What do you mean by Gram Nyayalya ? Discuss its objective and provisions.

Gram Nyayalayas — Objectives and Key Provisions (Gram Nyayalayas Act, 2008):

Enacted pursuant to the Law Commission's 114th Report, the Gram Nyayalayas Act, 2008 established grassroots mobile village courts (e.g., MP established India's first historic Gram Nyayalaya at Jhatla village, Neemuch in 2001, updated under the 2008 Act):

• Core Objectives:
  • Provide speedy, inexpensive, and accessible justice to rural citizens at their doorstep.
  • Promote amicable conciliation and dispute resolution without procedural technicalities.
• Salient Statutory Provisions:
  • Presiding Officer: Headed by a Nyayadhikari (Judicial Magistrate First Class, JMFC) appointed by the State Government in consultation with the High Court.
  • Mobile Court (Section 9): The Nyayadhikari conducts mobile court proceedings directly in villages to examine witnesses and inspect dispute sites.
  • Jurisdiction: Tries specified civil suits (claims up to statutory pecuniary limits) and compoundable criminal offences listed in the First and Second Schedules.
  • Conciliation First: Mandatory conciliation through Conciliators before formal adjudication; not bound by the strict Indian Evidence Act, 1872.