Mediation Drive to Clear Civil Case Backlog Extended Till September 30

Swift Summary

• The 90-day special mediation campaign, titled “Mediation – For the Nation,” began on July 1 and will run until September 30 in Kerala, aimed at resolving pending civil cases through mediation.
• Organized by the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) and Mediation and Conciliation Project Committee (MCPC).
• includes various case types: family disputes, bank loan defaults, motor accident claims, cheque bounce cases, domestic violence incidents, service-related disagreements, consumer complaints, property issues, land acquisition matters, and commercial disputes.
• Features free mediation services with court fee refunds for successful settlements; provides online mediation options.
• In Kerala: Over 700 trained lawyers and judicial officers involved; ADR Centres provide operational support across district/sub-divisional courts.
• Kerala has 78 ADR centres under its State Mediation and Conciliation Center aiding this effort.
• A prior campaign in early 2025 referred over 11,200 cases to ADR Centres in Kerala; of those approximately 2,113 were resolved via mediation.

Indian Opinion Analysis
The “Mediation – For the Nation” campaign demonstrates a significant push toward implementing Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) methods to reduce backlog in civil courts across India. The benefits are multifold-speedy resolutions can reduce the burden on judicial infrastructure while offering individuals an avenue for amicable dispute settlement that is less adversarial than traditional litigation.

Kerala’s active implementation of ADR underpins a model worth replicating nationwide-it exhibits growth potential with over-trained mediators supported by well-established infrastructure like ADR Centres at various levels of judiciary hierarchy. While the numbers from earlier phases hint at promising outcomes (over two thousand settlements), there appears to be scope for advancement given that many cases still remain unresolved post-referral.

This initiative aligns well with broader judicial reform efforts addressing India’s notoriously slow case resolution rates but requires continued public awareness campaigns to increase participation among disputing parties who may lack familiarity with or trust in non-litigation processes.

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