CASES RESOLVED THROUGH ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION MECHANISMS
Being part of ADR, under the Pre-Institution Mediation and Settlement (PIMS) mechanism under Section 12A, where a commercial dispute of specified value does not contemplate any urgent interim relief, the parties have to first exhaust the mandatory remedy of PIMS before approaching the Court. This is aimed at providing an opportunity to the parties to resolve the commercial disputes through mediation.
The details of commercial disputes settled through pre-institution mediation under the Commercial Courts Act, 2015, since the amendment in the year 2018, are as follows:
| Period | No. of applications received for mediation | No. of application where mediation remains non- starter | No. of application where parties reached for settlement |
| July, 2018 to March, 2019 | 3680 | 1660 | 25 |
| 2019-20 | 18080 | 14470 | 167 |
| 2020-21 | 18364 | 14014 | 186 |
| 2021-22 | 32335 | 28441 | 368 |
| 2022-23 | 46412 | 41898 | 1449 |
| 2023-24 | 51019 | 47185 | 1139 |
| 2024-25 | 59568 | 52730 | 877 |
| 2025-26 (up to Sep 25) | 47218 | 30353 | 643 |
- as the ADR is party autonomy driven and the parties for ADR take recourse with
ad hoc mediation and various mediation institutions, for which no formal data is available.
Lok Adalats are organised across the country under the provisions of the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 read with National Legal Services Authority (Lok Adalats) Regulations, 2009 for the subject matters as prescribed under the said Act and Regulations in the Courts and Tribunals as defined under Section 2 (aaa) of the said Act. In Lok Adalats, the disputes/ cases pending in the court of law or at pre-litigation stage are attempted to be settled amicably. The Lok Adalat has been given statutory status under the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987, recognizing its efficacy as an expeditious, less costly and speedier system of administration of justice. Under Section 21 of the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987, the Award made by Lok Adalat is deemed to be a decree of a civil court and is final and binding on all parties to the dispute and no appeal lies to any court against the Award.
The National Legal Services Authority maintains information only with respect to cases settled/disposed of in Lok Adalats. The details of pre-litigation and pending cases settled/disposed of through Lok Adalats during the last five years are as follows:
(i) Disposal of cases in National Lok Adalats
| Years | Pre-litigation | Pending Cases | Total |
| 2021 | 72,06,294 | 55,81,743 | 1,27,88,037 |
| 2022 | 3,10,15,215 | 1,09,10,795 | 4,19,26,010 |
| 2023 | 7,10,32,980 | 1,43,09,237 | 8,53,42,217 |
| 2024 | 8,70,19,059 | 1,75,07,060 | 10,45,26,119 |
| 2025 | 12,65,89,535 | 2,18,35,515 | 14,84,25,050 |
(ii) Disposal of cases in State Lok Adalats
| Years | Pre-litigation | Pending Cases | Total |
| 2021-22 | 1,14,278 | 4,18,251 | 5,32,529 |
| 2022-23 | 94,939 | 7,56,370 | 8,51,309 |
| 2023-24 | 2,19,230 | 9,87,873 | 12,07,103 |
| 2024-25 | 8,05,731 | 5,39,083 | 13,44,814 |
| 2025-26 (up to Nov 25) | 3,47,069 | 2,42,617 | 5,89,686 |
(iii) Permanent Lok Adalats (Public Utility Services)
| Years | Disposal of PLAs |
| 2021-22 | 1,18,136 |
| 2022-23 | 1,71,138 |
| 2023-24 | 2,32,763 |
| 2024-25 | 2,37,980 |
| 2025-26 (up to Nov. 25) | 1,68,808 |
Part IA of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 inter-alia provides for the establishment of the Arbitration Council of India. The Arbitration Council of India is yet to be established.
This information was given by MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) OF THE MINISTRY OF LAW AND JUSTICE; AND MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS Shri Arjun Ram Meghwal in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha today.
