Question

who was N.B halhed? what is his contribution in judicial reforms under the British rule?​

Answer 1

Answer:

Halhed was born at Westminster, and was educated at Harrow School, where he began a close friendship with Richard Brinsley Sheridan. While at Oxford he undertook oriental studies under the influence of William Jones. Accepting a writership in the service of the East India Company, he went out to India, and there, at the suggestion of Warren Hastings, translated the Hindu legal code from a Persian version of the original Sanskrit. This translation was published in 1776 as A Code of Gentoo Laws. In 1778 he published a Bengali grammar, to print which he set up the first Bengali press in India.[2]

In 1785 Halhed returned to England, and from 1790–1795 was Member of Parliament for Lymington, Hants. For some time he was a disciple of Richard Brothers, and a speech in parliament in defence of Brothers made it impossible for him to remain in the House of Commons, from which he resigned in 1795. He subsequently obtained a home appointment under the East India Company. He died in London on 18 February 1830.[2]

Answer 2

NB Halhed, an English Orientalist & philologist, first worked in the accountant general's office in India and then he was made a Persian translator

Explanation:

• A modern justice system was established in 1772. There were two courts in each district: a criminal (faujdari adalat) & a civil (diwani adalat) court. For the British district collectors who chaired civilian courts, Maulvis and the Hindu Pandits had interpreted Indian laws. There was always a Qazi & a Mufti in the criminal trials however under the over-seeing & supervision of the collectors.
• The Brahman Pandits gave numerous interpretations of local laws centered on the various schools of dharmashastra which was a big issue. To achieve uniformity. In 1775, the digest of Hindu laws was compiled by eleven pandits. This digest was translated into English by Halhed.
• By 1778, also for the benefit of the European judges a code of Muslim law was developed by Halhed. A new Supreme Court was created under the Constitutional Act of 1773, with an appellate court – Sadar Nizamat Adalat – also being established in Calcutta.