Nyaya panchayat
Topic: Justice Delivery: Subordinate Courts, Tribunals, Legal Aid and Judicial Reforms · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
A nyaya panchayat is a village-level body that settles small local disputes. Many states set them up under their own laws from the 1950s. The aim was cheap, quick justice close to villagers, in their own language. Most nyaya panchayats are now defunct, which means they no longer work. Their failure is one reason later reforms such as Gram Nyayalayas were tried.
Example
In a village, two neighbours quarrel over a small debt or a boundary. Under the old state law, the nyaya panchayat would hear them and settle the matter, without anyone going to a town court.
Don't confuse with
- Gram Nyayalaya: it is a regular court under a central law, the Gram Nyayalayas Act 2008. It is headed by a judicial officer called a Nyayadhikari. A nyaya panchayat is a village body under state law, not part of the regular court system.