Overview

• Delivering the inaugural address, Chief Justice B. R. Gavai said mediation should grow as a practice grounded in community life and not rely on a single law, campaign or conference.
• He argued mediation can transform discord into dialogue and ease court burdens, noting its formal recognition and institutionalisation under the Mediation Act, 2023.
• The conference agenda includes implementation of the Act, sector-specific uses, pre-litigation mediation under the Commercial Courts Act, and work on accreditation, professional standards and institutional frameworks.
• Referring to Section 43 on community mediation, the CJI urged simplified training in regional languages to equip citizens to resolve local disputes outside formal courts.
• Odisha Governor Hari Babu Kambhampati, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, Supreme Court judges and High Court Chief Justices attended the opening at Loka Seva Bhavan, with Union ministers Arjun Ram Meghwal and Dharmendra Pradhan reported to join the two-day event.