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| Article Name : | | | VILLAGE COURTS : BOON OR BANE | | Author Name : | | | R. Kumaran | | Publisher : | | | Ashok Yakkaldevi | | Article Series No. : | | | GRT-3357 | | Article URL : | |  | Author Profile View PDF In browser | | Abstract : | | | Village Courts are very popular in rural Tamil Nadu through the ages. They are the backbone of the functioning of the village society. Even though different courts are functioned in the Villages, they administered the local justice and maintained law and order. Generally the village panchayats acted as the village courts. The elders and wise men presided over the village courts and delivered their verdicts in many cases and imposed fines on the convicts on the nature of the crimes. The village courts administered justice based on eye witnesses and evidences. Punishment varied from simple to harsh, depending upon the nature of errors and crimes.. The verdict seemed varied from one village to another one. However, now the role of the caste panchayats ruined the nature of the village set up, and it seemed almost a bane to the society. The British Administration ruined the function of the village courts. In the post-Independent period, B.R. Ambedkar was against the village panchayat because it nurtured caste system. According to him, the dominant caste members were alone allowed to sit as panchayat members and their judgment was against the interest of the downtrodden people Any how, still the village panchayats are functioning successfully in the rural Tamil Nadu and a great blessing too. | | Keywords : | | |
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