2024 (3) TMI 584

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.... of Rs.6,13,07,075/-, including principal amount of Rs.3,51,27,626/- and interest thereupon, and for future interest. No urgent interim relief is sought. However, Ms. Kaveeta Wadia, learned counsel for the plaintiff, seeks exemption from pre-institution mediation, on the ground that the parties made an attempt to settle the matter in mediation, in the course of proceedings under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881, but were unsuccessful. 3. Ms. Wadia relies upon the judgment of a Division Bench of this Court in Amit Walia v. Shweta Sharma [2023 SCC OnLine Del 6779] to submit that once mediation has taken place, albeit not in the manner prescribed under Section 12-A of the Act, the Court may not be required&....

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....be reduced into writing and shall be signed by the parties to the dispute and the mediator. (5) The settlement arrived at under this section shall have the same status and effect as if it is an arbitral award on agreed terms under sub-section (4) of section 30 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (26 of 1996).]" [Emphasis supplied.] 5. This provision has been held to be mandatory in the judgment of Supreme Court in Patil Automation (P) Ltd. v. Rakheja Engineers (P) Ltd. [(2022) 10 SCC 1], which has been further explained in an order dated 13.10.2023 in Yamini Manohar v. T.K.D. Keerthi [2023 SCC OnLine SC 1382]. 6. In Patil Automation [supra], the Court has examined the purpo....

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....ted by Ms. Wadia. That judgment was rendered in a case where mediation had taken place under the aegis of Delhi High Court Mediation and Conciliation Centre. The Court held that this would be sufficient compliance with Section 12-A, even though the mediation had not taken place before the District Legal Services Authority, as required under the Act. 10. As explained by the Supreme Court in Patil Automation [supra], mediation is a potent tool for settlement of disputes, and is mandatory as a pre-litigation exercise in commercial disputes. Paragraphs 99.3 and 99.4 of the judgement explain the rationale thus: "99.3. The language used in Section 12-A, which includes the word "shall", certainly....