Supreme Court questions feasibility of Gram Nyayalayas

Posted 17 Oct 2024

2 min read

SC raised concern regarding the feasibility of setting up Gram Nyayalayas (village courts), as mandated by the Gram Nyayalayas Act of 2008.

Gram Nyayalayas ensure that opportunities for securing justice are not denied to any citizen by reason of social, economic or other disabilities.

Key Concern raised by SC

Establishment of Gram Nyayalayas by States/UTs is mandatory or not: Section 3 of the Act provides that governments "may" constitute Gram Nyayalayas.
Resource Crunch: State governments, already facing limited resources for regular courts, find it challenging to fund additional gram nyayalayas.
Rising Burden: They may end up burdening high courts with appeals and writ petitions.

Key Features of Gram Nyayalayas

Seat: Establish at intermediate level Panchayat or a group of contiguous Panchayats.
- State government appoints 'Nyayadhikari' for each Gram Nyayalaya in consultation with the high court.
Jurisdiction: Shall be a mobile court, with both civil and criminal jurisdiction..
Dispute Process: Disputes are to be preferably settled with the help of conciliation.
- Social workers may be appointed as Conciliators.
- They are not bound by the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 (replaced by the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam) but by Principles of Natural Justice.

Implementation Status of Gram Nyayalayas

There was an initial target of around 2,500 gram nyayalayas, however, fewer than 500 have been established, with only 314 currently operational across India.
States such as Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan have shown progress, yet other major states, including Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, have seen limited or no implementation.

Initiative to Support Gram Nyayalayas

Under Gram Nyayalayas scheme (Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS)), Union Government provides financial assistance to States to set up Gram Nyayalayas.