Delhi High Court Directs Mediation For Cooperative Society Disputes 170 Cases Identified For Settlement

The Delhi High Court recently directed mediation of pending cooperative society disputes, identifying around 170 cases for settlement, following the protocol adopted in earlier special mediation drives.

The exercise will be carried out in coordination with SAMADHAN, the Delhi High Court Mediation and Conciliation Centre, and the Registrar of Co-operative Societies (RCS).

A Division Bench of Justices Prathiba M. Singh and Madhu Jain noted that such disputes remain pending for years despite being amenable to resolution outside court.

"This Court had noticed that there were a large number of matters involving the Registrar of Co-operative Societies (hereinafter “RCS”), where there were disputes pertaining to allotment of flats, small loan issues, transfer/mutation etc., which could be resolved through Mediation, rather than awaiting adjudication before the Court. Thus, the Court had directed the RCS to coordinate with SAMADHAN - Delhi High Court Mediation and Conciliation Centre (hereinafter “DHC Mediation Centre”) for holding a mediation drive in respect of such disputes.”

The directions arose in a writ petition filed by Braham Din Pandey and others in a loan recovery dispute involving the Sahu Co-operative Urban T/C Society Ltd., where an ex parte arbitral award dated January 25, 2012 had directed them to pay approximately Rs 5.07 lakh along with interest and costs.

While disposing of the petition, the court took note of the scale of pending cooperative disputes and directed that such matters be taken up for mediation in coordination with the Mediation Centre and the RCS.

Acting on its earlier directions, the RCS filed a status report confirming coordination with the Delhi High Court Mediation Centre and preparation of a list of cases suitable for mediation. The court noted that around 230 cases were initially identified, 92 cases relating to the Central RCS were excluded, and approximately 170 cases were found suitable for mediation.

The court noted that, as per the report, the following categories of disputes are suitable for mediation:

• Disputes relating to membership
• Disputes involving loans granted by societies, including recovery proceedings
• Inheritance, transfer or substitution of membership
• Any other category found suitable for mediation

It said such matters would be listed before Joint Registrars and, with the consent of parties, referred to mediation. It further recorded that 40 mediators have been identified, that the process will begin from May onwards, and listed the case for further compliance on May 25, 2026.

For the Petitioners (Braham Din Pandey & Ors.): Mr. Rakesh Kumar, Advocate

For the Registrar of Co-operative Societies, Delhi (RCS) (Respondent No. 2): Advocate Ms. Urvi Mohan

For the Respondent Society (The Sahu Co-operative Urban T/C Society Ltd.): Advocate Mr. Akshay Bhardwaj