New Delhi, November 14
The Supreme Court on Monday asked all high courts to respond to a PIL seeking a direction to the Centre and states to take measures to set up ‘Gram Nyayalayas’.
Noting that the high courts were the supervisory authority, a Bench led by Justice SA Nazeer made the registrars general of all high courts parties to the case.
Issuing notices to the high courts, the top court posted for the matter for further hearing on December 5.
On behalf of the petitioner NGO—National Federation of Societies for Fast Justice and others ndash; advocate Prashant Bhushan told the Bench that despite the top court’s 2020 direction several states have yet to take any action.
‘Gram Nyayalayas’ should be such that people can articulate their grievances without the need of a lawyer, Bhushan submitted.
The Gram Nyayalayas Act, 2008 provided for ‘Gram Nyayalayas’ at the grassroots level for providing access to speedy and affordable justice to citizens at the doorstep and to ensure that opportunities for securing justice were not denied to anyone by reason of social, economic or other disabilities.
The petition filed in 2019 said sections 5 and 6 of the 2008 Act provided that the state government in consultation with the high court will appoint a ‘Nyayadhikari’ for each ‘Gram Nyayalaya’, who will be a person eligible to be appointed as a judicial magistrate of the First Class.
The top court had in 2020 directed the states, which had not notified ‘Gram Nyayalayas’, to do so in four weeks, and asked high courts to expedite the process of consultation with state governments on the issue.
