Why in Broadcast?

• The Centre is launching a unique initiative of setting up women-only courts at the village level as an alternate dispute resolution forum for issues like domestic violence, property rights and countering the patriarchal system.

Aim

• The Nari Adalat though does not hold any legal status, has its primary focus on reconciliation, grievance redressal and creating awareness of rights and entitlements.

Composition

• The Nari Adalat of each village would have 7-9 members – half of which would be the elected members of the gram panchayat and the other half women with social standing like teachers, doctors and social workers – who would be nominated by the villagers.
• Members known as Nyaya Sakhis [legal friends] will be nominated or selected by the gram panchayat.
• The head of Nari Adalat called the Mukhya Nyaya Sakhi [chief legal friend] will be chosen among the Nyay Sakhis.
• The tenure of the head will be generally six months after which a new one will be selected.

Ministry Incharge

• The scheme would be run by the Ministry of Women and Child Development under the Sambal sub-scheme of Mission Shakti, which is dedicated to strengthening women’s safety, security and empowerment.

Other Ministries Involved

• Ministry of Panchayati Raj
• Ministry of Rural Development
• Common Service Centres (CSCs) run by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.

Standard Operating Procedures

• Detailed Procedures for all states have been prepared and will be released to ensure uniformity and effective functioning of Nari-Adlat.

Inspiration

• The scheme takes inspiration from the Parivarik Mahila Lok Adalats [People’s Court of Women] which were run by the National Commission for Women (NCW) till 2014-15.

Focus on Areas

The matters redressed through these Lok Adalats will be related to

• Family affairs.
• Matrimonial disputes.
• Bigamy.
• Succession.
• Motor vehicle accident disputes related to labour.