Section 89. Settlement of disputes outside the Court

89. Settlement of disputes outside the Court .—Where it appears to the Court that the dispute between the parties may be settled and there exists elements of settlement which may be acceptable to the parties, the Court may— (a) refer the dispute to arbitration, and thereafter, the provisions of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (26 of 1996) shall apply as if the proceedings for arbitration were referred for settlement under the provisions of that Act; or (b) refer the parties to mediation, to the court-annexed mediation centre or any other mediation service provider or any mediator, as per the option of the parties, and thereafter the provisions of the Mediation Act, 2023 shall apply as if the proceedings for mediation were referred for settlement under the provisions of that Act; or (c) refer the dispute to Lok Adalat, in accordance with the provisions of sub-section (1) of section 20 of the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 (39 of 1987) and thereafter, all other provisions of that Act shall apply in respect of the dispute; (d) effect compromise between the parties and shall follow such procedure as deemed fit for judicial settlement. THE FIFTH SCHEDULE ( See section 60) In the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 (39 of 1987), in section 4, for clause (f), the following clause shall be substituted, namely:— "(f) encourage the settlement of disputes, including online by way of negotiations, arbitration, mediation and conciliation;". THE SIXTH SCHEDULE ( See section 61) In the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (26 of 1996),— (a) in section 43D,— (i) in sub-section (1), the words "mediation, conciliation" shall be omitted; (ii) in sub-section (2), in clauses (e), (f) and (i), the words "and conciliation" wherever they occur shall be omitted; (b) for sections 61 to 81, the following sections shall be substituted, namely:—