Nari Adalat Pilot in Tripura: Women’s Courts at Gram Panchayat Level for Gender‑Inclusive Local Justice
Tripura has approved a pilot rollout of “Nari Adalat” (Women’s Court) in 10 Gram Panchayats, positioning it as a community-based mechanism to address women’s grievances through mediation, counselling, and referrals at the grassroots. Nari Adalat is a pilot initiative under the Sambal vertical of Mission Shakti, implemented by States/UTs, and it functions as an alternative grievance redressal/ADR forum—not as a formal court.
This matters because it tries to bridge a persistent governance gap: many women do not approach police stations or courts due to cost, distance, social pressure, and lack of legal awareness. By creating a structured, women-led forum within the Panchayati Raj ecosystem, the model aims to deliver accessible local justice while ensuring referral pathways to formal institutions when needed.
What is Nari Adalat?
As per the Government’s statement in Parliament, Nari Adalat is designed to offer alternative dispute resolution, grievance redressal, counselling, and evidence-based decision-making at the Gram Panchayat level. It addresses socio-economic and cultural issues faced by women and provides resolution primarily through mediation, and through referral to appropriate institutions such as the One Stop Centre (OSC), Police Station, District Legal Services Authority (DLSA), and Women Help Desk.
Importantly, the Parliament reply clearly states that Nari Adalat has no legal status; its goal is reconciliation and grievance redressal through mutual consent and creating awareness of rights and entitlements. Any aggrieved woman always retains the right to use formal legal mechanisms as per her need.
Tripura’s pilot decision: what is approved
A UNI report states that Tripura is set to roll out women’s courts (Nari Adalat) as a pilot in 10 Panchayats, and that each Nari Adalat will consist of a committee comprising up to nine members who are well-regarded in the community. This local committee model is central to Nari Adalat’s design because it relies on trust, accessibility, and community legitimacy—while being linked to formal support institutions for referrals.
Why “pilot in 10 Gram Panchayats” is significant
A pilot allows the state to test whether Nari Adalats can deliver:
- Faster, low-cost resolutions for suitable disputes.
- Safe, confidential grievance handling (especially for domestic and rights-related issues).
- Effective referrals for serious cases where mediation is inappropriate.
It also helps establish standard processes—member training, documentation, follow-up, and monitoring—before expansion.
How Nari Adalat works (process and methods)
The SOP for Nari Adalat describes it as an intervention to provide an alternate grievance redressal mechanism at Gram Panchayat level for resolving cases involving harassment, violence, and curtailment of rights or entitlements. The mechanism is intended to resolve disputes through negotiation, mediation, and reconciliation, and to refer matters to the appropriate authority where needed.
The Parliament reply reinforces the model: mediation plus referral to OSC/police/DLSA/Women Help Desk based on the nature of the grievance. This “ADR + referral” structure is the core safety design—local access without cutting off legal routes.
Composition: Nyaya Sakhis and the committee structure
The SOP states that a formal setup of women collectives of ideally 7 to 9 members (preferably an odd number) will be formed. Members are called Nyaya Sakhis, and the SOP notes that selection/nomination among committed and socially respected women is done by the Gram Panchayat in a meeting chaired by the Panchayat President/Sarpanch, in the presence of officials such as the BDO/SDM (or representative).
This structure is meant to ensure the forum is locally trusted yet institutionally anchored, improving the chance that women will approach it early and that referrals are taken seriously.
What types of cases can Nari Adalat address?
Government and SOP language emphasise disputes linked to women’s socio-economic and cultural challenges, including matters of harassment, violence, and curtailment of rights/entitlements, resolved through mediation when appropriate. Many current-affairs explainers describe Nari Adalats as addressing “minor/petty” disputes through reconciliation while facilitating referrals or police intervention when needed.
A practical way to understand the scope is:
- Suitable for local resolution: family/community disputes, denial of entitlements, harassment complaints where mediation is safe and desired, disputes that can end with mutual consent.
- Not suitable for “compromise-only” handling: serious criminal offences or high-risk violence cases—these should move to formal legal mechanisms and protection services, with Nari Adalat acting as a support-and-referral point.
Why this initiative matters (governance and social impact)
1) Access to justice at the last mile
Nari Adalat’s Gram Panchayat-based approach reduces cost and distance barriers, giving women a nearby forum to seek help and information.
2) Strengthening convergence of services
The built-in referral design—OSC, police, DLSA, Women Help Desk—pushes coordination among institutions that often operate in silos.
3) Community-level deterrence and awareness
The SOP highlights rights and entitlements awareness as a key outcome, and explainers note that the platform can function as a community “pressure group” by amplifying women’s voices and nudging institutions to act.
Challenges and safeguards to ensure fairness and safety
- No coercive mediation: Mutual consent must be real; serious offences require swift referral and protection.
- Training and standard procedures: Nyaya Sakhis need training in confidentiality, documentation, trauma sensitivity, and legal referral pathways.
- Monitoring and accountability: Outcomes should be monitored (without violating privacy) to prevent local power capture and to measure effectiveness.
Expansion status in India (official baseline)
According to the Lok Sabha reply (13.02.2026), Nari Adalat is currently being run in 50 Gram Panchayats each in Assam and the UT of Jammu & Kashmir, and 10 Gram Panchayats each in Sikkim and Mizoram. The same reply notes that Nari Adalats have been approved for 10 Gram Panchayats in Karnataka but are yet to be operationalised.
FAQs
Nari Adalat is a pilot initiative under Mission Shakti (Sambal) that provides ADR, grievance redressal, counselling, and evidence-based decision-making for women at the Gram Panchayat level.
No. The government has stated that Nari Adalat has no legal status; it aims at reconciliation and grievance redressal through mutual consent, and women can always approach formal legal mechanisms.
As per the SOP, it is run by a collective of ideally 7–9 women members called Nyaya Sakhis, selected/nominated through the Gram Panchayat process.
The SOP describes its role in resolving cases involving harassment, violence, and curtailment of rights/entitlements through negotiation/mediation/reconciliation, with referrals as required.
The government’s design includes referral to institutions like One Stop Centres, Police Stations, District Legal Services Authorities, and Women Help Desks depending on the case.
UNI reports that Tripura is set to roll out Nari Adalat as a pilot in 10 Panchayats, with committees comprising up to nine members. Q1. What is Nari Adalat?
Q2. Is Nari Adalat a formal court? Are its decisions legally binding?
Q3. Who runs a Nari Adalat?
Q4. What kinds of grievances can it address?
Q5. What happens in serious cases?
Q6. What has Tripura approved?
