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DEVELOPMENT OF
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In pre-colonial traditional India, the legal process of Hindu is said to have been
functioning in the same way as it had done for millennia, but it was not a centralized
institutional apparatus, formulated and
administered by a state independently of spiritual, or religious and cultural practices.
There are doubtless a good and virtual number of scholars who have written on dharma.
The most exfoliating scriptures and writings are of Mulla, J.D.Mayne,Paras
Diwan,Robert Linget, who contributed their thoughts to the development of legal
philosophy and are considered to be of empirical values which challenges several
distortions in the conceptualization of Hindu law in respect of the origins and
development of the formalist legal system. The developing concept and the
understanding of the complexities and variegated Pasteur is often characterized as
univocal structure under the rubric Hindu law.
The law compilers such as Manu and Kautilya bring the notion of dharma down to earth,
as it were, by devising a comprehensive system of social and moral regulations for each
of the different groups, sub-groups (caste,etc.,) within the Hindu social system. The spirit
of prevailing dharma and culture is dictated in terms of reference of legal deliberation
and is a critical genealogy of reconstruction of Indian legal History. On legal side, Davis
approaches the thesis and puts forward through a deep exploration of the scholastic
nuances of dharma, which he argues yields its earlier ritualistic rules (vidhi) which is an
empirical source for the rules that differentiate ordinary acts (karma) from legal acts
(karnatva, iti kartavyata) and the means for effecting the same(karakahetu).[6]
Recent efforts to the contrary, notwithstanding, the historiography of law has been
largely based on technical, often overly legalistic, reading of dharmashastra. The
intermediate realms of alw examines the exploration by scholars of Hindu law.
In medieval India, the religious leaders endeavoured to transform Islam into a religion of
law, but as custodian of Justice, the rulers made the sharia, a court subservient to their
sovereign powers. Thus, wherever the laws of India admit the operation of personal law,
the rights and obligations of a Hindus are determined by Hindu law i.e. traditional law,
subject to the exception that any part of that law may be modified or abrogated by the
statute. The study of any developed legal system requires a critical and analytical
examination of its fundamental elements and conception, as also the practical and
concrete details which helps in making the contents or the body of that legal subject. The
abstraction and exposition of the principles or distinctions necessarily involved in Hindu
law and the consideration of the line of development which it has pursued are the
appropriate matters of jurisprudence and legal history.
The promulgation of Regulating Act of 1773 by the King of England paved the way
for establishment of the Supreme Court of Judicature at Calcutta. After India
attained Independence in 1947, the Constitution of India came into being on
26th January, 1950. The Supreme Court of India also came into existence and its
first sitting was held on 28thJanuary, 1950.
The concept of Dharma as said earlier is fully explored in connection to the evolution of
Supreme Court. There is a comparison between the Constitutional laws and Rajadharma
(Dharma in the context of Rajya only means Law) and Dharma is secular or may be the
most secular. The same view is held until now, by all courts and is not disputed that
Dharma is an eternal bliss, which has seen many par and parcels of human life, mortals,
but remained immortal.
Indias National Emblem (Ashoka Chakra) has significantly been adapted from the Lion
Capital of Ashoka erected in the year 250 B.C., near Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh. At the
base of the Indian National Anthem, the Indian National motto Satyameva Jayate ,
meaning Truth alone will Triumph, is a mantra from the ancient Indian scripture
Mundaka Upanishad that has been inscribed in Devanagari script. Also, the Indian
National emblem and the inscribed words Satyameva Jayate are printed on one side
of all the Indian currency.
Significantly, in the logo of the Supreme Court of India, the words inscribed is Yato
Dharma Tato Jaya. It means where there is Dharma, there is victory.
The design of the Dharma Chakra logo of the Supreme Court is reproduced from the
wheel that appears on the abacus of Sarnath Lion capital of Ashoka within 32 spokes.
The inscription in Sanskrit is referred to as the wheel of righteousness, encompassing
truth, goodness and equity. Bhagavad Gita, a part of the popular Indian epic
Mahabharata significantly exfoliates the emerging concepts of Dharma in connection to
the developing concept of Jurisprudence by the Landmark judgements of Supreme
Court.[7]
Landmark decision in the history of the Indian Constitutional Law were amplified by
Supreme Court. Dharma is being used by the courts as prestigious as Constitutional
benches and used in place and equivalent of duty and truth and even the flag contains
the Dharma Chakra of Ashoka.[8]
Nearly sixty years after Independence, there still exist anomalies that troubles the
scholars of Indian secularism. The Supreme Court is, of course, one among several
sites where the contestation over Dharma is played out in reference to secularism. This
monograph examines how the Supreme Court defines and demarcates dharma and
religion.
The concept of Dharma has been used by Supreme Court in various cases in
understanding the significance of its usage. Supreme Court held that the Parliament
could amend any part of the Constitution as long as it did not alter the basic structure or
framework of the constitution. Thus, Judiciary, somehow managed to save our
Constitution with this shield of Basic structure doctrine.[9]
Supreme Court elaborately discusses the questions related to Dharma and with
reference to the significance it talks about the Dharma of the Constitution and the karma
of the adjudication[10]and it also stated that the court.[11]
Article 21 of the Indian constitution is ever growing. Like Dharma includes every aspect
and facet of human life whether internal or external and provides a law to govern it and
safeguard and the same is being done by Article 21 with the help of the other
Fundamental Rights. Article 21 is basically to prevent encroachment upon personal
liberty and deprivation of life except according to procedure established by law. The
scope of Article 21 was a bit narrow till 50s but now the present scenario of our
constitutional and parliamentary status reveals the wider scope of Article 21 and its
applicability.
Article 21 of our Constitution was interpreted most dynamically by the Judiciary. The
Supreme Court opined upon the inter-connections between Article 14 (Equality), Article
19 (Freedom) and Article 21.[12] The spirit of man is at the root of Article 21.[13] It has
been interpreted in a very dynamic way by Supreme Court to include a plethora of rights