Latest news with #NavinChawla
Time of India
10 hours ago
- Business
- Time of India
Mediation the ‘Soul of Justice for Viksit Bharat': SAMA's Mediation Week 2025 concludes in Mumbai and Delhi, spotlighting India's dispute resolution future
Advt Advt From Vision to Infrastructure Realigning incentives for systemic change By , ETLegalWorld Join the community of 2M+ industry professionals. Subscribe to Newsletter to get latest insights & analysis in your inbox. All about ETLegalWorld industry right on your smartphone! Download the ETLegalWorld App and get the Realtime updates and Save your favourite articles. – The statistic landed like a thunderbolt in packed auditoriums across two cities at the Indian Mediation Week 2025: 54 percent of Indians don't know mediation was the kind of number that made government officials and legal luminaries gathered across Mumbai and Delhi pause and reflect: Here was a dispute resolution method that had already delivered 53 lakh settlements, yet remained invisible to half the by Sama , the week's events in Mumbai (August 1) and Delhi (August 9) brought together legal professionals, corporate leaders, and policy experts to chart this transformation. The twin events became laboratories for a radical idea: What if courts became the last resort, not the first?Mumbai explored "From Contracts to Closure: Redefining Resolution for India Inc." and "Beyond Recovery: ODR as a Trust Engine for India's Lending Ecosystem," while Delhi focused on "India's Mediation Moment" and "Scaling Dispute Resolution Infrastructure for the Next Billion.""Mediation is the soul of nyay for Viksit Bharat ," declared Dr. Manoj Kumar, Additional Secretary at the Ministry of Law and Justice, speaking in Delhi, encapsulating the ambitious vision that defined Indian Mediation Week 2025. It wasn't just policy speak—it was a manifesto for reimagining how the world's most populous nation settles its Bank joined as Knowledge Partner, alongside Oakbridge Publications as Organising Partner, Lawctopus as Outreach Partner, and The Bar Bulletin as Media Partner. Supporting partners included the Builders Association of India, Sadgamaya , and M&J Delhi event's chief guest, Justice Navin Chawla of the Delhi High Court, framed this vision historically, noting that India was returning to its roots after British-era adversarial systems displaced traditional panchayats. "Mediation is not an alternate dispute resolution mechanism but should be the preferred dispute resolution mechanism," he emphasized, describing courts as places "where disputes end after alternative methods have been considered and tried."Dr. Kumar's vision extends far beyond courtrooms. He encouraged plans to embed mediation across government functions—consumer forums linking with national helplines, police departments establishing mediation cells, and taxation authorities resolving disputes through dialogue rather than enforcement."Disputes often do not need a court battle, just a dialogue and a means to resolve the issue," he explained, positioning mediation as culturally aligned with India's traditions yet digitally enabled for modern infrastructure is taking shape. Section 12A of the Commercial Courts Act mandates pre-institution mediation, while the Mediation Act provides institutional recognition. India's signing of the Singapore Convention signals international commitment. The Supreme Court's "Mediation for Nation" campaign, running until September 2025, aims to build awareness from metropolitan centers to taluk sector adoption is accelerating. Justice Neela Kedar Ghokale of the Bombay High Court in Mumbai urged banks to "embed mediation clauses in loan agreements, training officers in negotiations, and partnering with credible institutions such as Sama." Corporate confidence was evident as Sandeep Batra, executive director, ICICI Bank, observed: "The story of Sama is in a way the story of India—young, never say die, using technology to do something relevant from a societal perspective."The pandemic catalyzed online dispute resolution, transforming what Justice Chawla initially viewed skeptically. "You have parties who are in different territories of India, different countries, different time zones, and you make them sit together on an online platform," he acknowledged, recognizing the revolutionary digital infrastructure is crucial for Dr. Kumar's inclusive vision reaching "rural to the last household, disabled to the last person." The 53 lakh settlements achieved through online platforms validate the approach, though specialized training remains essential for virtual mediation like Sama exemplify this technology-first approach, leveraging mobile-friendly, multilingual interfaces to reach underserved populations where traditional courts remain inaccessible. The technology wasn't just changing the process—it was democratising most candid moment came during the fireside chat. Senior Advocate Sriram Panchu, silver-haired and straight-talking, addressed the elephant everyone pretended not to see."When stakes are large, lawyers are looking at multiple dispute rounds—10, 15 year litigation. Mediation will settle in 6 sessions." His pause let the implication sink in. Different timeline, different solution involves conditional fees for mediation settlements that "do not violate the rule of champerty because it doesn't promote litigation—it ends it." This incentive realignment could accelerate adoption among legal professionals whose business models currently favour prolonged discussions moderated by ICICI Bank's GC Nilanjan Sinha featured Senior Advocates Priya Hingorani and A.S. Chandhiok, Avnit Singh Arora (Director, Legal Affairs, Department of Justice), Manish Lamba (General Counsel, DLF Cyber City Developers), and Pallavi Pratap (Managing Partner, Pratap & Co.). Hingorani's evolution reflected broader market sentiment on investment in mediation: "Ten years ago, I would have said no. But now lawyers are interested in mediation and a lot more of them plan to get certified as mediators, and I would today put my money in mediation."Justice Chawla outlined the success framework: awareness campaigns, trained mediator pools, and robust infrastructure. The combination of government policy, private sector innovation, and judicial support creates unprecedented eyes brightened when he spoke about seeing his life's work materialize. "You cannot imagine what it means to have the blessings of working on a concept and seeing it come through in your lifetime."The Supreme Court's "Mediation for Nation" campaign would run until September, carrying this energy from metropolitan auditoriums to taluk courts. The awareness gap—that jarring 54 percent—would narrow one settlement, one success story, one converted lawyer at a time.
News18
24-07-2025
- News18
Derogatory remarks in complaints to spouse's employer cruelty: Delhi HC
New Delhi, Jul 24 (PTI) The Delhi High Court has said derogatory and defamatory remarks in complaints to the estranged spouse's employer amounts to cruelty and upheld the divorce granted to a man. A bench of Justices Navin Chawla and Renu Bhatnagar in its July 1 verdict said marriage entails mutual respect and adjustment and some parties take less time to adjust with each other while the others take longer time. The order, however, highlighted both parties were expected to show due respect to each other. 'Irrespective of the merits of these complaints, and regardless of whether the allegations made therein were false or true, we find that making such derogatory and defamatory remarks in the form of complaints to the employer of the spouse are nothing but cruelty," the bench said. The order termed 'tolerance, adjustment and mutual respect" to be the foundations of a 'sound and healthy marriage". Dismissing the woman's appeal, the court upheld a family court order of divorce to the husband on the ground of cruelty by the wife. The couple married in 1989 and had two children before separating in 2010-11. The wife moved the high court against the divorce decree and claimed her estranged husband resorted to various illegal measures to forcibly evict her and their children from the matrimonial home. The high court observed the allegations of adultery levelled by the parties against each other. Both the woman and the man accused each other of adultery. The court said the woman's complaints to her husband's employer, particulary about the unfounded allegation of adultery, can't be used to address the issues of any wrong done to her for his employer had no role. The order noted that the woman's complaints were made to harass the husband and humiliate him before his colleagues at workplace. The bench said the family court rightly dissolved the marriage between the parties by upholding the allegations of cruelty based on the man's evidence. 'The fact that the parties have been living separately for a long time period of time, that is, around fifteen years now, without any resumption of marital cohabitation between the parties, can also be considered as an added ground while deciding the divorce petition," the court said. PTI SKV SKV AMK AMK view comments First Published: July 24, 2025, 20:00 IST Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
India Gazette
15-07-2025
- Politics
- India Gazette
Delhi HC seeks clarity from private schools on pay arrears to teachers
New Delhi [India], July 15 (ANI): The Delhi High Court has directed numerous private schools across the national capital to file affidavits detailing the implementation status of the Sixth and Seventh Central Pay Commission (CPC) recommendations for their teaching and non-teaching staff. A Division Bench comprising Justice Navin Chawla and Justice Renu Bhatnagar issued the directive while hearing a batch of appeals filed by teachers from various private institutions, including DAV Public School, GD Goenka Public School, ASN Sr. Secondary School, St. Margaret Senior Secondary School, and others. The appeals challenge a Single Judge's earlier ruling that, while recognising the teachers' entitlement to revised CPC-scale salaries, had also appointed a committee to examine whether the schools had adequate funds to disburse such salaries, and to assess the eligibility and appointments of the staff. Counsel appearing for the teachers argued that the appointment of such a committee went beyond the scope of the original writ petitions. The teachers had moved court primarily seeking enforcement of salary payments under the Sixth and Seventh CPCs, not a review of their service credentials or school finances. On the other hand, counsels representing the schools submitted that fee hikes have not been permitted by regulatory authorities, leaving them without sufficient funds to fully implement the CPC scales. Some schools claimed to have already adopted the revised pay commissions from various dates and had even cleared partial arrears. To resolve the factual disputes, the Court has now directed each school involved in the appeals to file a single affidavit (not one per case) within four weeks, clearly stating whether they have implemented the Seventh CPC, the date of such implementation (if done), the extent of salary arrears already paid under both the Sixth and Seventh CPC and the amount still pending, if any. The schools are to share copies of their affidavits with the teachers' legal teams. Teachers, in turn, may file responses within two weeks thereafter. The matter is next listed for hearing on September 17, 2025. (ANI)
Hindustan Times
14-07-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Delhi HC delivered 378 judgments on Day 1 after summer break
Despite working at a current strength of 60%, the Delhi high court delivered 378 judgments on July 1, when it reopened after a four-week summer break, according to data accessed by HT. This included 362 judgments on the 'appellate' side and 16 on the 'original' side. The Delhi high court delivered 362 judgments on the 'appellate' side and 16 on the 'original' side. (Representative photo) To be sure, while the high court in 'appellate' side deals with civil and criminal matters, the court in 'original' side deals with commercial matters, including intellectual property rights, arbitration and cases where the suit value exceeds ₹2 crore. On the appellate side, two benches led by court's third senior-most judge Navin Chawla, along with justices Shailender Kaur and Renu Bhatnagar, disposed of 306 civil cases. A bench of justices C Hari Shankar and Ajay Digpaul resolved 20 cases, also on the civil side. Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma single-handedly disposed of 10 criminal cases, and justice Jasmeet Singh delivered six of 16 judgements pronounced by the high court's original side. The judgments not only reduced case backlog, but the detailed judgments also laid down legal principles and guidelines that could serve as precedents in future cases. In one instance, justice Sanjeev Narula in an 82-page verdict on setting aside the sentence review board's (SRB's) decision to reject premature release of Santosh Kumar Singh—serving a life term for the 1996 rape and murder of law student Priyadarshini Mattoo—issued guidelines for the Delhi government to ensure that SRB's decisions align with the objectives of the policy and uphold fairness and justice. In a separate ruling, justice Narula held that fugitives could apply for pre-arrest bail under the Indian law governing extradition. Coming to the aid of an eight-year-old autistic girl, justice Vikas Mahajan reaffirmed that educational institutions were legally obligated to provide inclusive education and accommodate children with special needs under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act. In an 85-page ruling, bench of justices Navin Chawla and Shailender Kaur dismissed 226 petitions filed by Centre against the disability pension awarded to ex-armed forces personnel, ruling that pensions can't be denied merely due to the disability occurring during a 'peace posting,' and stressing the need to recognise hardships of military service. Even as vacation benches continued to hear urgent matters three days a week, other judges continued with their effort to bring down the backlog. In June, bench of chief justice DK Upadhyay and justice Tushar Rao Gedela directed the consortium of National Law Universities declare revised CLAT PG results, after finding two errors in the consortium's answer key. Additionally, a bench of justices Prathiba M Singh and Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora specially assembled during vacation to assess the progress of authorities in cleaning a smelly culvert accessed every day by over 3,000 soldiers of Rajputana Rifles to head to their parade ground, and the construction of a foot overbridge to address their ordeal. While the Delhi high court continued its work during the summer break, the Supreme Court, in November 2024, replaced the term 'summer vacation' with 'partial working days', acknowledging that a section of the judiciary remained operational throughout breaks. Even during the current break of the Supreme Court, which commenced from May 23, Chief Justice of India BR Gavai renamed the vacation as 'partially working days' and marked a departure from the practice of senior judges including the CJI, not holding court hearings during summer break, by assembling in the first week along with the four senior-most judges.
Indian Express
09-07-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
Delhi HC asks Army to reconsider retired Major General for promotion to Lt Gen rank
The Delhi High Court on July 1 ordered the Indian Army to reconsider a retired Major General, who was denied a promotion due to a reproof given for the loss of classified and operational information from his laptop, for the rank of Lieutenant General. A division bench of Justice Navin Chawla and Justice Shalinder Kaur has directed that Maj Gen H Dharmarajan, who retired on January 31, 2024, will be reconsidered for the notional promotion to the rank of Lt General. 'In case the Petitioner, who has now retired, is found fit to be promoted to the rank of Lieutenant General, the Respondents are directed to grant him notional promotion and rank, and the consequential benefits that is, re-fixation of his pay for the purpose of pension on the basis of notional seniority albeit without any arrears of wages,' the bench said in the order. The bench has found in its order that the Army Special Selection Board (SSB), which considered the officer for promotion to the rank of Lt General, erred in taking into account the Reproof which was administered to him and that it was not supposed to refer to or be influenced by it. 'The Reproof, not being recordable, was not to be placed before the SSB. The Selection Board should have considered only the material placed before it and not called for the record of Reproof, which was otherwise not to be placed before it as per the policy. The denial of promotion on the ground of Reproof alone, is unjustified and arbitrary,' the bench observed. Maj Gen Dharamarajan was commissioned into the 3 Engineer Regiment on December 20, 1986. He assumed command of the 25 Infantry Division in J&K in December 2018 as the General Officer Commanding (GOC). He was due to be considered for promotion to Lt Gen in June 2020. The officer received a show-cause notice on July 25, 2019, alleging a violation of the Cyber Security Policy and resultant cyber breach from his official laptop, leading to the loss of classified data. The show-cause notice stated that the Major General failed to comply with instructions issued by the Directorate General of Military Operations, and allowed the official laptop installed in his office to continue functioning on the Windows operating system instead of the Bharat Operating System Solutions (BOSS). It further stated that on February 21, 2019, he opened an unsolicited phishing email, 'EoMA Post Republic Day Gallantry Awards 2019,' received on his personal email from a dubious email identity, resulting in malware being installed on his laptop, and leading to the loss of classified and operational information. The Competent Authority, while considering the reply of the General, held him blameworthy for some minor procedural issues, and having dropped all the serious allegations, consequently, counselled him in the form of 'Reproof' in a letter dated September 17, 2019. The HC observed that a Reproof is a warning, which is not to be recorded in the service documents of the concerned Officer. 'We may also note that Reproof and Censure are disciplinary measures, used to address minor misconduct or shortcomings in the service of personnel. They are a way of communicating disapproval or areas of improvement by the Competent Authority to the delinquent officer. The intent of Reproof is clear that it is issued for an action of a mild nature, minor negligence or a bona fide mistake, that no other inquiry seems necessary. Thus, it does not reflect in the Service dossier of an Officer,' the HC said in its order. The HC further stated that from perusal of the original record of the SSB proceedings, it is evident that the petitioner's merit was downgraded primarily as the Board Members proceeded to go behind the cause or reason for which the Reproof was awarded, while considering the overall profile of the petitioner for empanelment to the rank of Lieutenant General. 'Though the Selection Board has a discretion in judging the relative merit of the Officers brought before it for considering them for promotion, at the same time, such discretion is not unguided nor can it be exercised arbitrarily, against the stated policy directives, or whimsically. Unfortunately, present is one such case where the Selection Boards, repeatedly, relying upon Reproof, which it had no business to even know of, non-empanelled the Petitioner, thereby vitiating the selection process,' the bench said. The HC has also stated that its orders will not entitle the petitioner to seek reinstatement in service or actual pay post his retirement. The judgment entitles him only to the rank and consequential refixation of his pension.
