Ṣadr Faujdari ʿAdālat ( ur, , bn, সদর ফৌজদারি আদালত) were courts of criminal justice in
Mughal and
British India
The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...
. The Faujdari criminal courts are considered the beginning of Hindu and Muslim "personal law" separated from the jurisdiction of civil law in
colonial India
Colonial India was the part of the Indian subcontinent that was occupied by European colonial powers during the Age of Discovery. European power was exerted both by conquest and trade, especially in spices.
The search for the wealth and prosper ...
– a juridical norm preserved as a key principle of democratic secularism in postcolonial India.
History
The chief institution of this criminal court system was known as the Ṣadr Nizami ʿAdālat ("Administrative Court of Justice") in Calcutta of Bengal Presidency. This chief Administrative Court in Calcutta Criminal oversaw criminal courts in outlying districts and in Madras and Bombay Presidencies. The system was instituted by
Warren Hastings
Warren Hastings (6 December 1732 – 22 August 1818) was a British colonial administrator, who served as the first Governor of the Presidency of Fort William (Bengal), the head of the Supreme Council of Bengal, and so the first Governor-Genera ...
, the British
governor-general
Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...
, in 1772, in his reforms of the
East India Company
The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...
's growing sovereign powers.
They were technically operated by Muslim legal scholars (a
qazi or
mufti
A Mufti (; ar, مفتي) is an Islamic jurist qualified to issue a nonbinding opinion ('' fatwa'') on a point of Islamic law (''sharia''). The act of issuing fatwas is called ''iftāʾ''. Muftis and their ''fatwas'' played an important rol ...
). Hindus were tried with the expertise of a
pandit
A Pandit ( sa, पण्डित, paṇḍit; hi, पंडित; also spelled Pundit, pronounced ; abbreviated Pt.) is a man with specialised knowledge or a teacher of any field of knowledge whether it is shashtra (Holy Books) or shastra (Wea ...
(or scholar of Hindu tradition). These princely nawabs in various parts of India were either independent of, beholden to, or in collusion with British colonial authorities. The Sadr Faujdari Adalat courts were the local juridical arm of the Mughal "princely" rulers (
nawab
Nawab (Balochi language, Balochi: نواب; ar, نواب;
bn, নবাব/নওয়াব;
hi, नवाब;
Punjabi language, Punjabi : ਨਵਾਬ;
Persian language, Persian,
Punjabi language, Punjabi ,
Sindhi language, Sindhi,
Urd ...
s), whose governmental authority co-existed alongside the British in late 18th and 19th centuries. Ultimately, over the succeeding century after their establishment, the local Indian authorities of the Sadr Faujdari Adalat were gradually supplanted by the British. The high criminal court, like its counterpart for civil jurisdiction — the
Sadr Diwani Adalat
The Ṣadr Dīwānī ʿAdālat ( ur, , bn, সদর দেওয়ানি আদালত ) (English: Sudder Dewanny Adawlut) was the Supreme Court of Revenue in British India established at Calcutta by Warren Hastings in 1772. It was reforme ...
- was abolished after the
Indian Rebellion of 1857
The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against the rule of the British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the British Crown. The rebellion began on 10 May 1857 in the fo ...
(known by the British as "the Mutiny"), and its powers and jurisdiction were transferred to new high courts of judicature set up by the Indian High Courts Act of 1861.
Students' Britannica India By Dale Hoiberg, Indu Ramchandani
/ref>
See also
* Sadr Diwani Adalat
The Ṣadr Dīwānī ʿAdālat ( ur, , bn, সদর দেওয়ানি আদালত ) (English: Sudder Dewanny Adawlut) was the Supreme Court of Revenue in British India established at Calcutta by Warren Hastings in 1772. It was reforme ...
*Judiciary of India
The judiciary of India is a system of courts that interpret and apply the law in the India, Republic of India. India uses a Common law, ''common law system'', first introduced by the East India Company, British East India Company and with influe ...
References
{{Reflist
External links
English Law in India
by Anil Chandra Banerjee
* ttps://books.google.com/books?id=meN0GwpRWhUC&pg=PA273&lpg=PA273&dq=Sadr+Diwani+Adalat&source=bl&ots=mvXntqZmbo&sig=9nSOMEoF-jiNNvgOjQfalXF0JGY#PPA273,M1 History of Medieval Indiaby Chand, Hukam
Administrative System in India
by U.B. Singh
Legal history of India