Group Activity · Part 2

of blood stains in his mouth resulted in the person being declared guilty. Ordeal of Fire: The accused was made to walk through fire and was deemed innocent only if the person suffered no injury. Ordeal of water : The accused was made to drink the water used to clean the idol was deemed innocent if it had no harmful effects on him within the next days. Ordeals severe ordeals and extreme punishments; changing of caste based occupations was treated (Varna Sangraha) as a serious crime. Arthasastra suggests disproportionate punishments for restricting instances of crimes; penalties levied on culprits, and confiscation of properties as a major source of royal income. The smritis treated women as inferior humans and were prejudiced against them even in matters of inheritance. The Sudras, and Panchamas were ineligible for a fair trial and fair punishment. Trade disputes were mostly settled through guilds (SRENIS). Similarly each artisan group had its own guild to resolve disputes within. The Mahasabhas of the Pallava – Pandya- Chola empires insulated Brahmins from regular system of justice. The Mahasabha’s variyam (Dharma variam, Nyaya variam) settled issues within the mahasabhas. The ( The King’s Court was presided over by the Sultan and the Court had both original and appellate jurisdiction. It was the highest court of appeal and in the administration of justice, the Sultan was assisted by Muftis (legal experts). Diwan- Al-Mazalim and Diwan-e-Risalat are the highest courts of appeal in criminal and civil matters respectively. Though these Courts were to be officially presided over by the Sultan, he seldom attended the sessions of the Courts. In the absence of the Sultan, the courts were presided over by Qazi-ul-Quzat, the highest judicial officer of the State. But later, the post of Sadre Jahan was created making him the de-facto head of the judiciary. The Sadre Jahan’s Court and the Chief Justice’s Court remained separate for long until amalgamated later by Alauddin-Khilji. The Chief Justice’s Court dealt with both civil and criminal cases and the Chief Justice was assisted by judges who were men