Emphasising that mediation can succeed even after multiple failed attempts, the Supreme Court on Monday referred a long-running family dispute between industrialist Babasaheb Neelkanth Kalyani and his sister Sugandha Hiremath to former Supreme Court judge Justice L. Nageswara Rao for mediation, while keeping the proceedings pending for two weeks. The Court directed that proceedings on Babasaheb Kalyani’s application under Order VII Rule 11 CPC before the Bombay High Court remain deferred during the mediation.

A Bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V. Mohan persuaded the parties to make one final attempt at resolving the dispute, notwithstanding the failure of three previous mediation efforts.

Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for Babasaheb Kalyani, opposed another round of mediation, submitting that earlier attempts before the Supreme Court and the Pune District Court had failed and that the Order VII Rule 11 application had already been substantially argued before the Bombay High Court. He urged that those proceedings should not be stalled merely because another mediation was being attempted.

The Bench, however, emphasised that mediation often succeeds after several unsuccessful attempts and that no party was being compelled to settle. Recalling an earlier family dispute, CJI Surya Kant observed:

The Chief Justice also narrated an instance where two brothers, after litigating for decades, resolved their dispute when the younger brother apologised to the elder, remarking that “This is the miracle. This is the magic of mediation.”

The Court requested Justice L. Nageswara Rao to conduct the mediation and directed the parties to contact him within the day so that the process could commence immediately. The mediation has been directed to be completed within two weeks, after which the matter will be taken up again. Proceedings on the pending Order VII Rule 11 application before the Bombay High Court will remain in abeyance during this period.