Nari Adalat

What is Nari Adalat?

Nari Adalat is a village-level grievance redressal forum for women, run under the Sambal sub-scheme of Mission Shakti, the Ministry of Women and Child Development's umbrella programme for women's safety and empowerment. Nari Adalat gives women an alternative grievance redressal mechanism for resolving cases of a petty nature at the gram panchayat level through negotiation, mediation and reconciliation with mutual consent.

The problem Nari Adalat addresses is distance and cost. A woman in a village facing harassment, a denied entitlement or a family dispute has, in practice, a choice between a police station and a court that may be far away, expensive and slow, or doing nothing. Nari Adalat inserts a third option inside the village itself, staffed by women from that community.

Nari Adalat is also used as a platform for awareness of women's rights and entitlements, for social facilitation, and for hand-holding women-centric organisations in the panchayat.

How is a Nari Adalat constituted?

• Each Nari Adalat comprises 7 to 11 members, known as Nyaya Sakhis.
• Nyaya Sakhis are nominated by the gram panchayat, drawn from the panchayat and from the wider local community: including respected local figures such as teachers, doctors and social workers.
• The Nyaya Sakhis select one of themselves as the Mukhya Nyaya Sakhi (MNS), the head of that Nari Adalat.
• The Mukhya Nyaya Sakhi is responsible for all the activities and functioning of the Nari Adalat in her jurisdiction.

Where does Nari Adalat operate?

Nari Adalat started in 2023 on a pilot basis in 50 gram panchayats each in Assam and the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir. The Ministry of Women and Child Development has since invited proposals from other states and union territories to expand the initiative, so whether a Nari Adalat exists in your gram panchayat depends on whether your state government has taken it up and had it sanctioned.

If your panchayat does not have one, the equivalent routes are the One Stop Centre in your district, the 181 Women Helpline, and the free legal services authority on 15100.

Who is eligible for Nari Adalat?

A woman can approach a Nari Adalat if:

• She lives in a gram panchayat where a Nari Adalat has been constituted.
• Her grievance is of a petty nature; harassment, or the subversion or curtailment of her rights and entitlements, or a family dispute such as maintenance, a dowry demand or child custody.
• Both sides are willing to attempt reconciliation, since the mechanism works on mutual consent and cannot compel anyone.

There is no age limit, no income test and no requirement to bring documents or a lawyer.

Who cannot apply / is not eligible

• Men cannot bring a grievance to a Nari Adalat as complainants; it is a forum for women's grievances.
• Women in gram panchayats where no Nari Adalat has been constituted cannot use it — the pilot covers a limited number of panchayats.
• Serious criminal offences must not be brought here. Rape, sexual assault, grievous hurt, acid attack, trafficking and similar offences are matters for the police and the courts. Call 112, and go to a One Stop Centre for medical, legal and shelter support. A Nari Adalat has no power to inquire into or settle such a case, and attempting to "compromise" one is improper.
• Anyone seeking money cannot apply. Nari Adalat pays no cash benefit and awards no compensation.

Is a Nari Adalat legally binding?

No. Nari Adalat is not a court and is not part of the judiciary. It works by negotiation, mediation and reconciliation with the mutual consent of the parties concerned. A Nari Adalat cannot pass a binding judgment, impose a penalty, order a sentence or award damages, and an outcome it facilitates has effect only because both sides agreed to it.

A woman retains every legal remedy she had before. She may go to the police, to a magistrate, to a Protection Officer under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act 2005, or to the District Legal Services Authority at any point; before, during or after approaching a Nari Adalat. Nobody may be told that using a Nari Adalat closes those options.

What documents are required for Nari Adalat?

How to apply to a Nari Adalat

1. Check whether your gram panchayat has a Nari Adalat. Ask at the panchayat office, the Anganwadi centre, or the District Hub for Empowerment of Women under SANKALP.
2. Approach any Nyaya Sakhi or the Mukhya Nyaya Sakhi and describe your grievance. You may do this orally; no written petition, fee or lawyer is required.
3. Have the grievance recorded by the Nyaya Sakhis, with the names of the parties and what you are asking for.
4. Attend the sitting at which the Nari Adalat hears both sides and attempts negotiation, mediation and reconciliation.
5. Agree or decline the settlement. Because the process runs on mutual consent, you are free to refuse a settlement you are not satisfied with.
6. Escalate if it does not work: call 181, approach the district One Stop Centre, contact the District Legal Services Authority on 15100, or file a police complaint on 112. Using a Nari Adalat does not bar any of these.

Help and grievance redressal

• Women Helpline: 181
• Emergency response: 112
• Free legal services helpline: 15100
• Mission Shakti technical support: 011-23388074
• Nari Adalat public insights: missionshakti.wcd.gov.in/statisticsNariAdalat

Approaching a Nari Adalat costs nothing. No Nyaya Sakhi, panchayat member or official may charge a woman a fee for a hearing or a settlement.