Report No. 114

6.9. Constitution of the court.-

Upon a receipt of a complaint by an aggrieved person at the office of the Gram Nyayalaya at Taluka/Tehsil level, it shall be placed before the Presiding Judge forthwith, if he is available or as soon as he returns to the headquarter but not later than 24 hours from the time of its receipt. When the complaint is placed before the Presiding Judge, after acquainting himself with the nature of the dispute and the place where the dispute has arisen, the Presiding Judge shall select from the Panel already furnished to him two persons residing as far as possible at some distance from the sinus of the dispute and invite them to be the court for the case. If anyone of them discloses an interest either in the dispute or parties to the dispute on a questioning by the Presiding Judge, he should be discharged from the performance of the duty and in his place some other person form the panel should be selected.

Where one of the parties to the dispute is a member of the Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe or a woman, the Presiding Judge should as far as possible try to enlist as one lay. Judge either a member of the Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe or a woman. They should also be selected for other disputes but in the aforementioned circumstances ordinarily one of them must be a member of the court. A valid charge of bias shall disqualify the member. It would be open to the Presiding Judge to continue the two members so selected even for other cases if they are not otherwise disqualified. All the three would constitute the court and all the three would sit as a court. The decision will be either by consensus or by a majority.