Click to play videoAlappuzha: Kerala has had many firsts. Now a village in Kerala gets India's first village court and establishes itself as the first 'litigation-free' area in the country.
The Cheriyanad grama panchayat in Alappuzha district has been declared the country's first "litigation-free and legal-literate" area by the Chief Justice of India
KG Balakrishnan.
Lawyer Eby Kuriyakose says, “The people in the village are living in average and below average condition. In that condition this panchayat introduces an out-of-court settlement, that is called panchayat court, also they participate in the lokayuth."
The village court was started in January 1988. Today the court comprises a legal expert, a college lecturer, a social worker and two standing members of the the panchayat.
About 160 cases were settled in the first two years itself.
V K Vasudevan who holds the post of Panchayat President of Cheriyanadu says the village court was able to win the trust of the people.
Vasudevan says, "Cases which were pending in various courts for more than 25 years were settled through the mutual interaction of the parties in a healthy atmosphere."
Above all, the village court was successful because the employees and the panchayat members acted above politics.
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