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Bus Expedites Wheels of Justice in Rural India
From right, plaintiff Abdul Kareem, village chief Mohammad Ishaq and neighbor Deen Mohammad stand in front of the new mobile court.
(By Rama Lakshmi -- The Washington Post)
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"Go, sit under that tree and talk it out again," said Singh, the judge.
Lawyers tried to broker peace between the cousins, who had walked about 20 minutes through some fields to reach the court.
"You cannot drag the case forever anymore. Now the court has come to you," said Aziz Akhtar, Kareem's attorney. "Either both of you would be acquitted or both convicted today. It is in your interest to settle."
The village chief urged them not to tarnish the honor of the village in the new court. By the end of the day, the cousins had informed the judge that they were willing to make peace. Pleased, the judge closed the file and instructed them to record their statements.
"It will take time, but we will learn to live peacefully," beamed Chota. "A thread that is broken can become one again with a knot."
Not everybody was happy with the new court.
"The mobile court is an excellent system for these villagers. But it is not very convenient for advocates," said Akhtar, who was taking part in 12 cases that day. "We have to travel to all these remote areas that the bus decides to go to. We don't have an office anymore, we have to operate under trees in this dreadful heat. We have to drink muddy water from village hand pumps. No tables. No chairs. No typist. No photocopy. And the worst is that there is no bathroom here."
A senior court official working on the bus said there is a lot of resistance in the judiciary.
"People in the court have asked me to ensure the failure of this system so that they don't get posted on this mobile court next," the official said on condition of anonymity. "It is viewed as a punishment posting."
