This Study Is An Attempt To Focus Attention On That Aspect Of Society Which Arises Out Of Disobedience Of Established Norms And Rules Invoking Widespread Moral Indignation, Strain, Stress And Tension That Calls For Deterrents. Geographically The Study Is Chiefly Confined To Northern India While The Main Emphasis Is On A Specified Time Period Of History. The Work Is Divided Into Six Chapters. The First Chapter Deals With Source Materials And Their Respective Values. The Chapter On Crime Offers A Glimpse Of Various Crimes Prevalent During The Period From Petty Breaches Of Laws To Grave Offences Against Society And State. The Chapter On Punishment Notes The Nature And Modes Of Punishment And Remissions Of Punishment Under Prescribed Conditions. The Chapter On Police Organisation Deals With The Various Measures Employed By Police Administration To Detect Control And Prevent Crimes And The Role Of Different Officials In The Hierarchy. The Chapter On Judicial Administration Is A Survey Of The Factors Involved In The Intellectual Procedure By Which Judges Could Arrive At Decisions And Various Procedures Adopted Therefor. The Concluding Chapter Discusses Sources Of Hindu Law And Notes That Application And Interpretation Of Law Is Subject To Adjustment With Cycles Of Time And Political Changes, Which Determine The Social Attitude To Crime-Punishment Forms And Relations, Though Law Remains, Unchanged In Essence.

Crime and punishment, criminal law and its administration, are areas of ancient history that have been explored less than many other aspects of ancient civilizations. Throughout history women have been affected by crime both as victims and as offenders. Yet, in the ancient world customary laws were created by men, formal laws were written by men, and both were interpreted and enforced by men.

Reprint of the fourth edition, which contains an additional text attributed to Voltaire. Originally published anonymously in 1764, Dei Delitti e Delle Pene was the first systematic study of the principles of crime and punishment. Infused with the spirit of the Enlightenment, its advocacy of crime prevention and the abolition of torture and capital punishment marked a significant advance in criminological thought, which had changed little since the Middle Ages. It had a profound influence on the development of criminal law in Europe and the United States.