Judicial System in Ancient India

JUDICIAL SYSTEMS IN
ANCIENT INDIA
Judicial institutions
No clear reference - existence of judicial organization in - Vedic period
Village elders acted as judges - punishment -awarded according to the

nature of the offence, in accordance with local usages and customs
The king - fountainhead of law - dispensed with justice
The growing and settled order of society made it impossible for the king
carry out all function of judiciary
The administration of justice was entrusted to the hands of the experts
King’s court was reserved for appeals and severe crimes against the state,
the rest of the litigations being entrusted to various other courts
Judges
A group of six member of the Sabha also acted as judges in Vedic

society
Kautilya advises the king to establish a court with a bench of three

magistrates for every ten villages, with higher courts in the district
and provinces
Manu also suggested a bench composed of the Pradvivaka and three

other judges.
According to Sudraka’s Mruchchakatika judges consisted of
Adhikarnika (chief justice)
Sresthin (a wealthy merchant)
Kayastha (a representative of the particular folder)
Highest court kings’ court

Types of courts
In the Vedic times, the Sabha, which assumed the character of

National judicature, exercised judicial functions as well
The meeting of the assembly for justice may have been more
frequent than for general discussion and decision
A standing committee (6 members) of the Sabha might have

permitted these functions
The thieves and criminal were dragged before the Sabha - most
influential men had to submit to the decision of their peer
assembled here
The Dharmasutras evidence to the continuance of the judicial

character of the Sabha even to later times
Kautilya mentions two types of courts
Civil court (Dharmasteya) - dealt with

disputes involving
*Contracts
*Inheritance
*Labour
*Marriages
*Dowry
*Deposits
*Benefit
Criminal court: Kantakasodhana
1.Protection of artisans and merchants
2.Detecting criminals by means of spies
3.Arresting the suspicious or real culprits
4.Post-mortem examinations
5.Discipline in various state departments
6.Punishment for mutilation
7.Capital punishment
8.Miscellaneous offences
• Kantakasodhana was in the nature of the “doctrine of police
power”
• To remove all such impediments which were injuries to the peaceful

enjoyment of rights of the people
• To root out all such anti-social elements which acted against the
established social order
• There was no provision for the arrest of the persons three days
after a crime had been committed
• The aged, the diseased, the mad, those suffering from hunger,
those who confessed their guilt, physically unfit, and the pregnant
women were generally exempted from persecution
Courts of the Guilds
The guilds had their own rules and regulation called the srenidharma
The Guild had judicial rights over its jurisdiction.
The guilds were not allowed to exercise their powers like autocrats
because ultimately they were responsible to the state.
Village courts
Village panchayats: grama vruddgas
Chief of the village advised by six councilors

* Narada Smriti gives – detailed description of – court procedures…
* Plaintiff – to make his plaint in writing
* Defendant had – give – reply also in writing – his own hand or with – scribe
* Answer could be in – form of confession – he could also cite – record of a
previous judgement
* The sabhyas or assessors would – proceed to investigate – case – examining

and verifying all – evidences
* After – full deliberation – sabhyas would place – finding before – judge who –
give – decision
* The party in whose favour – decision had been made was awarded a
jayapatra
* The guilty party – given either punishment or – pay the penalty
* Court Procedure
Plaintiff
A plaintiff first filed plaint before the registration officer
(Lekhaka) with sufficient information
When the judge found that matter was legally acceptable, he
delivered a sealed order to the defendant
Suits between teacher and student, husband and wife and master
and servant should not be entrained
(Manu) In case of more than one complaint at the same time,
preference must be given on the basis of the varna of the plaintiff
(Katyayana) Priority should be given to a plait where the injury was
greater or cause more important requiring immediate attention
Defendant
The legally maintainable plaint was read and recorded in the

presence of the defendant
Then the defendant was asked by the judge to file his reply
as early as possible
Defendant had to give immediate reply in urgent and important

cases
Adjournment ranged from one day to one year or more

The ordinary procedure in trails was by evidence, while in
extraordinary cases recourse was taken to divine evidence
There are instances of circumstantial evidence, particularly in the

absence of human evidence, being considered in the trial of cases
The trial involved the examination of documents, possession and

evidence tendered by the witness were discussed meticulously
* Katyayana (priority) does not favour adjournment, to avoid

complication and normal of course of judicial procedure
* The defendant’s reply was require to meet the points raised

in the plaint without deviating from truth and without any
confusion
* No evidence of – type of jury trials – prevalent in – West
* But – ancient times – sabhyas seem to – equivalent in a way – to
modern jurors
* There were no lawyers – as we have now – to do – actual cross

examination of witnesses
* Yajnavalkya Smriti lays – number of sabhyas at three, five or seven

* Odd number probably takes care of – event of a tie so that a casting
vote would determine – final decision
* It is – difference from – present system when – jury has 12 members

and their decision has to – unanimous
* Most Smritis insist on – sabhyas being Brahmins – they too - contradict

themselves at times
* Jury Trials
* Caste of – sabhyas would – depend on – nature of – case to which caste
or community – litigants belonged to and – law that had to be applied
to – case
* Brahmins would be needed if – law to be applied was a part of –

shastra
* The determining factor was – knowledge of – relevant law

The trial
* The trail of the case began with the submission of the reply, in
writing, by the defendant
* Depending on the decision of the judge they should submit their

proofs
According to smiti writers at least three witnesses before the king

and Brahmans
Justice given according to law and in consonance with the accepted

social norms and every point in the case was subjected to close
scrutiny
* Smritis give us details about – different kinds of proof or evidence –
acceptable in a court of law
* In – case of vyavahara (concept of Hindu law / legal procedure) - - most

important proof – written documents of various types
* Types of documents…
* Land grant – on a copper plate or cloth, given by – king under his own
signature
* Document written or recorded by an authorized official, under – king’s seal

* Document subscribed or signed by witnesses
* Document written by mutual agreement of – parties concerned – with clear
record of – names of – signatories, their caste, gotra names of parents and
other relevant matters – including – date – attestation of witnesses – most
important
* Sources of proof
* These documents…
* Deeds of partition, gift, purchase, mortgage or bondage
* During – trial – documents had to – published and read out to kula,
shreni or puga groups – whichever – relevant in order to establish
authenticity
* Forgery, age of document (the period of limitation was 30 years)

could lead to it being rejected in – court
Mode of proof divided into two classes
Human: documents, possession and witness (sakshi)
Divine: divine proof consisted of ordeals
Ordeals were restored to only when “ordinary method

of proof was not possible”

Judicial System in Ancient India

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Judicial System in Ancient India

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Judicial System in Ancient India

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

JUDICIAL SYSTEMS IN

No clear reference - existence of judicial organization in - Vedic period

Village elders acted as judges - punishment -awarded according to the

The king - fountainhead of law - dispensed with justice

The administration of justice was entrusted to the hands of the experts

A group of six member of the Sabha also acted as judges in Vedic

Kautilya advises the king to establish a court with a bench of three

Manu also suggested a bench composed of the Pradvivaka and three

According to Sudraka’s Mruchchakatika judges consisted of

Adhikarnika (chief justice)

Sresthin (a wealthy merchant)

Kayastha (a representative of the particular folder)

Highest court kings’ court

In the Vedic times, the Sabha, which assumed the character of

A standing committee (6 members) of the Sabha might have

The Dharmasutras evidence to the continuance of the judicial

Civil court (Dharmasteya) - dealt with

2.Detecting criminals by means of spies

3.Arresting the suspicious or real culprits

5.Discipline in various state departments

6.Punishment for mutilation

• To remove all such impediments which were injuries to the peaceful

The Guild had judicial rights over its jurisdiction.

Village panchayats: grama vruddgas

Chief of the village advised by six councilors

* The sabhyas or assessors would – proceed to investigate – case – examining

* The guilty party – given either punishment or – pay the penalty

The legally maintainable plaint was read and recorded in the

Defendant had to give immediate reply in urgent and important

Adjournment ranged from one day to one year or more

There are instances of circumstantial evidence, particularly in the

The trial involved the examination of documents, possession and

* Katyayana (priority) does not favour adjournment, to avoid

* The defendant’s reply was require to meet the points raised

* There were no lawyers – as we have now – to do – actual cross

* Yajnavalkya Smriti lays – number of sabhyas at three, five or seven

* It is – difference from – present system when – jury has 12 members

* Most Smritis insist on – sabhyas being Brahmins – they too - contradict

* Brahmins would be needed if – law to be applied was a part of –

* The determining factor was – knowledge of – relevant law

* Depending on the decision of the judge they should submit their

According to smiti writers at least three witnesses before the king

Justice given according to law and in consonance with the accepted

* In – case of vyavahara (concept of Hindu law / legal procedure) - - most

* Document written or recorded by an authorized official, under – king’s seal

* Forgery, age of document (the period of limitation was 30 years)

Mode of proof divided into two classes

Human: documents, possession and witness (sakshi)

Divine: divine proof consisted of ordeals

Ordeals were restored to only when “ordinary method

You might also like