Supreme Court Justice Hrishikesh Roy recently compared the state of arbitration in India to an overloaded truck struggling to climb a hill, pointing out how the process has become slow and time-consuming due to frequent adjournments and delays. He highlighted that this sluggishness arises from the fact that many practicing lawyers, who spend their primary hours in court, engage in arbitration only in their spare time.
Justice Roy emphasized that part-time arbitrators and lawyers juggling court duties and arbitration proceedings contribute to the frequent adjournments that hinder the process. He remarked, “Arbitration is no longer the sleek sports car we once envisioned. Instead, it has become more like an overloaded truck struggling uphill while we wonder from behind, ‘Wasn’t it supposed to be faster?'”
Delivering the keynote speech at the India ADR Week event in Delhi, Justice Roy expressed concern over how arbitration has deviated from its original purpose. “We are slowly turning arbitration into what it was never meant to be—just another formal process with more adjournments, more delays, more paperwork, and less actual arbitration getting done,” he warned.
He further noted that lawyers and judges have begun to treat arbitration as a secondary pursuit after their court appearances. “While attending court is important for recognition among peers, unless we have dedicated bar members focusing on arbitration exclusively, the professionalism needed to transform arbitration into a dynamic field will remain elusive,” he stated.
Justice Roy also observed that too many retired judges are serving as arbitrators in India, which might contribute to the stagnation. He shared an anecdote to illustrate his point humorously: “A friend once told me about a fictional conversation between cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar and tennis great Roger Federer. Federer asks why India, being the world’s largest market for tennis balls and rackets, doesn’t play more tennis. Sachin replies that Indians love cricket and play it with tennis balls. When Federer asks what they do with all the tennis rackets, Sachin jokingly says, ‘We connect batteries to them to kill mosquitoes.’ I hope we don’t do the same with arbitration and turn it into something it was never meant to be,” concluded Justice Roy.
