Chandigarh, July 2 -- The high court on Tuesday sought response from Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh on a suo motu plea initiated on the role of communities such as khap panchayats in dispute resolution at the grassroot level.

"Community mediation holds significant potential for resolving interpersonal disputes, such as those between neighbours, families and communities. Despite being highly effective in delivering inexpensive and speedy resolution of disputes at the grassroots level, community mediation has not been enforced so far," a note by the chief justice Sheel Nagu said based on which the suo motu proceedings have been initiated over non implementation of communities as a tool for dispute resolution under the Mediation Act, 2023....