Plea in Delhi High Court challenges need for DHCBA membership for court-appointed mediators

A plea has been filed before the Delhi High Court challenging the requirement that only members of the Delhi High Court Bar Association (DHCBA) can undergo the mediation training provided by the Delhi High Court Mediation and Conciliation Centre, Samadhan.

The mediation training at Samadhan is mandatory for empanelment as a mediator at the Delhi High Court.

Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav on Monday sought responses from the High Court's administrative side and from Samadhan and posted the case for further consideration on April 16.

Senior Advocate Sacchin Puri, the vice-president of the DHCBA, was present in the court during the proceedings and requested the Court to implead the lawyers’ body as a party to the case.

The Court said that the DHCBA can file an impleadment application.

The Court was hearing a plea filed by Tarun Kumar Bedi, a Senior Mediator at the Rouse Avenue District Court.

He moved the Court challenging the eligibility criteria in Samadhan’s notices issued on March 12 and March 20, which invite applications for “Introductory Mediation Training (Part I)” but mandated DHCBA membership as an eligibility condition.

As per the notices, after completing Part I training, the trainee must work as a co-mediator with a mediator from Samadhan. Once the trainee has taken part in 10 successful mediations, they must undergo Advanced Training (Part-II). After this, they may be considered for empanelment as a mediator with Samadhan.

It is Bedi’s case that he meets all other criteria, including years of practice and recent appearances before the High Court, but is excluded solely because he is not a member of the DHCBA.

He argued that this creates an arbitrary classification between similarly placed advocates and violates constitutional guarantees of equality and professional freedom.

According to his petition, other High Courts and mediation centres across India do not impose such restrictions and instead allow participation based on merit and experience.

Bedi's petition was filed through advocate Shivam Srivastava.