Dimapur: Gauhati High Court judge Justice Yarenjungla Longkumer has emphasised the role of judges in referring suitable cases to mediation, saying it should be treated as an integral part of the justice delivery system rather than merely an alternative to litigation.
She was speaking at a training programme for referral judges organised in Kohima by the Nagaland State Legal Services Authority (NSLSA) under the aegis of the Supreme Court of India’s Mediation and Conciliation Project Committee (MCPC), according to an official report issued on Monday.
Longkumer said the success of mediation depended not only on the skills of mediators but also on the judgement, sensitivity and commitment of referral judges. She noted that referring a case to mediation was more than a procedural step to reduce the backlog of cases, as it could help parties reach a constructive resolution.
She identified family and matrimonial disputes, neighbourhood disagreements, commercial and contractual disputes, partnership conflicts, landlord-tenant matters and motor accident claims as cases that could benefit from mediation, depending on their circumstances.
However, she cautioned judges against referring cases without proper assessment, particularly where there were significant power imbalances, coercion, domestic violence or other circumstances that could undermine voluntary consent.
The objective, she said, should not be to secure settlements at any cost, but to ensure that parties participated fairly, with adequate information and of their own free will.
Longkumer also stressed the importance of timely referrals, saying early intervention could prevent disputes from escalating. Judges, she added, should present mediation as a credible means of resolving disputes rather than as a lesser form of justice or an additional procedural formality.
She said mediation, where appropriate, could reduce the financial costs, delays and emotional strain associated with prolonged litigation, while allowing courts to focus on complex cases requiring authoritative adjudication.
A total of 26 referral judges from across Nagaland participated in the training programme.