In a move that reads less like routine administration and more like a wake-up call, the Kerala High Court has cracked open a suo motu case to examine the frayed and forgotten state of mediation and ADR centres across the State.
A Division Bench observed that the very spaces meant to host delicate, trust-dependent negotiations are short on the basics—rooms without privacy, infrastructure without muscle, technology without reliability, and staff without numbers. When confidentiality becomes a luxury instead of a guarantee, the entire mediation process wobbles.
The Bench catalogued the problem bluntly: insufficient venues, porous walls, skimpy digital setups, thin staffing, and missing essentials. All of it adds up to an environment ill-suited for conversations that must remain behind closed doors.
To steady the effort, the Court roped in an amicus curiae and directed the State’s legal officers to gather instructions. The High Court Administration and the State Legal Services Authority have been pulled into the loop as well.
The matter returns to centre stage on December 1, when the Court takes its next look at how to rebuild the foundations of quiet, confidential dispute resolution.
