Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud.
Credit: PTI Photo
New Delhi: Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud on Saturday said that people and litigants are many a times fed up with the kind of lengthy court processes that it forced them to go and opt for out of court settlement, in spite of the fact that such settlement is not even very beneficial to them.
Speaking at the commemoration of the week-long Lok Adalat held in the Supreme Court from July 29 to August 2, he highlighted the success of the Special Lok Adalat, which witnessed several benches of the top court disposing of over 1,000 cases.
He said that the court process often turns out to be punishment for the litigants who start to think that they should keep away from courts, due to its peculiar nature of court's lengthy process.
He said the credibility in mediation has increased and India can become its center.
"SC judges used to sit on elevated dias and (only) lawyers (are) before us. We hardly know the clients. The people for whom we render justice in the Supreme Court is invisible to us and that we feel, is a drawback of the work of Supreme Court," the CJI said.
He, at the same time, added that all SC judges are experienced, and try to remember the face of the cause that comes before the court.
The CJI hoped to institutionalise the process of dispensing justice through lok adalats.
"Whatever we do as a court must be institutionalised. Let it not be a one off initiative which is forgotten for the future unless 15 years later somebody else picks it up we must ensure it becomes part of our processes, systems and institutional design,” he said.
Speaking on the occasion, the Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal said that mediation was there long ago and it was a part of our Indian culture, citing Lord Krishna's attempt to mediate between the Kauravas and Pandavas in the Mahabharata.
He stressed the importance of resolving disputes amicably whenever possible.