The Mediation Bill would pave the way for reducing cost and supply chain disruptions for the MSMEs, said Minister of Law & Justice Arjun Ram Meghwal.

Addressing the seminar on Reducing the Cost of Litigation for MSMEs organised by the Federation of Indian Micro and Small & Medium Enterprises on Thursday, the Minister explained how litigation can incur heavy losses for the MSMEs which in turn disrupts the whole chain, including a dip in skill development.

“Litigations are burdensome on the courts as well, be it the high courts, Supreme Court, or the commercial courts. Therefore, we should try and solve cases with mediation itself, and the Mediation Bill will help in that.” he added.

Import

Further explaining the import of the Mediation Bill, he said people will now have access to legal support and trained mediators that include people from the judiciary, social activists, and those working closely with MSEs who will undergo a selection process supervised by the government.

Retired Justice R S Sodhi talked about giving more importance to the time taken to solve litigation rather than being concerned about the cost of it. Senior Advocate J P Singh threw light upon the lack of understanding of the term mediation among people. Advocate on Record Swati Jindal Garg stressed the need to bring Online Dispute Resolution and a rating system where the MSMEs can rate the vendors and to prevent future consequences.

According to the data given by National Legal Services Authority, 92,446 cases have been settled through mediation for April 2022-March 2023 with 478 ADR centres across the country.