Rogues and scoundrels were forced to tread carefully - even the exalted emperor was not spared when he erred - for Birbal, Akbar's able minister, was at hand to dispense justice. Part detective, part psychologist, he never failed to nab a wrongdoer. His methods might have been unorthodox - he once summoned a tree as the key witness in a case - but he never failed to get the desired results.