Hyderabad, June 14 (UNI) Community mediation centres have become a game-changer in matrimonial, property disputes and senior citizen issues, where there is an emotional issue and ego clashes than legal issues are involved, said Justice Sujoy Paul, the Acting Chief Justice of Telangana High Court and TSLSA (Telangana State Legal Services Authority) Executive Chairman, on Saturday.

Addressing the litigant public and other participants after inauguration the National Lok Adalat at City Civil Court, Secunderabad here, Justice Sujoy while referring to the community mediation which was launched in Telangana, said there is a system of mediation which is an oldest concept. There is a court annexed mediation in which there is a trained mediator. The trained mediator may be an advocate, Judge and other professional persons, who mediate the cases.

There are some issues with the court annexed mediation, he said for the first time in Kerala State, Kerala State Legal Services Authority (KSLSA), started community mediation by involving the elderly people to resolve the disputes.

This Community Mediation system was introduced in Indore, Madhya Pradesh while His Lordship headed the Indore bench. There now every community opened their own community mediation centres after knowing about the process of the community mediation which resolves the dispute amicably, said the Justice.

The matrimonial disputes, disputes between parents and children are being resolved in those community mediation centres before reaching courts, he said and adding that in Indore, one Collector allotted one room for opening of a community mediation centre for community mediation.

"With that inspiration, we started the community mediation in Nizamabad and Kamareddy in Telangana state, and we trained the mediators," said Justice Sujoy.

"In nine districts we started this community mediation, and centres are established," he informed and said, “It is very exciting since we are getting good results from the community mediation centers”.

In two districts volunteers are ready, he said the matrimonial matters, which come before courts are already becoming very hard/strained. Resolving those matters would be very difficult. If they are resolved at the initial stage itself, cordial relationships will be there.

The statistics which are obtained from Kamareddy and Nizamabad shows that many matrimonial matters are being solved at the initial stage itself. The matrimonial disputes are there in every family.

"The community mediation centres are being opened in the nine districts where we have imparted training," he said.

In most of the cases that come before the courts, there are no legal issues involved, they can be solved through the mediation and Lok Adalat, he added.

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