Gram Nyayalayas Act, 2008: Access to Justice for Rural India

 

 Gram Nyayalayas Act, 2008 | Gram Nyayalayas Act 2008 upsc 

 

As Mahatma Gandhi said India lives in its village.India with high density in rural population struggled to provide justice to its rural citizens since independence.The need to simplify and easily accessible to the people ,particularly living in rural village and marginalized community,the Gram Nyayalayas Act enacted in 2008.The Gram Nyayalayas Act ,2008 aims to decentralize justice by setting up Village court (Gram Nyayalays) in the village,which operate at the grassroot level ,enabling justice to easily accessible and effordable for the common man.This blog explores the key provisions,objectives and the impact of the Gram Nyayalayas Act,2008.

 

What is the Gram Nyayalayas Act, 2008?

 

The Gram Nyayalayas Act, 2008 is an innovative piece of legislation designed to establish courts at the village level, known as Gram Nyayalayas. As Martin Luther King Jr. said Justice too long delayed is Justice Denied.The village courts are established to provide speedy justice, with simpler legal procedures, allowing rural citizens to resolve their disputes without the need to travel long distances or face costly legal processes in the courts.

 

Vision of the Gram Nyayalayas Act, 2008 :

Ø  Provide Access to Justice: It aims to provide legal assistance to  the rural people irrespective of their Socio economic status within their own localities.

 

Ø  Reduce Backlogs: The rural population of india faces long wait for justice in subdivisional,district courts due to case backlogs.Gram Nyayalas are aimed to despose the pending cases by handling disputes to the grass root level.

 

Ø  Affordable and Timely Justice: The Gram Nyayalayas provide affordable and timely justice to the economically disadvantaged sections of the society.it follows simple procedures to provide free legal aid to the rural people.

 

Key Provisions of the Gram Nyayalayas Act :

 

The Gram Nyayalayas Act has several key provisions that enable these courts function effectively:

 

Ø  Establishment of Gram Nyayalayas : The Act Provides establishment of one or more Gram Nyayalayas in  every panchayat or group of panchayats at the intermediate level.These village courts are designed to handle both civil and criminal cases.The court act like mobile courts meaning they periodically visit villages within their jurisdiction to conduct trials and proceedings,ensuring justice will not delayed and it will be provided at the doorsteps of the citizens.

 

Ø  Nyayadhikari Appointment and Qualifications : According to the Act each Gram Nyayalaya is presided over by Nyayadhikari who will be appointed by the state government in consultation of Highcourt.The Nyayadhikari must be the qualified to be a first class judicial magistrate who chosen with the mandate to provide fair and unbiased judgement.Special focus is to be given to the marginalilzed communities like Scheduled Castes,Scheduled Tribes, and Women in the appointment of Nyayadhikaris.

 

Ø  Jurisdiction of Gram Nyayalayas : Gram Nyayalayas have jurisdiction over both civil and criminal cases.In criminal cases ,these courts can convict the offenses by imprisonment of upto 2years and certain specified offenses as per provision of  the central and state laws.Gram Nyayalas deal with disputes related to property,wages,village resources and similar matters.The main objective is to ensure that rural disputes are disposed quickly and fairly.

 

Ø  Mobile Courts for Convenient Justice : Gram Nyayalayas mobile court system is a very unique feature,the Nyayadhikari holds courts sessions in villages ,which facilitates justice to the litigants without traveling to the head quarters of the courts.this procedure minimizes costs related to legal proceedings and brings justice to the rural areas.

 

Ø  Simplified Legal Procedures : The Gram Nyayalaya follow simplified, accessible procedures .In criminal cases they practice summary trial to faster resolution of cases .in Civil matters the courts top priority is to mutually agreeable solutions on basis of conciliation and settlement procedures.it develops the spirit of cooperation and reduces prolonged legal disputes very soon.

 

Ø  Legal Aid for the Needy : The Act provides legal aids to economically disadvantaged individuals. State Judiciary Authorities are preparing a panel of advocates to assist the poor peoples who can’t afford private legal services.This ensures that even the last section of the society shouldn’t be deprived from the justice.

 

Ø  Appeals : In case of both civil and criminal ,the Act allows to appeals against the decision of the Gram Nyayalayas.In Criminal Cases, there is provision to appeal cases in the session court and incase of civil matters the appeal can be made to the District Court.However ,to avoid unnecessary delays,these appeals must be made within 30days period.

 

The Impact of the Gram Nyayalayas Act

 

The Gram Nyayalayas Act was implemented to bridge between justice system and rural India.While the Gram Nyayalayas have been successful in some states,the overall impact of the Act has been uneven.Here are some of the major impacts:

 

Ø  Empowering Rural Communities : The Gram Nyayalayas resolve the disputes of the the rural citizen in a familiar setting.By bringing court closer to the home ,the act made legal intimation less social justice to the rural citizens.This Act reduced the need for the citizens long distance travel to access justice so it reduce the costs like travel,lodging and wage lost.

 

Ø  Reducing the Burden on Higher Courts : The work load of the higher courts reduced in some areas due to the handling of minor civil and criminal cases by Gram Nyayalayas.This decentralization of justice process allows higher courts to focus on complex.

 

Key Challenges to the Gram Nyayalayas:

 

The Gram Nyayalaya Act, 2008 was introduced with a aim to provide effordable,accessible and speedy justice at the grassroot level through its mobile village courts, Or Gram Nyayalayas.These courts are meant to function at the Gram Panchayat level,bringing justice closer to rural populations.However, the Implementation and execution of the Gram Nyayalaya Act has so many challenges ,particularly at the village and panchayat levels.let us delve into it :

 

Ø  Lack of Infrastructure and Resources : Since 2^nd October 1959 gram panchayat was established across the state and it further boosted in 73^rd constitution Amendment Act 1992 ,but according to the written reply of Kapil Moreshwar Patil former union minister of the state panchayatiraj department to Rajya Sabha on 7^th Dec 2022  , 51508 Panchayat of the Country has not their own building so the most significant challenges to implement the Gram Nyayalayas is basic infrastructure and resources at the village level.The Act has provision to conduct mobile courts in close locations where higher number of disputes originates.However many panchayat and villages have lack of basic infrastructure,suitable buildings ,electricity and transportation facility,making it very difficult to establish functional courts.Furthermore many states have failed to allocate the adequate funds for maintaining and setting up these courts.

 

Ø  Shortage of Judicial Personnel :  The  Act has provision of compulsory appointment of first class Magistrate rank judicial officer as Nyayadhikari to preside over the Gram Nyayalayas,but due to shortage of trained judicial personnel willing to work in rural areasdue to lack of incentive and poor working condition.Additionally heavy workload at the higher courts also lead to delay in supervision and inspecting othe the Gram Nyayalayas hampers effective functioning.

 

Ø  Lack of Awareness and Acceptance : Many villagers prefer informal judicial system like community led initiatives and traditional dispute resolution mechanisms than formal judicial system introduced by the Act is a biggest challenge in implemention of the Act.very few number of people aware of the existing Gram Nyayalayas and their functions.Cases involving minor criminal offenses or civil disputes remain challenge to convince the rural citizen and bring them to the Gram Nyayalayas.

 

Ø  Overlapping Jurisdiction : The Gram Nyayalaya Act allows both criminal and civil jurisdiction it some times overlap the regular civil and criminal courts it creats confusion between Gram Nyayalayas and other judicial bodies.This results doubt to both officials and litigants which court should handle specific cases.Moreover there is reluctant from judicial officers and legal professionals who are wary of the dilution of powers due to the decentralization nature of the Gram Nyayalaya Act,2008.

 

Ø  Inefficient Implementation Across States : Due to the disparity range from budgetary constraints to the lack of political will the Gram Nyayalay Act has been in a embraced situation ,many of the states have either not set up the courts or established very limited number of the Gram Nyayalayas at the village level.Additionally ,tribal effected areas ,northeastern states are exempt from the Act, further blocking the reach of the Gram Nyayalay Act.

 

Ø  Resistance from Legal Professionals : The road block to the Gram Nyayalay Act is judicial community like lawers and advocates who practice in sub divisional court or district courts .The easy and simplified procedure including special focus on conciliation and dispute settlement are seen threat to some legal professionals as threat to their livelihoods.Furthermore the provision of summary trials and plea bargaining intended to expedite justice let to the conern about the fairness and quality of the judgements.

 

Ø  Limited Scope of Jurisdiction : The Limitation of jurisdiction of Gram Nayalay particularly certain type of cases like minor offenses and civil disputes with low monetary stakes result negative impact of the execution of the act at the grass root level.The complex cases and serious matters are directed to higher courts as a result many villagers need to travel long distance to sub divisional and district courts for legal aid which results to avoid the mid way provision of the Gram Nyayalaya at rural areas.

 

Conclusion: The Future of Gram Nyayalayas

 

The Gram Nyayalaya Act ,2008 main objective is to  provide accessible justice to the rural Citizens of india by decentraled process of the legal system .Despite of its potential ,so many challenges like  lack of awareness,poor infrastructure, lack of adequate support from legal community block the path of its effective implementation.These issues can be resolved through important process like awareness campaigns ,resource allocation,  and strong judicial reforms.Without such efforts,Gram Nyayalayas may fail achieve its major goal like delivering speed and affordable justice to the rural india.In conclusion ,the Act can play a important role in bridging the gap between urban and rural justice,ensuring equal facility to all citizens, regardless of their location and economic status.

 

FAQ :

 

         i. Que  :  What are the features of Gram Nyayayalayas Act 2008?

Ans : The features of the Gram Nyayalaya act 2008 is to provide access to justice in doorstep,reduce pending cases,timely justice to the rural citizen of india. 

 

ii. Que  :  Which committee recommended Gram Nyayalaya?

Ans : 114^th report of The Law Commission of India recommends the Gram Nyayalaya Act 2008.

 

iii. Que  :  When was the Gram Nyayalaya Act passed?

Ans : The Gram Nyayalaya Act was passed in 22^nd December 2008  by the 214^th session of  Parliament.

 

iv. Que  : What is the object of Gram Nyayalaya?

Ans :The object of the Gram Nyayalaya is to provide speedy and effordable justice at the door step of rural citizens of india.

 

v. Que  : Who presides Gram Nyayalaya?

Ans : Gram Nyayalayas are presided over by the Nyayadhikari ,who enjoys the power and benefits as first class judicial magistrate,Gram Nyayalayas have judicial power on both Civil and Criminal Cases.