Law relating to Panchayati Raj institutions with special reference to role of Khap Panchayats in state of Haryana

Abstract

Villages have always been the bedrock of Indian Democracy. These villages are administered by statutory as well as traditional Panchayats. In State of Haryana, Statutory Panchayats are governed by Haryana Panchayati Raj Act, 1994, but no law has been enacted to govern the functioning of traditional Panchayats. Various lacunas in Haryana Panchayati Raj Act 1994 as well as factors responsible for creating the negative popularity of Khaps, have been discussed as Statement of Problem. However, lack of authentic and scientifically indexed data relating to Khap Panchayats was a limitation of study. Research was carried with an Research Objective to study the constitutional and legislative framework relevant to the PRIs and to study the origin, growth and impact of Khap Panchayats on social justice inter-alia its contribution towards social development. The researcher has formulated the hypothesis as Firstly, Concept of PRIs, as a grass-root level democracy, is still in the stage of development and Secondly, the role of Khap Panchayats is regressive in nature. The present study is primarily doctrinal in nature inter-twined with empirical study. Therefore, the district of Rohtak, Jhajjar and Kurukshetra have formulated the Universe of the study and 326 respondents have been examined by the researcher. Both of aforesaid hypothesis stand proved and various amendments in laws have been suggested to contain the illegal exercise of power by Khap Panchayats. Some of the practical recommendations proposed includes the public perception needs to be changed to reduce stigma associated with inter-caste marriages and promote awareness of legal guidelines; Khap Panchayats should be brought under the legal framework as institutional arbitrators, subject to regulations outlined in the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1993; establishing special designated fast-track courts to expedite trials related to Khap Panchayat abuses needs to be established and judicial magistrates should be granted power to prohibit unlawful assemblies, etc.