Muslim Period: Judicial System in Medieval India

The Muslim period starts with the invasion of the Muslim rulers
in the Indian subcontinent in 1100 AD. When the Muslims
conquered all the states, they brought with them the theory based
on the Holy Quran. According to the Holy Quran, sovereignty lies
in the hand of Almighty Allah and the king is his humble servant
to carry out his will on the earth. In Muslim period, everyman was
considered as equal before Allah (Creator) overriding distinctions
of class, nationality, race or colour and the ruler was Almighty’s
chosen agent and trustee.
The whole Muslim period in India may be divided into two
separate periods – the Sultanate of Delhi and the Mughal Empire.
From 1206 to 1526, India was ruled by Muslim rulers known as
the Sultanates of Delhi. On the other hand, in 1526 Delhi
Sultanate came to an end when Delhi was captured by Zahiruddin
Babar who founded the Mughal Empire in India that existed until
1857.

Legal System under the Sultanate

The Sultan was the prime authority of the administration of justice
in his Sultanate. The judicial system under the reign of Sultanate
was organized on the basis of administrative units. A systematic
classification and gradation of the courts were available at the seat
of the capital, in provinces, districts, Parganahs, and villages. The
powers, functions and jurisdictions of each court were clearly
defined.
Organization of Court Structure
A.Courts at Centre: The courts established at the capital of the
Sultanate were as: the King’s Courts, Diwan-e-Mazalim,
Diwan-e-Risalat, Sadre Jehan’s Court, Chief Justice’s Court
and Diwan-e-Siyasat. The highest court in the capital was
the King’s Court, which exercised both original and
appellate jurisdiction. It was presided over by the Sultan
himself, assisted by two legal experts of high reputation
known as Muftis. In addition, there was a separate Court of
Chief Justice. The Chief Justice known as Qaziul-ul-Quzat
was the highest judicial officer next to the Sultan. Qaziul-ul-
Quzat was appointed by the Sultan from amongst the most
virtuous of the learned men in his kingdom.
However, in 1248, Sultan Nasir Uddin created a superior
judicial post known as the Sadare Jahan, which became more
powerful than the Chief Justice. The Sadare Jahan, was the
de facto head of the judiciary and he occasionally presided
over the King’s Court. The office of the Sadare Jahan and
Chief Justice were amalgamated by Sultan Alauddin Khilji
(1296-1316), but Sultan Firoz Shah Tughlau again separated
them. The Court of Diwan-e-Siyat was constituted to decide
the cases of rebel and high treason, etc. Its main purpose was
to deal with criminal prosecutions. There were some other
judicial officers attached to the Court of Chief Justice as:
Mufti, Pandit, Mohtasib and Dadbak.
B. Provincial Courts: In the province, there were four courts
namely Adalat Nazim-e-Subah, Adalat Qazi-e-Subha,
Diwan-e-Subha and Sadre-e-Subah.
 Adalat Nazim-e-Subah was presided over by the Nazim. In
the Province the Sultan was represented by him and like the
Sultan he exercised both original and appellate jurisdiction.
In original cases he usually sat as single judge.
Adalat Qazi-e-Subah was presided over by the Chief Qazi of
the Province This court tried all cases of civil and criminal
matters It also heard appeals from the courts of District
Qazis. Appeals from this court lay to the Adalat Nazirn-e-
Subah.
Diwan-e-Subah had both original and appellate jurisdiction
in all revenue matters. It had the final authority in the
province over all cases concerning revenue.
Sadre-e-Subah was the Chief Ecclesiastical court in the
province. This court dealt with the matters relating to grant
of stipend, lands etc.
C. District Courts: At the district level, there were four types of
court as: the District Qazi’s Court, Faujder Court, Court of
Mir Adils and Court of Kotwals.
The District Qazi’s Court This court had the jurisdiction to
try all civil and criminal matters. It also heard appeals from
the decisions of the Parganahs Qazis, Kotwals and village
panchayats.
Faujder Court had jurisdiction to try petty criminal cases
concerning security and suspected criminals. Appeal from
this court lay with the court of Nazim-e-Subah.
Court of Mir Adils dealt with land revenue matters. Appeal
from this court lay before the Court of Diwan-e-Subah.
 Court of Kotwals was authorized to try police and
municipality cases.
D.Parganah’s Courts: Courts of Qazi-e-Parganah and Kotwals
were constituted at each Parganah Headquarter. The Court
of Kazi-e-Parganah had all powers of a District Kazi in all
civil and criminal cases except hearing appeals. The Kotwal
was authorized to try petty criminal cases. He was also the
principal executive officer of the town.
E. Village Courts: each group of villages, a Panchayat was,
functioning to look after the executive and judicial functions.
The Panchayat decided petty civil and criminal cases of
purely local nature.