The need for autonomy of Arbitration and Mediation process and keep it free from interference or intervention by state and judiciary was stressed upon by judges and lawyers who spoke in the first technical session of the Legal Leadership Conclave on Challenges and Future of Arbitration and Mediation in India organised in Bengaluru by India Legal magazine and ENC group.
The session was chaired by former Chief Justice of India, Justice TS Thakur and co-chaired by former Supreme Court judge Justice M Shivraj Patil.
Speaking at the session, former Supreme Court judge, Justice BN Srikrishna talked about “Challenges and Reforms in Indian Arbitration and Mediation System – Way Forward”. He emphasized on the need for arbitration process to have autonomy.
The lesser the interference by the state authorities the better is the spirit of Arbitration, he said. “Unfortunately in this country arbitration scenario is dominated by judges,” said Justice Srikrishna. The council should be independent in the sense it should not be dominated by any court or judge.
Mediation and Arbitration are the ideas whose time has come. Now if ultimately all resolution of dispute happens as result of Artificial Intelligence, the only place where natural intelligence can play is the human touch which is why arbitration must be as informal as possible.
AS Uday Holla, former Advocate General of Karnataka, spoke on Global trends in institutional arbitration and what are the challenges.
Arguing against judicial intervention in arbitration, he said, “Why do people go to Singapore Arbitration centre or Paris? It is because the judicial interventions are very meager and very less.”
“It is in this context that the chairman very rightly said, there is a need of change of mindset among the judges. Yes there are cases where arbitral awards are absolutely bad but then not in every case can the arbitral awards be set aside,” he said.
He spoke of the need to adapt to new technology and said Arbitration is a process where technology can be used more abundantly than in courts.
Observing that ultimately the need of the hour is justice at the earliest, he said “it is this context that arbitration is a forum which all of us think is the most efficient and most time efficient forum for dispensation of justice.”
Justice Alok Aradhe, speaking on Challenges to Arbitral awards – Commercial courts and need for Training of judges, pointed out the cost of commercial dispute resolution has gone down from Rs 10 lakhs to 3 lakhs.
He said arbitration jurisdictions like Singapore and Stockholm are most successful because of sufficient support from the government and a skilled panel of arbitrators, besides the time-bound approach in the dispute resolution process.
Speaking about growing trend towards mediation and arbitration, Justice Aradhe said it has been seen lately that parties directly approach arbitration centres. He said It is a positive outcome as it reduces case overload in the judiciary besides the individual dispute getting resolved amicably.
He said Mumbai’s international arbitration centre opened in July and a lot is hoped to be achieved through it.
He also had a word about courts intervention in arbitration process, sayinh, “Judges must consider the adverse implication of modifying or interfering with an arbitral award as it plays into the ethos of the ADR mechanism. Our country should be in sync with global standards. Arbitral awards thus should be upheld with the same sanctity as a judgment from the courts.”
Justice V Jagannathan, speaking about Arbitration as an effective tool for ADR process , pointed to the massive pendency of cases in judiciary. “According to National Judicial date published recently, 3 crore cases are pending in India and 65 lakh cases pending in the last 5 years. If this trend continues, the system itself will collapse like building collapsed in flood recently in Uttarkhand,” he said.
To address the issue, arbitration as the means for alternative dispute resolution has come as a boon for the people of India and particularly for investors who want to make investment and make India economically very strong.
He stated some reasons why the Arbitration Act needs to be implemented forcefully:
Dependency and pressure on the courts are so much that the courts are unable to dispose cases within a short time. To address these pending cases and make people enjoy the fruit of their litigations, Arbitration consideration Act 1940 was modified and comprehensively made into 1996 Act which made many provisions to curtail the cost. As of now, 2019 Amendment Act was passed only on August 8. He said there are surely some loopholes in the act which needs to be changed.
If the country is to improve, all stake holders – lawyers, judges and arbitrators and all concerned will have to take serious steps to ensure people of the country get access to justice and justice is delivered in time.
“We have witnessed Industrial Revolution, green revolution in the country; we are now in for Arbitration Revolution. This conclave/ conference should be the beginning of Arbitration Revolution to alter judicial scenario of the country and let people enjoy the fruits of going to courts and let foreign investors come to India – make India a Hub of Arbitration,” said Justice Jagannathan.
Avinash Ambale, an expert on Artificial Intelligence, spoke about Use of Artificial Intelligence in conflict Resolution. He pointed out that Artificial Intelligence (AI) does not understand language. It understands codes. AI can do a semantic search, or a statistical analysis of words, much like the Google translate. In the legal system, AI can function through the LKIF(Legal Knowledge Interchange Format).
At present, he said there are gaps in data collation due to an absence of an exhaustive law lexicon, or a legal semantic dictionary that will tell the AI a single meaning attributed to each word. The AI can capture the literal meaning. “However, there is pre-eminence of content that has interpretative value which will be lost in translation to the AI system<” he pointed out. The single biggest thing lacking in AI is “adversarial inference”.
“AI presents a one-sided forward probability, but gets stumped if asked to judge between two opposing probabilities with opposing bulk of evidences and opposing bulk of arguments pitted against one another. That can be called the AI logic of tomorrow, as technology is continuously evolving to reach there,” he said.
AI today is capable of deriving causal inference, he said. Citing an instance of application of AI in legal process, he mentioned “Heneghan v Manchester Dry Docks” where all factors were presented to the courts in a fair trial process and to the AI to arrive at a judgment simultaneously. The compensation awarded was nearly the same and it speaks for AI’s efficiency in the judicial system, said Ambale.
However, he said in conclusion, “AIs are hyper-rational agents and “arbitration with a human touch” is something that AI hasn’t attained yet. Currently, AI is incapable of “equitable distribution to all” which an ADR forum intends to achieve. AI is completely data driven and can be fully relied upon for objective reasoning. A lot is still left for AI to achieve.”
Border Security Force (BSF) personnel shot and killed an individual attempting to cross the India-Pakistan border in the Ganganagar district of Rajasthan late on Tuesday, according to police.
Jitendra Kumar, the station house officer at Kesrisinghpur police station, stated that the man was trying to breach the barbed wire fence when he was spotted by BSF personnel. “They advised him to leave the area, but when he continued to advance, the BSF personnel shot him,” said the SHO.
Sriganganagar Superintendent of Police Gaurav Yadav confirmed that the suspect was allegedly trying to enter Indian territory around midnight on December 24, 2024. Despite warnings from the BSF soldiers, he did not heed their calls, which resulted in the shooting.
The incident occurred near a village in the Kesarisinghpur area. Items recovered from the intruder included Pakistani currency notes, a cigarette packet, an identity card, and other belongings. Authorities are currently gathering more information about him.
Ongoing discussions are taking place between the armed forces and police officers regarding the incident. An FIR has been filed that includes charges of trespassing and violations of the Passports Act and the Foreigners Act, according to Kumar. “We are investigating the case under these acts,” he added.
This incident is one of several similar occurrences along the border. In August, the BSF apprehended an intruder named Jagsi Kohli, who had entered about 15 kilometers into Indian territory in Barmer after locals alerted authorities that he was asking for directions to Tharparkar, a district in Pakistan’s Sindh province.
In March of this year, another person attempting to cross the border in Ganganagar was shot by BSF personnel. There have been additional incidents reported in October 2022 and twice in March 2021, all resulting in fatalities among the intruders.
Amit Shah, JP Nadda, Chandrababu Naidu among leaders at NDA meet in Delhi amid Ambedkar row
The alliance had decided to convene on the birthday of the late BJP leader, noted for successfully leading the first coalition government to complete its term.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP chief J.P. Nadda and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) president and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu among leaders of the NDA met in New Delhi on Wednesday to discuss different issues including Shah’s comment on BR Ambedkar days ago in Rajya Sabha.
In attendance, apart from Shah, Nadda and Naidu, JD-U leader and Union minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh, Apna Dal (S) president and Union minister Anupriya Patel, as well as JD (S) leader and Union minister H.D. Kumaraswamy were present.
Also present were Jitan Ram Manjhi, leader of Bihar’s Hindustani Awam Morcha (S) and a minister in the Modi government, Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM) president Upendra Kushwaha, a Rajya Sabha MP, and Thushar Vellappally, president of Bharath Dharma Jana Sena.
While the specific agenda of the meeting was not officially disclosed, sources indicated that discussions revolved around good governance and various political issues—principles that were central to Vajpayee’s tenure as Prime Minister. The alliance had decided to convene on the birthday of the late BJP leader, noted for successfully leading the first coalition government to complete its term.
Following the meeting, Nadda shared on X, “Attended the NDA leaders’ meeting in New Delhi today. Under the visionary leadership of PM Narendra Modi, India is achieving unprecedented milestones and has positioned itself as a global superpower. The NDA government remains committed to realizing the vision of ‘Viksit Bharat@2047’, ensuring a brighter and more prosperous future for all.”
Sanjay Nishad, chief of the NISHAD Party in Uttar Pradesh, described the meeting as “informal” and focused on Vajpayee’s legacy. He emphasised the importance of unity among all alliance members heading into future elections, mentioning that they congratulated the BJP leaders for their electoral victories in Haryana and Maharashtra.
Nishad further outlined that the meeting addressed coalition strategies to ensure that Prime Minister Modi’s initiatives effectively reach the populace and that electoral promises are fulfilled. He raised the topic of providing reservations for the fishing community, stating, “I presented evidence on this issue, as it was a poll promise. They will follow up with us next week to discuss it.”
Responding to inquiries about whether Amit Shah’s controversial remarks on Ambedkar were discussed, Nishad said, “We are here for the welfare of the people. Our energy should focus on achieving success in that area, rather than engaging with negativity from opposition parties.”
The NDA meeting underscores the alliance’s commitment to the proposed simultaneous elections, with all members backing the initiative. A Joint Committee of Parliament, established to review two bills related to simultaneous polls, is set to convene on January 8.
Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh on Wednesday emphasised the urgent need for peace in the state, which has faced ethnic violence since May of last year, and called on two communities to reach a mutual understanding.
Speaking at the Good Governance Day event held at the state BJP headquarters, Singh expressed confidence that the BJP could restore stability to the northeastern state, highlighting the party’s commitment to coexisting harmoniously.
“What is happening in Manipur today has multiple causes. Those who seek to divide the state are now questioning the government’s actions… they are driven by a desire for power,” Singh remarked.
He mentioned several initiatives, such as ‘Meeyamgi Numit’ (People’s Day), designed to foster closer relationships between officials and the public. “We do not oppose any specific community. The BJP’s position is clear: we advocate for the idea of living together and have initiated efforts to strengthen ties between the police and the community,” he stated.
Singh added that the state government is diligently addressing the needs of internally displaced persons by establishing committees throughout the administrative framework. He claimed that the administration is responding quickly to the displaced people’s needs in areas such as education and agriculture.
“We have not made any mistakes. Our goal is to ensure the well-being of future generations. It is essential for both communities to remain calm. Rather than dwelling on the past, we should concentrate on the upcoming NRC process, capturing biometrics, and using 1961 as the foundation year for the Inner Line Permit,” Singh said.
He also highlighted the government’s commitment to acting within a democratic and constitutional framework, noting that achieving these goals will take time. “What we require now is immediate peace and a resolution of misunderstandings between the two communities,” he concluded.
The ongoing violence has resulted in the deaths of over 250 individuals and left thousands homeless due to clashes between the Meitei community and Kuki-Zo groups since last May.
“Only the BJP can save Manipur. BJP leaders possess strong values of nationalism and social justice, practicing reality-based politics in the nation’s interest. If I am not nominated for a ticket by the BJP, I will remain loyal to the party,” Mr. Singh added.
He also highlighted several unity-focused projects initiated by the BJP government, mentioning that a Unity Mall featuring stalls from all ethnic groups in the state will be constructed with an investment exceeding ₹140 crores.
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