Administration of Law and Justice in India (A Old and Rare Book)

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Administration of Law and Justice in India is an ideal book, containing a careful and critical study of the judicial system and administration of law and justice in Hindu, Mahomedan, British, Pre-independence and Post-independence periods in India. A comprehensive volume of this nature, covering such a long period, of the legal history and administration of justice in India does not exist at present. Indeed the legal history of India is yet to be written.

The legal history and development of the judicial system and administration of justice through discussion of some legal subjects, concerning law and justice in India. The author’s critical and exhaustive treatment of the legal aspects of Maharaja Nand Kumar’s Trial bears the stamp of arduous research and legal scholarship. The author’s treatment of subjects including Justice during Emergency period, Law and Legal profession in India, Trial by Jury in India, The Federal Court in India, Justice under the Constitution of India, The Essentials of Justice and Rule of Law, Administrative Tribunals, | The Panchayat Raj and the legal aspect of successive amend- ments of the Constitution of India are interesting and thought- provoking.

In short, this book is a significant contribution to legal literature. It would be highly useful for members of the Bench and the Bar and all authorities connected with law and judicial administration in India.

Shri S. N. Bhattacharjee M.A., LL.B. (Gold Medalist) is a distinguished scholars of the Calcutta University. He stood First in First class in order of merit in the Final Law examination of the Calcutta University. He is a Law scholar and Prizeman, Ritchie Prizeman and Prasanna Kumar Tagore Law Scholar of that University, He is the well-known and renowned author of some standard law books. His law Book, entitled ‘‘The Law and Practice of Evidence, (Civil and Criminal)" has been recommended as a book of reference for LL.B. Examination on Law of Evidence by the Calcutta University. The author is*A fétired District and Sessions Judge, Calcutta (West Bengal). He was connected with administration of law and justice in India as a Judge for a period of about thirty years. He was also a full-time Member of the Official Language Commission, Ministry of Law, Government of India, at New Delhi.

Shri S. N. Bhattacharjee, a former member of the West Bengal Higher Judicial Services and a well-known author of legal literature, has taken great pains to publish his present work on ""Administration of Law and Justice from the earliest times’. As far as I am aware, a comprehensive volume of this nature does not exist at the moment.

The book is divided into Sixteen Chapters. Chapters I to V deal with Judicial Administration in India during the Hindu, Mahammedan and British periods. The author’s critical analysis conveys to the reader a fair account of the Indian Legal System and its gradual evolution before Independence was achieved in 1947, In Chapter VI the author has examined three famous cases, namely, Maharaja Nand Kumar’s case (1775), the Patna Case (1777-79) and the Kasijora Case (1779-80). He has thrown a new light on the legal aspect of Maharaja Nand Kumar’s trial. His exhaustive study of the cardinal point, namely, whether or not Nand Kumar’s capital sentence for forgery was a judicial murder is supported by high authorities which he has culled through patient and arduous research at the Calcutta High Court’s Old Records Department, at the National Archives at New Delhi and elsewhere.

The author’s treatment of subjects like Trial by Jury in India, the Federal Court of India, the Essentials of Justice, the Rule of Law, the Administrative Tribunals and the Panchayet Raj bears the stamp of originality of approach. His Chapters on Law and the Legal Profession and Justice during emergency are, indeed, interesting.

The author has discussed with convincing clarity the need for reform, the reorientation of the present Judicial System and the simplification of procedural laws to ensure cheap and speedy justice. He has made useful suggestions for tackling the back-log of cases in courts.

I have no doubt that members of the Bar and the Bench as well as the lay public would be interested in reading this Volume which, I believe, is a significant contribution to legal studies and literature.

‘The aim and object of this book is to present, in a nutshell, ‘the evolution of Law and Justice in India in Pre-independence and Post-Independence periods. In the field of all human insti- ‘tutions, particularly of law and legal literature, the roots of the present lie deeply embedded in the past. To understand Indian law properly, there can be no escape from a study of law and legal history of India. It is well known that the basis of modern Indian law is based on English law, gradually introduced into India during British rule. Law must be stable but dynamic in democratic society to meet the needs of ever-changing institu- tions. Indeed, as plinted out by Dr. Johnson, law is the last result of human wisdom, acting upon human experience, for ‘the benefit of the public.

An attempt is made in this book to trace out the evolution -of law and justice in India through discussion of some selected ‘topics concerning administration of Law and Justice. There are several books of high authority on Hindu and Mahomedan judicial systems and administration of Justice. Necessarily, ‘Chapters I to V serve more as background to the chapters that follow, each containing a historical and critical analysis of a legal subject concerning Indian Judicature and evolution of Law and Justice during British rule and after India achieved Andependence.

There are some authoritative text books on Indian Consti- tution Law during British rule and Post-independence period. But a full and complete legal history of India from the earliest ‘times is yet to be written. Dr. B. N. Pandey in his small book "The Introduction of English Law into India’’ confines his study and research to the career of Elijah Impey in Bengal ‘from 1774 to 1783. Mr. G. S. Pathak’s "‘Parliamentary Demo- cracy’’ (1971), Chief Justice Gajendra Gadkar’s ‘Secularism .and the Constitution of India," Chief Justice P. B. Mukherjee’s ‘Critical Problems of the Indian Constitution" and Chief Justice J.C. Shah’s "Rule of Law and the Indian Constitution" are master guides in the study of some particular topics of the Constitution of India. The present publication may justly claim to be original in so far as it traces the development of judicial system and the administration of justice in a systematic, critical and analytical study of some essential legal topics of permanent and all-abiding interest to the legal world before and after the Constitution of India.

The Indian Constitution has brought in its wake many legal problems, particularly in view of the "Fundamental Rights’ and "‘Directive Principles of State Policy’. Legal topics like "Separation of Judiciary from the Executive’’, "Equality before Law and Procedure’, "Trial by Jury in India’, ‘‘The Federal Court of India’, "The Panchayat Raj", "Law and Legal Pro- fession in India’ and "Justice during the Emergency period"’, each containing a historical, analytical and critical study, are original in conception and treatment. In ChaptersI to IV, I have made a comparative and critical study of the legal proce- dure, during the Hindu, Mahomedan and British periods with other legal systems. I have thoroughly discussed the merits and demerits of the Indian judicial procedure in each period, towards the end of each chapter. India is justly proud of some eminent professional lawyers. But, there is real dearth of academic lawyers. Few legal scholars have set themselves to the task of unravelling the treasure-house of ancient [ndia, so rich in legal lore. The legal history of India is yet to be written by eminent jurists and legal experts.

We all feel a thrill of pleasure to be reminded that India had a brilliant past and an advanced legal system. Even European scholars like Colebrooke, Sir Willim Jones, Professor Winter- nitz drank deep into the fountain of India’s ageless wisdom.

A man’s life changes, and so the Constitution and the law must change. But, within the small compass of this work I could do no more than give a bare outline of the important landmarks and indicate the general trend of development in the history of Indian judicial administration during the British period and thereafter.

For the judicial administration during Hindu period, Chief Justice Varadachariar’s "Hindu Judicial system’, Dr. P. Y. Kane’s "‘History of Dharmashastras’’, Dr. Gangadhar Jha’s *‘Hindu Law and its Sources’. Dr. Priyanath Sen’s "Hindu Jurisprudence", Dr. Amareswar Thakur’s "Hindu Law of Evidence’’, Dr. Radhabinode Pal’s ‘"‘Hindu Law in Vedic and Post-Vedic Times" and Dr. N. C. Sen Gupta’s "Evolution of Ancient Law" have been particularly useful. So far as the Mohamedan period is concerned, besides English translations of Standard works like Hidaya A’in-i-Akbari, Fatwa-i-Alumgires, works like Sir Jadunath Sarkar’s ‘‘Mughal Administration’, Dr. S.A.Q. Husaini’s "Administration under the Mughal’, Principal Ram Sharma’s ‘"‘Mughal Government and Administration", Mr. Wahid Husain’s ‘‘Administration of Justice during the Muslim rule in India", and Mr. Carlton’s ‘‘Quanun- E-Islam’’, mainly, have been consulted and frequently referred to. Standard treatises like Harrington’s ‘‘Analysis’’, Cowell’s "History and Constitution of the Courts and Legislative Authorities in India’, J. H. Wingmore’s ""A Panorama of the World’s Legal system’, Professor Alan Gledhill’s "The Republic of India" (Vol. VI) and "Pakistan" (Vol. VIID in the British Commonwelth Lecture Series and Dr. Gajendra Gadkar’s "Law, Liberty and Social Justice’, have been freely used and referred to in tracing out the legal history in the pre-independence and post-independcnce periods. My sincere gratitude goes to each of those eminent Judges and Jurists.

In this work great care is taken to eschew as far as possible highly technical language and legal phrascology. It is only when a legal topic is presented in clear non-technical language, familiar to common people, that the public are more likely to understand and obey the law of the country. In fact, all attempts are made to see that the publication does not become "mere lawyer’s stuff" and that the text may be easily under- stood and appreciated by all readers alike.

Book's Contents and Sample Pages