In the fourth post of the series, I had talked about adversarial as well as inquisitorial system and explained how judges may play more active role like in inquisitorial system through the story of the judgement of Solomon. Here is another tale from our past that suggests the same.
The Grazier used to take his animals to a nearby jungle for grazing and would climb a mound and go to sleep but his animals always came back in the evening. After waking up, he would talk with wisdom and resolve disputes among the people to everyone’s satisfaction. But the moment he used to come down from the mound, he would again become the same silly, illiterate person.
Resolving dispute satisfactorily, made the Grazier famous but this made many jealous of him. They complained to Raja Bhoj that he was interfering with the King’s function of rendering justice. Ultimately Raja Bhoj ordered the Kotwal to catch anyone going to the Grazier for justice and bring them to the Royal Court.
One day, Kotwal saw some people going to the Grazier for justice; he caught them; and brought them to the Royal court. Raja Bhoj asked them as to what their dispute was. One of them said:
“I am businessman and had to go to a distant land for business. I gave three valuable gems to my friend for safe keeping but now he is not returning the same.”
Raja Bhoj asked the friend, if this was true. The friend said,
“Yes, gems were given to me for safe keeping. The businessman had said that he would return in six months but when he did not return, I gave them back to his wife.”
The wife of the businessman staunchly denied the return of the gems. Then, Raja Bhoj asked the friend, if he could produce any witness before whom the gems were returned back,
“Sure” said the friend. “I had given the gems back before the headman and the priest of the village. I can produce them.”
The headman and the priest were brought to the court, who supported the statement of the friend. Raja Bhoj became very angry with the businessman. In the reprimanding tone said that the business and his wife were telling lies; either they should apologise to the friend, or they would be jailed.
The businessman pleaded with Raja Bhoj that they were going to the Grazier for justice but were forced to come to the Royal court because soldiers brought them. They may be permitted to go to him.
Raja Bhoj was also interested in knowing about how the Grazier resolved disputes. He permitted the businessman and his friend to go to the Grazier. Raja Bhoj also reached there, after disguising himself.
The parties narrated everything that had happened before Raja Bhoj. Then, the Grazier asked everyone to stand at a distance and said he would call them one by one.
The Grazier called the headman first and asked him about the size and colour of the gems. The headman had not expected the question, but he answered by saying that they were as big as lemon and were of blue colour.
The Grazier sent the headman away and called the priest and asked him the same question. The priest answered that they were as big as a granule of gram and were of red colour.
Hearing this, the Grazier called the friend and in commanding voice scolded him and said how much money he had given to the headman and the priest for giving false evidence. And also asked about Raja Bhoj mentioning that he does not know how to do justice.
The friend apologised and returned the gems. The Grazier got down from the mound, he forgot everything and again became silly, illiterate self.
Raja Bhoj realised that there must be something special below that mound. He got the place dug up and beneath that mound, a beautiful throne was found. When, it was cleaned, it was found to be decorated with diamonds and precious stones. It also had 32 statues of Apsaras (dancing damsels in heaven). It was decided that the throne be kept in the king’s Court for him to sit and administer his kingdom.
The first day, when Raja Bhoj tried to sit on the throne, a statue of an Apsara came out from the throne and said that the throne was of King Vikramaditya and only a person as virtuous as him, could sit on the throne. Then she narrated a tale about a virtue of King Virmaditya. Raja Bhoj could not sit on the throne on that day.
This was repeated for 32 days and each day, a statue of an Apsara would come alive and tell a tale of virtue of King Vikramaditya. These thirty-two tales became ‘Singhasan Battisi’.
One day, a Yogi came to the royal court and told King Vikramaditya that if he could a Vetaal, who hanged upside-down from a tree, then he may achieve powers to fill his treasury with valuable gems. King could do more welfare acts for his subjects.
King Vikramaditya agreed but Vetaal agreed to accompany the King, on the condition that that the King would not break silence.
On his way to the Yogi, in order to pass time, Vetaal narrated a story. Thereafter, posing a problem, based on the story; asked the King of its answer. On his failing to answer, he threatened to smash King's head. As soon as King Vikramaditya answered the query, Vetaal slipped and again went away to hang from the tree.
This went on for twenty-five days and twenty-fifth, Vetaal told the real purpose of the Yogi. These tales are known as ‘Vetaal Pachisi’ and illustrate King Vikramaditya’s wisdom in administering justice.
I have talked about -
- Singhasan Battisi to make a point that every throne, every seat requires certain qualities, inculcate the qualities of seat of justice that you are going to adorn;
- Vetaal Pachisi to narrate the wisdom in doing justice;
- The Grazier’s or Solomon’s method in finding out whether the gems were returned or not and who was the real mother of the child - to emphasise that judges need to be more active than the role played by them in adversarial system of the common law.
In this regard, I would like you to read ‘The Court of Last Resort’ by Erle Stanley Gardner, the creator of Perry Mason. It will enlighten you that the many a times, neither prosecution investigates all leads nor discloses the relevant evidence, and defence often fails to ask relevant questions.
Inculcate Grazier’s wisdom, when he sat on mound; Solomon's wisdom in finding out the real mother; inculcate their justness. Make better use of section 165 of the Evidence Act (now section 168 of the Bhartiya Sakshya Adhiniyam 2023); render Justice rather than becoming a scholar of law; be the court of justice instead of merely a court of law.
#AdviceToYoungJudges #GoodJudge #
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