SIR HENRY MAINE'S PERSPECTIVE: UNRAVELING DICHOTOMOUS STATE OF PERSONAL LAWS OF PUNJAB UNDER BRITISH RULE

Abstract

The Historical School of Jurisprudence has established that customs are driving force behind the development of codified laws and same has been witnessed in evolution of Personal laws in India. In the British India era when matter for codification of civil and criminal laws came up; the area of personal laws dealing specifically with succession, adoption, marriage etc. are left unaltered and customs prevalent at that time with respect to aforesaid matters are given due importance. During 1862-1869 when Sir Henry Maine acted as a legal member to Governor-General Council of India, it was observed that for the purpose of development of personal laws, customs and practices were stressed upon especially in the case of erstwhile State of Punjab. With the enactment of Punjab Laws Act, 1872, customary law was given legal status inspired by the fact that it regulates civil life and this is how the province of Punjab became an exception where customs of people became the law of the province by a single statute. Therefore, in order to understand why and how such customs got embedded into legal language it is necessary to conduct this study. Thus, in present paper the researcher with help of secondary data and historical research plan shall decipher process with which customs got embedded into legal language. It shall also reflect on its recognition altogether as a distinct code than Hindu Personal laws and critically examine Maine's perspective, analyzing its relevance, limitations, and implications for understanding Punjab's legal landscape under British rule.