The law ministry's ambitious project of setting up 5,000 rural courts across the country and speed up disposal of cases, will begin from October 2.
"The notification to set up gram nyayalayas will come into effect on October 2," Law Secretary T K Viswanathan said today.
Soon after the notification, the state governments will initiate a process to set up rural courts. "The process will take some time," added Viswanathan.
The state government had initially shown reluctance to set up courts due to the expenditure involved.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, while addressing judges at a national conference here last month, had urged states to initiate "immediate action" to operationalise the Gram Nyayalayas Act in their states.
Singh had said: "While there could be differing views on the adequacy of the assistance being provided, this should not hold us from speedily bringing the Act into force".
With more than 31.1 million cases pending across the country, the rural courts will help get justice delivered at the door steps of the common man.
Nearly 27.1 million of the 31.1 million pending cases can be attributed to subordinate courts.
By the next fiscal, the Central government plans to set up 200 such courts. The number would go up to 5,000 in three years.
The gram nyayayalas will deal with cases at a level below the subordinate courts but in the same capacity.
The Gram Nyayalaya Act, 2008 provides for first class judicial magistrates dispensing justice.
Judicial magistrate first class (JMFC) will be posted at the rural courts and will be called Nyaya Adhikaris.
They would be strictly judicial officers. They will be drawing the same salary, deriving the same powers as the first class magistrates working under the High Courts, then Law Minister Hansraj Bhardwaj had said.
Centre will bear the full cost on capital account of the courts to be set up at the district headquarters and in taluks. They will go in a bus or jeep to the village, work there and dispose of the cases. The cost of litigation would be borne by the state and not by the litigant.
