Did you know that years-long pending legal cases can be solved within a couple of months through an Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) system?

In 2015, three friends – Pranjal Sinha, Akshetha Ashok, and Vikram Kumar – launched Sama, an ODR platform that focuses on resolving civil disputes such as banking, financial, and insurance cases online!

“In India, the tareekh-pe-tareekh (chronic delay in judicial proceedings) hinders justice. I wanted to reduce the burden on courts by using ODR,” says Pranjal.

Explaining the functioning of their startup, Pranjal informs that firstly, the grievant registers on Sama’s website and files their case.

Thereafter, the team invites the other party through email, phone number, and sends a notice through courier for out of court settlement.

Soon, an experienced mediator is appointed to communicate with both parties, aiming  to arrive at a rajinama (settlement) between them.

“We try to complete this process within 30 days. After this, we design a settlement agreement and take signatures of both parties and the mediator,” he says.

“The agreement has the same value as the decree of the court. The only difference is that it requires three years in court whereas 30 days with us,” claims Pranjal.

However, if the settlement does not occur at the mediation level, the case goes for arbitration, where the case gets resolved within 90 days.

For every case, Sama charges one percent of the claim amount. For claims up to Rs 1 lakh, the fee is Rs 1,000; for claims between Rs 1-3 lakh, it’s Rs 2,000. “This is 99 percent cheaper than the courts,” Pranjal adds.

To date, Sama has onboarded over 3,000 mediators and arbitrators across India and has resolved more than 35 lakh cases.