Law of India
Separate laws govern Hindus including Sikhs, Jains and Buddhist, Muslims, Christians, and followers of other religions.
The exception to this rule is in the state of Goa, where a uniform civil code is in place, in which all religions have a common law regarding marriages, divorces, and adoption.
Ancient India represented a distinct tradition of law, and had a historically independent thought of legal theory and practice.
The Arthashastra, dating from 400 BC and the Manusmriti, from 100 AD, were influential treatises in India, texts that were considered authoritative legal guidance.
[5] Early in this period, which culminated in the creation of the Gupta Empire, relations with ancient Greece and Rome were not infrequent.
[6] Inter-State relations in the pre-Islamic period resulted in clear-cut rules of warfare of a high humanitarian standard, in rules of neutrality, of treaty law, of customary law embodied in religious charters, in exchange of embassies of a temporary or semi-permanent character.
[9] In the 17th century, when the Mughal Empire became the world's largest economy, its 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.
This system was ended in 1793 by the Bengal Government, which prohibited all Europeans from living more than ten miles from Calcutta unless they agreed to be subject to Mofussil courts.
The motions were brought to the attention of the House of Commons because there were concerns about the East India Company's effectiveness in the administration of justice and law-making.
By the end of 1884, Macaulay and the All-India Legislative Council had officially begun the process of the codification of Indian Law.
This was seemingly problematic as it did not take into concern the pre-existing Islamic and Hindu Laws that governed their societies for a long time.
Renuka Shinde and Seema Mohan Gavit, who were guilty of kidnapping and killing at least 13 children under 6 years, are currently lodged in Yerwada Central Jail.
They have been criticised by the World Bank,[32] primarily on the grounds of the inflexibility that results from government needing to approve dismissals.
However, attention is given to local norms and conditions, as well as India's distinct constitutional framework in applying foreign precedent.
[37] Certain conduct which gives rise to a cause of action under tort law is additionally criminalised by the Indian Penal Code[38] or other criminal legislation.
The overlap between the two areas of law is a result of the distinct purposes each serves and the nature of the remedies each provides.
Tort law aims to hold a tortfeasor accountable and consequently tort actions are brought directly by the aggrieved party in order to seek damages, whereas criminal law aims to punish and deter conduct deemed to be against the interests of society and criminal actions are thus brought by the state and penalties include imprisonment, fines, or execution.
Similar to the constitutional presumption of innocence in Indian criminal law, the burden of proof is on the plaintiff in tort actions in India.
Since a new tax reform in the form of GST was levied through constitutional amendment and came into existence since 1 July 2017 which took the place of excise duties and VAT.
An important restriction on this power is Article 265 of the Constitution which states that "No tax shall be levied or collected except by the authority of law.
[45] The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) is a part of the Department of Revenue in the Ministry of Finance, Government of India.
Exports would be considered as zero-rated supply and imports would be levied the same taxes as domestic goods and services adhering to the destination principle in addition to the Customs Duty which will not be subsumed in the GST.
Introduction of Goods and Services Tax (GST) is a significant step in the reform of indirect taxation in India.
[52] However, after independence, efforts have been made to modernise various aspects of personal law and bring about uniformity among various religions.
Though the attempt made by the first parliament after independence did not succeed in bringing forth a Hindu Code comprising the entire field of Hindu family law, laws could be enacted touching upon all major areas that affect family life among Hindus in India.
[55] The development of the law is largely on the basis of judicial precedent, which in recent times has been subject to review by the courts.
At the federal level, the many agencies are part of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, and support the states in their duties.
The head of each of the federal law enforcement agencies is always an Indian Police Service officer (IPS).
The constitution assigns responsibility for maintaining law and order to the states and territories, and almost all routine policing—including apprehension of criminals—is carried out by state-level police forces.
[60] Subordinate, delegated or secondary legislation covers rules, regulations, by-laws, sub-rules, orders, and notification.
