Parliament Question: Mediation cases

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF LAW AND JUSTICE DEPARTMENT OF LEGAL AFFAIRS RAJYA SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 125 ANSWERED ON 29/01/2026 MEDIATION CASES

125. Shri Ashok Singh:

Will the Minister of Law and Justice be pleased to state:

(a) the number of civil and commercial disputes referred to mandatory pre-litigation mediation since the Act’s implementation and the percentage of cases successfully settled;

(b) whether Government has identified a critical shortage of trained and accredited mediators, particularly in Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities, to handle the influx of mandatory mediation cases; and

(c) the measures being taken to ensure that "mandatory" mediation does not become an additional layer of delay (120–180 days) for litigants who are already facing a backlog of over

5.1 crore cases? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) OF THE MINISTRY OF LAW AND JUSTICE; AND MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (SHRI ARJUN RAM MEGHWAL)

(a) The Commercial Courts Act, 2015 was amended in the year 2018, to provide inter-alia for Pre-Institution Mediation and Settlement (PIMS) mechanism under Section 12A. Under this mechanism, where a commercial dispute of specified value does not contemplate any urgent interim relief, the parties have to first exhaust the mandatory remedy of PIMS before approaching the Court. This is aimed at providing an opportunity to the parties to resolve the commercial disputes through mediation.

The details of commercial disputes settled through pre-institution mediation under the Commercial Courts Act, 2015, since the amendment in the year 2018, are as follows:Period No. of applications No. of application No. of application received for mediation where mediation where parties remains non-starter reached for settlement July, 2018 to 3680 1660 25 March, 2019 2019-20 18080 14470 167 2020-21 18364 14014 186 2021-22 32335 28441 368 2022-23 46412 41898 1449 2023-24 51019 47185 1139 2024-25 59568 52730 877 2025-26(upto 47218 30353 643 Sep 25)

(b) As on November 2025, the National Legal Service Authority has around 22,398 mediators across the country and in various States. Further, as per Section 3 (l) read with Section 42 of the Mediation Act, 2023, a mediation institute is a body or organization that inter-alia provides training, continuous education and certification of mediators.

(c) The Commercial Courts (Pre-Institution Mediation and Settlement) Rules, 2018, provides for the manner and procedure of pre-litigation under Section 12A of the Commercial Courts Act, 2015. Further, in terms of Rule 3 of the Commercial Courts (Pre-Institution Mediation and Settlement) Rules, 2018, the mediation process is to be completed within a period of three months from the date of receipt of application for pre-institution mediation unless the period is extended for further two months with the consent of the applicant and the opposite party. The legislative framework is in place to facilitate time bound conclusion of PIMS mechanism under

Section 12A of the Act. *****