'Reports of administration for 1918 of divisions and districts of the occupied territories in Mesopotamia. Volume I' [‎102v] (209/470)

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(7) The total receipts from 1st January 1918 to 10th December 1918 were
Rs. 51,746/13/6. The expenditure during the same period being Rs. 36,442.
( 8 ) It may be remarked, in conclusion, that under the presidency The name given to each of the three divisions of the territory of the East India Company, and later the British Raj, on the Indian subcontinent. of an energetic
and capable merchant of the town, placed above temptation by his financial
position and commercial reputation, the Karbala municipality is making steady
progress towards financial stability and administrative efficiency.
6. Judicial — {a) Judicial cases dealt with in Karbala maybe divided into civil,
criminal, and tribal cases.
(a) Civil .—The judicial administration of Karbala as regards civil disputes was,
in the time of the Turks, carried on by means of a qadhi and two assistants, but, in
nearly all cases involving the religious law, the people preferred to consult their
own Mujtahids direct. The Turks did not take official cognisance of the findings
of these Mujtahids unless the parties concerned had been referred to them by the
qadhi. An exception to this rule was made in the case of Saiyid Kadhim al Yazdi,
the noted mujtahid of Najaf, which place was in Turkish times regarded as an
appanage of Karbala.
At the present time practically all the Shar‘ah cases are taken by the people to
the Assistant Political Officer, whom they frequently ask to decide the case himself,
in preference to transferring them to the Shar‘ah courts.
Owing to the complicated state of the Muhammadan law of inheritance, and
the, if possible, even more complicated condition of the domestic affairs of the
parties concerned, some of whom have been frequently married and divorced
several times as well as a question of policy, it had not been considered advisable
to adjudicate in these cases and they have all been transferred. Ordinary civil
disputes of a straightforward nature not involving questions of inheritance are
settled by the Assistant Political Officer.
A certain proportion of petitioners in these cases fail to appear, having settled
their differences amongst themselves.
The following is the method of dealing with civil disputes.
When a complainant files a suit in the Political Office the defendant and
witnesses are summoned, and if the case appears to be one in which the Muhammadan
religious law is involved, the parties are asked to select a mujtahid to whom they
would like the case referred. The case is then transferred in accordance with their
choice and both parties are warned that they must attend the hearing without
delay. The Assistant Political Officer sees that they do so and that the decisions
of the Shara‘ are duly enforced.
Che principal mujtahids to whom cases are transferred are :—
Shaikh Husain al Mazandarani.
Saiyid Muhammad Sadiq al Tabatabai.
Saiyid ‘Abdul Husain al Tabatabai.
Saiyid Muhammad Mahdi al Hujjah. 7 * * * 11
A summary of all civil cases dealt with in 1918 up to the end of November is
attached as Appendix E.
{b) Criminal CWes.—These are dealt with by the Assistant Political Officer
only, preliminary investigations being made by the Inspector of Police when
necessary. A summary of all such cases from January to November is attached as
Appendix F.
(c) Tribal Oases.—Tribal cases are settled by the Political Officer through the
medium of the shaikhs in accordance with tribal custom
Tribal oases under the jurisdiction of Karbala have been comparatively few
and unimportant. This is due to the fact that the most numerous tribe to the
south and east of Karbala has been under the jurisdiction of Tuwairij whilst the
Eadawin and others to the west have been controlled by the Political Officer
Desert. ’
7. Education. (1) On loth April 1918 a Government primary school for
boys was opened m Karbala, and it is now attended by aboul 70 boys, between
the ages of 14 and 7 years. J ’
masters 61 ' 6 ^ ^ ClaSS6S ^ ^ ^ COnsists of one headmaster and six assistant
1 he subjects of instruction include reading, writing, arithmetic, geography
history, reading the Quran and religious studies, and English. 8 4 I "