Lok Satta's "Grama Nyayalaya" Initiative Gets the Cabinet Nod

After a stiff resistance within the government, the cabinet finally approved the "Grama Nyayalaya" bill after seven long years.

Lok Satta, pioneer of political and governance reforms in the country had spearheaded this cause and submitted a report with the aforesaid "Grama Nyayala" initiative to "The National Advisory Council" 2003 in order to facilitate speedy justice at the grass root levels in the country.

According to Dr Jayaprakash Narayan, "it definitely is a satisfying moment not only for us but also for the cause of democracy and rule of law.

Commenting further, he stated "It is the most important step towards implementation of speedy justice. We at Loksatta movement had been fighting for this since its inception. Loksatta party painstakingly drafted this bill and pursued it at every level right from the beginning" he added.

He further stated" There is a market to demand for criminals to provide rough and ready justice through brutal means. This lead to criminalization of the society and politics as well. Without rule of law, due process and speady justice, democracy becomes illusory to the bulk of the people.

"Once this bill is implemented, it will be a great step towards a more efficient and accessible justice system. But for local justice to be effective, the police must be reformed. The crime investigation process should be made independent of partisan politics and at the same time made accountable", he said.

He further emphasised that "These local courts should conduct trials in local language and there is a dire need for "mobile courts" where in the courts will go to the location or crime or dispute and record evidence. This will substancially eliminate perjury. These courts would be an integral part of the independent justice sytem with a provision for appearance of lawyers to represent the clients"

Dr JP summed up by saying "A free society cannot exist without accessible systems of justice. Indian judiciary and legal profession have set high standards of excellence. But the bulk of the people are beyond the pale of our justice system. We need to restore public confidence in our legal system, and ensure peace, order and harmony in society. Many reforms are required to provide speedy, accessible and efficient justice. One simple, low-cost, effective, painless solution is the institution of local courts following summary procedures. This measure is not sufficient to address the monumental crisis facing our judiciary, but is a necessary first step in that direction".

If local courts are appointed at the rate of one per 50,000 in rural areas, and one per 1,00,000 in urban areas, we will have about 15,000 new mobile magistrates accessible to people at the local level, providing justice at the door-step, following simple, easy and citizen-friendly procedures, and ensuring all these at a very low cost, which can be recovered in multiples by imposition of even a small court fee. The presence of lawyers, effective mechanisms for monitoring and accountability, and provision for appeal, guarantee fairness in the process and real justice to the poor. The whole Local Courts system will be an integral part of the independent judiciary, and fully controlled by the judiciary. This ensures strict separation of powers as envisaged in the Constitution, and effective supervision and control by the judiciary.