In a unique accomplishment, top judges and distinguished lawyers of the country teamed up to produce a first-of-its-kind book on the legal history, lawmakers, legal institutions and traditions of India, right from the ancient laws to the present.
Courts of India — Past to Present contains anecdotes, including one of a man put to death by the British because he cut his wife’s nose for committing adultery, narratives such as the one on the trial of the last Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar, the installation of the charter trinity courts in the then Calcutta, Bombay and Madras, and historic judgments of the Supreme Court as in the Kesavananda Bharati case.
Architectural splendour
The work is a rare embroidery of murals and miniature paintings, portraits, parchments, photographs highlighting the architectural splendour of courts, sketches and documents gathered from multiple sources across the world.
News clippings are mostly sourced from The Hindu archives.
The authors are careful to point out that the book only offers a compilation of glimpses into the “rich and complex history of courts of India — from its ancient origins through the colonial period to the present”.
“This is a book about the history of the laws and legal institutions of India. To tell the entire story, we would need the tirelessness of Ganesha and the inspiration of Vyasa, a task beyond our abilities,” the introduction says.
However, the book has managed to encapsulate within its 512 (including biography and index) richly tapestried pages the journey of our laws and courts through a past so vast and often violent, so layered with stories of inspirations and encounters, so complex and diverse, that, as India’s First Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru described it in his famous Objectives Resolutions speech, the Indian Constitution was only but a “moment” — albeit a moment of transforming one — in history.
The book is the work of Supreme Court’s editorial board comprising apex court judges, Justices S.A. Bobde, U.U. Lalit and Rohinton Nariman; Delhi High Court judge, Justice S. Ravindra Bhat, senior advocates Raju Ramachandran, Indu Malhotra, Sanjay R. Hegde, Madhavi Divan and advocates K. Parameshwar and Gautam Bhatia.
‘Chicken liver test’
It has a chapter dedicated on administration of justice in tribal areas. One of them is the ‘chicken liver test’ of the northeastern tribes. In case of a dispute, a priest chants a prayer and hands over a chicken liver to a chosen person in the crowd. This person interprets the liver to declare the result.
In his foreword, Chief Justice of India T.S. Thakur says the book signifies the great faith the people of this country have in its courts.
An earlier version of this article did not include advocate Madhavi Divan's name in the Supreme Court's editorial board. The name has now been included. The error is regretted.
