New Delhi: With trial courts in the city
reeling under the burden of over 12 lakh cases, the Delhi
government today decided to set up a number of mediation
centres to settle disputes relating to land, cheque bouncing
and family matters.
The Delhi cabinet decided to get registered Delhi
Disputes Resolution Society to pave the way for creation of at
least 19 mediation centres in different parts of the city
under the mechanism of Alternative Dispute Resolution.
"The mediation centres will come up in all the districts
in the city. They are being set up to take up cases like land
disputes, cheque bouncing and marital disputes," Chief
Minister Sheila Dikshit said.
The five district courts in Delhi are saddled with
12,02,130 cases with those relating to dishonouring of cheques
alone amounting to 5,08,660, according to official data.
Officials said initially four meditation centres will
be made functional.
"In all, 11 consumer affairs mediation centres, four
cheques dishonour mediation centres and four community
mediation centre will come up," they said.
There has been a 68 per cent rise in the pendency of
cases since 2007 in the lower courts in the city posing stiff
challenge in the battle to reduce the backlog.
Dikshit said the government will appoint retired
judges and prominent lawyers as judges of mediation centres.
She said government is committed to establishing
mediation centre in each district with requisite
infrastructure.
The centres would help parties resolve their disputes
amicably, economically and quickly which will help in clearing
backlog of cases in other courts.
The focus will primarily on pre-litigation disputes
but post-litigation cases will also be targetted
simultaneously, Dikshit said.
She said pre-litigation disputes like employment-
related malpractices, problems in workplaces, property cases,
cases relating to accidental compensation and dishonour of
cheques will be taken up by the mediation centres.
Post-litigation cases, including cases of consumer
courts, family disputes and land-related cases, will also be
taken up by mediation centres.
Dikshit said a proposal for revising the computer
hardware procurement policy to allow procurement from the open
market was also approved by the cabinet.
Government departments are now allowed to procure
computer hardware from Directorate of General Supplies and
Disposable and National Informatics Centre Services.
Bureau Report