Sadr Faujdari Adalat
Encyclopedia
Ṣadr Faujdari ʿAdālat were courts of criminal justice in Mughal
and British India. The Faujdari criminal courts are considered the beginning of Hindu and Muslim "personal law" separated from the jurisdiction of civil law in colonial India - a juridical norm preserved as a key principle of democratic secularism in postcolonial India.
, the British governor-general
, in 1772, in his reforms of the East India Company
's growing sovereign powers.
They were technically operated by Muslim legal scholars (a qazi or mufti
). Hindus were tried with the expertise of a pandit (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
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
- was abolished after the Indian Rebellion of 1857
(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.
Mughal Empire
The Mughal Empire , or Mogul Empire in traditional English usage, was an imperial power from the Indian Subcontinent. The Mughal emperors were descendants of the Timurids...
and British India. The Faujdari criminal courts are considered the beginning of Hindu and Muslim "personal law" separated from the jurisdiction of civil law in colonial India - 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 HastingsWarren Hastings
Warren Hastings PC was the first Governor-General of India, from 1773 to 1785. He was famously accused of corruption in an impeachment in 1787, but was acquitted in 1795. He was made a Privy Councillor in 1814.-Early life:...
, the British governor-general
Governor-General
A Governor-General, is a vice-regal person of a monarch in an independent realm or a major colonial circonscription. Depending on the political arrangement of the territory, a Governor General can be a governor of high rank, or a principal governor ranking above "ordinary" governors.- Current uses...
, in 1772, in his reforms of the East India Company
East India Company
The East India Company was an early English joint-stock company that was formed initially for pursuing trade with the East Indies, but that ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent and China...
's growing sovereign powers.
They were technically operated by Muslim legal scholars (a qazi or mufti
Mufti
A mufti is a Sunni Islamic scholar who is an interpreter or expounder of Islamic law . In religious administrative terms, a mufti is roughly equivalent to a deacon to a Sunni population...
). Hindus were tried with the expertise of a pandit (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
A Nawab or Nawaab is an honorific title given to Muslim rulers of princely states in South Asia. It is the Muslim equivalent of the term "maharaja" that was granted to Hindu rulers....
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
Sadr Diwani Adalat
Ṣadr Dīwānī ʿAdālat was a high court of civil and revenue jurisdiction in Mughal and British India. It was instituted by Warren Hastings, the British governor-general, in 1772...
- was abolished after the Indian Rebellion of 1857
Indian Rebellion of 1857
The Indian Rebellion of 1857 began as a mutiny of sepoys of the British East India Company's army on 10 May 1857, in the town of Meerut, and soon escalated into other mutinies and civilian rebellions largely in the upper Gangetic plain and central India, with the major hostilities confined to...
(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.