Public grievances are more rampant in villages than the twin capital cities-Srinagar and Jammu and towns due to increasing compromise on settlement of complaints on land disputes, property ownership rights and family disputes in villages and town not catching the attention of either the Print, Electronic and Digital media or the top brass of the divisional and district administrations both in Kashmir valley and as wells as Jammu division. Complaints on land disputes, property ownership rights and family disputes reach police stations and revenue courts daily but given the public responses at the grass roots the complainants run from pillar to post in pursuit of justice due to complete breakdown of harmony in actions and responses between the revenue and police administrations down at the grass roots in villages and towns now governed by panchayats and municipal bodies for more than last three years. Experience show that cases reaching revenue courts daily for early disposal are so badly handled by the Station House Officers (SHOs) of the concerned police stations that ultimately the presiding officers of revenue courts (Tehsildars and Naib Tehdsilars) helplessly refer such matters to civil courts headed by Munsifs, Sub Judges and District Judges who have all institutional and administrative powers to enforce compliance of their directions by Station House Officers (SHOs), Sub Divisional Police Officers (SDPOs) and District SPs. as routine disputes not settled in revenue courts due to non cooperation from the concerned police authorities ultimately reach civil courts , this bad precedence consequently leads to unprecedented rise in the pendencies in the civil courts.
The cooperation between the presiding officers of courts (Tehsildars & Naib Tehsildar) and Station House Officers (SHOs) if enforced through institutional mechanisms and prompt administrative procedures can obviously reduce the trust deficit that has taken roots in villages and towns due to disharmony between the revenue and police administration. Never forget that police stations and revenue courts if made accountable on settlement of complaints on land disputes, property ownership rights and family disputes can become the epicenters of Government’s public grievance redressal process.
The settlement of the complaints on land disputes, property ownership rights and family disputes either by the local police stations or the concerned revenue courts won’t only strengthen Government’s grievance redressal mechanism at the grass roots in villages and towns but it would simultaneously reduce the increasing referrals from revenue courts to civil courts which will consequently reduce the pendencies in the civil courts. For quick redressal of the complaints on land disputes, property ownership rights and family disputes the government can also devise a mechanism for conduct of Lok Adalts by the revenue courts once in a month on the pattern of Lok Adalts conducted by civil courts for the people of their concerned areas of jurisdiction. The cooperation between the presiding officers of courts (Tehsildars & Naib Tehsildar) and Station House Officers (SHOs) if enforced through institutional mechanisms and prompt administrative procedures can obviously reduce the trust deficit that has taken roots in villages and towns due to disharmony between the revenue and police administration. Never forget that police stations and revenue courts if made accountable on settlement of complaints on land disputes, property ownership rights and family disputes can become the epicenters of Government’s public grievance redressal process.
