Mughal Administration c6.s7: § 7. The Judiciary.
Mughal Administration c6.s7
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§ 7. The Judiciary.
c6.s7.1
The Emperor, as "the Khalif of the Age," was theoretically the highest judge and used to hold courts of justice and try select cases personally on Wednesdays. But the court held by him was a tribunal of the highest appeal rather than a court of first instance. The Qāzi was the chief judge in criminal suits, and tried them according to Muslim law. Not only all cases between Muhammadans, but also all important criminal cases in which one of the parties was a Muhammadan, had to be instituted in the Qāzi's court. Assisted by a mufti, who consulted the old Arabic books on jurisprudence and stated the abstract law bearing on the case, the Qāzi pronounced sentence.
c6.s7.2
∗ Manucci writes :—"He had charge of the whole expenditure of the royal household in reference to both great and small things."—(*Storia do Mogor*, ii. 419). See, also, my *History of Aurangzib*, iii. Ch. 27 § 9.
c6.s7.3
Naturally, the great power and irresponsible position of the Qāzi enabled him to turn his office into a vast field of corruption, and all the Qāzis of the Mughal period, with a few honourable exceptions, were notorious for taking bribes. (History of Aurangzib, iii. ch. 27 § 10.) The supreme Qāzi of the empire was called the Qāzi-ul-quzāt and also "the Qāzi of the imperial camp" and he always accompanied the Emperor. Every city and even large village had its local Qāzi, who was appointed by the Chief Qāzi. These posts were often sold for bribes, and the Qāzi's department became a byword and a reproach in Mughal times.
c6.s7.4
The following is the customary charge of the diwan to a newly appointed Qazi: "Be just, be honest, be impartial. Hold trials in the presence of the parties and at the court-house and the seat of Government (muhakuma.)
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"Do not accept presents from the people of the place where you serve, nor attend entertainments given by anybody and everybody.
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“Write your decrees, sale-deeds, mortgage-bonds and other legal documents very carefully, so that learned men may not pick holes in them and bring you to shame.*
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• “Known poverty (*faqr*) to be your glory (*fakhr*)” [Manual, pp. 43-44.]
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The *Mufti* is urged to spend his days and nights in reading books on jurisprudence and the reports of cases from which one can learn legal precedents. When he finds the judgment proposed in a case by the Qazi under whom he serves to be opposed to all precedent, he should tell him politely, “Sir, in a similar case, reported in such and such a book, the judgment is given thus. It would be better if you pronounce your own judgment after reading that book.”
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The *Mufti* should train himself during his leisure-hours by copying learned legal decisions and discussions of judicial principles from authoritative text-books. [Manual, 45-46.]
c6.s7.10
The Sadar was judge and supervisor of the endowments of land made by the Emperor or by the princes for the support of pious men, scholars and monks. It was his duty to see that such grants were applied to the right purpose and also to scrutinize applications for fresh grants. Assistance was often given in cash also. The rent-free land granted bore the names of *sayurghal* (Turkish), *madad-i-māsh* (Arabic), *aima*, etc. The Sadar was also the Emperor's almoner and had the spending of the vast sums which the Emperors set apart for charity in the month of Ramzan and other holy occasions,—amounting to 1½ lakhs of Rupees in the reign of Aurangzib, and at Court ceremonies. The Sadar's position offered him boundless possibilities of enriching himself by means of bribes and peculation, and the Sadars of Akbar's reign were notorious for their venality and cruel spirit.
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∗ Two Marathi sanads of the middle of the 17th century give the duties of qāzis in the Deccan as—trying lawsuits, putting down oppressions and quarrels, arranging for the marriage of orphan girls, dividing the heritage of dead men according to Canon Law, writing out the papers of *chakbandi* and Canon Law decisions. Some of these qazis were also muhtasibs and had to discharge the duties of the latter in addition. [Mawjee and Parasnis, *Sanads and Letters*, pp. 79 and 81.]
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The Chief Sadar of the empire was called the *Sadar-us-sadur*, the *Sadar-i-Jahān*, or popularly the *Sadar-i-kul*. In addition, every province had its local Sadar. Practically the Sadar was exclusively a civil judge, but not of all civil cases. For the posts of Qāzi and Sadar, men of high Arabic scholarship and reputed sanctity of character, wherever available, were chosen.
c6.s7.13
The Chief Sadar, when sending the provincial Sadars to their charges, is instructed to give them lists of the recipients of rent-free lands and daily allowances in their respective provinces, and copies of the Emperor's regulations concerning the death or flight of the servitors [of the mosques], *aimadārs*, *rozinadārs*, students and other persons in receipt of stipends (both hereditary and new), and to urge them to act according to the imperial orders. [Manual, 41-42.] 106995