Hindu Law and Custom (Recht und Sitte) c10.45

c10.45

derived from Indian law, only 10 per cent. go to the judges and the advocates, the rest on the other hand goes to the victorious party ¹. According to Nār. I, 1, 4 and the commentary thereon the wager (paṇa) is to be stipulated in writing. It shall take place only when the plaint and answer are already filed and the procedure of witnesses has already begun. Either only one party lays wager by promising, in the heat of the dispute, to pay a certain sum in the case of defeat, or both the parties lay wager in which the stakes however may be quite different; the amount of the wager is also independent of the amount of the disputed sum, e.g., very small stakes are allowed in the case of valuable properties of dispute.