The Commercial Mediation Conclave India 2026 hosted by The PACT, as part of its MCI 2026 Mediation Weekend, premiers on 18th September at India International Centre, New Delhi.
The conclave, hosted in partnership with Poovayya & Co. as the Conclave Headline Partner, features fireside chats with Justice Anup Jairam Bhambhani, Judge Delhi High Court, Justice (Retd.) A K Sikri, Justice (Retd.) Justice Kurian Joseph, Justice (Retd.) Hima Kohli, Justice (Retd.) Rekha Palli. With a focus on the conclave’s theme of ‘Making Mediation Mainstream’, the day will feature 10 different sessions featuring insights from Senior Advocates – Sajan Poovayya, Nalin Kohli, Dr. Aman Hingorani, Karuna Nundy, Vipul Ganda.
“This is probably the first time in India that a whole day, including 10 different sessions, featuring 60+ practitioners, is dedicated to examining mediation from a commercial perspective, rather than being treated as a charity case. More specifically, through case studies, anecdotes, statistics, the Conclave is intended to examine how mediation can become a mainstream mechanism for commercial disputes in India, particularly through private and institutional mediation,” says Jonathan Rodrigues, Founder, The PACT and curator of MCI 2026 – The Commercial Mediation Conclave.
The conclave features panels and fireside chats led by Poovayya & Co., Indian Mediation Federation (Chief Networking Partner), ConstructHER Legal (Chief Knowledge Partner), CADRE ODR (Dispute Resolution Partner) Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas, Khaitan & Co., DSK Legal, Hammurabi & Solomon Partners, Samvad Partners, Svarniti Law Offices, Obelisk Legal, The Mission Mediation Podcast and GAADR.
The sessions will touch upon Mediation in Commercial Disputes, Construction Disputes, Shareholder Disputes, Family Business Disputes, Med-Arb Clauses, Enforcement Challenges, Role of Law Firms and In-House in initiating mediation, and more. Uniquely, it will bring in various stakeholders including private mediators, judges, law firm disputes partners, senior advocates, institutional representatives, ODR leaders, in-house legal leaders, C-Suite and of course, the next-generation of dispute resolution professionals hand-picked from all over the country to deliberate on the profession and practice of mediation in India.
Featured speakers include: Anuradha Mukherjee (Partner, Head of Disputes, North- Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas), Ankit Parhar, (Partner, Poovayya & Co.), Ekta Bahl (Mediator & Partner, SAMVAD Partners), Dinesh Pardasani (Partner, DSK Legal), Anil Tiwari (Partner, Hammurabi & Solomon), Sahil Narang (Partner, Khaitan & Co.), Amit Mishra (Partner, Svarniti Law Offices), Mehak Oberoi (ConstructHer Legal Network), Gracious Timothy (Partner, Obelisk Legal), Rajneesh Jaswal (CEO, CADRE ODR), Sanjeev Ahuja (Mediator, IMF)
Also speaking are – Avnit Singh Arora (Director, Dept. of Legal Affairs, Ministry of Law & Justice), Ajit Kumar Mishra (Director, Works, Ircon International Ltd.), Arjun Doshi (Head of Legal, RMRW Business, Adani), Dr. Sanjeev Gemawat (MD & GC, Essar Group), V R Shankar (Senior President & Chief Law Officer, Hindalco Industries Ltd.) Dr. Neera Sharma (CEO Sistema Smart Tech), Manuj Sharma (Head Legal APC, Turner & Townsend), Rajiv Malik (Legal Leader, LG India), Beena Vaheed (Executive Director, Bank of Baroda), Dr. Mukul Shastry (GCC Cube Highways Trust), Ayush Goyal (Senior GM – Legal & Corporate Affairs Kent RO Systems, Avaneesh Singh (GC Navitas Life Sciences), Ritu Aggarwal (GC Air India SATS), Preet Sethi (Dy. General Counsel, Vedanta Group), Sandhya Yadav (GM, Chief Legal Services. ONGC Ltd.)