Factual Background 

In the case of Sh Chhater Pal & Ors v State & Anr complaint was filed against His husband for being cruel and trying to get a divorce. At the hearing for the accused husband’s anticipatory bail application, the subject was assigned to a mediation centre. Thankfully, the parties were able to settle their differences amicably at the mediation centre. However, the accused was not made aware that a police report had been filed against him, and the full amount was paid to the complainant to have the FIR quashed without their knowledge. The complainant’s refusal to provide a statement in support of the FIR being quashed is a problem in the ongoing case.

Court verdict 

Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma of the Delhi High Court’s single-judge bench ordered mediation institutes in the nation’s capital to make sure that the mediated settlement agreements are produced as much as possible in Hindi in addition to English. The majority of the time, the parties cannot understand English because Hindi is their mother tongue, hence the bench is passing the order. Justice Sharma expressed her expectation that once the agreements are drafted in Hindi when necessary, it will assure both the success of the agreements’ resolution in courtrooms as well as their finality in mediation centres.

The Court has issued a set of principles for mediators to follow when writing a settlement agreement in marriage disputes in a thorough judgement addressing a specific matrimonial conflict case. The mediator must include the names of all parties to the agreement when crafting sections about criminal procedures brought by either party, according to the judgement. The Court additionally stated that the agreement must contain all terms and conditions agreed upon by the parties, no matter how little or insignificant they may be, and avoid confusing phrases like “respondents” or “petitioners.”

The Court further stated that the agreement must specifically address any criminal accusations made by the parties and that it must state that each party has read and understood the settlement agreement in their native tongue. The wording used in the agreement must be precise enough to understand the parties’ true intentions and the objectives they hope to accomplish through it, according to Justice Sharma.

The court ordered that notice of this decision be sent to the person in charge of the Delhi High Court Mediation and Conciliation Centre and the person in charge of all the mediation centres in all of the district courts in Delhi so they can take note and make sure compliance is maintained.