By B.M. Lanong
I vividly recollect the National Conference of all Chief Ministers and Chief Justices of High Courts of India held in 2009 in Delhi which I attended and participated, where the Hon’ble Chief Justice Balakrishnan of the Supreme Court of India, disclosed that as many as four lakhs cases were pending in the Indian Courts and suggested several measures to arrest the backlog by forming special courts like morning and evening courts, the Nayalaya courts, the family courts and others to dispose of as many cases as possible within the shortest time frame.
To many it may sound rejig, it’s definitely not; the village courts and other traditional courts duly recognized by the Sixth Schedule have been and are still functioning in many villages and traditional chiefs’ institutions. In Khasi Hills particularly, many Village courts and the Additional Subordinate District Council Courts, deliver justice at the village level and within the jurisdiction of the traditional Chiefs, saving a lot of pressure, time and expenses to the village poor, instead of going to the courts in the Sub-Divisional, Districts or State headquarters.
Under paragraph 4 and 5 of the Sixth Schedule of the Indian Constitution, the Autonomous District Councils have been conferred with judicial powers, including powers under the Code of Civil Procedure (CPC) and the Criminal Procedure Code (Cr.Pc).
It is precisely under the above provisions, that the erstwhile united Khasi and Jaintia Hills Autonomous District Council enacted the U.K & J.Hills Administration of Justice Rules 1953, duly assented to by the then Governor of undivided Assam, wherein 5 (five) different classes of courts have been established. They are, the District Council Courts, the Additional District Council Courts, the Subordinate District Councils Courts, The Additional Subordinate District Council courts and lastly the Village Courts.
In the first-three courts, qualified judicial practitioners conduct cases, whereas in the Additional Subordinate District Council Courts, the Additional Chiefs conduct cases and in the village Courts, the local Durbar Headmen are eligible, if elected, to sit as Village Court Chairman to conduct cases, which includes the Civil Cases and also the Criminal Cases of petty nature, except those having the liability of imprisonment under the I.P.C.
The State High Court in its recent order on the role of headmen, rightly observed that local headmen should confine themselves to social development of their localities only and not to take law in their own hands, as happened in the ostracisation case in Jaintia Hills, since “no rule of law has empowered them to do so.”
What however, peeves the headmen, is the sweeping order, directing the Government, district administration and police, not to further insist that people should obtain NOC from headmen for any official matter and that, “no assistance should be sought from any headman,” which they viewed as not only striking the core, but at the very root of the venerable Traditional Durbar System of the Khasis because the headmen have their obligations to address within the village, like law and order issues, arising from drunkenness and brawls, drugs and human trafficking, gambling, theft and destruction of private and government properties, like water pipelines and sources, felling of trees and burning of forest etc. within the durbar’s jurisdiction. Without any prejudice, any one can say with authority, that cosmopolitan life in Shillong, its civility, trade and commerce in many areas and localities within the jurisdiction of the local Durbar and traders of different communities live and carry on their trade normally, because the local Headmen and Rangbah Dong of such areas exercise their authority without any bias or discrimination. Anti social elements have no freedom due to the existing Durbar System.
The moot question that arises now is on the practicability factor, which has thrown the government in a quandary. How will the government function without the local Durbar’s cooperation and assistance – a practice which has been there since time immemorial?
One elder of the local durbar from the border village of War-Jaintia, informed me that the SDO of Amlarem Sub-Division had instructed all the local headman to honour the High Court’s order in letter and spirit, and that even if they come across persons of doubtful origin or a foreigner, they should inform the police, as if “we have only to run errands, from now on,” he quipped.
This is the practicality factor, which has to be taken note of seriously, because “words are easy to be spoken,” as sung by Pat Boone.
The UDP sponsored meeting held on 3rd January ’15 with local headmen had demanded specific empowerment of headmen, by legislation under para 3 of the 6th Schedule.
Until then, headmen can take a break, relax happily and enjoy.
(The writer is a former Speaker of the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly and also Deputy Chief Minister looking after Law Department among other portfolios)