History of the Qaraunah Turks in India c12.s1.7

c12.s1.7

where he received petitions and complaints from the general public, and adds that the ordinary sessions of the Durbār were held every day in the morning and evening.¹²⁶ Ibn Batūṭah who attended these Durbārs does not mention the special session alluded to by the author of the Masālik, though he mentions a small durbār of justice, attended by a few leading officers, but he gives a detailed account of the Durbār-i-‘ām which was held in the thousand-pillared palace with great pomp and splendour both in the morning and evening. The special session of the Durbari-‘ām mentioned by Shihāb-al-Din and the Durbār-i-Inṣāf (of justice) of Ibn Batūṭah do not seem to be identical, for there is much divergence between the accounts of the two authorities, although the functions of both are similar. The Durbār-i-Inṣāf was something like a supreme court of justice, which was attended by a few high officials of the crown. The other was a public levee where the Sultan summoned all his leading officers and secretaries and it was much grander in appearance than the somewhat solemn Durbār of justice.