KARANJAWALA & COMPANY
ADVOCATES
Nandini Gore
9th Floor, Hindustan Times House 18-20
Kasturba Gandhi Marg
New Delhi 110001
INDIA
phone: +91 11 43 58 88 88
fax: +91 11 43 58 88 00
website: www.karanjawala.in
e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Dear Mrs Gore, Karanjawala & Co is specialized in mediation and has an excellent reputation in this field. Wht in particular is your field of activity in this context?
My Educational Qualification are BSc (Hons.), LLB & LLM from Delhi University. I have observed that there are crores and crores of cases which are pending in various Courts of law in India and day-by-day these numbers are increasing by leaps and bounds. Therefore, in my college days only, I realized that alternate dispute resolution is the best solution to dispose of matters by satisfying both the parties by achieving the objective of advisory system of legal administration of justice in our country by following the principles of natural justice. From my college days, I have been working with Lok Adalats & Mediation related activities. At present, I am a certified mediator from the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India and have also done training for commercial and corporate mediations under the guise of Ministry of Corporate Affairs, India. My basic field of activity in this context is commercial mediation, corporate mediation and family disputes.
What are the main challenges for mediation located in India?
At present, the Government of India, Ministry of Law has not made pre-litigation mediations compulsory. Though, there are Court Annex Mediations in the Lower Courts and in the High Courts and Supreme Court, wherein the Judge In-charge at his discretion, if finds the matter suitable to be referred to mediation sends the matter to the mediation centre for mediation. There are many proposals that India should have private as well as government run mediation centres wherein parties can go for mediation before going to any court. We need more awareness in the society from grass root level to the legislative level wherein the framers of law and the Indian judiciary makes mediation compulsory for all parties.
What motivated you to get involved in mediation?
Right from my college days, I have been participating in various social activities and practice the principles of honesty, integrity, commitment, sincerity, dedication and holistic approach in day-to-day life time management and a win-win approach and strictly follow the walk the talk and talk the walk philosophy. I have always felt that I am suitable for being a Mediator because of my quality to “listen”, which is the most important ingredient to become a good mediator.
What do you think is your greatest accomplishment in your career so far?
I have done a lot of commercial and family settlements. Though, we are not allowed to disclose the matters we have settled so far but this one case was the greatest accomplishment in my career so far. Both the husband and wife and their three children were HIV positive. The husband and wife had a dispute over huge properties and they have filed several cases against each other (Civil and Criminal in nature) almost everywhere in the country. The children were the main sufferers in this case. With the help of mediation, both the parties have mutually agreed for divorce and all the cases were taken back by both the parties filed against each other. The properties were divided and some amount has been fixed deposited for the benefit of children for their education and future expenses. The children were kept in boarding schools and both the parents have visitation rights. This settlement gave me immense satisfaction, though I have also settled many commercial disputes, one of them being for a major construction company of India.
What are your plans for the future?
I am a Senior Partner at Karanjawala & Company and do a lot of high end litigation in my firm. I am also doing Arbitrations for many multinational and top-most companies of the country. At present, ARB-MED is the latest concept wherein the Arbitration matter starts with arbitration and ends with mediation. My ultimate aim is to create awareness in the society regarding arbitration, mediation, conciliation and Lok Adalats which is the latest trend prevailing in India for settling disputes and also trying to set up a preferable democratic systems of functioning in the alternate dispute resolution.