KOHIMA: Can you imagine a court in India that has zero pendency, doesn’t go on any vacation and at times pronounces judgments on the spot? The Kohima district customary court, which deals with issues of uncodified tribal laws, boasts of such an envious record. Here litigants plead and argue their own cases and all it needs to get justice is just Rs 200. But the customary laws and the courts are being questioned by women’s rights activists.“Ruling pertaining to many cases is delivered on the very day that a complaint is filed. When we need to visit the spot to determine a case or if it seems complicated, we take a week’s time at best,” says chief dobashi Keneilezo, who joined the court in 1987.Dobashi is anglicization of ‘dobhashi’ or a person who knows two languages as the duty of these people was that of translators during the days of British rule. These people would know their tribal dialect and Nagamese, a hybrid of Assamese still used as the lingua franca across Nagaland . The Britishers could communicate in Nagamese.The Kohima district customary courtfunctions under the deputy commissioner of the district concerned. Like the Kohima district customary court, there’s no pendency in most of the other tribal courts, says Keneilezo. “About 80% of the rulings are accepted by the people and never challenged in higher courts,” says dobashi Menuolie, adding, “We mostly deal with issues of land litigation, money lending and marital disputes”. There are 20 dobashis in the Kohima court and they all sit together to discuss and decide on every case. Established in 1924, this was the first customary court, says the head dobashi, and deals with 100 to 250 cases a year.What’s most interesting is that since issues of land and marriage are governed by tribal rules, and each and every tribe has its own sets of rules, there is no law book to guide the dobashis. These men, picked by the village councils and interviewed and appointed by the deputy commissioner, interpret the law of the tribes and hand down judgments.“What is best in this system is that justice lies with the people. The judges being from respective villages very well know the cases they are dealing with. There’s least chance of miscarriage of justice,” says social activist and Tangkhul expert S Varah.The powers of the dobashi court comes from the special rights enshrined upon Nagaland by Article 371(A). Article 371 (A) of the Constitution states that no Act of Parliament regarding social or religious practices of the Nagas and to do with tribal customary laws shall apply to Nagaland unless the state assembly passes a resolution to approve of it.But the Naga customary laws have come under severe criticism over their patriarchal nature. “Article 371(A) does not envison women empowerment. Lot of these customary laws are patriarchal and we are questioning them,” says Rosemary Dzuvichu, advisor to Naga Mothers Association. There is no woman dobashi in Nagaland. How can the system be fair asks womens’ rights activists if the village councils that hand-pick the dobashis, don’t see active participation of women.

Stay updated with all the Latest Kohima headlines here. For more exclusive & live news updates from all around India, stay connected with NYOOOZ.