A Gramya Nyayalaya (rural court) was inaugurated at Raighar block in Nabarangpur district by Justice Satrughan Pujahari of the Odisha High Court on Friday.
Addressing the gathering Justice Pujahari said, “The Parliament had passed the Gram Nyayalayas Bill in 2008 in an aim to provide justice to people at door step. The courts being set up at the gram panchayat level, presided over by a judicial magistrate, will decide on criminal and civil matters. With the backlog of pending cases on the rise, the rural courts are expected to deliver speedy justice.”
The civil cases to be taken up by the court will be limited to the monetary value of `10,000 and the criminal offences would be restricted to punishment of two years imprisonment. Among others, District Sessions Judge K Dharmarao Dora, ADM Bhimman Seth, Registrar of the High Court Biranchi Narayan Mohanty, Bar Council member Bishnu Patro, District Bar Association president N Ahmed, Umerkote Bar Association president Bala Krishna Patro and Magistrate of Raighar Gramya Nyayalaya Sudhir Kumar Mishra were present at the meeting.