ABSTRACT
The administration of Sharia family law classical Muslim tradition recognised one judicial organ only: court of a single qadi. No hierarchy of Sharia courts existed and no system of appeal as such, although dissatisfied litigants could always seek the intervention of the political authority through his Mazalim jurisdiction. In the Indian sub-continent the administration of Sharia law by British or anglicised courts, subject to the supreme authority of the decisions of the Privy Council, led to a remarkable fusion of the two systems. Firstly it was not in the character of the courts fully to appreciate or accept the doctrine of strict adherence to established authorities. They did not hesitate to formulate novel principles by way of supplement to the traditional law when this seemed necessary on general grounds of justice and equity. The second development in the Indian subcontinent was the complete eclipse of traditional Sharia doctrine in certain respects and its replacement by the precepts of English law.
