Litigants suffer as lawyers suspend work to protest opening of rural courts

Litigants, mostly from remote villages, were left in the lurch as members of the District Bar Association (DBA) went on a strike to protest the opening of rural courts in Punjab. The hearing of more than 500 cases in the courts of Fatehgarh Sahib was affected and the litigants were given next dates. Lawyers raised slogans against the rural courts (gramin nayalya) and demanded the withdrawal of the decision.

Addressing the media, DBA president Amardeep Singh Dharni said the government was weakening the justice system as the new model of rural courts would make the situation of lawyers no better than vegetable vendors making the rounds in residential areas, seeking customers. He said it would be a mockery of the justice system and lawyers. He said their fraternity would not tolerate it at any cost. He said the government was opening village courts in Bassi Pathana in the district today and tomorrow it would open ‘mohalla courts’ and people would not be ensured justice. He demanded the decision to open gramin courts be cancelled immediately.

It is worth mentioning here that the bill was passed in 2008, as the Law Commission of India, in its 114th report, suggested the establishment of village courts to provide citizens with affordable and speedy access to justice near their homes. The Village Courts Bill was passed by the Parliament on December 22, 2008, and the Village Courts Act came into effect on October 2, 2009.