Justice at your doorstep for the first time in India

New Delhi, July 28 (UNI) To impart justice to underprivileged people in backward areas who cannot travel a long distance to reach the courts, Chief Justice of Punjab and Haryana Justice Vijender Jain has initiated the concept of mobile courts.

''We will reach to all those who have no means to travel to the courts,''Justice Jain told reporters today.

Mobile courts, first-of-its-kind, will start in the rural areas of Mewat in Haryana from August 6. The mobile bus with all amenities of a court will be inaugurated by the Chief Justice of India K G Balakrishnanon on August 4.

Constituitional mandate to having access to justice should be available to all citizens, he said, adding that all those who live in the remote areas and have to travel for miles to reach the courts are mostly denied their rights.

The endeaveour to start the mobile courts has come after the need to impart justice to the poverty-stricken areas arose.

Mobile court will be a regular court and will cover cases of a cluster of 92 villages of the Mewat region in Haryana. Senior Division Civil Judge Sandeep Singh will be the first judge to take over the charge. The court will start from Puhana town in the Mewat district of Haryana. It will function for four days in a week.

It will rotate four times in a month starting from Punhana (four days) Shikrawa (four days) Indana (four days) and Lohinga Kalan (four days). Remaining two days in Ferozpur Jhirka. The same rotation will continue.

About 2500 cases of the inhabitants of Mewat are pending in the courts. The villagers have to travel to either Gurgaon or Ferozpur Zhirka to settle their cases. Villagers who have no means do not go to the court at all and suffer mentally due to non redressal of their grievances.

Justice Jain said the mobile courts will enable them to have redressal as well as some pre litigative settlements may be reached.

Justice K S Grewal, Justice Surya Kant of the Punjab and Haryana high court were instrumental in giving shape to the novel idea.

Law minister H R Bhardwaj, Justice Vijender Jain, other judges of the Supreme Court, Chief Minister of Haryana Bhupinder Singh Hooda and eminent lawyers will also be present on the occasion.

UNI