Delhi High Court Issues Guidelines For Drafting Mediation Settlement Agreements In Matrimonial Cases, Says Prepare In Hindi Also

The Delhi High Court has issued a slew of guidelines to be followed by the mediators while drafting settlement agreements in matrimonial cases and said that such agreements must also be published in Hindi language, in addition to English.

Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma observed that the guidance needed by mediators to draft agreements with a degree of coherence, consistency, and unambiguity will come a long way in “healing the lives of those in need” by immediately putting an end to a dispute and further insulating them from future litigation.

“While the Mediator performs the duty of not only dealing with those tempers but also their disagreements and emotions, the mediator also has another responsibility to ensure that the agreement reached by the parties, as well as the hard work of the parties, their families, counsels and the Mediator, is crystalised. It is unfortunate to note that these attempts fail in a large number of cases, and the parties find themselves in conflict once again due to flaws or ambiguities in the settlement agreements,” the court said.

The court directed that a mediation settlement agreement must specifically contain names of all the parties and terms such as ‘respondent’, ‘respondents’, ‘petitioner’ or ‘petitioners’ must be avoided as it leads to ambiguities and further litigation.

“The timeline of the fulfilment of terms and conditions as well as their execution must be clearly mentioned. There should be no tentative dates as far as possible. A default clause should be incorporated in the agreement and the consequences thereof should be explained and enlisted in the agreement itself,” the court said.

It added that in cases involving Section 498A of IPC, the agreement must stipulate the names of all the parties concerned who have been named in the FIR and the fact that claims have been settled in totality for quashing of FIR and proceedings emanating therefrom qua all such persons.

“It be also clarified specifically that the FIR will be quashed in totality against all the persons arrested, not arrested, chargesheeted, not chargesheeted, with their names and whether the entire FIR will be quashed against all of them upon payment by husband or any other person on behalf of the husband,” the court said.

Justice Sharma further said that the language used in a settlement agreement must be definite enough to understand the real intention of the parties and the goals they wish to achieve by entering into the agreement.

“This Court also remains conscious of the fact that the majority of litigants who approach this Court and the Courts below speak Hindi as their first language. Given that Hindi is their mother tongue, they are far more adept at speaking and understanding it than they are at other languages such as English. However, the mediated settlement agreements in Delhi are drafted only in English. In such a scenario, the Settlement Agreement and the conditions thereof may not always be adequately clear to the parties and at times, the translation from English to Hindi may not convey exactly what the parties intend to do,” the court observed.

It directed the concerned In-charge of Mediation Centres to ensure that the mediated settlement agreements are prepared in Hindi language also, in addition to the English language, as far as possible.

The court said that such a direction is issued since in majority of cases, the parties do not comprehend English and their spoken language and mother tongue is Hindi.

“This Court hopes that once the agreements are written in Hindi, wherever required, which the parties understand and the Mediator performs his/her duty carefully, it will ensure not only finality of agreements in the mediation centers but also its successful culmination in the Courts of law which is the aim and objective of mediation centres,” the court said.

The court also observed that in cases of matrimonial disputes and proceedings of divorce, both the parties go through one of the most stressful phases of their lives and where the matter is settled at an early stage, the mediator should be careful of the future consequences of the agreement and the fact that fulfilment of one condition leads to another.

It also added that in matrimonial disputes, fulfilment of each condition and successful culmination and execution of such an agreement can make or break many lives.

“A copy of this judgment be forwarded to In-Charge, Delhi High Court Mediation and Conciliation Centre (SAMADHAN) as well as concerned In-charge of all the Mediation Centres in all District Courts of Delhi, for taking note and ensuring compliance and for further circulation among all learned mediators. A copy be also forwarded to Director (Academics), Delhi Judicial Academy,” the court ordered.

Title: SH. CHHATTER PAL & ORS. v. STATE & ANR.

Citation: 2023 LiveLaw (Del) 422

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