TAMIL NADU NATIONAL LAW SCHOOL

TIRUCHIRAPPALLI

Mid Semester Examination October 2016

HISTORY II LEGAL HISTORY
Schemes of Valuation
B.A. L.L.B (Hons.) II Year

Max Marks 20 Time:

SECTION A

Answer all the questions in 30 words each: 10 x = 5

1. Define Legal History

Ans.: Study of how law has evolved and why it changed - Legal History is closely connected
with development of society and is set in the wider context of social history - Legal history is
benefited from the growth of social history - The issue of gender, race and class became
crucial to historians in understanding law.

2. The Twelve Table

Ans.: The Twelve Tables was the first code of law that the Romans had made.
Most of the laws were about the rights people had and the laws people had to follow.
Then later on they inscribed tables and thus creating the Twelve Tables
Table I: Procedure: for courts and trials - Table II: Trials, continued - Table III: Debt - Table
IV: Rights of fathers (paterfamilias) over the family - Table V: Legal guardianship and
inheritance laws - Table VI: Acquisition and possession - Table VII: Land rights - Table VIII:
Torts and delicts (Laws of injury) - Table IX: Public law - Table X: Sacred law - Table XI:
Supplement I - Table XII: Supplement II (The Twelve Tables)(first three lines meaning / any
six points - enough for mark)
3. God and Goddess of Justice
Shamash, the Babylonian sun god - For Hebrew ELOHAY Mishpat - The roman goddess of
justice was called Justitia - Mitra Indian justice god in Vedic times - Yama Dharmaraja is the
lord of justice for Hindu Society - Mithra Iranian god - Ahura Mazda god of justice in
Zoroastrians
4. Charter of 1600
Ans.: Given by Queen Elizabeth - Many Charter towards India started from 1600 -
Emerged due to the arrival of English merchant Thomas Stephen at Goa October
1579 - CHARTER OF 1600 - THE EAST INDIA COMPANY, WITH ITS OFFICIAL
TITLE AS THE GOVERNOR AND COMPANY OF MERCHANTS OF LONDON
TRADING INTO EAST INDIES - Incorporated in England on the 31st December
1600
5. Treaty of Allahabad
Clive concluded with Nawab of Avadh emperor of Delhi after battle of Buxar in 1765
treaty decided Sirajuddaula, ruler of Avadh would pay Rs. 50 lakhs to E I C District of
Allahabad and Kara given to Shah Alam II Army of Companys army would be posted
in Avadh and Nawab of Avadh bear all expenditure on its maintenance.
6. Establishment of Corporations under Charter of 1726
Ans.: Establishment of Corporation at Bombay and Calcutta - Each of presidency became
Corporation - Corporation consists of 1 Mayor and Aldermen 9 +1= 10 - 7 from British 2
from any country elected from by 7 aldermen - Aldermen elected Mayor annually - EIC
Governing Council.

7. The Trial of Mrs Ascentia Dawes

Ans.: In 1665 - Mrs.Ascentia Dawes brought for trial before Agent and Council
on a charge of murdering her slave girl - Petty Jury consisted of six Englishmen and
six Portuguese - This first trial held in Madras - After hearing witness jury found
her guilty of the murder but not in manner and form and so desired directions from
the court - The Governor and Council returned the answer limitation - Quite
unexpectedly the jury returned the verdict of not guilty and Mrs. Dawes was
acquitted (set free) - None of the Governor and the Council was a lawyer by education
or training and so not know what to do when the jury brought in such an unexpected
verdict.

8. Patna Case
Ans.: important landmark in legal history of India Shabaz Beg Kan Afghan military
adventurer came from Kabul married Naderah begum settled in Patna in 1776 died
at Patna without leaving ay male or female left behind large sum of money, valuables and
property ..

9. The dual government in Bengal 1765-1770

Ans.: The Nawab of Bengal at Murshidabad appointed by the Company

Governor and council took over Deputy Nawabappointd

theDiwans department to collect revenue, by the company for civil admn.
That is, to control finances including law and order with
limited finances

10. Pitts India Act.

When William Pitt - head the Government he was determined to introduce a
bill on India and see it through. - after Pitts party was returned to power it was
introduced.

Pitts India Act provided for a body of six commissioners popularly recognized
as the Board of Control.
o It consisted of one Secretary of State,
o the Chancellor of the Exchequer and
o four Privy Councillors appointed through the king and holding office
throughout his pleasure.
Answer any FIVE of the following question in 60 words each: 5x1=5

11. Write a short note on importance of Legal History.

To summate the various definition of Law - To intricacies law with the society - To envision
the philosophical gravity of the law - To summarize the thoughtful definition of law in course
of time - To appraise depth and intact of the definition in the present situation.

12. Write a critical note on Napoleonic Code of Law.

Ans.: The Code of Civil Procedure (1807) - the Commercial Code (1808) - the Code of
Criminal Procedure (1811) - the Penal Code (1811) - The Napoleonic Code assimilated the
private law of France, which was the law governing transactions and relationships between
individuals - The Napoleonic Code is a revised version of the Roman law or Civil Law, which
predominated in Europe - The Napoleonic Code served as the prototype for subsequent codes
during the nineteenth century.

13. Examine the works of F.W. Maitland towards the Legal History.
Pleas of the Crown for the County of Gloucester, 1884 - History of English Law before the
Time of Edward I, with Sir F.Pollock, originally published in 1895, - Township and Borough,
Cambridge, 1898 - Roman Canon Law in the Church of England - Six Essays, 1898 -
Political Theories of the Middle Ages, - Equity also The Forms of Action at Common Law;
Two Courses of Lectures, Cambridge, 1909 - The Collected Papers of Frederic William
Maitland, ed. H.A.L.Fisher, Cambridge, 1911, - The Constitutional History of England,
Cambridge, 1919

14. Point out Merits and Demerits of the Regulating Act of 1773.
Ans.: Merits: Estd. S C at Calcutta All new regulations to be passed majority votes
Demerits: Conflict between Gov. Gen. and Councillors Undefined position of the
Company Conflict between judiciary and executive / companys court and S C / Council
and S C

15. Rama Kamati (Gomati) case- the dark justice at Bombay. Comment.
Ans.: In Bombay Governor Boone hand-in-golve with court in convicting and
imprisoning Rama Kamati an erstwhile friend of company on purely circumstantial
evidence In fact Kamatis servant was tortured to give evidence against his master who
was allegedly in league with KanhojiAngre, a Maratha naval chief who was a threat to the
English Boone managed to get a large amount of money from Rama Kamatis property
and it was only after latters death in prison that his innocence proved.

16. Distinguish The Madras Charter of 1687 and The Charter of 1726.
Ans.: Charter 1687 applied to Madras only 1726 Charter applied to all Presidency Towns
Mayors Court established- 1687 companys Court Three Mayors court established
1726 were Royal Courts created by Kings Charter of 1726
Old Mayors Court at Madras empowered to exercise its jurisdiction over all civil and
criminal matters and appeal allowed to the Admiralty Court Mayors
Court established 1726 entrusted civil jurisdiction only appeal allowed to
Governor-in-Council
No specific rules of law and procedure laid down under Charter 1687 Well defined
procedure based on English Law and practice created Charter 1726.
 1687 some Indians were authorised to sit as Judges together with English Aldermen 1726
practically negligible

17. Critically comment on the Charter of 1753.

The Charter made judicial machinery more or less a branch of the Companys executive
government it failed to provide The Gov.-in-Council were quite ignorant about the
technicalities of English criminal law only presidency towns under jurisdiction of the
Mayors Courts Position was not made quite clear about cases arising beyond such area.

18. Write a short note on the judicial reforms of Cornwallis.

Cornwallis made these sweeping changes after thoroughly studying work of
FaujdariAdalats and Sadr NizamatAdalat at Murshidabad - Did with the help of inputs
given by collectors and magistrates
Corruption, indefinite delays and nature of Muslim criminal law prompted the governor-
General to put all criminal justice in European hands - a three-tired system of courts
introduced
Magistrates in the district lowest rung
Four Circuit courts
The Sadr NizamatAdalat
Shifted from Murshidabad to Calcutta
Magistrates gave final decision in petty cases - All other cases were referred to Circuit
Courts
Sadr NizamatAdalat heard appeals from Circuit Courts

Answer all the Questions in detail: 2 x 5 = 10

19. a) Trace the contributions of Henry Maine towards the Legal History.
Ans.:Maine explained that the growth of law took place gradually in various stages
under a static society in the following sequence:
i. Divine law (law of God Judgments of the Goddess of justice)
ii. Custom- Priestly class as sole repository of customary law
iii. Era of codification
Henry Maine described the legal system of ancient India "as an apparatus of cruel
absurdities (silliness)" - He classified Indian Society and its legal system as Static
Maine taught on Roman Law, the basic of his teaching he authored a book Ancient
Law: Its Connection with the Early history of Society, and its Relation to Modern
Ideas (1861)
His study helped to place comparative jurisprudence on a sound historical footing

A member of the council of the Governor General of India (1863-69) - was largely
responsible for the codification of Indian Law
Maine compared Eastern and western Ideas, finding common threads in the
development of Society
Maine introduced that societies moved from being bound by social status in their
relationship to independent individual who were free to make contracts with other
individual
 His Village Communities in the east and the West(1871): Early History of
Institutions (1875): Early Law and Custom (1883) compared those two systems of
thought finding numerous similar points
OR
b) Narrate the evolution of Law in China.

China has the oldest continuously operating legal system in the world
Earliest Law
Xia Dynasty emperors Fuxi (2853-2738 BC) bronze inscriptions is oldest
reference related to legal concept of Chinese - Dynasties came and went, the states
warred against each other. At one point, china had some 1,000 different political
units known as state - The earliest known Chinese legal document set of
instructions by King Wu (1100 Bc) known as Kang Goa
Book of Punishments (536 BC) - Nature of Ancient Chinese Law-

Confucius (4th Century philosopher) urged Chinese to exercise restrain in the

imposition of law upon the people - After few Chinese did not like what they saw.
Han Fei and Li Si a movement called legalism was born in with it inhumane and
unusual punishments.

20. a) Trial of Raja Nand Kumar (1775) the judicial murder. Elucidate.

Ans.: Trial first decisive event early stage of growing bitterness between S C
and Council Trial gained great historical importance.
Events before trial: Raja Nand Kumar Governor of Hugli under NawabSiraj
nick named Black Colonel gave complaints against Warren Hastings to Francis
Francil presented before the Council Nand Kumar stated 1772 Warren Hastings
accepted from him as bribe sum of Rs. 1,04,105 for appointing Gurudas as Diwan
from MunniBegamRs. 2,50,000 for appointing her guardian of infant Nawab
Mubarak-ud-daulah
Facts of case: Nand Kumar arrested with Fawkes and Radhachandran for
conspiracy Warren Hastings and Barwell his favourite member of Council
declared intention before judges of S C to prosecute Nand Kumar, the Fawkes
and Radhachandran.
Questions raise in Trial Peculiar features of trial Critical Analysis

OR
b) Describe the Judicial Reforms of William Bentinck (1828).
Abolition of Circuit Courts Powers of Sadr Ameens, dt. And city judges
increased Establishment of Sadr NizamatAdalat and Sadr DiwaniAdalat at
Allahabad Sati declared an offence Indians appointed judicial officers
Abolition of Provincial courts.