Judicial System In Ancient India

Judicial System In Ancient India

Contents:
1. Introduction
2. Sources of Law
3. Judicial System during Vedic Period
4. Types of courts
5. Different kinds of law
6. Types Of Law Suits
7. Judicial Procedure
8. Justice during Mauryan Times
9. Justice During Gupta Times 10.Conclusion 11. Bibliography

Introduction:
The present judicial system is not an unanticipated formation. It is the result of prolonged and gradual process of Indian history. It has however influenced the present judicial system to a great extent.
Administration of justice is one of the most essential functions of the state.1 If everybody was perfect then there was no need of courts, as it is we find that man might be a little lower than perfect, so there was a need of judicial system to organise themselves and to organise the society. We need rule of law for punishing all differences and faults from the code of conduct and standard of behaviour which the community speaking through its representatives has prescribed as the law of the land. It is the human nature to have issues and to settle these issues we need guidelines in the form of rules or laws. Laws and courts have always gone together, neither laws can exist without court or courts exist without laws.
The judicial system deals with the administration of the laws through the agency of the courts. The system provides the machinery for the resolving of the disputes on account of which the aggrieved. Party approaches the courts. Nothing rankles in human heart more than a brooding sense of injustice. No society can allow a situation to grow where the impression prevails of there being no redress for grievances.2

Judicial System In Vedic Period:

There are many instances in ancient Hindu literature which talks about the origin of Kingship and conditions of society without the king or a ruler. At that time the parties which had disputes themselves took initiative to sort out their problems.

Later justice was administered by the tribe and clan assemblies and the judicial procedure was very simple. But with the extension of the functions of the state and the growth of the royal powers, the king came gradually to be regarded as the origin of justice and a more or less elaborate system of judicial administration came into existence.
Theft, burglary, highway robbery and cheating are among the crimes recorded, cattle lifting at night, being a very frequent one. Marriage of brother and sister was looked upon as incest. Tying the criminal to a stake was a common form of punishment. The epithet satadaya, i.e. “One the price of whose blood was one hundred coins” shows that the system of wergild ( Vairadeya) or blood money was probably in force. Whereas death was one of the punishments for theft in later times. The aim seems rather to have satisfaction of the person who’s done wrong. 3

Types Of Courts:

According to Brihaspati, a court of justice was of the following four kinds:4
1 .Prati sthi t a (St ationary): One established in a fixed place such as a town or village.
2 . Aprati sthi t a (No t st ationary): Not fixed in one place but moving from place to place as on a circuit.
3 . Mudri t a : The court of a judge appointed by the king who is authorized to use the royal seal.
4 . Sasi t a or Sast ri t a : The court presided over by the king himself.

Thus, Brihaspati mentioned the four kinds of courts whereas the study of Arthasastra of Kautilya reveals that there were two types of judicial court viz., (i) Dharmasthiya or the civil courts, and (ii) Kantakasodhana or the criminal court. 5 In this judicial system, Vedic king not only performed the duty as a protector but also acted as the highest authority and claimed himself as the upholder of Dharma of law. For this purpose, he appointed judges to assist him in the administration of justice.
He used to impart justice with the aid of ministers, legal experts, chief justice, elders and representatives of the trading community.5
In addition to these, Yalgnavalkya for the first time refers to three types of popular courts:6
Kula- The Kula has been defined by the Mitakshara as consisting of a group of relations, near or distant. The Kula or joint families were often very extensive in ancient India. If there was a quarrel between two members the elders used to attempt to settle it. The Kula court was this informal body of family elders.
Sreni- When the effort at family arbitration failed, the matter was taken to Sreni court. The term Sreni was used to denote the courts of guilds which became a prominent feature of the commercial life in ancient India from 500 B.C. Sreni had their own executive committees of four or five members and it is likely that they might have functioned as the Sreni court also for settling the disputes among their members. This was an assembly of persons following a particular profession like betel sellers, weavers, shoe makers and such like.
Puga- This was an association of persons drawn from various castes and following different professions but staying in the same village or town. The Sabha or the village assembly of the Vedic period and Gramavriddha court of the Arthasastra were the forerunner of the Puga court.

Different kinds of laws7:
Different kinds of laws: Justice was administered in accordance with rules which fell under one or other of the following four heads, namely
Sacred law (Dharma)
Secular law (Vyavahara)
Custom (Charitra) and
Royal commands (Rajasasana)
Dharmashastra constituted the sacred law and secular law depended upon evidence. Custom was decided by the opinion of the people and royal edicts constituted the administrative law. Of the divisions of laws, Manu and almost all law-givers consider customs as the essential principle in the administration of justice and say that disputes should be decided according to the customs of countries and districts; of castes; of guilds and of families.

Types of law-suits8: The topics which give rise to law suits are grouped by the law-givers under 18 titles, namely
Recovery of debt
Deposit and pledge
Sale without ownership
Concerns among partners
Resumption of gifts
Non-payment of wages
Non-performance of agreements
Revoking of sale and purchase
Dispute between owners of cattle and herdsmen
Dispute regarding boundaries
Assault
Defamation
Theft
Robbery and violence
Adultery
Duties of man and wife
Inheritance and partition and
Gambling and betting

Judicial Procedure:

Judicial Procedure9: The judicial proceeding in a case consisted of four stages namely
1. The statement of the Arthi/Purvapaksha (plaintiff) who had filed a complaint (Prathigna) stating precisely his case and claim.
2. The Prathyarthi/ Uttarapaksha (defendant) was summoned with a notice and was required to submit his written statement in reply.
3. Then the actual trial would begin wherein the judge would call upon the parties to cite evidence/proof (Pramana) which were of two kinds namely human (manushik) and divine (daivik). The human proof consisted of documentary evidence, oral evidence and possessions. Divine proof was of five kinds, ordeal by balance, by fire, water, poison and by drinking water. Divine proof was restored to only in the absence of human proof.
4. When the evidence was over the judge would in consultation with Sabhyas or jurors give his decision/judgment (nirnaya). copy of the judgment was given to the parties. The unsuccessful party could appeal to the higher courts.

Justice During Mauryan Times10:

The king was the head of justice, but there were special tribunals of justice both in cities and country side presided over by Mahamatras and Rajukas. The chief-justice was known as Dharmadhikarin. Kautilya speaks of two types of courts,
Dharmastheeya- Civil courts with jurisdiction over ordinary civil and criminal issues.
Kantaka Sodhana- Courts consisting of three commissioners (Pradestaras) with jurisdiction over matters of commerce and industries and prevention of breach of peace.
According to the Greek accounts the criminal code of the Mauryas was rather severe and sternly administered. A large number of ordinary offences like giving false evidence, evasion of government taxes, causing serious hurt to artisans and workmen were punished by mutilation and death. Judicial torture was used to extort confessions. There were 18 codes of torture including seven varieties of whipping. Such a harsh criminal code had the good effect on maintain peace and order. According to Megasthenese there were very few crimes and thefts uncommon. As a result people left the door of their houses unlocked. Ashoka introduced reforms in the judicial administration and procedure. He ordered that a respite of three days was to be granted to person condemned to death so that his relatives might use the interval to petition for mercy to the local authorities or enable the convicts to prepare spiritually for death by giving alms or observing fasts.