________________
Shri Mahavir Jain Aradhana Kendra
www.kobatirth.org
INTRODUCTION
Acharya Shri Kailassagarsuri Gyanmandir
xxi
Witnesses in civil suits who are bribed to depose falsely against a party are to be punished with twice the pecuniary value of the suit; and those who, although cognisant of the facts, deny any knowledge whatsoever at the time of deposition, are to be fined eight times the value of the suit. But no fines should be imposed on a Brahmin witness guilty of such conduct; he should be banished from the realm. Persons other than Brahmins, who are habituated to depose falsely, are to be punished with forfeiture of property. A witness who has been summoned in a money-suit involving the nonpayment of debt but who fails to turn up within six weeks, must pay up the debt with one-tenth as interest. In other suits, similar act on the part of the witness entails on him the payment of three hundred copper coins as fine.
A person convicted of forging a sale-deed shall have his fault proclaimed to the public by beat of drum, and shall undergo the punishment of mutilation of tongue, hand, or leg.
When there has been an adjudication but the losing party, insisting on his claim and refusing to be silenced, institutes a fresh suit, the latter suit should not only be dismissed but fines equal to four times the pecuniary value of the suit should be imposed on him. This shows that there was in ancient times no such thing as the modern principle of resjudicata (section 11 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908), which bars the re-opening of once-decided matter between the same parties or their representatives-in-interest.
Then follow several isolated topics of law. The first is the distinction between an ordinary offence and a State offence ( Z9190 A¶TIC), the second is the enumeration and punishments of State offences, and the third is the exemption from taxation.
State Offence
The topics dealt with in the foregoing pages of the Dandaviveka are no doubt crimes which are cognizable by the king, but the real State offences ( 1 ) are those which are treated in this Chapter. In these State offences, the king is informed by his spies of the deviations from the right path of all classes of men in all stages of life. He then corrects the offender by the infliction of proper punishment.
For Private And Personal Use Only
