August 14, 1990 — Outside Gaya, Bihar
The newly built Nyaya Kendra in Sarvapur village looked like nothing more than a tiled-roofed panchayat hall from the outside. But inside, it glowed with solar-powered lighting, two public-use terminals, a biometric kiosk, and one unmissable object: the flag of India, painted on the wall with the words "Nyaya hi Vikas hai" — Justice is Development.
On one side of the room stood the Gram Nyayadhikari, a tech-trained paralegal named Mukesh Pandey. Opposite him, two brothers from a nearby farm stared daggers at each other. Their father had died four years ago, leaving behind a 5-acre plot of land — but no will.
They had been fighting over it ever since.
"Submit your land records again through Aadhar scan," Mukesh said calmly.
The biometric scanner beeped. The AI system NyayaSoft brought up entries from government archives, satellite records, and past Panchayat resolutions.
A legal assistant explained the options in local Magahi.
⚖️ 20 Days, One Settlement
Within 20 days — 19 days and 7 hours, to be exact — a mediated solution was reached:
Land would be divided with legal surveyors present.
The elder brother, who lived on the land, would retain cultivation rights.
The younger brother would receive a government-subsidized loan to start a dairy unit on the remaining parcel.
Both signed their agreement using their fingerprint and eye scan.
A copy of the verdict was uploaded to their Aadhar-linked personal dashboard.
No bribes. No lawyers. No delay.
Just justice.
The crowd outside the Nyaya Kendra clapped. An old man muttered, "Sarkar ne toh sach mein nyaya diya. Pehli baar... bina paisa diye."
🗞️ National Coverage
By August 18, over 4,300 Nyaya Kendras were live in rural India.
Doordarshan broadcast a special report titled:
"Justice Without Lawyers? The Sarvapur Experiment."
Opposition leaders remained skeptical, calling it a "populist justice gimmick." But villagers across India began lining up outside Nyaya Kendras — for loan fraud, land disputes, even theft.
A case that had been pending in a district court in Rae Bareli since 1979 was resolved in 17 days by a Nyaya Kendra under fast-track re-registration with Aadhar.
🛰️ Inside PMO
Aryan watched the report on mute, sipping black tea.
Justice Minister Prakash Deshmukh entered with a file.
"Sir, 68% clearance rate within 30 days. We're outperforming even our best models."
"How many complaints about bias or misconduct?"
"Three. Two were false. One clerk has been suspended."
Aryan nodded. The screen behind him showed real-time dashboard data:
Cases Resolved: 187,542
Avg Time-to-Verdict: 23 Days
Grievance Satisfaction Index: 92.6%
"Not bad for 45 days," Aryan said.
📜 A New Legal Culture
In law colleges from Pune to Shillong, students were now learning Algorithmic Mediation Theory and AI-Evidence Chains.
The Bar Council had initially resisted. But Aryan offered them a compromise:
NyayaSoft would never recommend jail terms or death penalties — only assistive suggestions.
Aryan released a statement:
"The Constitution guarantees justice — not necessarily delay, litigation, or loopholes."
"We're not replacing courts. We're removing their excuses."
And across the country, for the first time in decades, poor men and women began saying a strange, beautiful sentence:
"Main kanoon se nahi darta. Mujhe kanoon par bharosa hai."