State and Government in Ancient India c19.23

c19.23

A number of famous jurists maintain that the king or presiding judge is to be guided by the verdict of the jury.⁴ We may therefore assume that such was actually the case. The only exception was that of a difficult case, where the jurors could not come to any definite decision. In such a case the king exercised his privilege of deciding the point according to his own view.⁵ The case of Chārudatta in the *Mṛichchhakaṭika* would further show that the jurors used to give their opinion about the innocence or guilt of the accused; the quantum of punishment was often left to the king.¹