Trust deed for arbitration centre registered; CJI Ramana thanks CM KCR

HYDERABAD: In a leap forward in realising the dream project of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Justice N.V. Ramana, trust deed for the proposed International Arbitration and Mediation Centre was registered on Friday.

Speaking at a function organised at the residence of Chief Justice of Telangana High Court Justice Hima Kohli where the trust deed was registered, Justice Ramana said, “The proposed International Arbitration and Mediation Centre in Hyderabad will go a long way in helping not only investors abroad but also those from India in settling their disputes in the shortest possible time. It will cost less for litigants compared to other international arbitration centres.”

He thanked the Telangana government and Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao for immediate response to his proposal and said he did not believe that his proposal would fructify within span of three months. However, he asked the Telangana government to allot around five to 10 acres of land nearby the financial district to setup the centre as it would be convenient to all the litigants to approach.

Justice Ramana, during his first visit to the city after swearing in as the CJI recently, expressed his desire to set up first centre for international arbitration and mediation in Hyderabad and to make the city a legal and arbitration hub in the lines of IT and industry hubs as Telangana government came forward to provide all necessary infrastructure.

The CJI then discussed his dream project with the Chief Minister of Telangana and sought infrastructure to establish the centre in Hyderabad.

Within a fortnight of the meeting, the Telangana government responded positively, sent a group of officials headed by the Chief Secretary to the Supreme Court and expressed its readiness to provide all infrastructure including land, buildings, electricity, water and other facilities. The office of the CJI entrusted the responsibility of setting up of the Centre to retired Supreme Court judge Justice Ravindran, who is an expert in arbitration. Justice Ravindran and Justice Lavu Nageshwar Rao would be the life members of the trust set up to establish the centre in Hyderabad.

The trust deed registration programme was also attended by Supreme Court judges Justice Lavu Nageshwar Rao, Justice R. Subash Reddy, retired SC Judges Justice Ravindran, Justice M.S. Jaganatha Rao and all judges of Telangana High Court, ministers K.T. Rama Rao and Indra Karan Reddy.

Justice R. Subash Reddy and Justice Nageshwar Rao explained the opportunities and scope for Hyderabad with the setup of the International Arbitration Centre. Rama Rao hoped that more industries and opportunities would line up to Hyderabad and Telangana, if speedy justice dream came true with the setup of the centre as international companies were hesitating to come to the India as redressal of disputes took a long time.