Administrative System of the Marathas c19.s3.12

c19.s3.12

For hearing appeal cases a fresh Panchayat could be appointed or the Peshwa's minister or the Mamlatdar (as the case might be) might decide the case without a Panchayat. Original cases might also be disposed of in a similar method. But as Elphinstone points out "though it rested with him (the Government officer) to decide whether or not the case required a Panchayat, yet it was reckoned gross injustice to refuse one on a question at all doubtful, and it was always reckoned a sufficient ground for ordering a new investigation when there had been no Panchayat."⁷ This popularity of Panchayets clearly proves that they were not generally open to corruption; although Elphinstone thinks that "the Panchayets themselves were open to corruption and to partiality." The Panchayets were popularly called "*Panch-Parmeshwar*," and the members of the Panch in many documents are addressed by the parties as their parents (माय बाप). The people of Maharashtra would not have regarded the voice of the Panch as the voice of God, unless it fully deserved their confidence.