State and Government in Ancient India c16.130

c16.130

The Chief Justice had to be well grounded in Smṛiti literature; it is therefore no wonder that sometimes the royal chaplains, who were often well grounded in it, were appointed to the post. Such was the case under the Chandella king Dhaṅga in 1003 A. D.⁵ Petty criminal cases were tried by local bodies, but serious ones were decided in royal courts. Judges of the criminal courts were probably known as *daṇḍādyakshas*. It is rather strange that jail officers should figure so very rarely both in Smṛitis and inscriptions. This may be probably due to imprisonments being not quite common. It appears that fines were more usually imposed ; officers in charge of their collection are designated as *daśāparākdhikas*¹ in some Pāla records.²