Humans are made in such a way that they’ll have conflicts. That is the reason why great scholars stated that “No society can become a crimeless society.”
But do you know the offences or any kind of a dispute becomes a burden for the Court? There is only one Supreme Court and High Court in every State respectively. Population of India is so vast that the Court is unable to handle all cases due to many cases being pending. In addition, there are many frivolous and trivial casei which take time. Though the Court has the power to dismiss it. If any act of criminal nature is punishable by law then it is criminal offence and if it is of civil nature then it is civil offence.
Civil cases can be resolved outside the court but usually criminal cases can’t be resolved outside the court. There is a concept of Plea bargaining in criminal Cases. But there are some limitations. We all know, litigation is costly and takes time. But resolving disputes outside the court is less expensive.
Section 89 of Code of Civil Procedure talks about resolving disputes outside the Court. It states that the Court will tell about Alternative Dispute Resolution after receiving the observation from the parties. Parties can go for Arbitration, Conciliation, Negotiation, Mediation, Lok Adalat. The procedure of Arbitration and Conciliation is mentioned under Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1995. The procedure of Lok Adalat or People’s Court is mentioned under Legal Service Authority Act.
