Now Reading: People honour mediation deals more than court orders: CJI
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People honour mediation deals more than court orders: CJI
Chief Justice of India Surya Kant said people are far more likely to voluntarily comply with agreements reached through mediation than with imposed court verdicts. Speaking at the International ADR Conference 2026…
The Story in Brief
Chief Justice of India Surya Kant said people are far more likely to voluntarily comply with agreements reached through mediation than with imposed court verdicts. Speaking at the International ADR Conference 2026 organised by Madhyam International Council for Conflict Resolution, he cited studies showing compliance rates for mediated settlements can be as high as 90 per cent.
The CJI said a party who helps draft a resolution rarely abandons it, while a losing party in litigation has every incentive to appeal or delay. Delhi High Court Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya went further, suggesting mediation might one day replace arbitration. The conference was themed ADR: Pathways to Legal Harmony.
The Indian Opinion
Two CJIs praising mediation is not a verdict against courts. Litigation still provides binding precedent and public accountability that private mediation cannot. The real test is not whether mediation works in theory but whether India will invest in enough trained neutrals and infrastructure to make it a genuine alternative, not just a bottleneck bypass. Watch how many mediation centres actually get built in the next budget cycle.
Source: barandbench.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
