Advocates and political leaders take part in a protest rally at Sanakhemundi block in Patapur. Picture by Gopal Krishna Reddy

Berhampur, July 9: A gram nyayalaya (rural court) for Sanakhemundi block in Ganjam district was opened in Berhampur yesterday amid protests in Patapur, the block headquarters of Sanakhemundi and Digapahandi under the same block.

Seventy-five advocates have been boycotting the Digapahandi court for the last four days protesting the decision of the high court to open the rural court for Sanakhemundi block at Berhampur. A protest meeting was also held at Patapur, which was attended by leaders of different political parties.

“We demand shifting of the rural court from Berhampur to Sanakhemundi block immediately,” said secretary of Digapahandi Bar Asociation, Hara Prasad Rath.

“Parliament had passed the Gram Nyayalayas Bill in 2008. The law provides for setting up of mobile courts at the panchayat level, presided over by a judicial magistrate, with powers to decide on criminal and civil matters within six months with the motive of providing justice at the doorstep. Now, residents of Sanakhemundi block have to travel 40km,” said Digapahandi Bar Association president Udaya Ranjan Mekap.

“We have adequate infrastructure for the rural court at Patapur, which is the block headquarters of Sanakhemundi. We had submitted a memorandum and discussed with Justice Indrajit Mohanty, the protocol judge for Ganjam in the Orissa High Court, during his visit to Ganjam on July 2. We dispatched a letter to the registrar of Orissa High Court earlier in this regard,” Rath said, adding that the advocates would intensify the agitation if there was further delay in shifting the gram nyayalaya to Sanakhemundi block from Berhampur.

However, Ram Krushna Chowdhury, registrar, district and sessions judge court, Berhampur, said that the court was being stationed at Berhampur for now.

“The high court has agreed to shift this gram nyayalaya to Sanakhemundi from Berhampur once infrastructure is ready in Sanakhemundi,” he said.

Manoj Kumar Panda, district and sessions judge, Ganjam and Gajapati, inaugurated the rural court at Berhampur.

“We welcome the concept of gram nyayalaya, its aims and objectives. Rural people will benefit from this,” said Jyoti Prakash Chhotray, secretary of Ganjam Bar Association. “Four cases were summoned on the inaugural day,” he said.

The state government has selected some more places to set up rural courts. These are Junagarh in Kalahandi, Rajnagar in Cuttack, Ghasipura in Keonjhar, Similiguda in Koraput, Kolnara in Rayagada and Lakhanpur in Jharsuguda district. Orissa High Court is taking steps to make these rural courts functional.

Gram nyayalaya would try to settle the disputes as far as possible by bringing about conciliation between the parties instead of following rigid procedures of evidence act. The gram nyayalaya are not bound by the rules of evidence provided in the Indian Evidence Act but are guided by the principles of natural justice and subject to any rule made by the high court, said sources. With the backlog of pending cases on the rise, the rural courts are expected to deliver speedy justice.