Daily Current Affairs for UPSC CSE
Topics Covered
- Ayodhya Case Mediation
- Aravallis
1 . Ayodhya Case Mediation
Context : A Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court on Friday referred the Ayodhya dispute for mediation in a bid to heal minds and hearts.
About the News
- The five-judge Bench, led by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi, appointed a panel of mediators, comprising former Supreme Court judge F.M.I. Kalifulla as chairman, Art of Living founder Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, and Sriram Panchu, a senior advocate with experience in alternative dispute resolution.
What is Mediation
- Mediation is an out of the court and informal method of dispute resolution, where a neutral third party assists the parties in dispute to amicably resolve their dispute by using specialized communication and negotiation techniques.
- In mediation, a third party (the mediator) assists the parties to negotiate their own settlement.
- In some cases, mediators may express a view on what might be a fair or reasonable settlement, generally where all the parties agree that the mediator may do so.
Confidential Process
- Mediation is an informal process, which is not open to the public. Mediation is also confidential in nature, which means that statements made during mediation cannot be disclosed in any court proceedings or elsewhere without the written consent of all parties.
- The decision to settle and decide the terms of settlement in mediation always rest with the parties. This right of self-determination is an essential element of the mediation process.
- The parties also have ultimate control over the outcome of mediation. Any party may withdraw from the mediation proceedings at any stage before its termination and without assigning any reason
Legal But Settlement Is Not A Verdict
- Any settlement reached in a case referred for mediation during the course of litigation is required to be reduced to writing, signed by the concerned parties and filed in court for the passing of an appropriate order.
- The concept of mediation received legislative recognition in India for the first time in the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947. The conciliators appointed under the Act are charged with the duty of mediating in and promoting the settlement of Industrial disputes.
- In 1999, the Indian Parliament passed the Civil Procedure Code Amendment Act of 1999 inserting Section 89 in the Code of Civil Procedure 1908, providing for reference of cases pending in the Courts to mediation.
- Mandatory mediation through courts has now a legal sanction.
2 . Aravallis
Context : On March 1, the court had rapped the state government over the Bill passed by the Haryana Assembly on February 27, opening up the Aravallis to non-forest activity and seeking to legitimise past constructions.
About the Bill
- The Punjab Land Preservation Act, 1900, provided for conservation of subsoil water and prevention of erosion in areas found to be subject to erosion or likely to become liable to erosion, thus saving the Aravallis from rampant construction.
- The amendment would legalise several illegal constructions in the forest areas of the Aravallis extending across Gurgaon and Faridabad.
About Aravalli Range and hill system
- The Aravalli Range is a range of mountains in western India running about 800 km in a northeastern direction across Indian states of Gujarat, Rajasthan, Haryana and Delhi.
- Aravali means line of peaks. It is also called Mewat hills locally.
- The Aravalli range are the oldest fold mountains in India.
Important Facts
- Guru Peak on Mount Abu is the highest peak in the Aravalli Range
- It gives rise to several rivers, including the Banas, Luni, Sakhi, and Sabarmati.