INDIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Aditya Jalan, Urvashi Misra, Bhagya K. Yadav and Sushrut Garg, AZB & Partners
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1. Dispute Resolution Methods 1.1 Main Dispute Resolution Methods In India, traditional litigation before jurisdictional courts is the main dispute resolution method and the proce- dure for the same is governed by the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (CPC). This commonly entails sub- ject matters such as contractual disputes and intel- lectual property disputes. Depending on the jurisdic- tional limits (as detailed below), certain matters also fall within purview of Commercial Courts Act, 2015 (the “Commercial Courts Act”) – this statute has been enacted to facilitate faster and specialised adjudica- tion of commercial disputes. For over the past decade, parties have been increas- ingly opting for alternative dispute resolution (ADR) methods like arbitration, mediation, and conciliation – these are governed under the Arbitration and Concilia- tion Act, 1996 (the “Arbitration Act”) and the Mediation Act, 2023 (the “Mediation Act”). Indian Courts have adopted a pro-ADR approach with the goal of expe- ditious and effective disposal of disputes, given the large pendency of cases in Indian Courts. Another method of ADR is redressal of disputes through Lok Adalats (people’s court). Lok Adalat is a forum where cases pending in the court or at pre- litigation stage are settled/ compromised amicably. This method is statutorily recognised under the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987.
1.2 Choice of Dispute Resolution Method Resolution of disputes before jurisdictional Courts in India remains to be the most popular. As detailed above, Indian Courts have been consist- ently adopting a pro-ADR approach. Arbitration is key alternative dispute resolution mechanism in India and has grown rapidly due to its flexibility, especially for commercial disputes. Pertinently, the law governing arbitration has evolved and continues to be reformed to meet the international standards. Mediation has also gained a lot of traction, as also seen from the enactment of the Mediation Act, with even the government encouraging government departments/entities to adopt mediation under the Mediation Act and/or negotiated amicable settlements for resolution of disputes. While Conciliation is also another dispute resolution mechanism, it is not been popularly adopted. Lok Adalats are another avenue for resolving pend- ing and pre-litigation disputes through consensual settlement, as recognized under the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987. 1.3 Key Dispute Resolution Trends One of the key areas being addressed is the large pendency of cases in India – as of 23 April 2026 a total of 4,89,06,461 cases are pending in India (there are 1,11,05,995 civil cases; 3,78,00,466 criminal cases). ADR mechanisms and government initiatives are the key trends which are being deployed to address this
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