

He also raised the issue of large scale migration resulting in litigations with reference to the Assam’s National Register of Citizens case pending before the apex court, as well as the dislocation of Kashmiris from Kashmir, who were forced to seek a home in other parts of the country.

“These (large scale migrations) to settled civilisations are not things that matter a lot. But, I think, in all humility, that if civilizations want to remain settled, they must take care of this problem. Otherwise, it is not very hard to imagine how large scale migration can unsettle civilizations. That is where courts may not be adequate. There is a need for mediation and other systems to settle disputes,” he said.

Justice Bobde also suggested that Gujarat National Law University should come up with a degree course on mediation so that there is no dearth of trained mediators in the future. He also said even commercial cases can be solved through mediation.