Rural courts or Gram Nyayalayas in Odisha have apparently hit the police hurdle. After announcement with much fanfare in 2009-10 to go whole hog in establishing such courts at the taluka level to provide justice delivery at doorsteps of rural people, the State sees functioning of around 12 such courts only so far.
Even, the year 2014 has not seen any new rural court coming up in the State. Interestingly, advocates too give a thumbs-down to this Gram Nyayalaya concept. Though the State has notified to set up 16 such courts, the Odisha Government has not sought any Central assistance to set up one in 2014 and till now in 2015. It needs mentioning that the Centre under the Gram Nyayalayas Act 2008 provides financial grant to States for bringing up rural courts at taluka-level.
Significantly, rural Odisha accounts for high litigation burden in the State and poor people have to walk up miles to reach sessions courts for dispute redressal. According to recent White Paper on law and Order in Odisha, village disputes were the biggest motive behind the total rioting cases in the State.
Moreover, land dispute becomes the second-most motive in the State to incite riots, it revealed. And villagers to attend the hearing of such cases have to take recourse to sessions/civil courts situated in district headquarters. For this, the State Government has sought to set up rural courts as alternative dispute redressal forum as the Act has initiatives like plea-bargaining in criminal cases, mediation, conciliation and settlement in civil cases to curb high arrears in subordinate courts.
But both police and lawyers display non-cooperation to State in bringing up such courts in large numbers. Senior advocates like Nishikant Mohapatra delineates the loopholes which make the practising lawyers see red in Gram Nyayalayas justice delivery mechanism. For instance, admission of documents as evidence is not considered relevant by law of Evidence.
He explains this will vest disputing parties with unequal power as always seen both parties are not equal in resources and power. So, a powerful party can introduce many elements of evidence not accepted under standard Evidence Code to draw a favourable ruling. Moreover, lawyers doubt at its ability to curb arrears as the court fee is mere Rs 100 that will not dissuade parties to approach courts even on flimsy matters.
Similarly, on plea-bargaining they say it is harmful and detrimental to victims especially in cases filed under the Minimum Wages Act or women under Domestic Violence Act as plea bargaining would wield a lot of pressure on the victims to close the case.
A senior police official, on the condition of anonymity, agrees with the loopholes pointed out by senior advocates that would greatly compromise police investigation and logical conviction. At the same time, he expressed his apprehension that given the character of such rural courts there is every possibility of them being much easily influenced by the local politicians and mahajans alike as much is left to the discretion of the Nyaya-adhikari of the rank of First Class Judicial Magistrate.