Administrative System of the Marathas c19.s3.1

c19.s3.1

The trial by Panchayet was in many respects like the trial by jury. The members of the Panch, it may be noted, were not paid out of the government treasury like the amateur judges of ancient Athens, and it is not certain whether they got any allowance for their trouble. Elphinstone says that they sometimes got some reward from the parties if the case was a protracted one. But Pratap Sinha strictly forbids any such gratification, and in theory at least it seems such private presents were not permitted. The Chhatrapati threatens to punish both the giver and the taker of bribe even if the former happened to be the party in the right.⁵