Village heads in J’khand’s Kolhan set to get judicial powers under a British rule still alive
Hindustan TimesTraditional tribal panchayat heads and village heads in Kolhan division of Jharkhand will soon get judicial powers back under the British-era Wilkinson Rule of 1837, which no legislation in Parliament has scrapped or amended to date. HT Image On a trial basis, West Singhbhum district administration has decided to transfer two civil dispute cases to Nyay Manch, officials said on Monday, adding that the two villages for the pilot project were yet to be chosen. Chief minister Hemant Soren, during his trip to Chaibasa in West Singhbhum in February this year, had announced to make Nyay Manch functional again under the Wilkinson Rule and directed the deputy commissioner to draft a Bill and rules for the same. Under the Wilkinson Rule, an agent to the Governor, who is the commissioner of Kolhan and his subordinate deputy commissioner in the current case, is vested with powers to form three-member and five-member Nyay Manch in every village and panchayat. In case of five-member Nyay Manch, either the commissioner or the DC appoints two Mundas and a ‘neutral’ person, while both the disputing parties will bring one member each.
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