Submitted by : Adeeb Arshad (17BALLB030)

Submitted to : Dr. Shaista Nasreen

Asst professor department of law
Subject : Local Laws
Assignment in place of Mid-Term
………………………………………………………………………………………………………

FUNCTIONS OF NYAYA PANCHAYAT

Introduction
In India, village panchayats are a very old and traditional administrative/administrative entity.
This institution lost its reputation and relevance with the fall of the Mughal empire and the rise
of British authority. However, in the latter part of the British rule, with the Village Court Acts of
1888, which established panchayat courts for the administration of justice, they attempted to
restore the status of village panchayats.
The real effort, as evidenced by Article 40 of the Indian Constitution, was made only after
independence, when it was declared, "The State shall take steps to organise village panchayat
and endow them with such power and authority as may be necessary to enable them to function
as units of self-government."
The judicial components of the panchayat system, which is the lowest rung of our judiciary, are
Nyaya Panchayats. They're designed to help with local or rural justice administration.

Nyay Panchayat under UP Panchayati Raj Act 1947

The Panchayat Raj Act of Uttar Pradesh mandates the formation of Nyaya Panchayats in each
circle. Currently, there are 8135 Nyaya Panchayats in Uttar Pradesh. Members of Gram
Panchayats (10 - 25) make up each Nyaya Panchayat, and the total number of Panches is
determined by the Gram Sabhas concerned:
• In the case of a Nyaya Panchayat with two Gram Sabhas, five Panches from each Gram
Panchayat must be nominated.
• In the case of a Nyaya Panchayat with three Gram Sabhas, three Panches from each Gram
Panchayat must be appointed first, followed by the remaining Panch from the Gram
Sabha with the greatest population.
• In case of a Nyaya Panchayat comprising of more than twelve Gram Sabhas, one Panch
will initially be appointed from each Gram Panchayat concerned and the remaining
Panches must be appointed one each fromtheGramSabhas on the basis of their population;
 • In all other circumstances, two Panches must be appointed from each Gram Panchayat at
first, with the remaining Panches being appointed one from each Gram Sabha based on
their population.

A individual who can read and write Hindi and is over 30 years old is qualified to be appointed
as a Panch of the Nyaya Panchayat. Every Nyaya Panchayat Panch's term begins on the date of
his or her appointment and ends when the Gram Panchayat from which he or she was appointed
expires. Based on the Director of Panchayats' orders, the District Magistrate must determine the
following:
• The number of circlesinto which a district is divided for establishing Nyaya Panchayats;

• The area to be included in each circle.

Following that, the District Magistrate must produce a list of Nyaya Panchayat circles and publish
it at the tehsil headquarters, the District Panchayat Officer's office, and the Panchayat Secretary's
office. Similarly, the District Magistrate must compile a list of the total number of Panches fixed
for each Nyaya Panchayat and the number of Panches to be appointed from each Gram Panchayat,
which must be published at the same offices specified earlier. The Act further states that the
Panches of each Nyaya Panchayat must choose two people to serve as the Sarpanch and the
Sahayak Sarpanch, both of whom must be able to record proceedings. The Sarpanch has been
given the authority to establish Benches of five people each for the elections.
The role of Nyaya Panchayat is to dispose all civil and criminal cases instituted within 6 weeks.
Every civil or criminal case must come before the Sarpanch of the Nyaya Panchayat of a particular
circle where the defendant lives or works or where the crime was committed. The list of criminal
offences triable by the Nyaya Panchayatsis given in Annexure 10. A weekly list of cases must be
notified with names of parties and dates of hearing and must be displayed prominently outside the
Nyaya Panchayatís office.

Purpose of Nyaya Panchayat

The reason behind setting up the Nyaya Panchayat are:

• Democratic decentralisation,
• Easy access to justice,
• speedy disposal of cases,
• Inexpensive justice system,
• Revival of traditional village community life,
• Combination of judicial system and local self government, and
• Reduction in pressure on Civil Courts.
However, according to the latest reports, this institution is functioning only in handful of states.

Constitution of Nyaya Panchayats

Nyaya Panchayats constitutes a Sarpanch as its head and few panchai (generally it varies
between10 to 30). Each member of Nyaya panchyat must be iterate and must be of minimum 30
years ofage. The appointment is based on1 nomination and election

Nyaya Panchayats : Jurisdiction

It has judicial functions both in civil as well as in criminal fields. It can deal with several minor
offences like simple hurt, wrongful restraint, theft etc, and punish an accused to pay fine.

In civil matters nyaya panchayat have jurisdiction in cases like suits for money and goods etc. The
pecuniary limit of such cases is very low.

Procedure followed by Nyaya Panchayats

The procedure laid down for trial of cases has been so designed as to avoid delays and technical
difficulties. Therefore procedure followed in nyaya panchayats is very simple and informal. The
procedure codes like Code of Civil Procedure, Criminal Procedure Code and Indian Evidence Act
apply to the nyayapanchyats, But, they have power to call witnesses and the parties for recording
their evidence or producing any relevant document or fact. Unlike courts, they have the power to
investigate the facts to find out the truth and at the same time they have the power to punish for its
contempt. Lawyers cannot appear before a nyayapanchyat in anyl of its proceedings.

Nyaya Panchayats's Record Room

All registers, books, and records of Nyaya Panchayats must be surrendered with the Secretary
Gram Panchayat six months after they are closed, according to the rules. The procedures
established out by the High Court must be observed when it comes to the preservation and
destruction of records of civil and criminal matters filed by Nyaya Panchayats. Records of
revenue cases must be kept and destroyed in accordance with the provisions of Chapter LIV of
the Uttar Pradesh Revenue Manual published by the Uttar Pradesh Board of Revenue.
Furthermore, the rules state that GramPanchayat and Nyaya Panchayat records must be retained
in the District Record Room, as directed by the Director, Panchayat Raj Department.
Nyaya Panchayat's Notifications

The Nyaya Panchayat must proactively disclose the date on which it must sit every month andthe
list of such dates must be fixed at its office. The dates are generally notified in the third week of
the preceding month. Additionally, a weekly list of the cases to be notified along with the names
of parties and the dates of hearing must be prominently displayed outside the office of the Nyaya
Panchayat for general information.

Proposals for action

"With the protections established to assure nyaya panchayats proper working and progress," the
Law Commission concluded in its 114th Report. These courts have the potential to play an
extremely important and beneficial role in the administration of justice in the country." The Law
Commission presented a new concept for establishing nyaya panchayats in this report.

Conclusion

When 65 percent of our population lives in rural India, it appears that nyaya panchayats are
unavoidable. We require an effective organisation that can bring justice to rural India at its
doorstep. Otherwise, justice will continue to be reserved for urban courts, which are out of reach
for poor rural people. As a result, in order to provide a semblance of justice, Nyaya panchayats
must be established in some form based on public participation. In this sense, the Constitution's
seventy-third amendment has provided sound guidance.