Public Administration in Ancient India c15.83

c15.83

³ In six cases, witnesses were held unnecessary, and indications of the crime committed were regarded as sufficient. “It should be known,” says Nārada, “that one carrying a firebrand in his hand is an incendiary; that one taken with a weapon in his hand is a murderer; and that where a man and the wife of another man seize one another by the hair, the man must be an adulterer. One who goes about with a hatchet in his hand and makes his approach may be recognised as a destroyer of bridges (and embankments); one carrying an axe is a destroyer of trees. One whose looks are suspicious is likely to have committed an assault. In all these cases, witnesses may be dispensed with; in the case of assault, careful investigation is required.” I. 175. The indications may be regarded as constituting what is called ‘real’ and ‘circumstantial’ evidence.