BMC, an initiative of Karnataka High Court is the third court-annexed mediation centre in India, set for a mission of reducing the pending civil cases with a unique healing approach. Started in January 2007, the Centre has already recorded high success rate of 47 per cent during the past eight months. 
Speaks Success
Out of 940 cases taken up for mediation from January to August this year, 438 were successfully settled.
BMC has to its credit, settling another 84 cases pending before the different courts.  
Rate high
The success rate is high even in the cases which are usually most contested and long drawn ones before courts:- House rent cases - 65 per cent (71 settled out of 108 mediated), divorce cases - 60 per cent (20 settled out of 33 mediated), ejectment suits - 74 per cent (23 settled out of 31 mediated). While a judicial officer needs at least 2-3 days to decide a case after due trial, the average time spent to resolve a case through mediation is about 2-4 hours.
Most cases resolved at BMC have demanded one or two short mediation sessions of 2-3 hours duration.
Mediation Process
BMC Director K N Keshavanarayana says: “A judge can refer a suitable civil case pending before him or parties themselves can seek a reference, for mediation.
However, if parties do not attend or agree for a settlement at mediation, cases are referred back to courts for normal trial. In any case, maximum time allowed for mediation effort is 60 days.”
Unlike courts which give more attention to law and procedure, in Mediation, the core significance is on the interests of parties.
A neutral third party called ‘Mediator’ eases the bitterness stagnating between the parties and provides rapport for expressing their views and versions of the problem. There is no scope for appeals, and parties get a refund of the court fee paid in the case.
Mediators
A team of 55 senior city advocates, trained by the Institute for Study and Development of Legal Systems, San Francisco, are volunteering as mediators in BMC by lending one day in every week. Presently, everyday 20 to 30 cases are handled by 8 to 10 mediators.
Sample
Senior counsel Manjuladevi, a Mediator at Bangalore Mediation Centre, said a partition suit with parties aged between 55-70 years and pending for 4 years before a city civil court, was settled with just two mediation sessions of two hours each: “They were four brothers and a sister disputing their shares in deceased father’s self-acquired property. They were entitled for equal shares, but had disagreement about their mother’s gold ornaments on which the sister as well as the brothers’ wives were keen. We motivated the brothers to forgo their claim in favour of the 57-year-old unmarried sister. They did so and all returned home happily.’’
Contact 
Bangalore Mediation Centre, ‘Nyaya Degula,’ Siddaiah Road, Bangalore, Phone : 22954656, Website : www.nyayadegula.kar.nic.in