New Delhi: Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud on Friday said that the Centre should adopt mediation in a big way instead of taking recourse to litigation for resolving disputes.
Mediation is a process that involves resolving disagreements, bringing together various stakeholders, and finding a common ground, he said at a national seminar on ‘Mediation: At The Dawn of a Golden age’ held at the Delhi High Court.
The event was organised by the Delhi High Court Mediation and Conciliation Centre, Samadhan under the aegis of the National Legal Services Authority and the Mediation and Conciliation Project Committee.
The CJI stressed said that when the government, which is the largest litigator in the country, mediates, it sends a message that in the framework of law, the government is not an adversarial opponent to the citizens.
“The government must adopt the robes of a friend, a partner and a problem solver,” the CJI said.
“The framers of the our Constitution recognised the need to create a document should reflect the will and aspirations of our people. They had to create a framework to resolve many disagreements,” he highlighted.
He said that in today’s fraught times, mediation has an important message for us as citizens. “Are we losing our ability to talk to each other across the spectrum? Are we losing our ability to engage in reasoned dialogue?” he asked, pointing out how mediation helps in listening to others’ viewpoint.
“Is it not necessary therefore that we should pick up something from mediation which is, importantly, being good listeners, understanding the other’s point of view and not only insisting that the dogma we espouse is the only dogma which is relevant to the times,” he said.
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