Chandigarh : Justice Ranjit Singh, former Judge of Punjab and Haryana High Court has emphasized that the unanimously elected “impartial” panchayats can pave the way for effective good Governance and save the rural Punjab from further collapse.
Joining the “LoK Ekta Mission” a campaign launched by Lok-Raj Punjab, Kirti Kisan Forum, Bhagat Puran Singh ji Pingalwara Society, Culture and Heritage Conservation Initiative, Uttam-Kheti Kirsan Union, ex-servicemen and youth forums, Justice Ranjit Singh was addressing a press conference at Chandigarh Press Club on Friday. He stressed upon that the unanimously elected village panchayats would restore the harmony in villages suffering from various ills such as factionalism, violent rivalries, unwanted litigation and destructive competition. These would help in speeding up the rural development and modernization of the villages.
He revealed that as per 2024 data, 5.1 crore court cases are pending, including 1, 80,000 pending for more than 30 years in district and high courts. Out of which 87 per cent i.e. 4.5 crores cases are pending in district courts.
About 66% of the cases in various courts and 25% in Supreme Court, relate only to land and property disputes, easily resolvable by Panchayats. He maintained that unanimous panchayats will help the judiciary to give “speedy justice,” remarkably improve law and order, will be able to stop sacrilege with collective vigil and manyfold increase in rural economy through cooperative and organic farming, processing and marketing.
He maintained that besides many other reasons, a major consequence of the crisis is “loss of credibility of local Governments, the panchayats, crippled due to political factionalism.”
Advocate Gursimrat Singh Randhawa, President of Culture and Heritage Conservation, who spearheaded public protests, when Chief Justice TS Thakur “cried in helplessness” exposing government apathy, during a national conference of judiciary in April 2016 at Delhi, co-chaired by the Prime Minister, maintained, that embarrassing situation of country’s collapsing judicial system has “encouraged all types of crimes and criminals.” Goons, looters, murderers, rapists, drug smugglers, gangsters and adulterers, since these don’t fear the law of land any more.
“Lok-Ekta Mission” felt that all law-abiding citizens were deprived of their “Right to Live with Dignity.” The worst affected is the “most peaceful and healthy rural brotherhood.”
Swarn Singh Boparai (IAS), Padamshri, Kirti Chakra, former Union Secretary and Vice Chancellor, Chairman Kirti Kisan Forum and Dr Manjit Singh Randhawa, President ‘Lok-Raj’ Punjab and Convener “Lok-Ekta Mission” said, that legal history and crime data clearly depicts “continuous many fold spike in crime rate,” after credibility of panchayat-institution’s eroded, when political factionalism took roots in “partial” panchayats, replacing unanimously elected “impartial” panchayats.
“Partial, political and factional panchayats” demolished the Judicial and Administrative Writ of ‘Local Government,’ its Gram Sabha, the grass-root “Peoples Parliament.”
That is why, the disputes that could have been easily resolved at local government i.e. Panchayat level, contribute 50% of the pending cases in courts, with government as litigant, amounting to criminal wastage of time and public exchequer.
