Mediation and justice
- Hueiyen Lanpao Editorial :: December 02 2015 -

While inaugurating the ‘Regional Conference of Mediation’ in Agartala on November 29, Supreme Court judge Madan B Lokur had opined that Northeastern States of India have the potential to be ‘litigation free’ States in the country as it is an area where people settle disputes in the traditional way of mediation.

Justice Lokur who is former Chief Justice of Gauhati High Court seems to have aired his view based on his experience of seeing the process of mediation in tribal societies in the region. He in fact pointed out that there are many litigation-free districts in the region.

Lokur also appealed to the law fraternity in particular and all sections of Northeast people in general to view the process of mediation from different perspective and with a humane angle.

Justice Lokur’s view also found support from another justice of the Supreme Court, Amitava Roy, who was the keynote speaker of the conference.

Justice Amitava Roy opined that mediation is a living process existent in the tribal society which can bring early relief to litigants and can reduce the volume of litigations in courts.

The Chief Justice of Tripura High Court Deepak Gupta also said that family disputes could be solved through mediation process.

However, from within the legal fraternity, one also saw certain views that went against the general views shared.

For instance, Justice S Talapatra of Tripura High Court said that the young generation is witnessing the “sunset of mediation culture” that kept the society together for centuries. He said the trend has to be halted.

While exchanging their views over the topic, one element that seems to have escaped the attention of those who had participated in the conference - is how there has been a near total breakdown in the practice and reliance on traditional norms of mediation.

Over the years, there has been a tendency to skip all forms of mediation by communities in the Northeast region.

The frustration of the people over the delay in delivering justice by the State and also the general mindset developed over the impact of militarization have acted against the efforts to revive democratic traditional norms of resolving conflicts.

This is why mob justice has taken precedence over both modern as well as traditional forms of mediation in a dispute or conflict.

Moreover, given the state of affairs in the region, it has also become increasingly difficult to differentiate between the collective and individual pursuits for justice.