Veronica Marbaniang is a distraught Khasi mother of two small children seeking to end her marriage to an alcoholic. And justice, she feels, can only come from a local court in Meghalaya known as Dorbar.

A decade after her marriage, 34-year-old Veronica is trying to free herself from her husband. The schoolteacher is approaching the king's court, locally called Dorbar, for divorce.

"It is much easier and faster to get the case settled in the Dorbar than by going to a family court where the process of justice is rather slow," Veronica told.

Like Veronica, hundreds in Meghalaya approach Dorbars to settle disputes with the centuries-old Dorbars. Traditional laws are still popular concepts among the tribal people.

And unlike in the case of Shariat courts existing in some parts of the country, no one has accused the Dorbars of usurping the powers of the country's judiciary.

There are 25 Khasi provinces in Meghalaya, each ruled by a king or Syiem.

The tribal society in Meghalaya being matrilineal, kingship is hereditary with the next in line from the maternal side taking over the reins. The Dorbars and Syiems do not have any legal sanction under the Indian constitution.

The Instrument of Accession of 1947-48, a treaty signed between 25 Khasi tribal chieftains and the Indian Dominion, stated that customary laws and powers of the Syiems would be incorporated in the constitution.

In reality, however, the framers of the constitution never recognized the status of the Dorbars.

Although the Dorbars have no legal validity, people in Meghalaya still flock to the king's court to seek justice.

"People come to us with cases ranging from land disputes to matrimonial alliances, even criminal cases. Our verdicts are well accepted by the people," said Bah Jai, the king of Mawdon province.

In a three-tier system of administration, the Syiems play a significant role, aided by their councils of ministers and village "sordars" (headman), who assist the king in dispensing justice and ruling their respective provinces.

Despite the majority of the tribals believing and reposing faith in the Dorbars, there are apprehensions that traditional institutions and customs may face total extinction with the passage of time.

"There is a danger of traditional customs and rights passing into history. This will lead to fragmentation of the tribal society," said Blandan Nonglet, another Khasi chieftain.

There is a movement in the state to pressurise the central government into according legal sanction to the institution of kingship in Meghalaya.

"It is the desire of the people of Meghalaya to see that Dorbars are granted legal status or else we shall have to further intensify our movement," said John F. Kharshiing, a leader of the Federation of Khasi States, the apex body campaigning for legal status for the Dorbars.