Photo: BSS

JASHORE, July 19, 2026 (BSS) - Popularity of village courts here in the district is increasing due to the swift and low-cost resolution of disputes.

In the past two years, approximately 7,000 cases have been handled through village courts in the district. The settlement rate of these cases exceeds 98 percent. During the same period, victims have received around Taka 13 crore in compensation.

According to the Village Court Project sources, villagers in 93 union councils across 8 upazilas of Jashore district are receiving justice in a short time and at minimal cost through village court activities.

Speaking to BSS, Alam Khan of Hakimpur village in Chowgacha upazila said he had been running from pillar to post for a long time to recover a debt of Taka 40,000, but could not afford to go to court. However, he recovered his money through the village court at a cost of only Taka 100. 

Like Alam Khan, the village court has now become a reliable destination for thousands of people in Jashore for speedy justice and relief from suffering.

Advocate Mahitosh Kumar Roy, Jashore District Manager of the 'Activating Village Courts in Bangladesh Project (Phase III),' said that from February 2024 to June this year, a total of 7,108 cases were handled in the district. Among these, 7,000 cases were settled, which is 98.48 percent of the filed cases. On average, it takes only 10 days to settle a case in the district.

He informed that decisions in 6,491 of the settled cases were successfully implemented. Through this process, a total of TK 12,77,32,840 was recovered and distributed to the aggrieved parties.

Additionally, among the cases filed in village courts during the mentioned period, there were 3,813 civil disputes and 3,295 criminal disputes. Among the beneficiaries of this service, 64.72 percent are men and 35.28 percent are women.

Under this project, funded by the Government of Bangladesh, the European Union and UNDP, disputes related to financial transactions and debt recovery, land disputes, payment of agricultural workers' wages, and minor criminal offenses are being resolved at the local level.

Rafiqul Hasan, Deputy Director of Local Government Division (DDLG) in the district, said that judicial services of village courts are an important function of union councils. Village courts make it possible to peacefully resolve various local-level disputes.

He said that due to the low cost and quick resolution of disputes, the popularity of village courts is increasing. Additionally, this will reduce the case backlog and protracted delays in district and higher courts.