Justice Surya Kant-led ‘Mediation for the Nation’ drive clears decade-old cases in Punjab

A first-of-its-kind nationwide mediation campaign has brought closure to nearly 3,000 cases in Punjab, including long-pending disputes that had remained unresolved for almost a decade.

The entire exercise was conceptualised and supervised by Supreme Court Judge Justice Surya Kant, who continuously monitored and interacted with legal services authorities across India during the process.

The 90-day “Mediation for the Nation” drive, launched under the aegis of the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) and the Mediation and Conciliation Project Committee (MCPC), sought to popularise alternative dispute resolution across all levels of the judiciary.

Under the guidance of the Executive Chairman of the Punjab State Legal Services Authority (PSLSA), the campaign turned mediation centres across the state into resolution hubs with active participation from judicial officers, advocates, mediators and litigants.

Reflecting the scale of the effort, 30,470 cases were referred for mediation, and 2,837 were amicably settled within the 90-day period. Of these, nine cases were over 10 years old, 139 over five years old, and 544 pending for more than three years. Among the settled matters were 658 matrimonial disputes, 712 cheque-bounce cases, and 74 execution petitions.

Many of these cases had been caught in procedural loops for years, but “once parties sat across the table, even decade-old disputes found closure,” a PSLSA spokesperson said, adding that the campaign reaffirmed mediation as a vital component of the justice system rather than an alternative mechanism.

This was the first coordinated national effort to take mediation simultaneously to the taluka, district, and High Court levels. Legal services authorities described it as a “public awakening”, showcasing mediation as a time-efficient, cost-effective, and harmonious method of dispute resolution.

Justice Surya Kant, who has long been a strong proponent of mediation, has all along emphasised that it “ensures access to peace before access to courts.”

Calling the drive a watershed moment for India’s justice system, the PSLSA said the success of the campaign had demonstrated mediation’s potential to reduce case pendency and foster social harmony. “Now that people have seen it work, mediation will no longer be seen as a secondary option, but as a credible path to justice,” it added.