New Delhi, February 21, 2025 – In a significant ruling, the Delhi High Court has clarified that a legal notice cannot be treated as a ‘non-starter report’ when initiating pre-litigation mediation. The court emphasized that legal notices serve as a formal communication of grievances and do not automatically negate the scope of mediation before litigation.
The judgment came in response to a case where a party had argued that sending a legal notice prior to mediation made the mediation process redundant. The court, however, dismissed this contention, stating that the purpose of pre-litigation mediation is to encourage dispute resolution outside of court, irrespective of whether a legal notice has been served.
The bench noted that mediation remains a crucial step in reducing the burden on the judiciary and fostering amicable settlements. The court further observed that treating legal notices as an obstruction to mediation would defeat the objective of alternative dispute resolution mechanisms.
This ruling reinforces the judiciary's commitment to promoting mediation as a viable dispute resolution process, ensuring that legal notices do not serve as a technical barrier to settlement efforts.
