Page:Castes and Tribes of Southern India, Volume 2.djvu/143

Rh charged with adultery, the accused is brought before the assembly, and the charge formally investigated with the advice of the panchāyat, the Dēsāyi declares the accused guilty or not guilty, as the case may be. In the event of a man being pronounced guilty, the panchāyat directs him to pay the aggrieved husband all the expenses he had incurred in connection with his marriage. In addition to this, a line ranging from ten to twenty rupees is imposed on the offender by the Dēsāyi, and is collected at once. A small fraction of this fine, never exceeding four annas, is paid to every representative who sits in the panchāyat, the balance going into the Dēsāyi's pocket. If the delinquent refuses to pay the fine, a council of the same men is held, and he is excommunicated. The recalcitrant offender soon realises the horrors of excommunication, and in a short time appears before the Dēsāyi, and falls prostrate at his feet, promising to obey him. The Dēsāyi then accompanies him to the village, calls the panchāyat again, and in their presence removes the interdict. On this occasion, the excommunicated person has to pay double the amount of the original fine. But disobedience is rare, as people are alive to the serious consequences of excommunication. The Dēsāyi maintains a regular record of all his enquiries and judgments, and in the days of the Nawābs these decisions were, it would appear, recognised by the Courts of Justice. The same respect was, it is said, also shown to the Dēsāyi's decisions by the early courts of John Company. *

"Every house belonging to the eighteen castes sends to the village representative of the Dēsāyi, who is called Periyatanakāran, a pagoda (Rs. 3-8) in cash, besides