Nyaya Panchayats Bill in pipeline

Shri Mani Shankar Aiyar, the Minister of Panchayati Raj informed the Lok Sabha in a written reply that the Draft Nyaya Panchayats Bill had been forwarded to the State Governments/UTs and the Central Ministries concerned for their comments and had been recast based on their comments and circulated to the Central Ministries concerned and State Governments/UTs.

The objective of the proposed Nyaya Panchayat Bill was to provide a sound institutionalized forum at the grassroots level for alternative dispute resolution through mediation and conciliation with community involvement. The Nyaya Panchayats would aim at resolving disputes before they reach the formal justice system without eliminating the right to go to judicial forum in case of disagreement of any party with the outcome of alternative dispute resolution.

The Draft Bill provides for the establishment of Nyaya Panchayats at the level of each Village Panchayat or cluster of Village Panchayats which are proposed to be constituted through the election of the Nyaya Panchas by people residing in the area to which the jurisdiction of the Nyaya Panchayats extends. It provides for the reservation of women, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes to ensure their representation in the Nyaya Panchayats. The Draft Bill defines the civil, criminal and additional jurisdiction of Nyaya Panchayats.