Justice: Assign alternative dispute resolution a key role

India’s courts are overburdened’ is a no brainer.

- VIJAY L. KELKAR & PRADEEP S. MEHTA

As of July 2025, there were more than 52.4-million pending cases, including 46 million in subordinate courts, 6.3 million in high courts and 86,723 in the Supreme Court, according to law ministry data placed in the Rajya Sabha on 31 July. To these dazzling numbers, one can add an equivalent number of matters pending in our tribunals and administrative machinery. It is a delight for lawyers, whose numbers too are rising, thanks to special law universities dotted all over the country. What is the way forward to reduce this burden?Ordinary disputes can take years, even decades, to reach a conclusion. This backlog erodes public confidence, raises the cost of doing business and imposes an intolerable burden on citizens. Alternative dispute resolution (ADR)—which covers arbitration, mediation, conciliation, negotiation and the use of Lok Adalats—is not a cure-all, but it is one of the most practical ways to deliver timely resolution and justice.

Lok Adalats illustrate ADR’s potential at scale. National Lok Adalat campaigns, held under the Legal Services Authorities Act, have swiftly disposed of millions of cases. In September 2024 alone, over 12.5 million cases were settled nationwide, according to National Legal Services Authority data.

Despite this success, ADR’s reach remains uneven. Many litigants do not know that mediation and conciliation are options. Concerns about enforceability have persisted; until recently, mediated settlements lacked statutory backing unless converted into a court decree. The Mediation Act of 2023 now provides enforceability and confidentiality, but implementation remains uneven.