Capitalising on the near absence of security forces due to the hostile terrain in the upper reaches of Udhampur and adjoining Doda districts, militants here are providing on-the-spot `justice' to assert their supremacy in these tiny and inaccessible hamlets. The law of the land holds little meaning for the villagers in these catchment militant areas.

And irony is that the `parallel justice mechanism' has helped the villagers resolve various disputes ranging from marital discords to land disputes. ``The presence of large number of militants ensures that the judgment is implemented forcibly in our villages, cut off from civilisation,'' says Hakam Din, a Neoch villager.

These so called `panchayats' aredifferent in character to the hundreds existing in other parts of the country with the core of this parallel mechanism formed by the HM militants and their verdict sacrosanct. ``What option do we have. Here the absence of law enforcing agency has resulted in the formation of a parallel government and their say is final,'' says a villager of Dewal Marg at the base of Peer Panjal range.

Shamas Din (name changed), a villager of Mahu Mangat in Doda district had lost all hopes of retrieving his 20 acres of land which was forcibly occupied by his cousins until he heard about the Panchayat holding `sessions' in the upper reaches of his village. ``I did approach them after I found it difficult to get back my land through the official channels. I was scared but I didn't have any other option,'' he says.

Both the parties were `summoned' and at the end of an hour long argument session, the `panchayat' awarded Shamas Din a claim over 15 acres of the land and the rest was given to the other party for it felt that theytoo had some claim over the ancestral land.

Such judgments are not rare in these God forsaken hamlets where there is hardly any presence of forces in the upper reaches. ``Had I approached the forces, do you think I would have got back my land,'' Shamas queries.And those who have in fact dared to defy the directives have been punished. Neoch resident, one Wali Mohammad was abducted from his place in the dead of the night and taken to a unknown place, severely beaten up for not refraining from indulging into promiscuity.

Some of the villagers complained to the militant `panchayat' about Wali's licentious revelry but even after being summoned and warned by the `panchs', the middle-aged man chose to ignore the directives. ``His actions had brought disrepute to the entire village and it was after a lot of deliberations between the villagers that we decided to approach the panchayat,'' said Wali's neighbour.

But in some villages in the upper reaches taking advantage of their proximity to the hard-coremilitants, some of the sympathisers appointed as panchs are indulging in exploitation of the hapless villagers. ``What happens is that for getting a favourable judgment you pay money to these people and they will ensure that the party who pays gets the best,'' disclosed a villager of Dewal Marg.

The security forces in fact know that such `panchayats' do exist but the limited presence in the areas prevents them from cracking down on them. ``What do we do, the hostile terrain restricts our free movement. And even if get message about a session in progress it becomes difficult to crackdown for in the upper reaches there is a considerable militant presence,'' admits a police officer.