The phrase “Ignorance of the law is no excuse” refers to the norm that applies to all citizens of a nation, including laypeople and prominent figures.
Unfortunately, the majority of Nagaland residents—literate and illiterate—lack legal knowledge and awareness, which violates their basic rights and makes it difficult for them to benefit from government assistance programs and schemes.
Since there is essentially no legal education in the state, citizens pay little attention to Article 39(A) of the Indian Constitution, which requires the state to offer free legal assistance to ensure that no citizen is denied the opportunity to get justice owing to financial or other constraints.
I. Imkong Jamir, president of the Mokokchung District Bar Association, stated his worries about the public’s lack of legal understanding and his suspicion that “undue advantages” are being used against the state’s regular citizens.
He claims that a common person can be taken advantage of even in a close-by adjacent store.
“When retailers bring particular veggies to their individual colonies and areas after the MMC has set a price for them, they may demand a greater price than what the MMC has set. But regrettably, neither do we examine these transgressions nor do we voice our complaints,” Imkong continued.
He emphasized further how some stores continue to demand higher prices even if the products already have the MRP stamped on them.
“Shopkeepers are not authorized to sell with more than the printed MRP, unless the goods have printed something called Local Tax Extra (LTE), but we regularly notice that such illegal activities continue to happen,” he pointed out.
The District Level Services Authority (DLSA) has done its utmost to raise awareness by hosting seminars on fundamental rights, rights for the disabled, rights of women, rights of consumers, and awareness of the Village Council Act, among other topics, he continued. The result, meanwhile, was disappointing, he noted.
“The villagers find it extremely challenging to accept the legal standing because of the strongholds that our traditions and culture have on us, particularly in the village. They have such a strong hold on the old traditions,” he said.
He noted that the Indian constitution is the supreme law of the land and that, in case of a contradiction between the customary law and Indian constitution, the latter will prevail and, hence, encouraged people to remain legally aware and conscious.
In response to the question of whether there has been any pending litigation in the lower courts, he expressed the opinion that courts only miss sessions owing to unforeseen circumstances, such as the prosecutor, the attorney, the witness, or any of these failing to appear due to illness, etc.
He continued by saying that some cases are delayed, particularly drug cases because the narcotics have to be properly identified before being sent to labs.
“These days, every District Session Court sessions every 15 days,” he continued, “at the direction of the Supreme Court, to guarantee that pending cases are kept to a minimum.”