Empire of India: Rise of the Ruthless Prince

The Vijayanagara Empire's existing justice system relied on the nobles and sarpanches to mediate the troubles of the common folk. These nobles or higher authorities can be largely corrupt. The vested interests of the nobles or sarpanches determined the right and wrong. They tend to support the person who managed to cough up more money.

Common folk had no choice but to deal with this severe injustice inflicted upon them. This led to huge burials of crimes due to the influence of the nobility and sarpanches. The common people couldn't speak up against the injustices because of the influence they commanded.

Harsha wanted to solve this problem once and for all. This required a huge reform and the proper draft of the judicial framework and laws. He also needed to establish courts and a robust police system to handle the criminals. He had to appoint lawyers from the state to help the poor people with no money get justice.

'This is going to be a huge headache.' Harsha thought as he walked to the royal court. Viswa followed behind.

He called in a royal council meeting to discuss this. He didn't need to worry about opposition from the council since it was all his people at the end of the day. There could be a possible outcry from the local nobles, which cannot amount to nothing without a major noble's backing.

Everyone was gathered in the royal court under his command. He sat in the host's chair and began the meeting.

"You also sit." He ordered Viswa. "From now on, you will have a seat right next to me."

Viswa stood in the royal council meetings. Although he didn't mind it much at first. It began to annoy him a bit now.

"Understood?" He asked again.

"Yes, Your Majesty." Viswa smiled faintly.

Viswa froze and was taken aback for a while but as ordered. He brought over a chair and sat down beside him.

"Let's begin."

Bhima was the first to ask questions as usual. He was following in his father's footsteps and becoming a great heir to inherit the Nayaka family.

"I heard that we are going to ally with the Marathas." He looked concerned. "Is it really worth it?"

"Yes, it will just boost our trade. They can become our weapons buyers in the future as well."

"The trade is increasing exponentially with the Yadavas already. If we get the Marathas, it would boost our finances." Mithun chipped in.

"Mithun is right," added Raj Patwardhan.

"Viswa will brief you all about the things that happened during the annexure and war." Harsha began. "The main agenda of the meeting is different."

Everyone looked confused as they were not briefed about the meeting agenda. They thought it was a routine meeting for the Royal Council.

"What is the agenda?" asked Bhaskara.

"The Empire shall be getting a new judicial foundation."

Everyone looked pretty taken aback by the suggestion. The laws of the land were not established for ages now. The laws were different from region to region. No one expected the Emperor to suggest such a radical move that would change the landscape of the Empire.

"What is this? And don't the mediators and sarpanch system already solve most cases?" asked Asokan Nair.

He was the head of judicial affairs and law & order in the Empire. It was his field; he tried his best to maintain justice and fairness in the trials. He regarded the sarpanch system as a good way to solve the issues for common people.

"You don't understand? Do you? Those mediators are bought with money most of the time." Karna, who was usually quiet, spoke up. "Justice is not served for the innocent in the end."

"This is the harsh truth."

"I have experienced this as well, Your Majesty. Unfortunately, it has been a lot rampant in the villages." Bhaskara added.

"Now do you understand the gravity of the situation? Lord Asokan. This is worse than you thought." Harsha voiced. "Viswa was the one that pointed this out."

"We need to step up the measures."

Asokan hung his head in shame. He didn't have the knowledge that the situation was this grim.

"Although we have established this. What changes can overturn this?" Bhima asked.

"We will establish courts that follow the judicial framework all over the Empire." Harsha began. "For this, we have to establish and draft proper laws necessary for resolving conflicts."

"Courts? What are they?" asked Bhaskara.

Viswa took charge to explain the function.

"Courts are places for everyone to file pleas if they were wronged. It will be under the control of the Empire." Viswa said. "There shall be no distinctions based on anything in front of the court."

"So, who will listen to the pleas and give the judgements?" asked Bhima

"About that." Viswa took a deep breath. "We will appoint judges to deliver the judgements based on evidence and the facts of the issue."

"The pleas will be taken to court by a lawyer that would advocate for the rights of the people."

"That would create the same situation, right?"

Harsha smiled. "We will not just appoint judges or lawyers blindly."

"There will be a test for the appointment. It will be open to all people." He continued. "Once the test is passed. They will be screened and given the positions."

"So they have to follow the laws drafted in the Royal Council." Mithun said thoughtfully.

"Everyone shall be innocent till proven guilty. So we have a much more evidence-based judicial system rather than an emotional one with no facts." Harsha added with a smile.

"But we need a new task force to manage criminals and prevent them from escaping from the crime scenes, right?" Karna asked. "What about that?"

"I also thought about it. We need to police the Empire properly." Harsha scratched his chin. "I was thinking of making judicial affairs and law & order affairs separate."

"Also appointing a new member to the council for the new open position." Harsha declared with a bright smile.

"Separate?" Asokan exclaimed. "So my position is gone?"

"Not really. It will split into two. I will keep you in charge of the law and order situation." Harsha said. "You will be tasked to manage the police force."

Asokan's face quickly lit up at that information, like a sad child's face seeing candy. He cleared his throat to appear more composed.

"How will we recruit people for the police force?"

"Remember the soldiers we let go after the physical requirements."

"Yes? Do we recruit all of them?"

"No!" Harsha began with a sigh. "We provide a month of physical training and screening tests for the personnel. The passing candidates will be selected for the force."

"What about the hierarchy, Your Majesty?" asked Mithun.

"Same as the army. Every small village to big cities must have a police station." Harsha declared. "You will be the head of this task force."

"I heard you do well in law and order. I am giving you a chance." He glared at Asokan. "Don't disappoint me this time."

Asokan nodded enthusiastically. He wanted to prove himself. It was lax on his part to overestimate the judicial system of the Empire. He didn't know about the problems due to his own flaws. He should have seen them and addressed them before instead of having the Butler point them out for the Emperor to notice.

'I will do my best this time.' He vowed internally with a determined face.

"Your Majesty! What are the responsibilities for the police force?"

"Maintain order in the villages. Suppress rebellions or violent outbursts. Arrest and detain criminals."

"You will have routine physical checks by the army to maintain standards."

He wanted the police force to be physically ready for any conflicts. They must behave sort of like an internal guardian force for the citizens. Keeping them physically fit was the best way to achieve this result.

"I have another task for you, Asokan."

Asokan nodded and looked expectant not to disappoint him.

'It might be a good choice to give him a chance.'

He planned to monitor Asokan's work using Karna and the police force would have personnel from his own secret service to sniff out any conspiracy going on in the Empire. It would be relatively easy for them to sneak in due to their exceptional physical prowess.

The screening was done by the secret service personnel as well.

"I need you to find a capable man for handling the judicial affairs within the next meeting."

"Judicial affairs!! Hmmm…" Asokan thought for a while.

"He must be well-versed in resolving conflicts and have experience in such fields." Harsha began.

"There are three qualities I need. He needs to be loyal to the throne and empire. He should be capable and lastly, he must be open-minded to change."

Having an inflexible individual was the last thing he needed on the Royal Council. He wanted progress, not interference.

"Can you do that?" Harsha asked, expecting a favourable answer.

"I think I can. I might have a good candidate for that."

Harsha smiled.

"Then the meeting is adjourned. I will prepare the draft for the next meeting."