M.P. State Legal Services Authority Conducts One-Day Community Mediation Orientation Programme; Four Centres E-Inaugurated

The event was held under the stewardship of Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva, Chief Justice of the High Court of Madhya Pradesh and Patron-in-Chief, MPSLSA. Justice Vivek Rusia, Administrative Judge of the High Court of Madhya Pradesh and Executive Chairman of MPSLSA, attended the programme as Chief Guest and formally e-inaugurated the four centres.

Among those present were Shri Manoj Kumar Srivastava, Principal District & Sessions Judge, Bhopal; Shri Lalit Kishore Garg, Principal District & Sessions Judge, Gwalior; Ms. Suman Shrivastava, Member Secretary, MPSLSA; Shri Kaushalendra Vikram Singh, Collector & District Magistrate, Bhopal; Shri Arvind Shrivastava, Additional Secretary, MPSLSA; Shri Shahid Mohammad, Senior Trainer, Mediation and Conciliation Project Committee (MCPC), Supreme Court of India; judicial officers; District Legal Aid Officers; representatives of Bar Associations; Para Legal Volunteers; Community Mediation Volunteers; and law students.

A key feature of the programme was the formal induction of law students into the Community Mediation initiative. For the first time under MPSLSA, structured orientation was provided to law students to familiarise them with mediation as a participatory and community-based model of dispute resolution. The initiative aims to enable students to address student-related disputes, neighbourhood disagreements, minor civil conflicts and community-level tensions at the pre-litigation stage, thereby encouraging dialogue and consensus-building within institutions and communities.

In his address, Justice Vivek Rusia stated that community mediation functions not merely as an alternative dispute resolution mechanism but as a participatory model aimed at resolving disputes at an early stage through dialogue and mutual understanding. He emphasised that timely intervention at the community level helps preserve relationships, reduce adversarial tendencies and minimise avoidable litigation. He also highlighted the need for coordination among district administration, police authorities, legal services institutions and civil society to ensure that community mediation remains accessible and effective at the grassroots level.

A documentary film on the evolution and impact of the Indore Community Mediation Model was screened during the programme.

The following Community Mediation Centres were inaugurated:

• Collectorate Community Mediation Centre, Bhopal, in the presence of Shri Manoj Kumar Srivastava, Principal District & Sessions Judge, Bhopal, and Shri Kaushalendra Vikram Singh, Collector & District Magistrate, Bhopal.

• Sarv Samaj Community Mediation Centre, Patrakar Colony, Bhopal, in the presence of Shri Rajarshi Shrivastava, Special Judge (SC/ST Act), Bhopal, and Yogacharya Dr. Pawan Guru, Founder and Director of the Centre.

• Global Community Mediation Centre, Aakriti Business Centre, Bhopal, in the presence of Smt. Kumudini Patel, District & Additional Sessions Judge, Bhopal, and Dr. (Smt.) Pratibha Rajgopal, former Professor of the Madhya Pradesh Administration Academy and Director of the Centre.

• Community Mediation Centre, Gwalior, at the Department of Law, Prestige Institute of Management and Research, Gwalior, in the presence of Shri Lalit Kishore Garg, Principal District & Sessions Judge, Gwalior, and Professor Dr. Rakhi Singh Chauhan, Principal of the Department.

The Indore Community Mediation Model, initiated during Justice Vivek Rusia's tenure as Administrative Judge at the Indore Bench of the High Court of Madhya Pradesh, was highlighted during the programme. With institutional support and coordination between district administration and police authorities, the model has been adopted to facilitate early-stage dispute resolution and reduce litigation. Its expansion to Bhopal and Gwalior marks a step towards strengthening community mediation mechanisms across the State.

The programme was conducted by Shri Aniruddha Jain, Deputy Secretary, MPSLSA, and concluded with a vote of thanks by Ms. Suman Shrivastava, Member Secretary, MPSLSA.

An interactive session was conducted by Shri Shahid Mohammad, Senior Trainer, MCPC, Supreme Court of India, who introduced participants to the foundational principles of mediation, including structured dialogue, neutrality, ethics and effective communication. The orientation aimed to provide conceptual clarity and practical understanding to volunteers and students to promote consensual dispute resolution at the grassroots level.

The Madhya Pradesh State Legal Services Authority reiterated its commitment to strengthening community-based dispute resolution mechanisms across the State.