State and Government in Ancient India c18.s1.82

c18.s1.82

The settlement of the village disputes was one of the most important functions of the village councils.⁴ In the first instance, family elders or the guild to which the disputants belonged tried to settle the case ; but if they failed, the village council used to decide the dispute. Serious crimes were naturally excluded from the jurisdiction of the village council ; sometimes capital punishment had to be imposed upon the criminals and it was naturally felt that the highest court of the state should be called upon to decide the momentous issue. Cases of accidental homicides not amounting to murder were, however, often settled by the Tehsil councils in the Chola period.¹