Alternative Dispute Resolution Suffering

The state remains the biggest litigant and often resists arbitration-based resolutions, the legal experts said

- Krishna Yadav

Prolonged judicial delays and a lack of institutional support for alternative dispute resolution (ADR) mechanisms are eroding investor confidence in India, top corporate lawyers said at the Mint India Investment Summit 2025 in Mumbai. They said that, unlike Singapore and Dubai, India has not emerged as a preferred destination for resolving international commercial disputes due to the absence of strong ADR institutions and a culture of judicial intervention in arbitration matters.

"The biggest cost of judicial delays is the erosion of faith of investors, which cannot be quantified. Justice delayed is justice denied. Dubai and Singapore started much later, and they are ahead of us," said Madhav Uppuluri, general counsel at Tata Motors Ltd.

"Businesses prefer commercial arbitration for confidentiality and speedy resolution. However, India's arbitration framework lacks a harmonized policy, preventing it from becoming an arbitration hub," said Deepak Acharya, group general counsel and chief legal officer at Aditya Birla Group.

The experts identified systemic cultural issues and policy inconsistencies as key reasons for India's failure to become a hub for international arbitration.