SG Tushar Mehta says Vedas are not a direct source of law, explains evolution of Hindu jurisprudence
New Delhi, July 11
Solicitor General of India Tushar Mehta on Saturday said that the Vedas are not a direct source of law but serve as the oldest written repository of wisdom, offering guidance on living in harmony with one's surroundings and inner self.
Delivering a lecture on the relationship between ancient scriptures and modern law, SG Mehta said Hindu law primarily emanated from the Smritis, including the Yajnavalkya Smriti, Manu Smriti, Narada Smriti and Parasara Smriti, which he described as legal commentaries authored by ancient scholars specialising in law.
Tracing the evolution of Hindu jurisprudence, the Solicitor General said that two principal schools of Hindu law, Mitakshara and Dayabhaga, have existed in India since ancient times, at least before 700 AD.
According to Mehta, the Mitakshara school, developed by the scholar Vijnanesvara, is based on the Yajnavalkya Smriti and not the Manu Smriti, contrary to what he described as a common misconception. He said the Mitakshara school has historically been followed across most of India, while the Dayabhaga school, based on the Manu Smriti, was prevalent in the erstwhile Bengal and Assam regions.
He asserted that claims suggesting Hindu law is based entirely on the Manu Smriti are factually incorrect, as the Mitakshara school remains the dominant tradition across the country.
Explaining the distinction between the two schools, Mehta said the Dayabhaga system linked inheritance to the ability to perform pind daan, referring to the offering of rice cakes to ancestors during shraddha ceremonies, making the concept comparatively restrictive.
In contrast, he said, the Mitakshara school adopted a broader and more dynamic interpretation by recognising inheritance rights by birth. He observed that while ancient texts did not use the term "DNA", the concept underlying pind reflected biological lineage, adding that the principle continues to exist in modern Hindu law through the concept of coparcenary rights acquired by birth.
The Solicitor General also said that Hindu legal traditions demonstrate an openness and flexibility in interpreting religious legal texts that, according to him, is not found in other religious scriptures. Citing the concept of adoption (dattak), he said multiple interpretations of the relevant texts illustrate the dynamic nature of Hindu legal principles.
He further praised the framers of ancient legal texts for introducing the concept of prohibited degrees of relationship governing marriage. According to Mehta, these principles, formulated around 700 AD, continue to find recognition in contemporary statutory law enacted by Parliament.
Concluding his address, Mehta said that while many branches of law evolved over time, India's criminal law framework remained substantially rooted in colonial legislation. He said the British had framed criminal laws for their "subjects", which continued after Independence in the form of the Indian Penal Code. He added that the enactment of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita in 2023 marked a shift towards a criminal code framed for the country's "citizens", with provisions reorganised to reflect the priorities of a sovereign democratic republic.
— ANI
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