Noting that he has only “five per cent job satisfaction as a Supreme Court judge”, Justice T.S. Thakur on Thursday said the highest judiciary carries the burden of a “tremendous backlog” and alternative dispute resolution mechanisms like mediation is the call of the hour.
Justice Thakur, seniormost Supreme Court judge in the country after Chief Justice of India H.L. Dattu, said there is a huge influx of government-related litigation to the courts.
“Large number of cases filed by the government, forcing litigants to go to court, is not good governance. It shows there is no proper mechanism for screening of cases,” Justice Thakur said.
He was delivering the keynote address at the Asia Pacific International Mediation Summit organised by the American Bar Association Section of Dispute Resolution and the Association of Indian Mediators.
The inaugural session of the Summit, which has mediators and attorneys from 18 countries participating, saw Supreme Court judges, Justices J.S. Khehar, A.K. Sikri, Madan B. Lokur, Chief Justice of Delhi High Court Chief Justice G. Rohini, senior advocates and judges participate.
“We are not an Australia. We produce one Australia every year. At this rate of population explosion, the Supreme Court itself will see 5 lakh cases filed every year,” Justice Thakur said.
Recalling the contributions of senior advocate Sriram Panchu, who was on the dais, as someone who introduced mediation to the National Capital, Justice Thakur narrated how Mr. Panchu used his expertise as a mediator to solve the simmering boundary dispute in Assam, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh.
