Tijara/Neemrana: In a sea of about a hundred men—police, plaintiffs, villagers and stenographers—stands a single woman. Bina Rajput has traveled seven kilometers from a neighboring village with the conviction that “women understand women”. Men are cautious. ‘Madam Judge’ is about to come.
Mandhan village in Rajasthan’s Alwar district resonates with hope; Orderis, stenographers and clerks have converted the Panchayat Bhavan into a busy Court Room They have converted a table into a platform, and even the sarpanch has improved himself to ensure that the glass is filled with water. A banner in the hall—Gram Nyayalaya Neemrana—explains the activity.
In One corner, Bina is holding His file in the case of physical assault of two years oldHis the face is completely covered by her green Saree, He is an outsider. And this The only thing that has brought him to the court of this village is Knowledge That his statement will be heard by a woman judge.
It is not just another court room, but a mobile court within the Indian judicial system, a Gram Nyayalaya – an alternative platform to provide doors justice. More than 70 per cent of judges in Rajasthan’s village courts are women, negotiating a difficult but delicate gap between the rule of law, social conventions and hierarchies and the rural practice of rough and ready justice. It is also empowering for the judges. Absence of a person to tell them how to run their courts is specially release.
“There is always this parental person at the district headquarters telling you how to run the courtroom. But as a jurist, you get to run the entire show. From running the administration independently to fulfilling his duty as a judge. You learn a lot,” Said a woman judge who has served in the Gram Nyayalaya.
around 12 noon, magistrate, Saroj Choudhary enters the room. He holds a book on ‘Criminal Major Acts’ in one hand and a tiffin box in the other. Soon it’s Bina’s turn To appear before the Provisional Court and state your case. The court records his statement.
“I was beaten thrice by my brother-in-law on my way to the neighbor’s house
Marriage,” said Bina while holding a copy of the FIR. Now she’s down
pressure from husband to compromise with brother And take back the case. ,The focus is on compromising matters brought by women. There is absolutely no awareness about women’s rights.” Chieftain commented,
There are 45 such Gram Nyayalayas in Rajasthan, and more than a dozen women judges like Chowdhary are delivering justice cleverly-Be careful not to disturb the apple cart race and gender unless
absolutely necessary. “Justice in rural India is a very delicate matter. Your legitimacy clashes with their morality. You negotiate justice with them. It does not require a hard hammer, but a surgeon scissorsSaid a serving female judge.
Still Evolving Concept of a Rural Court
thirty five years old Saroj Choudhary, magistrate of RJS batch of 2016, There is no newbie. He has held at least a hundred mobile courts When from March 2020 sHe was posted as the Nyayadhikari in Neemrana Tehsil of Alwar. She regularly walks this tightrope between patriarchy and the law. And the residents of Manadhan have also come to accept a woman judge.,
Chowdhary his fourth female magistrate. “Ma’am understand us”
language and it becomes easier for the litigants to communicate with him,” said Surendra Yadav, sarpanch of Mandan village. Gram The Courts Act, which lays down the responsibility for setting up these courts, came into force in 2008. This was one of the answers to the pendency problem of India’s case. are currently around 4.5 crore cases are pending, out of which 87.6 per cent cases are pending lower Courts.
Notwithstanding the coming into force of the ActThe concept of rural court is still evolving. in presentthere are Only 258 functional rural courts in 10 states. One of them is Neemrana Gram Nyayalaya, which was established in 2011.
the central government notices issued 476. To install Gram Courts, and has allocated Rs 50 crore for it.
These rural courts rule on both civil and criminal cases, but are limited to cases where the offense can carry a prison sentence of less than two years. Land disputes, family feuds and beatings are more common cases in Indian villages. The intervention of rural courts in both civil and criminal cases is in line with the practical reality of the society.
G Mohan Gopal, former director of the National Judicial Academy and former VC of the National Law School of India (Bengaluru), said, “Undoubtedly, the common people in India have very little access to justice.”
He said the ratio of new cases reported in a year per 1,000 population is useful for determining the access to justice gap. This ratio is around 5 new cases per 1,000 population in Bihar; 8 in Tamil Nadu; 16 in Uttar Pradesh; Overall some 18 new cases in India. While about 20 new cases are in Delhi and about 22 new cases are in Kerala.
“In contrast, there are about 52 new cases in Singapore (2019), 62 new cases in the UK (2019) and about 300 new cases per 1,000 population in the US. It is not that there is less violation of rights in Bihar than in Kerala – it is just that there is less access to justice,” Gopal explained.
Gram Nyayalayas can play an important role in bridging this gap of justice. He said that they can bring justice to the doorsteps of the poor.
“The challenge is that these courts should not degenerate into legitimate Khap Panchayats by the presence of judicial officers. They should not become a counter-constitutional institution while maintaining the existing social order. They should be the frontline force of the Constitution. They should be the guardians of the fundamental rights of equality, liberty, dignity and fraternity and democracy and the rule of law, protecting the powerless against the powerful. They should protect secularism, actively challenge caste, gender and class inequality, they should protect the environment,” Gopal said.
He said that Gram Nyayalayas should be provided with all the tools and resources required to perform this role.
Villagers prefer this to the more formal district courts or courts. Court, “Disputes in villages were earlier resolved within the panchayat. court Court There was dread,” said village secretary Ankit Yadav.
Yadav told ThePrint that earlier Everyone knew how witnesses were rigged in courts. “People believed that the village elders were more aware of everything that was happening in the area, they would give a balanced judgement. Also, women did not go to the courts as it was a matter of shame-lihaj (shame) Even when the matter reached the police station, the focus was on deleting the woman’s name, he added.
if rural Were to keep them apart ReservationVillage Court Judge, particularly Women, Will happen to learn on the job.
This is a work in progress.
,“We didn’t really get to know much about how to run a Gram Nyayalaya in our judicial training,” said a woman judge who worked as a Nyayadhikari. Law courses and universities barely cover this topic. “And if you search Google keywords like Gram Nyayalaya, you will not find research papers. In the absence of information, we rely on our individual experience,” he added.
Lack of funds, infrastructure such as where to set up mobile courts, housing, transportation system and lack of human resources are some of the other challenges that judges and magistrates have to face.
But when there is a lack of infrastructure, it becomes difficult for women to run Gram Nyayalayas. According to a notice from the Allahabad High Court in July, Uttar Pradesh recalled 24 women judicial officers from rural courts to the district headquarters. due to lack of Resource.
TeaThere are two practicing women lawyers at Neemrana Gram Nyayalaya, and women like Bina are not deterred from pursuing their cases. But there are Gram Nyayalayas where women are not present.,
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lack of proper infrastructure
Sakshi Choudhary, another magistrate of Alvaro The district is preparing to organize a Gram Nyayalaya at Tijara, 65 km from Neemrana, where Saroj Choudhary works.
Both the Chaudhary women graduated from the same batch six years ago and started their own business. career Sakshi in Neem-ka- Thana of Sikar district and Saroj in Degana of Nagaur district as the first woman officer in their respective tehsils.
But now, Despite being posted in the same district, they have to face different challenges. While Neemrana is largely an industrial and aspirational area, Tijaras fights widespread illiteracy and lack of proper infrastructure.
There is no woman in Sakshi’s court. Village elders actively discourage Women litigants and litigants who are not even allowed to approach the Gram Nyayalaya.
“It gets tough for madam” [Sakshi] To organize regular camps in some villages for security reasons. They do not allow women to join the camps even if they are witnesses in some cases,” said a senior court employee of Tijara Gram Nyayalaya.
In comparison, the situation is slightly better in Mandhan village. ,If we request them to come to the panchayat, at least some women ward members show up with their veils,” said village head Surendra Choudhary.
settle cases, bring about change in behavior
On every second Friday, proceedings can go on in the Gram Nyayalaya until Five hours, if not more. There are hundreds of cases on Saroj, and there is no dent in the proceedings. In A pile of cases on his desk.
Next on the agenda after Bina’s case is a family dispute. She tells the plaintiffs to move on. Virendra Yadav, a farmer from nearby Kanhawas village, who was allegedly attacked by his younger brothers over a tubewell, wakes up. But his wife, also named, is not in Court.
“Where’s the woman?” Saroj asked the soldier whose job was to summon. Someone is sent to bring the woman to court. Meanwhile, a family feud ensues as the agitated Yadav brothers start leveling allegations against each other.
“Look, the injury has not healed yet,” Virendra shouted over the noise while removing himself turban, His brothers jump into the ground and begin unpacking various items of clothing to show their injuries to the magistrate., Chaudhary early interferes with the establishment of the system.
“It’s a courtroom. Please keep the decorum,” she commands. With high feelings she chooses to appeal to her brotherly bonds.
“He is very big and is ready to forgive you. You should show a big heart and not indulge in such a small crime,” he told the men. The Yadav brothers grinned and made a pact and asked the court. Went out.At the end of the proceedings Virendra’s wife appears and gives her statement.
Chowdhary calls another name. a Scheduled caste man has been accused playing loud music in his truck, do not disturb Village peace. “Where do you live? How much do you make?” “Would you do it again?” Chowdhury asked. “I’ll never do it again, ma’am,” he pleads. She imposes a fine of Rs 200 and lets him go with a warning.
Saroj goes through the files, sometimes instructing the stenographer sitting next to her to make some changes. It is evening, and the smell of hookah and bidi smoke emanates from the farmers’ rooms as they pass by. It is mustard sowing season and everyone is busy.
“Next,” says Saroj.
(Edited by Tarannum Khan)