B.S.KRISHNA MURTHY & ANR. VERSUS B.S.NAGARAJ & ORS. Supreme Court decision on corporate disputes between family members.

India is a country where every lawyer should follow the practice of initiating private compromise through mediation, arbitration and private settlements as said by Mahatma Gandhi "I lost nothing thereby-not even money, certainly not my soul.”.

In fact the out of court settlement efforts should be made compulsory before filing any court dispute, suit and specific mention in respect of efforts of private settlement should be made compulsory in suits as per section 89 of the Code of Civil Procedure.

I had an occasion to accompany a family friend to a court of law in a small town in Andhra Pradesh. The judge, who is a woman, asked one or two questions and said "I will give an hour's time to arrive at a compromise, otherwise it will be a long drawn legal battle" All are petty cases like fighting with neighbour, hitting somebody on the road like. Surprisingly she cleared about 15 to 20 cases in about two hours time, because both the parties came for a compromise. I thought, if this is way other judges follow, there should not be any work for lawyers !!! I just thought of sharing this with you Rajesh !!

Settling family disputes out of court is the smart move, as no one is eternal and we human beings are mortal ones!  Hon'be Supreme Court's reference to Mahatma Gandhi should be followed by all the courts across the country to reduce the number of cases (petty) pending in various courts, forcing the legal profession to thrive on stays!