Gram Nyayalayas

The Gram Nyayalayas Act, 2008 was enacted to provide for the establishment of Gram Nyayalayas at the grassroots level for the purposes of providing access to justice to the citizens at their doorsteps and to ensure that opportunities for securing justice are not denied to any citizen due to social, economic or other disabilities. 

This article will provide information about Gram Nyayalayas in the context of the IAS Exam.

This is a useful topic for the Indian polity section of the UPSC Syllabus.

The candidates can read more relevant information from the links provided below:

Historical Background

• Nyaya Panchayats (NPs) or village courts, where disputes are settled between villagers, have been in existence in one form or the other since before independence. 
• In ancient India, the communities settled their disputes among themselves and this settlement was done by village elders or respected persons known for their integrity and honesty.
• The rising concern over mounting backlogs in courts leading to unreasonable delays in justice dispensation gave way to various Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) mechanisms that have been introduced into the judicial system, to facilitate speedy justice. 
• Procedures under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 are useful to avoid the complex procedures of courts, but are still expensive and out of the reach of village communities. 
• Lok Adalats, presided over by retired judges, were also not effective in reaching speedy justice to village areas at appropriate times.
• It is for this reason that it is considered important to devolve some judicial functions to a village-level body to ensure speedy justice and reduce expenses of the formal judiciary, which spends time and money handling a large number of disputes of lesser gravity.
• Hence, the Gram Nyayalayas Act, 2008 has been enacted to provide for the establishment of Gram Nyayalayas at the block level in the country, as the lowest tier of the judiciary for rural areas. 

Features of Gram Nyayalayas Act, 2008

The significant features or provisions of the Gram Nyayalayas Act, 2008 are as follows:

Nyayadhikari

• The State Government shall, in consultation with the High Court, appoint a Nyayadhikari for every Gram Nyayalaya.
• Qualifications:
• • A person shall not be qualified to be appointed as a Nyayadhikari unless he is eligible to be appointed as a Judicial Magistrate of the first class.
  • While appointing a Nyayadhikari, representation shall be given to the members of the Scheduled Castes, the Scheduled Tribes, women and such other classes or communities as may be specified by notification, by the State Government from time to time.
• The salary and other allowances payable to, and the other terms and conditions of service of, a Nyayadhikari shall be such as may be applicable to the Judicial Magistrate of the first class. 
• The Nyayadhikari shall not preside over the proceedings of a Gram Nyayalaya in which he has any interest or is otherwise involved in the subject matter of the dispute or is related to any party to such proceedings and in such a case, the Nyayadhikari shall refer the matter to the District Court or the Court of Session, as the case may be, for transferring it to any other Nyayadhikari.
• Nyayadhikari shall periodically visit the villages falling under his jurisdiction to hold mobile courts and conduct proceedings in villages. 

Learn about Important Acts of India in the linked article.  

Jurisdiction of Gram Nyayalayas

• A Gram Nyayalaya can try only certain cases on the criminal and civil sides, as provided in the Schedules to the Act.
• The Gram Nyayalaya shall be a mobile court and shall exercise the powers of both Criminal and Civil courts. 
• The Gram Nyayalayas shall try criminal cases, civil suits, claims or disputes which are specified in the First Schedule and the Second Schedule to the Act. 
• The Gram Nyayalaya shall follow the summary procedure in the criminal trials. 
• The Gram Nyayalaya shall deliver a copy of its judgment immediately to both the parties free of cost. 
• A person accused of an offence may file an application for plea bargaining.

Also read:

• Criminal Courts
• Civil Courts

Other important features of the Act

• The proceedings before the Gram Nyayalaya and its judgment shall, as far as practicable, be in one of the official languages of the State other than the English language.
• The Gram Nyayalaya shall not be bound by the rules of evidence provided in the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 but shall be guided by the principles of natural justice and subject to any rule made by the High Court. 

Limitations of the Act

• The risk of the improper dispensation of justice remains, as the judges are not chosen through merit-based examinations. 
• Further, Nyayadhikaris, being state appointees, may not be accessible to the people.
• The Act seeks to establish Gram Nyayalayas as the lowest tier of the judiciary for rural areas. A similar provision should be made for urban areas too.
• The Act states that a Gram Nyayalaya shall be the lowest court of the subordinate judiciary in a state. According to the CrPC, the Court of a Magistrate of the Second Class is the lowest court. Both courts have jurisdiction over cases where punishment does not exceed imprisonment for a year. This issue of overlapping jurisdiction over cases where punishment does not exceed imprisonment for a year needs to be addressed.

To read more about the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), check the linked article. 

Gram Nyayalayas [UPSC Notes]:-Download PDF Here

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