Highlights
- Attorney General for India R Venkataramani emphasized the need to embrace mediation as a primary means of dispute resolution, arguing it should be considered a central mechanism rather than an alternative to the adversarial system.
- During his address, R Venkataramani cautioned against the adversarial model’s vulnerability to exploitation by financial and social factors, advocating for a shift towards mediation to restore noble values in the pursuit of justice.
- The event featured notable speakers including Droupadi Murmu, the President of India, and Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna, highlighting the growing institutional commitment to alternative dispute resolution in India.
In a compelling address that reflected deep introspection on India’s justice delivery system, Attorney General for India R Venkataramani made a strong pitch for embracing mediation as a primary instrument of dispute resolution, calling it “a real contestant to the adversarial system,” and not an “apology of an alternative.”
Speaking at the launch Mediation Association of India, which saw participation from Supreme Court judges, Chief Justices of various High Courts, state Advocate Generals, senior mediators, and legal luminaries, Venkataramani urged the legal fraternity to move beyond the traditional adversarial framework that often reduces justice to a contest of means rather than a discovery of truth.
“It has gathered over long pages of engagement with and pursuit of fairness and many dimensions,” he said, referring to India’s journey in expanding access to justice. While acknowledging the strengths of the adversarial model, he cautioned against its susceptibility to “exploitation by money and other social factors,” and lamented the erosion of noble values such as solace, bonding, and contentment.
“The pursuit of justice becomes a game where people win not through truth or self-discovery, but by slimy tactics,” he remarked pointedly, using the metaphor of “slimy potatoes” to describe manipulative legal strategies that skew outcomes.
Venkataramani advocated for mediation as a means of self-engagement and self-affirmation, calling it a process that “deserves community engagement and systemic attention.” He asserted that mediation should not be relegated to the margins of legal discourse but embraced as a central, transformative mechanism.
“Shall we not pledge to make it a wave that can make our justice pursuit real and heartfelt?” he urged the audience, likening the day’s event to “a great temple bell awakening us to a great day.”
He also envisioned a future where India could emerge as the global hub for mediation. “I wish to see that day when India would soon be the headquarter of a global mediation association,” he said.
In a moving tribute, the Attorney General fondly remembered the late advocate Sadhana Ramachandran, a pioneer in the mediation movement, saying, “We wish we have many more of her ilk.”
The event saw a strong turnout of dignitaries, including sitting and retired judges of the Supreme Court, Chief Justices from states ranging from Sikkim to Madras, and respected mediators and supporters of mediation practices, including members of the Art of Living foundation.
The event, which underscored the growing institutional commitment to alternative dispute resolution, featured addresses by Droupadi Murmu, President of India; Arjun Ram Meghwal, Union Law Minister; Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna; Justice B.R. Gavai; Solicitor General of India Tushar Mehta; and Manan Kumar Mishra, Chairperson, Bar Council of India.
The Ministry of Law and Justice along with the Attorney General of India conducted the conference on May 3 in Delhi.
