ORGANISATIONAL SET UP OF EAST INDIA COMPANY

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A A P PR RO OJ JE EC CT T

O OR RG GA AN NI IS SA AT TI IO ON NA AL L S SE ET T U UP P O OF F E EA AS ST T I IN ND DI IA A C CO OM MP PA AN NY Y


S SU UB BJ JE EC CT T: : - - L LE EG GA AL L H HI IS ST TO OR RY Y


S SU UB BM MI IT TT TE ED D T TO O: : - - D Dr r. . P PR RI IY YA AD DA AR RS SH HN NI I

S SU UB BM MI IT TT TE ED D B BY Y: : - - B BH HA AN NU U P PR RA AT TA AP P

R RO OL LL L N NO O: : - - 9 92 21 1 ( ( 2 2n nd d S Se em me es st te er r ) )






C CH HA AN NA AK KY YA A N NA AT TI IO ON NA AL L L LA AW W U UN NI IV VE ER RS SI IT TY Y

P PA AT TN NA A


ORGANISATIONAL SET UP OF EAST INDIA COMPANY

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A AC CK KN NO OW WL LE ED DG GE EM ME EN NT T


I I f fe ee el l m my ys se el lf f h hi ig gh hl ly y d de el li ig gh ht te ed d, , a as s i it t g gi iv ve es s m me e i in nc cr re ed di ib bl le e p pl le ea as su ur re e t to o p pr re es se en nt t a a
r re es se ea ar rc ch h w wo or rk k o on n
ORGANISATIONAL SET UP OF EAST INDIA COMPANY


I I w wo ou ul ld d l li ik ke e t to o e en nl li ig gh ht te en n m my y r re ea ad de er rs s r re eg ga ar rd di in ng g t th hi is s t to op pi ic c a an nd d I I h ho op pe e I I h ha av ve e t tr ri ie ed d m my y b be es st t t to o
p pa av ve e t th he e w wa ay y f fo or r b br ri in ng gi in ng g m mo or re e l lu um mi in no os si it ty y t to o t th hi is s t to op pi ic c. .

I I a am m g gr ra at te ef fu ul l t to o m my y f fa ac cu ul lt ty y D Dr r. . P PR RI IY YA AD DA AR RS SH HN NI I w wh ho o h ha as s g gi iv ve en n m me e a an n i id de ea a a an nd d
e en nc co ou ur ra ag ge e m me e t to o v ve en nt tu ur re e t th hi is s p pr ro oj je ec ct t. . I I w wo ou ul ld d l li ik ke e t to o t th ha an nk k l li ib br ra ar ri ia an n o of f C CN NL LU U f fo or r t th he ei ir r
i in nt te er re es st t i in n p pr ro ov vi id di in ng g m me e a a g go oo od d b ba ac ck k u up p m ma at te er ri ia al l

A At t f fi in na al ll ly y y ye et t i im mp po or rt ta an nt tl ly y I I w wo ou ul ld d l li ik ke e t to o t th ha an nk k m my y p pa ar re en nt ts s f fo or r t th he e f fi in na an nc ci ia al l s su up pp po or rt t. .

B BH HA AN NU U P PR RA AT TA AP P






ORGANISATIONAL SET UP OF EAST INDIA COMPANY

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A A I I M M S S A A N N D D O O B B J J E E C C T T I I V V E E
To examine the dominance of English laws in India.

To examine the strengthening the political powers of East India
Company through several charters and acts.

R R E E S S E E A A R R C C H H M ME E T T H H O O D D O O L L O O G G Y Y
F Fo or r t th he e p pu ur rp po os se e o of f r re es se ea ar rc ch h, , t th he e r re es se ea ar rc ch he er r w wi il ll l b be e r re el ly yi in ng g o on n v va ar ri io ou us s
s so ou ur rc ce es s i i. .e e. . p pr ri im ma ar ry y a an nd d s se ec co on nd da ar ry y s so ou ur rc ce es s t to o l lo oo ok k f fo or r i in nf fo or rm ma at ti io on n
r re el la at te ed d t to o t th he e O OR RG GA AN NI IS SA AT TI IO ON NA AL L S SE ET T U UP P O OF F E EA AS ST T I IN ND DI IA A C CO OM MP PA AN NY Y
T Th hi is s p pr ro oj je ec ct t h ha as s b be ee en n d do on ne e a af ft te er r a a t th ho or ro ou ug gh h r re es se ea ar rc ch h b ba as se ed d u up po on n i in nt tr ri in ns si ic c a an nd d
e ex xt tr ri in ns si ic c a as sp pe ec ct ts s o of f t th he e p pr ro oj je ec ct t. . T Th he e r re es se ea ar rc ch he er r w wi il ll l b be e d do oi in ng g h hi is s r re es se ea ar rc ch h
k ke ee ep pi in ng g h hi is s m mi in nd d t th he e v va ar ri io ou us s q qu ue es st ti io on ns s r re el la at te ed d t to o t th hi is s t to op pi ic c. .
S So ou ur rc ce es s o of f D Da at ta a: :
T Th he e r re es se ea ar rc ch he er r w wi il ll l u us se e t th he e D Do oc ct tr ri in na al l m me et th ho od d r re es se ea ar rc ch h. . T Th he e f fo ol ll lo ow wi in ng g
s se ec co on nd da ar ry y s so ou ur rc ce es s o of f d da at ta a h ha av ve e b be ee en n u us se ed d i in n t th he e p pr ro oj je ec ct t- -
1 1. . A Ar rt ti ic cl le es s. .
2 2. . B Bo oo ok ks s
3 3. . J Jo ou ur rn na al ls s
4 4. . W We eb bs si it te es s


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T TA AB BL LE E O OF F C CO ON NT TE EN NT TS S


S S. . N No o. .

C CH HA AP PT TE ER RS S

P PA AG GE E
N No o. .
1 1. .

2 2. .


3 3. .


4 4. .


5 5. .


I IN NT TR RO OD DU UC CT TI IO ON N

Formation of it throughActs introduce by East India
Company for establishment of their empire in India
Judicial reform brought by them for strengthening the
administration of justice
C Ca as se es s H He ea ar rd d B By y E Ea as st t I In nd di ie es s D Du ur ri in ng g T Th hi is s E Er ra a

C Co on nc cl lu us si io on n
B Bi ib bl li io og gr ra ap ph hy y



* ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** *

5 5

8 8


1 11 1


1 14 4


1 18 8

2 20 0










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I IN NT TR RO OD DU UC CT TI IO ON N
1
The English East India Company (hereafter, the Company) was founded in 1600, as The
Company of Merchants of London Trading into the East Indies. It gained a foothold in India in
1612 after Mughal emperor Jahangir granted it the rights to establish afactory, or trading post, in
the port of Surat on the western coast. In 1640, after receiving similar permission from
the Vijayanagara ruler farther south, a second factory was established in Madras on the
southeastern coast. Bombay island, not far from Surat, a former Portuguese outpost gifted
to England as dowry in the marriage of Catherine of Braganza to Charles II, was leased by the
Company in 1668. Two decades later, the Company established a presence on the eastern coast
as well; far up that coast, in theGanges river delta, a factory was set up in Calcutta. Since, during
this time other companiesestablished by the Portuguese,Dutch, French, and Danishwere
similarly expanding in the region, the English Company's unremarkable beginnings on coastal
India offered no clues to what would become a lengthy presence on the Indian subcontinent. The
Company's victory under Andrea Bustamante and Robert Clive power in the 1757 Battle of
Plassey and another victory in the 1764 Battle of Buxar (in Bihar), consolidated the Company's
power, and forced emperor Shah Alam II to appoint it the diwan, or revenue collector, of Bengal,
Bihar, and Orissa. The Company thus became the de facto ruler of large ares of the lower
Gangetic plain by 1773. It also proceeded by degrees to expand its dominions around Bombay
and Madras. The Anglo-Mysore Wars(17661799) and the Anglo-Maratha Wars (17721818)
left it in control of large areas of India south of the Sutlej River. With the defeat of the Marathas,
no native power represented a threat for the Company any longer. The end of the last Anglo-
Maratha War in 1818 marked the era of British paramountcy over India. The proliferation of the
Company's power chiefly took two forms. The first of these was the outright annexation of
Indian states and subsequent direct governance of the underlying regions, which collectively
came to comprise British India. The annexed regions included the North-Western
Provinces (comprising Rohilkhand, Gorakhpur, and the Doab) (1801), Delhi (1803), Assam
(Ahom Kingdom 1828), and Sindh (1843). Punjab, North-West Frontier Province, and Kashmir,
were annexed after the Anglo-Sikh Wars in 1849; however, Kashmir was immediately sold
under the Treaty of Amritsar (1850) to the Dogra Dynasty of Jammu, and thereby became a
princely state. In 1854 Berar was annexed, and the state of Oudh two years later. The second
form of asserting power involved treaties in which Indian rulers acknowledged the
Company's hegemony in return for limited internal autonomy. Since the Company operated
under financial constraints, it had to set up political underpinnings for its rule. The most
important such support came from the subsidiary alliances with Indian princes during the first 75
years of Company rule. In the early 19th century, the territories of these princes accounted for
two-third of India. When an Indian ruler, who was able to secure his territory, wanted to enter
such an alliance, the Company welcomed it as an economical method of indirect rule, which did
not involve the economic costs of direct administration or the political costs of gaining the
support of alien subjects. In return, the Company undertook the "defence of these subordinate
allies and treated them with traditional respect and marks of honor." Subsidiary alliances created

1
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the princely states, of the Hindu maharajas and the Muslim nawabs. Prominent among the
princely states
were: Cochin (1791), Jaipur (1794), Travancore (1795), Hyderabad (1798), Mysore (1799), Cis-
Sutlej Hill States (1815), Central India Agency (1819), Cutch and Gujarat Gaikwad
territories (1819), Rajputana (1818), and Bahawalpur (1833). Until Clive's victory at Plassey,
the East India Company territories in India, which consisted largely of the presidency towns of
Calcutta, Madras, and Bombay, were governed by the mostly autonomousand sporadically
unmanageabletown councils, all composed of merchants. The councils barely had enough
powers for the effective management of their local affairs, and the ensuing lack of oversight of
the overall Company operations in India led to some grave abuses by Company officers or their
allies. Clive's victory, and the award of the diwani of the rich region of Bengal, brought India
into the public spotlight in Britain. The Company's money management practices came to be
questioned, especially as it began to post net losses even as some Company servants, the
"Nabobs," returned to Britain with large fortunes, whichaccording to rumors then current
were acquired unscrupulously. By 1772, the Company needed British government loans to stay
afloat, and there was fear in London that the Company's corrupt practices could soon seep into
British business and public life. The rights and duties of the British government with regards the
Company's new territories came also to be examined.
2
The British parliament then held several
inquiries and in 1773, during the premiership of Lord North, enacted the Regulating Act, which
established regulations, its long title stated, "for the better Management of the Affairs of the East
India Company, as well in India as in Europe" Although Lord North himself wanted the
Company's territories to be taken over by the British state, he faced determined political
opposition from many quarters, including some in the City of London and the British
parliament. The result was a compromise in which the Regulating Actalthough implying the
ultimate sovereignty of the British Crown over these new territoriesasserted that the Company
could act as a sovereign power on behalf of the Crown. It could do this while concurrently being
subject to oversight and regulation by the British government and parliament. The Court of
Directors of the Company were required under the Act to submit all communications regarding
civil, military, and revenue matters in India for scrutiny by the British government. For the
governance of the Indian territories, the act asserted the supremacy of the Presidency of Fort
William (Bengal) over those of Fort St. George (Madras) and Bombay. It also nominated
a Governor-General (Warren Hastings) and four councilors for administering the Bengal
presidency (and for overseeing the Company's operations in India). "The subordinate
Presidencies were forbidden to wage war or make treaties without the previous consent of the
Governor-General of Bengal in Council, except in case of imminent necessity. The Governors of
these Presidencies were directed in general terms to obey the orders of the Governor-General-in-
Council, and to transmit to him intelligence of all important matters." However, the imprecise
wording of the Act, left it open to be variously interpreted; consequently, the administration in
India continued to be hobbled by disunity between the provincial governors, between members
of the Council, and between the Governor-General himself and his Council. The Regulating
Act also attempted to address the prevalent corruption in India: Company servants were
henceforth forbidden to engage in private trade in India or to receive "presents" from Indian
nationals. William Pitt's India Act of 1784 established a Board of Control in England both to

2
B.S. Chowdhary studies in judicial history of British India
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supervise the East India Company's affairs and to prevent the Company's shareholders from
interfering in the governance of India. The Board of Control consisted of six members, which
included one Secretary of State from the British cabinet, as well as the Chancellor of the
Exchequer. Around this time, there was also extensive debate in the British parliament on the
issue of landed rights in Bengal, with a consensus developing in support of the view advocated
by Philip Francis, a member of the Bengal council and political adversary of Warren Hastings,
that all lands in Bengal should be considered the "estate and inheritance of native land-holders
and families ..." Mindful of the reports of abuse and corruption in Bengal by Company servants,
the India Act itself noted numerous complaints that "'divers Rajahs, Zemindars, Polygars,
Talookdars, and landholders"' had been unjustly deprived of 'their lands, jurisdictions, rights, and
privileges'." At the same time the Company's directors were now leaning towards Francis's view
that the land-tax in Bengal should be made fixed and permanent, setting the stage for
the Permanent Settlement (see section Revenue settlements under the Company below). The
India Act also created in each of the three presidencies a number of administrative and military
posts, which included: a Governor and three Councilors, one of which was the Commander in
Chief of the Presidency army. Although the supervisory powers of the Governor-General-in-
Council in Bengal (over Madras and Bombay) were extendedas they were again in the Charter
Act of 1793the subordinate presidencies continued to exercise some autonomy until both the
extension of British possessions into becoming contiguous and the advent of faster
communications in the next century. Still, the new Governor-General appointed in 1786, Lord
Cornwallis, not only had more power than Hastings, but also had the support of a powerful
British cabinet minister, Henry Dundas, who, asSecretary of state for the Home Office, was in
charge of the overall India policy. From 1784 onwards, the British government had the final
word on all major appointments in India; a candidate's suitability for a senior position was often
decided by the strength of his political connexions rather than that of his administrative ability.
Although this practice resulted in many Governor-General nominees being chosen from Britain's
conservative landed gentry, there were some liberals as well, such as Lord William Bentinckand
Lord Dalhousie. British political opinion was also shaped by the attempted Impeachment of
Warren Hastings; the trial, whose proceedings began in 1788, ended, with Hastings' acquittal, in
1795. Although the effort was chiefly coordinated by Edmund Burke, it also drew support from
within the British government. Burke, accused Hastings not only of corruption, butappealing
to universal standards of justicealso of acting solely upon his own discretion and without
concern for law and of willfully causing distress to others in India; in response, Hastings'
defenders asserted that his actions were in concert with Indian customs and traditions. Although
Burke's speeches at the trial drew applause and focused attention on India, Hastings was
eventually acquitted, due, in part, to the revival of nationalism in Britain in the wake of
the French Revolution; nonetheless, Burke's effort had the effect of creating a sense of
responsibility in British public life for the Company's dominion in India.




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ACTS INTRODUCE BY EAST INDIA COMPANY FOR
EASTABLISHMENT OF THEIR EMPIRE IN INDIA
34
By the Regulating Act of 1773 (later known as the East India Company Act 1773),
the Parliament of Great Britain imposed a series of administrative and economic reforms and by
doing so clearly established its sovereignty and ultimate control over the Company. The Act
recognised the Company's political functions and clearly established that the "acquisition of
sovereignty by the subjects of the Crown is on behalf of the Crown and not in its own right."
Despite stiff resistance from the East India lobby in parliament and from the Company's
shareholders the Act was passed. It introduced substantial governmental control and allowed the
land to be formally under the control of the Crown, but leased to the Company at 40,000 for
two years. Under this provision governor of Bengal Warren Hastingsbecame the first Governor-
General of Bengal, and had administrative powers over all of British India. It provided that his
nomination, though made by a court of directors, should in future be subject to the approval of
a Council of Four appointed by the Crown namely Lt. General Sir John Clavering, The
Honourable Sir George Monson, Sir Richard Barwell, and Sir Philip Francis. Hastings was
entrusted with the power of peace and war. British judicial personnel would also be sent to India
to administer the British legal system. The Governor General and the council would have
complete legislative powers. The company was allowed to maintain its virtual monopoly over
trade in exchange for the biennial sum and was obligated to export a minimum quantity of goods
yearly to Britain. The costs of administration were to be met by the company. These provisions
were initially welcomed by the Company, but with the annual burden of the payment to be met,
its finances continued steadily to decline.

5
The Act Of Settlement Of 1781

This act declare that governor general and members of council they were exempted from the
jurisdiction of supreme court from things done by them things done by their judicial preview
either individually or collectively. The governor general and council or any person acting under
them having no immunity before English courts. The revenue matters and arising out of its
collection were excluded from the jurisdiction of supreme court. Under section 17 of this act, the
English laws were not applicable on native Indians. The Hindus and the Muslims should judged
by there personal law. And in any dispute arises between two religion then the case should be
judged by the law prevailing in defendant religion. The supreme court were empowered to
decide cases of wrong doing like trespass and in civil cases where parties had agreed in writing
the submit their cases to supreme court. It was also provided that supreme court will not entertain
any cases against person holding judicial office in any native court for any wrong done by his
judicial decision. Person working under authority of such judicial officer were also exempted and

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this had been mentioned in section 24 of this act. The parliament recognized by this act of 1791,
the civil and the criminal provisional codes. These company court were existing independently of
the supreme court. It was most important provision of act of 1781 as it completely reversed the
policy of act of 1773. This act provide sadar diwani adalat will be the court of appeal to hear
appeal from country courts in civil cases. It was recognized as court of record. Its judgment were
final except judgment given by king in council in civil cases involving Rs.5000 or more. Sadar
diwani adalat was presided over governor general and the member of his council. It was also
empowered to decide cases of revenue collection and undue influence in collection revenue. The
act of 1781 authorized governor general and his member of council to frame for provincial
council and provincial courts which were existed then. This act recognized right of family head
on the member of family. The Hindu and Muslim residing in Calcutta they were to be govern by
their personal law in civil matter. This act empowered the governor general and member of
council to frame rules for conducting civil and criminal trails in the provincial council. Within 6
months the copies of these regulation should be sent to court of director and secretary of the
state. The supreme council could now frame the rules for the territory of Bihar Bengal and
Orissa. The power of supreme court were curtailed by this act but still earned greater prestige as
consider great institution by Europeans and Indians. The result was that, similar court were
established in Bombay and madras. Now ever the executive council of governor general was
given all powers. It provided for the release of all defendants who were arrested in Patna case.
The governor general and the council they gave security for payment of damages awarded to
them. They were also allowed to file and appeal to king in council against supreme court.



East India Company Act 1784 (Pitt's India Act)

The East India Company Act 1784 (Pitt's India Act) had two key aspects:
Relationship to the British government: the bill differentiated the East India Company's political
functions from its commercial activities. In political matters the East India Company was
subordinated to the British government directly. To accomplish this, the Act created a Board of
Commissioners for the Affairs of India, usually referred to as the Board of Control. The
members of the Board were the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Secretary of State, and
four Privy Councillors, nominated by the King. The act specified that the Secretary of State
"shall preside at, and be President of the said Board". Internal Administration of British India:
the bill laid the foundation for the centralised and bureaucratic British administration of India
which would reach its peak at the beginning of the 20th century during the governor-generalship
of George Nathaniel Curzon, 1st Baron Curzon.

Pitt's Act was deemed a failure because it quickly became apparent that the boundaries between
government control and the company's powers were nebulous and highly subjective. The
government felt obliged to respond to humanitarian calls for better treatment of local peoples in
British-occupied territories. Edmund Burke, a former East India Company shareholder and
diplomat, was moved to address the situation and introduced a new Regulating Bill in 1783. The
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bill was defeated amid lobbying by company loyalists and accusations of nepotism in the bill's
recommendations for the appointment of councillors.

Act of 1786
The Act of 1786 (26 Geo. 3 c. 16) enacted the demand of Earl Cornwallis that the powers of the
Governor-General be enlarged to empower him, in special cases, to override the majority of his
Council and act on his own special responsibility. The Act enabled the offices of the Governor-
General and the Commander-in-Chief to be jointly held by the same official.

This Act clearly demarcated borders between the Crown and the Company. After this point, the
Company functioned as a regularised subsidiary of the Crown, with greater accountability for its
actions and reached a stable stage of expansion and consolidation. Having temporarily achieved
a state of truce with the Crown, the Company continued to expand its influence to nearby
territories through threats and coercive actions. By the middle of the 19th century, the
Company's rule extended across most of India, Burma,Malaya, Singapore, and British Hong
Kong, and a fifth of the world's population was under its trading influence.

East India Company Act 1793

The Company's charter was renewed for a further 20 years by the Charter Act of 1793. In
contrast with the legislative proposals of the past two decades, the 1793 Act was not a
particularly controversial measure, and made only minimal changes to the system of government
in India and to British oversight of the Company's activities.








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JUDICIAL REFORM BROUGHT BY THEM FOR STRENGHTENING
THE ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE
Until the British gained control of Bengal in the mid-18th century, the system of justice there
was presided over by the Nawab of Bengal himself, who, as the chief law officer,Nawb Nzim,
attended to cases qualifying for capital punishment in his headquarters, Murshidabad. His
deputy, the Naib Nzim, attended to the slightly less important cases. The ordinary lawsuits
belonged to the jurisdiction of a hierarchy of court officials consisting of faujdrs, muhtasils,
and kotwls. In the rural areas, or the Mofussil, the zamindarsthe rural overlords with the
hereditary right to collect rent from peasant farmersalso had the power to administer justice.
This they did with little routine oversight, being required to report only their judgments in capital
punishment cases to the Nawb.
By the mid-18th century, the British too had completed a century and a half in India, and had a
burgeoning presence in the three presidency towns of Madras, Bombay, andCalcutta. During this
time the successive Royal Charters had gradually given the East India Company more power to
administer justice in these towns. In the charter granted byCharles II in 1683, the Company was
given the power to establish "courts of judicature" in locations of its choice, each court
consisting of a lawyer and two merchants. This right was renewed in the subsequent charters
granted by James II and William III in 1686 and 1698 respectively. In 1726, however, the Court
of Directors of the Company felt that more customary justice was necessary for European
residents in the presidency towns, and petitioned the King to establish Mayor's Courts. The
petition was approved and Mayor's courts, each consisting of a Mayor and nine aldermen, and
each having the jurisdiction in lawsuits between Europeans, were created in Fort William
(Calcutta), Madras, and Bombay. Judgments handed down by a Mayor's Court could be disputed
with an appeal to the respective Presidency government and, when the amount disputed was
greater thanRs. 4,000, with a further appeal to the King-in-Council. In 1753, the Mayor's courts
were renewed under a revised letters patent; in addition, Courts of Requests for lawsuits
involving amounts less than Rs. 20 were introduced. Both types of courts were regulated by the
Court of Directors of the East India Company.
After its victory in the Battle of Buxar, the Company obtained in 1765 the Diwni of Bengal, the
right not only to collect revenue, but also to administer civil justice in Bengal. The
administration of criminal justice, the Nizmat or Faujdri, however, remained with the Nawb,
and for criminal cases the prevailing Islamic law remained in place. However, the Company's
new duties associated with the Diwni were leased out to the Indian officials who had formerly
performed them. This makeshift arrangement continuedwith much accompanying disarray
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until 1771, when the Court of Directors of the Company decided to obtain for the Company the
jurisdiction of both criminal and civil cases.
Soon afterwards
6
Warren Hastings arrived in Calcutta as the first Governor-General of the
Company's Indian dominions and resolved to overhaul the Company's organisation and in
particular its judicial affairs. In the interior, or Mofussil, diwni adlats, or a civil courts of first
instance, were constituted in each district; these courts were presided over by
European Zil judges employed by the Company, who were assisted in the interpretation of
customary Indian law by Hindu pandits and Muslim qazis. For small claims, however, Registrars
and Indian commissioners, known as Sadr Amns and Munsifs, were appointed. These in their
turn were supervised by provincial civil courts of appeal constituted for such purpose, each
consisting of four British judges. All these were under the authority of the Sadr Diwni Adlat,
or the Chief Civil Court of Appeals, consisting of the Governor of the Presidency and his
Council, assisted by Indian officers.
Similarly for criminal cases, Mofussil nizmat adlats, or Provincial courts of criminal
judicature, were created in the interior; these again consisted of Indian court officers
(panditsand qazis), who were supervised by officials of the Company. Also constituted
were Courts of circuit with appellate jurisdiction in criminal cases, which were usually presided
over by the judges of the civil appellate courts. All these too were under a Sadr Nizmat
Adlat or a Chief Court of Criminal Appeal.
Around this time the business affairs of the East India Company began to draw increased
scrutiny in the House of Commons. After receiving a report by a committee, which condemned
the Mayor's Courts, the Crown issued a charter for a new judicial system in the Bengal
Presidency. The British Parliament consequently enacted the Regulating Act of 1773 under
which the King-in-Council created a Supreme Court in the Presidency town, i.e. Fort William.
The tribunal consisted of one Chief Justice and three puisne judges; all four judges were to be
chosen from barristers. The Supreme Court supplanted the Mayor's Court; however, it left the
Court of Requests in place. Under the charter, the Supreme Court, moreover, had the authority to
exercise all types of jurisdiction in the region of Bengal, Bihar, and Odisha, with the only caveat
that in situations where the disputed amount was in excess of Rs. 4,000, their judgment could be
appealed to the Privy Council. Both the Act and the charter said nothing about the relation
between the judiciary (Supreme Court) and the executive branch (Governor-General); equally,
they were silent on the Adlats (both Diwni and Nizmat) created by Warren Hastings just the
year before. In the new Supreme Court, the civil and criminal cases alike were interpreted and
prosecuted accorded to English law; in the Sadr Adlats, however, the judges and law-officers
had no knowledge of English law, and were required only, by the Governor-General's order, "to
proceed according to equity, justice, and good conscience, unless Hindu or Muhammadan
law was in point, or some Regulation expressly applied."
There was a good likelihood, therefore, that the Supreme Court and the Sadr Adlats would act
in opposition to each other and, predictably, many disputes resulted. Hastings' premature attempt
to appoint the Chief Justice, Sir Elijah Impey, an old schoolmate from Winchester, to the bench

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of the Sadr Diwni Adlat, only complicated the situation further. The appointment had to be
annulled in 1781 by a parliamentary intervention with the enactment of the Declaration Act. The
Act exempted the Executive Branch from the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court. It recognised the
independent existence of the Sadr Adlats and all subsidiary courts of the Company.
Furthermore, it headed off future legal turf wars by prohibiting the Supreme Court any
jurisdiction in matters of revenue (Diwni) or Regulations of the Government enacted by the
British Parliament. This state of affairs continued until 1797, when a new Act extended the
jurisdiction of the Supreme Court to the province of Benares (which had since been added to the
Company's dominions) and "all places for the time being included in Bengal." With the
constituting of the Ceded and Conquered Provinces in 1805, the jurisdiction would extend as far
west as Delhi.


In the other two presidencies, Madras and Bombay, a similar course of legal changes unfolded;
there, however, the Mayor's Courts were first strengthened to Recorder's Courtsby adding a legal
president to the bench. The Supreme Courts in Madras and Bombay were finally established in
1801 and 1823, respectively. Madras Presidency was also unusual in being the first to rely on
village headmen and panchyats for cases involving small claims. This judicial system in the
three presidencies was to survive the Company's rule, the next major change coming only in
1861.









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C CA AS SE ES S H HE EA AR RE ED D B BY Y E EA AS ST T I IN ND DI IE ES S D DU UR RI IN NG G T TH HI IS S E ER RA A

RAJANAND KUMAR CASE, 1775
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Raja Nand Kumar, a Hindu Brahmin was a big Zamindar and a very influential person
ofBengal. He was loyal to the English company ever since the days of Clive and was
popularly known as black colonel by the company. Three out of four members of the
council were opponents of Hastings, the Governor-General and thus the council consisted
of two distinct rival groups, the majority group being opposed to Hastings. The majority
group comprisingFrancis, Clavering and Monson instigated Nand Kumar to bring certain
charges of bribery and corruption against warren Hastings before the council whereupon
Nand Kumar in march, 1775 gave a latter to Francis, one of the members of the council
complaining that in 1772, Hastings accepted from him bribery of more than one Lakh for
appointing his son Gurudas, as Diwan. The letter also contained an allegation
against Hastings that he accepted rupees two and a half lakh from Munni begum as bribe
for appointing her as the guardian of the minor Nawab Mubarak-ud-Daulah. Francis
placed his letter before the council in his meeting and other supporter, monsoon moved a
motion that Nand Kumar should be summoned to appear before the Council. Warren
Hastings who was presiding the meeting in the capacity of Governor-General, opposed
Monsons motion on the ground that he shall not sit in the meeting to hear accusation s
against himself nor shall he acknowledge the members of his council to be his judges.
Mr. Barwell ,the alone supporter member of Hastings ,put forth a suggestion that Nand
Kumar should file his complaint in the supreme court because it was the court and not the
council ,which was competent to hear the case. But Monsons motion was supported by
the majority hence Hastingsdissolved the meeting. Thereupon majority of the members
objected to this action ofHastings and elected Clavering to preside over the meeting in
place of Hastings .Nand Kumar was called before the council to prove his charges
against Hastings. The majority members of the council examined Nand Kumar briefly
and declared that the charges leveled against Hastings were proved and
directedHastings to deposit an amount of Rs.3, 54,105 in treasury of the company, which
he had accepted as a bribe from Nand Kumar and Munni Begum. Hastings genuinely
believed that the council had no authority to inquire into Nand Kumars charges against
him. This event made Hastings a bitter enemy of Nand Kumar and he looked for an
opportunity to show him down.

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Facts of the case:-
Soon after, Nand Kumar was along with Fawkes and Radha Charan were charged and arrested
for conspiracy at the instance ofHastings and barwell. In order to bring further disgrace to Raja
Nand Kumar, Hastings manipulated another case of forgery against him at the instance of one
Mohan Prasad in the conspiracy case. The Supreme Court in its decision of July 1775 fined
Fawkes but reserved its judgment against Nand Kumar on the grounds of pending fraud case.
The charge against Nand Kumar in the forgery case was that he had forged a bond in 1770. The
council protested against Nand Kumars charge in the Supreme Court but the Supreme Court
proceeded with the case unheeded. Finally, Nand Kumar was tried by the jury of twelve
Englishmen who returned a verdict of guilty and consequently, the supreme court sentenced
him to death under an act of the British parliament called the Forgery Act which was passed as
early as 1728.Serious efforts were made to save the life of Nand Kumar and an application for
granting leave to appeal to the king-in-council was moved in the Supreme Court but the same
was rejected. Another petition for recommending the case for mercy to the British council was
also turned down by the Supreme Court. The sentence passed by the Supreme Court was duly
executed by hanging Nand Kumar to death on August 5, 1775.In this way, Hastingssucceeded in
getting rid of Nand Kumar.

CRITICAL APPRAISAL:-
Chief Justice Impey in this case acted unjustly in refusing to respite to Nand Kumar. No rational
man can doubt that he took this course in order to gratify the Governor-General. The trial of
Nand Kumar disclosed that the institution of Supreme Court hardly commanded any respect
from the natives as it wholly unsuited to their social conditions and customs. The trial has been
characterized asjudicial murder of Raja Nand Kumar which rudely shocked the conscience of
mankind. Raja Nand Kumars trial was certainly a case of miscarriage of justice.

PATNA CASE (1777-1779)

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Fact of this case
Shahbah beg khan , native of Kabul came to india and settled down in patna. He married
nadirah begum and acquired a large amount money while in service of company. He had
no issue, therefore he invited his nephew bhadur beg from Kabul to reside with him the
intention to adopt him. But before dat he could adopt him he died in December, 1776.
Bahdur beg took thr first step and filed suit against the nadira begum in patna provincial
council for getting right over the property. In the provincial court the case placed before
the law officer muhammadan. The officer after full hearing reported to the council that

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gift deeds were forged documents and no gift was made in the favor of nadirah begum by
deceased. They also reported that nephew bahadur beg court not adopted under Muslim
law. Therefore, recommended that property be divided into four parts out of which three
parts were to be given to bahadur beg on the basis of consanguinity and also heir of the
diseased and the fourth part be given to the widow. Nadirah begum was dissatisfied wirh
the decision of provincial council and she filed an appeal before the sadar diwani adalat
at Calcutta. Due to their busy routine work they could not consider the matter for a long
time. With indifferent approach of the court, she filed a suit in the supreme court against
Bahadur Beg, Kazi and mufti for assault , bettery, unlawful imprisonment and claimed 6
lakhs as damaged. The supreme court issued order to arrest of Bahadur Beg, kazi and
mufti. The supreme court decided that documents were genuine and that kazi and mufti
did not act in a good faith. The court awarded the damages of Rs. 300,000 in favor of
Nadirah Begum and the officers were imprisoned. The whole case was bitterly criticized
on the grounds that which law Bahadur Beg and law officers were subjected to the
jurisdiction of supreme court. The supreme court justified his jurisdiction over Bahadur
Beg as a former and paying land revenue to the company. Both parties were Muslim to
which the Mohammedan Law of inheritance was to apply, it was purely a matter of
personal law to Mohammeans. There were no written agreement between the parties to
submit the case to the supreme court for a decision

Cossijurah case

Facts of the case
Raja sunder narayan was the zamindar of cossijurah took a very big amount of loan from
kashinath who was the financer of Calcutta. The loan remainder unpained for a
considerably long time, consequently kashinath brought a suit against zamindar in the
supreme court. The supreme court issued orders to arrest zamindar. The zamindar went
underground to avoid his arrest. The collector of Midnapur informed the governor
general due to the Zamindar absence, the revenue collection was suffering. Based on the
advice of advocate general, governor general directed the zamindar not to attend before
the court. Governor general also stated that no Zamindar was subjected to the jurisdiction
of the supreme court. The sheriff of Calcutta with some forces was sent by court to
execute the ordrrs of supreme court and they arrested Zamindar also. On hearing about
this incident the governor general-in-council also sent a small force to arrest sheriff and
his party and release the Zamindar from arrest. The governor generals forces arrested the
sheriff along with his party and they were released afterwards. The judges were become
angry and felt insulted. However, the court took an action against North Naylor,
Advocate General, on the plea that the wrongly advised the governor general for defying
the orders of the court and he was tried and sent jail.

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Kamaludin case

Fact of the case
Kammaludin a farmer of hugli war courts control by the calcuta revenue council on the
ground of arrears of revenue. The revenue council released to orders to arrest
kammaludin . He approaches the supreme court for a writ of habeas corpus and the court
given bail till the enquiry as his obligation to pay was completed. Same time court
directed the council to accept bail for kammaludins appearance in the diwani adalat and
not to take him into custody until his under renter had been called upon to pay the rent.
The council thought that according to the 1773 Act, the court had no right to interfere in
revenue collection. Three member of the council suggested that court order should not be
recognized and obeyed. But some time later kammaludin was arrested again and he again
obtained writ habeas corpus and he was finally discharhes by the court. Chief justice
Imphy in a latter to the court of director Justified courts action on two grounds. In a case
of this nature, it had been the usual practice for revenue council to take bail ans so the
court madw direction for taking bail. It has been the established practices to deemed rent
from the under tenant before demanding much less imprionning the former and the court
order was consistent with the practice.





















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CONCLUSION

The EIC was first and foremost a commercial enterprise concerned with making a profit for its
investors. It tried to minimize its involvement in local politics but as its commercial activities
expanded and it became a major economic force both in India and in England the economic and
political dimension became inseparable. The decision to become something more than a
"mere" trading company was not the result of some grand strategy developed in London but
rather an "emergent "3 strategy which evolved locally because of the competitive forces in India
at the time. The personal conflict between Sulivan and Clive might capture the prurient mind of
the historian but there was a serious policy question at stake: the relationship between the
individual and the corporation and who deserves the rewards of the individual's efforts.
Underlying the dispute was the fundamental "agency" problem. Sulivan defended the rights of
the corporation, Clive, of the individual, at least as far as his personal benefits were concerned.
Clive took a different attitude towards the other servants of the company. The battle between
Sulivan and Clive moved to the Board Room (The Court of Directors) and their stock-splitting
maneuvers also affected the voting rights of the shareholders. It is not clear whether the six-
month ownership requirement helped or hindered the shareholders nor whether the introduction
of restricted votes, relative to the number of shares owned, was fair. The change in strategy and
the increased complexity of the company's operations required a significant change in the
structure of the London head office (East India House). A new department was established to
manage the Indian operations, The Department of Indian Correspondence. The Chief Examiner,
who headed up this department, was responsible for overseeing the entire Indian operations and
for initiating the company's response to events both in India and in London. Intelligent, highly
educated individuals such as James and John Stuart Mill were selected to manage this
department; they were the vanguard of the professional managers of the future. The company, as
an international trading enterprise, was always familiar with the problems of exchange rates and
custom duties. It also appreciated the importance of controlling the cash flow over the trading
season. It learned very early the harsh consequences of losing control over its Indian subsidiaries
and their impact on the claims against the company's cash in London. It learned the harsh
consequences of having to go to the government to borrow money to help it over a cash crunch
(shades of Chrysler and the Reichmanns) and the pain of an exhaustive parliamentary enquiry
and resulting legislation. Henry Mintzberg and J.B. Quinn, use the adjective "emergent" to
identify strategies which evolve in response to environmental changes rather than out of a formal
planning process. It is interesting that the first legislation introduced by the Government
(post 1749), the Regulating Act of 1773, was designed to separate "ownership and control". It
was argued that this was necessary to ensure better, more responsible management. Is this a
corollary of the large complex organization? Is this the precedent for the observations of Berle
and Means a century and a half later? Our understanding of the political forces which shaped the
EIC has been well documented by authors such as Sutherland , Philips and Parker but there
remains much to be learned about the management of such enterprises and the way in which
they adapted their strategy and structure to deal with these issues. Chandler [3; 4] has given us
the models to carry out the analysis, the extensive archives of the India Office Library give us
the data to work with. A more detailed study of the EIC may yet reveal more lessons about the
challenges faced by management in directing and controlling large complex international
organizations and in dealing with the government at home and abroad.

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There has been a good deal of controversy amongst statisticians about the rate of growth
of income in India in the colonial period. The argument is politically coloured and the statistics
are poor. For the last fifty years of British rule there is enough statistical information to make
rough estimates of the growth of national income. My own estimates, which are based largely on
work by Blyn and Sivasubramonian, show no increase in per capita income over the years 1900-
46 . Other observers have estimates which show some growth over this period as well as in the
period from 1857. Although I think my estimates are the best available, I have enough scepticism
about the basic agricultural data to believe that the other estimates could be right for the wrong
reasons and that there may have been some rise in per capita income from 1857 to 1947. There
are no estimates for the movement in income from Clive's conquest to the Mutiny, but there
could not have been much net progress in real income per head before the development of
railways, 23 modern industry, irrigation and the big expansion in international trade, and there
are reasons for thinking that there was some decline.64 From the beginning of British conquest
in 1757 to independence, it seems unlikely that per capita income could have increased by more
than a third and it probably did not increase at all. In the UK itself there was a tenfold increase in
per capita income over these two centuries.65 The most noticeable change in the economy was
the rise in population from about 170 million to 420 million from 1757 to 1947.
However, there were some significant changes in social structure and in the pattern of
output. The social pyramid was truncated because the British lopped off most of the top three
layers of the Moghul hierarchy, i.e. the Moghul court, the Moghul aristocracy and quasi-
autonomous prices (a quarter of these survived), and the local chieftainry (zamindars who
survived in about 40 per cent of India). In place of these people the British installed a modern
bureaucracy which took a smaller share of national income. The newcomers had a more modest
life-style than the Moghuls, but siphoned a large part of their savings out of the country and
provided almost no market for India's luxury handicrafts. The modern factory sector which they
created produced only 7.5 per cent of national income at the end of British rule and thus did little
more than replace the old luxury handicrafts and part of the village textile production. The
British reduced the tax squeeze on agriculture and turned warlords into landlords, but the new
order had little dynamism. A good deal of the old fuzziness about property rights remained, and
landlords were still largely parasitic. The bigger zamindars copied the Moghul lifestyle by
maintaining hordes of retainers and huge mansions, the smaller landowner's ambition was to stop
working and enhance his ritual purity by establishing a seedy gentility. Very little incentive was
provided for investment and almost nothing was done to promote technical change in agriculture.
At the bottom of society the position of sharecropping tenantry and landless labourers remained
wretched. In urban areas a new Westernized 'middle class' of Indians emerged and became the
major challenge to the British raj.









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BIBLIOGRAPHY

INTERNET SOURCES
http://www.lawyersclubindia.com
http://www.slideshare.net
http://www.britannica.com
http://www.indhistory.com
BOOK SOURCES
B.L.Grover and S.Grover: A New Look at Modern Indian History
V.D.Mahajan: Modern Indian History from 1707 to the Present Day
B.B.Mishra: Administration of East India Company
Majumdar, Raychaudhari and Dutta: An Advanced History of India
M.P.Jain; Outlines of Indian Legal History

Peter Auber, An Analysis of the Constitution of the East India
CompanY
INDIAN LEGAL & CONSITUTIONAL HISTORY By, M.P. Singh