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18. The legislature has increasingly awarded statutory recognition and provided for alternate dispute resolution mechanisms to parties in several enactments, some completely dedicated to this process. These include lok adalats (Section 19 of the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987); arbitration and conciliation (Parts I & III of Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 as well as Section 89(a) & (b) of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 incorporated on 1st of July 2002); judicial settlement and mediation (Section 89(c) & (d) of the Code of Civil Procedure).

(a) arbitration;

(b) conciliation

(c) judicial settlement including settlement through Lok Adalat; or

(d) mediation.

(2) Where a dispute had been referred-

(a) for arbitration or conciliation, the provisions of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 shall apply as if the proceedings for arbitration or conciliation were referred for settlement under the provisions of that Act.

(c) In other cases (that is, in cases which can be referred to ADR processes) the court should explain the choice of five ADR processes to the parties to enable them to exercise their option.

(d) The court should first ascertain whether the parties are willing for arbitration. The court should inform the parties that arbitration is an adjudicatory process by a chosen private forum and reference to arbitration will permanently take the suit outside the ambit of the court. The parties should also be informed that the cost of arbitration will have to be borne by them. Only if both parties agree for arbitration, and also agree upon the arbitrator, the matter should be referred to arbitration.

47. Additionally the provisions of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 enable reference of matters where there is an arbitration agreement, for dispute resolution by arbitration and conciliation.

48. The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 and the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 unfortunately contain no provisions for reference of the matters thereunder to alternate dispute resolution mechanisms.

49. As the Code of Civil Procedure would have no application to criminal proceedings to which the Code of Criminal Procedure applies, Section 89 of the C.P.C. cannot and would not, in terms, apply to the proceedings under Section 138 of the NI Act.