KSLU Solved Question Papers
Alternative Dispute Resolution
Previous Year Question Paper with Solution
B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) · Sem 8
2021 Oct Examination
munotes.in
Mumbai
B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) Sem 8 Alternative Dispute Resolution 2021 Oct Question Paper with Solutions
First published on munotes.in on 21 October 2026.
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The question paper reproduced here is the paper as set by Karnataka State Law University at the 2021 Oct examination.
Contents
The questions below are the paper as Karnataka State Law University set it at the 2021 Oct examination, in the order it was set.
MarksPage
The Paper as Set
The questions in this volume are the questions asked at the 2021 Oct examination, reproduced as Karnataka State Law University set them, in the order it set them. Long reading passages are shortened to their first and last lines and our summary; the original paper prints them in full. Only the answers are ours. See the original question paper.
Duration 2 hours · Total marks 60 · 15 questions answered
How to use this volume
Solve the paper first, under exam conditions and against the clock. Then read the answers here and mark your own. Reading a solution before attempting the question feels productive and teaches very little, because recognising an answer is not the same as being able to write one.
Q1Discuss in detail, the suitability of ADR's to different types of disputes.[9]
Answer
For full marks, cover: what ADR is and the forms section 89 CPC names; the factors that make a dispute suitable; the Supreme Court's two lists in Afcons (cases normally unsuitable and cases normally suitable); which method fits which kind of dispute (arbitration, conciliation, mediation, Lok Adalat, negotiation, industrial conciliation); what the law keeps out of ADR (Booz Allen, the proviso to section 19(5)); a summary table; conclusion.
What ADR means here
Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) means settling a dispute outside the ordinary court trial. The main methods are negotiation, mediation, conciliation, arbitration and the Lok Adalat.
Section 89 of the Code of Civil Procedure 1908 lets a civil court send a pending suit to four of them. These are arbitration, conciliation, judicial settlement including settlement through Lok Adalat, and mediation.
Not every method suits every dispute. Arbitration is adjudicatory: the arbitrator decides. The others are negotiatory: the parties decide, with or without help. So the first question is always whether the dispute needs a decision or only a settlement.
What makes a dispute suitable for ADR
Five factors decide suitability.
- Nature of the right. Private rights between the parties (rights in personam) can be settled by them. Rights good against the whole world (rights in rem) usually need a court.
- The relationship. Where the parties must keep dealing with each other, a settlement saves the relationship. A judgment usually ends it.
- Public interest. Where the law must declare a rule for everyone, or protect a weak party, the court is needed.
- Need for privacy and speed. Business and family disputes often need both, and ADR gives both.
- Balance of power. Where one side is much weaker, a settlement without safeguards can be unfair.
The Supreme Court's two lists
In Afcons Infrastructure Ltd v. Cherian Varkey Construction Co (P) Ltd, decided on 26 July 2010, the Supreme Court explained section 89. A hearing to consider ADR after the pleadings close is mandatory. Actual reference is the rule, and a court that does not refer must briefly record why.
The Court listed six kinds of case that are normally not suitable for ADR:
- representative suits under Order I rule 8 that involve public interest;
- disputes about election to public offices;
- cases needing a grant by the court after enquiry, such as probate or letters of administration;
- cases with serious and specific allegations of fraud, forgery, fabrication, impersonation or coercion;
- cases needing the court's protection, such as claims against minors, deities and the mentally challenged, and suits for declaration of title against the Government;
- prosecutions for criminal offences.
It then listed the cases that are normally suitable:
- trade, commerce and contract disputes, including money claims and specific performance, and disputes of bankers, builders, landlords and insurers with their customers;
- disputes from strained relationships, such as matrimonial causes, maintenance, child custody, family partition and partnership;
- disputes where the relationship must continue, such as neighbours, employers and employees, and members of societies;
- tort claims, including motor accident compensation;
- consumer disputes.
The Court called both lists "illustrative". A court may add to them or make exceptions.
Which method suits which dispute
Arbitration suits commercial, construction and technical disputes. The parties want a binding decision, in private, from an expert they choose. It needs an arbitration agreement under section 7 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act 1996. Afcons held that a court cannot send unwilling parties to arbitration.
Conciliation under Part III of the 1996 Act suits contract disputes where both sides want a settlement. The conciliator may propose terms (section 67(4)). The signed settlement has the status of an arbitral award (section 74).
Mediation suits disputes about relationships. In K. Srinivas Rao v. D.A. Deepa, AIR 2013 SC 2176, a marriage had broken down two days after the wedding. The Court dissolved it for cruelty. It then said matrimonial disputes, "particularly those relating to custody of child, maintenance, etc. are preeminently fit for mediation". It told courts to refer them at the earliest stage.
A commercial dispute of a specified value must first go to pre-institution mediation under section 12A of the Commercial Courts Act 2015. The only exception is a suit seeking urgent interim relief. Patil Automation Private Limited v. Rakheja Engineers Private Limited, decided on 17 August 2022, held this step mandatory.
The Lok Adalat suits simple claims that come in large numbers. Examples are motor accident claims, bank recoveries, cheque cases, utility bills and compoundable offences. Its award is a decree with no appeal (section 21 of the Legal Services Authorities Act 1987). Public utility disputes can go to a Permanent Lok Adalat (sections 22A to 22E).
Negotiation suits almost every dispute as a first step. It needs no third person and costs nothing.
Industrial disputes go to a conciliation officer under section 53 of the Industrial Relations Code 2020, which replaced the Industrial Disputes Act 1947.
What the law keeps out of ADR
Some disputes cannot be settled privately at all. In Booz Allen & Hamilton Inc v. SBI Home Finance Ltd, decided on 15 April 2011, the Court listed disputes that cannot go to arbitration:
- disputes about criminal offences;
- divorce, judicial separation, restitution of conjugal rights and child custody;
- guardianship;
- insolvency and winding up;
- probate, letters of administration and succession certificates;
- eviction or tenancy under special statutes that protect the tenant.
The Court's reason was that these involve rights in rem. Such rights must be decided by courts and public tribunals.
The Lok Adalat also has no jurisdiction over an offence that is not compoundable (proviso to section 19(5)). So a murder or rape case can never be settled there.
A divorce cannot be arbitrated, but a family dispute can still be mediated. In mediation the parties decide for themselves, and the court then passes the decree.
A summary table
| Kind of dispute | Method that suits it | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Commercial or technical contract | Arbitration or conciliation | Expert, private, binding |
| Matrimonial, custody, maintenance | Mediation, Family Court counselling | Relationship and children |
| Neighbours, partners, family property | Mediation | The relationship continues |
| Motor accident, bank dues, cheque cases | Lok Adalat | Volume, quick decree |
| Public utility services | Permanent Lok Adalat | Forum set up by statute |
| Industrial disputes | Conciliation officer | The statute requires it |
| Non-compoundable crime, election, probate, fraud | Court only | Public interest |
Conclusion. ADR suits a dispute about private rights that can be ended by agreement. It suits relationship disputes best of all. It does not suit disputes that need a public ruling, protection of a weak party, or criminal punishment. Under section 89 the court decides suitability case by case, guided by the Afcons lists. The right answer is to match the method to the dispute, not to force every dispute into one method.
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