7000 Village Courts on the anvil

Chandigarh, Apr 21 (UNI) As many as 7,000 Village Courts will be set up in the country shortly to give speedy justice to the rural people, Union Law Minister H R Bhardwaj said today.

''With the approval of the Union Cabinet and grant of adequate funds, Village Courts will soon become reality,'' Dr Bhardwaj said while speaking at a seminar on Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR): Arbitration, Mediation and Conciliation organised here.

Village Courts, he said, would work under High Courts which would also appoint judges in these courts.

A new cadre of judges--Munsif Magistrate--would be created for these Courts, which would settle cases within a period of three month by summary procedure.

Regretting that the rural people haveto waste so much time and money while coming to cities again and again for various cases, the Minister said: ''Man in the village is missing the justice and Village Courts would ensure speedy justice to him.'' MORE UNI