New Delhi: Seeking to reduce the number of pending cases, the Centre was working on a mechanism to introduce a pre-litigation mediation process, so that avoidable cases were prevented from reaching the courts, Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said today.  

He added that his ministry was giving a final shape to a proposal in this regard. Retired judges and bureaucrats would be considered a part of a group which would provide the mechanism for mediating disputes, Prasad said. 

As of now, the process of mediation in the country is carried out through the Mediation and Conciliation Project Committee established by the Supreme Court. Also, all mediation activities are managed and headed by the high courts of the respective states, where the only mediation process available is the court-annexed one.  

Speaking at a seminar here, Prasad said a number of new initiatives had been taken to reduce the number of pending court cases and time lost in the delivery of justice.  

These included directing Union ministries and state governments to settle inter-ministerial disputes through an in-house mechanism and not approach the courts, technology upgradation of the courts and pro bono (professional work undertaken voluntarily and without payment) services to help those unable to afford legal assistance.  

Over three crore cases are pending in the courts across the country and according to the law ministry, the government is a party in around 46 per cent of these cases. Most of the cases, in which the government is a party, are related to service disputes and indirect taxes. PTI