'Lackadaisical': Delhi High Court Unhappy Over Non-Compliance Of Ruling On Drafting Settlement Agreements In Matrimonial Cases

The Delhi High Court has recently expressed displeasure over non-compliance of its last year's ruling wherein guidelines were framed on drafting of mediation settlement agreements in matrimonial cases, with special reference to clauses dealing with criminal cases.

Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma observed that failure to effectively communicate and implement the directions poses a significant setback to the progress made in promoting ADR mechanisms.

“The compliance report filed before this Court merely mentions circulation of judgment among the mediators through "WhatsApp groups" of mediators, which shows the indifferent and lackadaisical approach adopted qua the judgment of this Court as if only to meet the requirement of circulation and it cannot be termed as effective official circulation. Further, this Court cannot be expected to know about the “WhatsApp groups” of the mediators and cannot comment as to what is meant by it,” the court said.

It added that it is disheartening to note that there was no official communication about the directions from the Delhi High Court Mediation and Conciliation Centre to its mediators, except an informal circulation through the mode of “WhatsApp” messenger. 

The court said that this mode could have been used as a supplementary mode of communication and circulation, rather than being used as the "only" means of circulation. 

“For officially circulating and communicating the contents of this judgment, formal modes of communication such as letter or an email addressed to all the learned mediators, could have been adopted,” the court said.

It added that it was a matter of grave concern that no compliance report was received from any of the district courts though the judgment was circulated through the Registry and compliance was called from in charge of mediation centres of the district courts.

“The process of mediation is a community service driven process, and it would have fulfilled the essence of the judgment passed by this Court if the same passion and zeal would have been shown for ensuring the compliance of this judgment as is intended by the judges who dreamed and brought into reality the Delhi High Court Mediation and Conciliation Centre as well as Mediation Centres in District Courts of Delhi,” the court said.

It added that the real satisfaction of a judge in writing such a judgment is achieved when the directions become reality in the form of smiles on the faces of those whose lives are meant to touch and do not remain merely printed on paper.

The matter is now listed for compliance on March 19.

In May last year, Justice Sharma in her verdict had said that such agreements must also be published in Hindi language, in addition to English.

The court had observed that the guidance needed by mediators to draft agreements with a degree of coherence, consistency, and unambiguity will come a long way in “healing the lives of those in need” by immediately putting an end to a dispute and further insulating them from future litigation.

It further said that the language used in a settlement agreement must be definite enough to understand the real intention of the parties and the goals they wish to achieve by entering into the agreement.

Title: SH. CHHATTER PAL & ORS. v. STATE & ANR.

Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (Del) 302

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