New Delhi, Feb. 5 -- Nearly seven years after India made pre-court mediation mandatory for commercial disputes, the numbers point to a system that is barely mediating. Government data shows that only about 1.75% of the over 270,000 applications routed through the process have been settled since 2018.

Lawyers say the process is widely treated as a procedural hurdle rather than a serious settlement effort, with parties reluctant to engage early and little certainty around enforcement.

"In most commercial cases, mediation fails before it even begins," said Gauhar Mirza, partner at Saraf and Partners. "Often the other side simply does not show up. Even when they do, they lack authority or preparation. When genuine mediation happens, settlem...