“Hindi Is Mother Tongue Of Most”: DHC Directs Mediation Centre To Prepare Settlement Agreements In Hindi

The Delhi High Court recently directed mediation centres in the national capital to ensure that the mediated settlement agreements are prepared in Hindi as far as possible in addition to the English.

A single bench of Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma passed the order because the majority of the parties do not understand English and their mother tongue is Hindi.

“This Court also remains conscious of the fact that the majority of litigants who approach this Court and the Courts below speak Hindi as their first language… However, the mediated settlement agreements in Delhi are drafted only in English. In such a scenario, the settlement agreement and the conditions thereof may not always be adequately clear to the parties and at times, the translation from English to Hindi may not convey exactly what the parties intend to do,” the order stated.

Justice Sharma expressed her hope that once agreements are written in Hindi, wherever necessary, they will ensure not only the finality of agreements in mediation centers, but also their successful conclusion in courts of law.

In a detailed judgment dealing with a matrimonial dispute case, the Court also issued a set of guidelines for mediators to follow when drafting a settlement agreement in matrimonial disputes.

According to the judge, when drafting clauses relating to criminal proceedings initiated by either party, the mediator must include the names of all parties to the agreement.

The bench also stated that the agreement must avoid ambiguous terms such as ‘respondents’ or ‘petitioners’ and must include the terms and conditions of the agreement reached between the parties, no matter how minute and minor they may be.

“The timeline of the fulfilment of terms and conditions as well as their execution must be clearly mentioned. There should be no tentative dates as far as possible. A default clause should be incorporated in the agreement and the consequences thereof should be explained and enlisted in the agreement itself,” Justice Sharma noted.

The single bench further directed that this judgment be forwarded to the in-charge of the Delhi High Court Mediation and Conciliation Centre (SAMADHAN), as well as the concerned in-charge of all mediation centers in all District Courts of Delhi, for note and compliance.