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K. Ramalingam v. Anjalai

Civil Appeal · 2018 INSC 645Decided 27 Jul 2018
Civil Appeal No. 7280 of 2018
Justice Kurian Joseph · Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul

Background

The appellant challenged a judgment dated 26.10.2016 of the Madras High Court in two original-side appeals. At the parties' own request, the Supreme Court referred the dispute to the Tamil Nadu Mediation Centre for mediation, where the parties reached an amicable resolution.

Decision Breakdown

The Court noted that the parties had settled their dispute amicably and recorded a signed Memorandum of Settlement dated 13.03.2018 on file. Granting leave, the Court disposed of the appeal strictly in terms of that Memorandum of Settlement, making it part of the Court's order, disposed of any pending applications, and made no order as to costs.

Lesson Learnt

Mediation can fully and finally resolve even long-running litigation that has reached the Supreme Court: when parties sign a settlement, the Court will simply convert that agreement into a binding, enforceable court order rather than adjudicating the underlying merits.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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