History of Indian law

Ancient India represented a distinct tradition of law, and had a historically independent school of legal theory and practice.

The main aim of the law in the Vedic period was to preserve "dharma" which means righteousness and duty.

It not only includes laws and court procedures, but also a wide range of human activities like ritual purification, personal hygiene regimes, and modes of dress.

Dharmasutra (the first four texts of the Dharmashastra) discuss the rules for duties for all the ashrama: the student-hood, the house holdership, the retirement or forest dwelling, and renunciation.

Other issues that are Dharmasutras cover include rules about one's diet, crimes and punishments, daily sacrifices, and funeral practices.

The first is the âchâra, which provides rules on daily rituals, life-cycle rites, as well as specific duties and proper conduct that each of the four castes or varnas have to follow.

The life-cycle rites are the rituals that are conducted on important events in one's life like birth, marriage, and tying of the sacred thread.

They include the'rajadharma' or the duties and obligations of a king to organize court, listen and examine witnesses, decide and enforce punishment and pursue justice.

According to J. Rama Jois the ancient Indian and constitutional system had established a duty based society.

This was same for the whole of India, notwithstanding the existence of larger and smaller kingdoms and the supremacy of Dharma (law) over the kings as declared in the authoritative texts was respected in letter and spirits/[4] Thus there were no absolute monarchies.

At a higher level in towns and districts the courts were presided over by government officers under the authority of the King to administer justice.

[8][9] In the 17th century, the Mughal Empire's sixth ruler, Aurangzeb, compiled the Fatawa-e-Alamgiri with several Arab and Iraqi Islamic scholars, which served as the main governing body in most parts of South Asia.