¹[Settlement of dispute outside the Court- Whe it appears to the court that the dispute Between the partied may be settled and there exists elements of settlement which may be acceptable to the partie, 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 proceeding 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 refered for settlement under the provisions of that Act: or

(c) refer the dispute to Lok Adalat in accordance with the provisions of sub-section (f) of section 20 of 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.]

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1. Subs by Mediation Act, 2023