DR.

RAM MANOHAR LOHIYA NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY, HISTORY FINAL DRAFT

HISTORY

FINAL DRAFT

WARREN HASTINGS PLAN OF 1772 AND

1774

Submitted to: Submitted by:

Dr.Vandana Singh Shurbhi Yadav

Associate Professor (History) Enrollment no.160101147 (3rd Semester)

Dr. Ram Manohar Lohiya National Law University, Lucknow

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 DR.RAM MANOHAR LOHIYA NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY, HISTORY FINAL DRAFT

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I am feeling highly elated to work on the topic Warren Hastings Plan of 1772 And
1774 under the guidance of my HISTORY teacher. I am very grateful to her for her
exemplary guidance. I would like to enlighten my readers regarding this topic and I hope I
have tried my best to pave the way for bringing more luminosity to this topic.

I also want to thank all of my friends, without whose cooperation this project was not
possible. Apart from all these, I want to give special thanks to the librarian of my
university who made every relevant materials regarding to my topic available to me at
the time of my busy research work and gave me assistance. And at last I am very much
obliged to the God who provided me the potential for the rigorous research work.

At finally yet importantly I would like to thank my parents for the financial support.

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CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT .............................................................. 1

Contents ................................................................................... 3

Introduction .............................................................................. 5

WARREN HASTING .................................................................... 7

1. Administrative Reforms: ................................................................................................. 7

2. Revenue Reforms: ........................................................................................................... 8

3. Economic Reforms: ........................................................................................................ 8

4. Judicial Reforms: ............................................................................................................ 8

IMPEACHMENT OF WARREN HASTINGS .................................. 10

Background to judicial administration in India .......................... 11

Courts in Bengal under the Mughals ................................................................................... 11

Origination of a legal vacuum ................................................... 12

Grant of Diwani ................................................................................................................... 12

The Company as Diwan ....................................................................................................... 13

THE DUAL GOVERNMENT OF BENGAL .................................... 14

EFFECTS OF THE DUAL GOVERNMENT ................................... 16

Merits of the Dual Government ........................................................................................... 16

Demerits of the Dual Government: ...................................................................................... 17

The Judicial Plans.................................................................... 18

Plan of 1772 ......................................................................................................................... 18

For management of civil justice, the following courts were established:.. 18

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For administration of Criminal Justice, the following courts were

established: ................................................................................................. 19

Miscellaneous Provisions: ........................................................ 20

Plan of 1774............................................................................. 21

Revenue: .............................................................................................................................. 21

Civil Justice.......................................................................................................................... 21

Criminal Reforms................................................................................................................. 21

Defects of these Plans ............................................................. 23

Defects of plan of 1772 ........................................................................................................ 23

Defects of plan of 1774 ........................................................................................................ 23

Consequences of these Plans .................................................. 25

Judicial Plan of 1780:........................................................................................................... 25

Conclusion .............................................................................. 27

BIBLIOGRAPHY ....................................................................... 29
Books Referred .................................................................................................................... 29

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INTRODUCTION

The modern legal system prevalent in India owes its origin to the British rule which ensued
after the East India Company obtained political authority over Bengal, Bihar and Orissa in
1765. It established its judicial machinery and procedure first in Bengal presidency and then
extended it to other parts which were annexed to British jurisdiction. Till then, though their
factories at Calcutta, Madras and Bombay were legally part of the dominion of the Mughal
emperor, the judicature of the company was independent of the native authorities and it was
limited only to the limits of the trading factories and its employees.

The development of Indian judicial system started with the enactment of British charters
time to time with each charter advancing and modifying the previous one. By the charter of
1726, a mayor court was established in all the three presidencies, each consisting of a mayor
and nine aldermen. These courts were called the courts of record having authority to try,
hear, and determine all civil suits, actions, and pleas within their jurisdiction. Appeals
against the decision of the mayor court were made to the government Court of Records
constituted by the Governor and Council of each of the three presidencies.

But this too had some defects and thus was not proved sufficient. From the constitution and
the procedure of the courts, it was therefore clear that the courts primarily concerned the
British and the final authority in that judicial system lay with the British Crown. In 1753, it
was proclaimed that the suits involving natives were not to be entertained by them. The
company did not claim any jurisdiction, at that time, over the natives living even within their
presidencies. This policy of keeping the company aloof of political sovereignty over the
natives continued to be the touch stone of the company up to 1772. The legal sovereignty
over the natives continued to be claimed and facade of judicature maintained by Nawab. The
company obtained Diwani from Shah Alam in 1765 and thus, the revenue matters came under
the purview of the company. It led to the establishment of the infamous Dual government.

There was a multiplicity of judicial authorities. In Calcutta, itself there existed five authorities
i.e. The Nawabs court, the Diwani, the Fauzdari court, the Mohtesil and the Kotwal. In
rural areas, Zamindars exercised their jurisdiction. The competency of the courts depended
only on authority which had, in fact been misappropriated by the British and their agents as

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in the Diwani affairs. The company directors were forced to bring an end to this system of
dual government and thus in 1772, Warren Hastings was directed to take over the
administration in his own hands.

WARREN HASTINGS (1732-1818), the first governor-general of British India, was born on
the 6th of December 1732 in the little hamlet of Churchill in Oxfordshire. In 1758, Hastings
was made the British resident in the Bengal, at the instigation of Robert Clive1, as a writer.
After the retirement of Cartier, he was appointed the governor of Bengal in 1772. After the
passing of the Regulating Act, he became the Governor General of Bengal. He became the
first and the most famous of the British Governor Generals of India, who dominated Indian
affairs from 1772 to 1785 and was impeached (though acquitted), on his return to England.

When Warren Hastings took up office as governor of Bengal, he had to face many
difficulties. There was chaos in the country. The Dual Government had caused confusion
and disorder in the state. There was no satisfactory arrangement for the collection of revenue
and the revenue income was irregular. Besides these, the Marathas became powerful under
Peshwa Madhav Rao and became a threat to the Company. And in Deccan, Hyder Ali rose to
power and became a formidable rival to the English. However, Warren Hastings was very
successful in tackling all these problems. He established sound procedures for administering
justice and collecting revenues during a difficult time of transition. He gave the plan of 1772
and 1774 which marked the beginnings of Adalat System and Supreme Court in India.

1
Robert, Lord Clive, Baron of Plassey. Clive of India. (1725-74). English general and colonial
administrator.

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WARREN HASTING

Warren Hastings joined the English East India Company as a writer at the age of 18. Later on
he was appointed as the resident of Kassim Bazar where he showed that he was a man of
parts. When the place was captured by Siraj-ud-Daula, he was captured but he managed to
escape. In 1761, he was made a member of the Calcutta Council. He went home for a few
years and came back as a member of the Madras council. After the retirement of Cartier, he
was appointed the governor of Bengal in 1772. After the passing of the Regulating Act, he
became the Governor General of Bengal.

When Warren Hastings took up office as governor of Bengal, he had to face many
difficulties. There was chaos in the country. There was practically no administration. The
servants of the company were doing havoc to the people. While the company was getting
nothing and its treasury was empty, its servants were making fortunes. There was no
administration of justice worth the name. Everything required overhauling.

The Dual Government had caused confusion and disorder in the state. There was no
satisfactory arrangement for the collection of revenue and the revenue income was irregular.
The treasury was empty and there was terrible famine in the country. The country was
infested with robbers. In addition to these troubles, the Marathas were a source of danger.
The Marathas became powerful under Peshwa Madhav Rao and became a threat to the
Company. The emperor Shah Alam had left the protection of the British and gone to the
Marathas. And in Deccan, Hyder Ali rose to power and became a formidable rival to the
English. Warren Hastings had to meet all these difficulties.2 However, Warren Hastings was
very successful in tackling all these problems.

Warren Hastings carried out a large number of reforms and those of maybe discuss under
four hands, viz., administrative, revenue, economic and judicial.

1. Administrative Reforms:

Warren Hastings put an end to the dual system of government in Bengal which was
established by Robert Clive in 1765. The Company took over the responsibility of

2
Excerpt taken from Modern Indian History by V D Mahajan, 7th edition, 2003, S. Chand publishing company.

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administration of the province and started to collect the revenue through the agency of its
own servants. Mohammad Reza Khan and Raja Sitab Rai, who were the Deputy Nawabs of
Bengal and Bihar, were removed from their offices. The treasury was shifted from
Murshidabad to Calcutta and it became the seat of government.

2. Revenue Reforms:

Although the Company had got the Diwani of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa in 1765, the work of
collection of land revenue had been left in the hands of Amils. Warren Hastings decided that
the Company must directly collect the revenue. Consequently, he appointed collectors for
revenue collection and administration, who were to be helped by native officers. Settlement
was made for five years with the highest bidders. To supervise the whole organization, a
Board of Revenue was established at Calcutta. This revenue system was found to be defective
and consequently in 1777 the old system of bidding for a year was resorted to. He made the
account of revenue simple and intelligible and made many provisions for the protections of
Ryots.

3. Economic Reforms:

Warren Hastings prohibited the use of Dastaks by the servants of the Company and thereby
added to the revenues of the Company. He abolished a large number of custom houses or
Chowkies as they were hampering the growth of trade in the country. He reduced the duties
on all goods except salt, betel nut and tobacco.

He reduced the allowance of the Nawab of Bengal from 26 lakhs of rupees to 16 lakhs of
rupees. He also took over district of Kora and Allahabad from the Mughal emperor and sold
them to the Nawab Wazir of Oudh for rupees 50 lakhs. He also obtained a large sum of
money from the Nawab of Oudh for helping him against the Rohilas.

4. Judicial Reforms:

Warren Hastings carried out a large numbers of reforms in the judicial sphere. In 1772, he
established Diwani Adalat (Civil Court) and a Faujdari Adalat (Criminal Court) in each
districts. The Diwani Adalat was presided over by the English collector and Faujdari Adalat
was presided over by Indian officers Qazis and Muftis. Two courts of appeal were established
at Calcutta. They are the Sadar Diwani Adalat (the Supreme of Civil Court) and the Sadar

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Nizamat Adalat (the Supreme Criminal Court) which heard appeals from the Diwani Adalat
and Faujdari Adalat respectively. He also compiled a simple code about the personal laws of
Hindus and Muslims.

Warren hastings strengthened the British power in India. The treaty of Banaras (1773) and
the treaty of Faizabad increased the influence of the English on the state of Avadh. The
Nawab virtually became a dependant ally of the British. The first Maratha war was not a
decisive war, yet it exposed the internal weakness of the Marathas. The second Mysore war
also did not determine the fate of Mysore but certainly enhanced the prestige of the English
arms. Besides these wars, Warren Hastings consolidated the British power by taking over the
administration of Bengal under the direct charge of the Company and by introducing several
reforms which laid down the foundation of British administrative structure in India.3

3
Landmarks in Indian Legal and constitutional History by V D Kulshreshtha, revised by B M Gandhi, 8th
edition, eastern book company, Lucknow.

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IMPEACHMENT OF WARREN HASTINGS

Warren hasting was quite successful in his reforms and in raising the prestige of the
Company. His two wars against the two strong powers in India, however, put heavy financial
burden on the company which forced him to engage himself in certain illegitimate actions to
gain money. He therefore was impeached by the British parliament after his return to Britain.
He was charged with nearly twenty cases. Edmund Burke led this impeachment which began
in 1788 and continued up to 1795. He was finally acquitted of all charges. Yet, there is no
doubt that, in certain cases, he had acted unjustly. A few important cases for which he was
impeached and which created serious doubts about his character and legitimacy of his means
to achieve his aim were as follows:

The Rohilla War

The case of Raja Nand Kumar
The case of Chait Singh, Raja of Banaras
The case of the Begums of Avadh.

Warren Hastings was a versatile genius. He has a limitless energy and strong determination.
In spite of their difficulties which he had to encounter in the country he was able to
accomplish a lot.

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BACKGROUND TO JUDICIAL ADMINISTRATION IN INDIA

Courts in Bengal under the Mughals

In the later Mughal period from 1750 onwards the Mughal Empire began to disintegrate. The
provinces assumed independence under Subedar, Nawabs and the executive officers began to
try cases themselves. In Bengal the courts which were administering civil and criminal
justice, in the districts and at the provincial capital may be stated as follows:

At the provincial headquarter three courts were established namely Nazim-e-Subah, Darogha-
e-Adalat Diwani and Darogha-e-Adalat Aliah. The court of Nazim-e-Subah was the highest
Court of the Province which dealt with all Criminal appeals from District Courts. The court
of Darogha-e-Adalat Diwani heard all the local civil suits and appeals from the district civil
courts. The court of Darogha-e-Adalat Aliah disposed of all the revenue work on behalf of
the diwan.

In each District, courts were established to hear civil and criminal cases but there were too
many courts assigned with different functions which caused difficulties to the common mass.
To dispose of civil litigation, three courts were established, namely, Qazi, Zamindar and
Qanungo. Apart from this, there were four criminal courts namely, Faujdar, Zamindar, Qazi
and Kotwal. From all these courts appeal was allowed to the court of Nazim-e-Subah.

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ORIGINATION OF A LEGAL VACUUM

According to Kapoor4, the Mughals had an elaborate governmental machinery and had
evolved civil and criminal laws to govern their subjects. But unlike the modern times, there
was no specific law to govern foreigners. Also, the Mughal government had no interest
towards it and thus, in respect of inter se affairs of foreigners in these settlements, a legal
vacuum were created, in which grew the legal and political authority of the foreign
governments. This lacuna and weakness of the Mughals in their administration proved fatal
and they became an easy prey to the foreigners.

There were many defects in the judicial system. The Zamindars were empowered to try both
civil and criminal cases and thus became a very powerful person. James Mill had remarked
the functions and pointed out the extensive powers of Zamindar.5 In the districts the peasants
were deprived from justice even according to the local customary law. Also, the Judges and
the Servants of government were found to be corrupt, increasing the defective state of local
system. The courts became the instrument of power instead of justice.

To tackle all these problems and to remove corruption6 from the administration of justice,
Warren Hastings was transferred from Madras to the Governorship of Bengal in 1772. He
first of all paid his attention to remove all those evils which were the greatest obstacles in the
proper collection of the revenues of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa.

Grant of Diwani

With the Battle of Plassey in 1757, the real authority of the Nawabs of Bengal passed to the
English company.7 Further, the Battle of Buxar, the emperor of India got defeated which had
far reaching political consequences to British power in India. The court of Proprietors of
company in England sent Clive to India who reached on May 3, 1765. Clives first
achievement was that he entered into a treaty and prevailed upon the Mughal emperor Shah

4
A.C. Kapoor : Constitutional History of India, Edn. 2 nd, 1976, Ch.1.
5
James Mill, The History of British India, Vol. III, p.467.
6
Rama Jois: Legal & Constitutional History of India, Ch. 4, pp.142,143.
7
Thornton, History of British India, Vol. I, pp. 410-20.

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Alam to confer momentous power upon the East India Company and thus the emperor in
August 1765 granted the Diwani of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa to the company.

The Company as Diwan

Clive left India in 1767. The working of Clives policy of diarchy in Bengal created anarchy.
Nobody was taking responsibility for the conduct of the government and the deteriorating
conditions of the natives. The Directors of the Company suspected and blamed Indian
Officers for the evils. In 1771, therefore, the company changed its policy and the directors
declared their resolution to stand forth as Diwan and by the agency of the companys
servants to take upon themselves the entire care and management of revenues. 8 In order to
implement this changed policy and achieve their aim, the Directors transferred Warren
Hastings from madras to the governorship of Bengal in 1772.

The main object of the Company was to bring under the direct control of the Companys
servants the revenue collections and civil justice in order to save both the riots and the
government from hardships caused due to the existence of the intermediaries.

8
General letter of the Court of Directors to Bengal dated August 28, 1771.

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THE DUAL GOVERNMENT OF BENGAL

Following the Treaty of Allahabad (1765), Robert Clive set up the infamous dual system of
administration in Bengal wherein the Company acquired the real power, while the
responsibility of administration rested on the Nawab of Bengal. The Nawab or Subedar of
Bengal, as Viceroy of the Mughal Emperor, exercised two functions namely the Diwani and
the Nizamat. The Diwani was concerned with revenue and civil justice and the Nizamat with
military power and criminal justice. The Nawab granted practically the Nizamat to the
Company in 1765. The Mughal Emperor Shah Alam granted Diwani to the English Company
in August 1765. Thus the Company held Diwani from the Emperor and the Nizamat from the
Subedar.

The difficulty was created by the fact that the servants of the Company did not undertake
duties as Diwan or Nizam in their own person. Hence, it appointed two deputy diwans for
exercising diwani functions-Mohammad Reza Khan for Bengal and Raja Sitah Roy for Bihar.
Mohammad Reza Khan also functioned as deputy nizam. In this way, the whole
administration of Bengal was exercised through Indian agency, although the actual authority
rested with the Company. In 1769, English supervisors were appointed to control the native
revenue officers, but they made confusion worse confounded and corruption also increased.

The system proved ruinous to the country. No one felt the responsibility for the welfare of the
people. The Indian officials who had administrative responsibility had no effective power to
enforce their decisions. They were helpless in the face of companys servants whom they
regarded as their real masters. They could not therefore, afford to take any punitive action
against Companys servants even when they committed breaches of peace or indulged in acts
of injustice or oppression. The Companys servant interfered with the judicature and the
government of the company with impunity.

The Nawab was merely a puppet in the hands of the British. The Nawab was their creature
and depended upon them for his very existence. Lord Clive could have abolished his office
and had assumed control of the Government directly. The great disadvantage of the scheme
was that it separated power from responsibility. The British were given control over the
province but they did not feel any responsibility for its administration and could not be held
responsible for anything done badly. The weakness of the system became clear in 1770 when

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a severe famine broke out in Bengal. The servants of the Company did not feel any duty
towards the people who were left to die in thousands.

Formally, the abolition of the dual government did nothing more than that the Company was
to collect its revenues through the agency of its own servants. In reality it meant becoming
responsible for the whole of civil administration. The first step towards abolition was the
abolition of the offices of the Naib Diwans of Bengal and Bihar and the persecution of
Mohammad Razqa Khan and Raja Shitab Rai for peculation. After a long trial, both of them
were acquitted. Although Warren Hastings was opposed to it, it served its purpose.

The dual system of Government set up by Clive was abolished by Warren Hastings. It was
not intended to last forever. It was merely a stop-gap arrangement with a view to tide over the
difficulties confronting the English in 1765.

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EFFECTS OF THE DUAL GOVERNMENT

On analyzing the results of the Dual Government in Bengal it can be visualized that it was
beneficial for company's administration in Bengal under the prevailing circumstances and
injurious to the people of Bengal who were administrated by such system.

Merits of the Dual Government:

Clive showed his sagacity by following the policy of decentralization in the matter of
Company's administration in Bengal. By this policy he could safely avert possible combined
attack from the side of the Indian princes. Also, by the dual system of Government in Bengal
Clive could save the company from the jealousy of the other European powers like the
French, the Dutch and the Portuguese. These European powers would have withdrawn their
payment of tariff to the servants of the Company on the event of Clive's occupation of
Bengal.

Clive was wise enough not to take upon the administration of Bengal directly. He knew well
that the servants of the company were not conversant with the languages, customs, traditions
and laws prevailing among the people of Bengal. They would have cut a very sorry figure
had they been entrusted with the administration of Bengal in the event of Clive's occupation
of the state. Both the Board of Directors and the British Parliament were not in favour of
direct administration in Bengal. Clive did not like to insure displeasure of the home authority
by taking over the administration of Bengal directly. By establishing Dual Government in
Bengal Clive showed his honour to the Board of Directors on the one hand and saved the
Company from the wrath of British parliament on the other. The English Company got power
and pelf by this system of Government by successfully keeping themselves away from the
hazards of administration. For every omission and commission in the Government the Nawab
of Bengal was to Bengal held responsible.

The dual government system held a great advantage for the British-they had power without
responsibility. The Nawab and his officials were responsible for administration, but they had
no power to discharge it.

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Demerits of the Dual Government:

The Dual Government of Clive has been criticized in various ways. It led to disastrous
results. The administration in Bengal almost collapsed. Power was divorced from the
responsibility. The British were in possession of power and money where as the Nawab had
neither power nor money. He had only the responsibility of running the administration. The
company tried to improve its own lot by the revenue it collected from Bengal, Bihar and
Orissa. The Nawab could not do any work of public utility due to paucity of fund. The
Nawab also had no power to enforce law. As a result lawlessness prevailed in most parts of
Bengal. The common people had to suffer a lot due to want of justice.

The condition of agriculture in Bengal gradually deteriorated under the Dual Government of
Clive. As they had no power, they could not make any provision like irrigation for the
development of agriculture in Bengal. The great famine of 1770 was an indirect outcome of
the above difficulties. The poor administration in Bengal led to rapid increase of private
trade. The servants of the East India Company carried on trade and commerce privately
without paying any tax. But on the other hand the merchants of Bengal suffered a lot,
because they were over burdened with tax.

The Dual Government of Clive was further responsible for the downfall of local industries.
The company's people forced the local weavers to work exclusively for the company. The
judges of the Nawab were influenced by British authority, because the latter played vital role
in their appointment. Thus, the judges failed to give impartial verdict which was detrimental
to the interest of the public.

Thus, the Dual Government of Clive proved to Bengal a failure. It gave rise to several
complicacies in the administration of Bengal. The absence of responsibility on the part of the
company led to abuses of power and corruption.

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THE JUDICIAL PLANS

Plan of 1772

The Judicial Plan of 1772 as been formulated by Warren Hasting consisted of 37 regulations
dealing with civil and criminal laws. It was the first Anglo-Indian Code, which worked out on
the basis of experience and common observations. An endeavour was made to adopt it to the
manners and understandings of the people and exigencies of the country, adhering as closely
as possible to their ancient usages and institutions. The idea was to retain, as far as possible,
the native magistracy and codes of law, recorded and oral, to which the people had become
accustomed. The plan aimed at correcting the defects without destroying the traditions of the
local systems. Thus this plan divided the territory of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa into number of
Districts. In each District an English servant of the company was appointed as collector who
was to be responsible for the collection of land revenue. The main features of Judicial Plan of
1772 may be explained under the following headings.

For management of civil justice, the following courts were established:

Establishment of Mofussil Diwani Adalat: As per Warren Hastings plan a Mofussil Diwani
Adalat was established in every district with collector as the Judge. The court was authorized
to decide all civil cases like disputes regarding properties, inheritance, marriage, caste, debts,
disputed accounts, contracts, partnerships and demands of rent. Where ever possible religious
laws of Muslim as well as Hindus were followed and applied, e.g. Caste, marriage,
inheritance etc. As English servant who was appointed as Collector did not understand the
religious laws, Kazis and Pundits were appointed to help him. The decisions of the Mofussil
Diwani Adalat in cases up to Rs.500 were final.

Establishment of Small Cause Adalat: As name says, this Adalat decided petty cases up to
Rs. 10 .The Head farmer of the Pergunnah became the judge. This system was designed to
save the traveling expenses of poor farmers, as they did not need to travel to the district place
for justice.

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For administration of Criminal Justice, the following courts were established:

Establishment of Mofussil Fozdari Adalat: In every district a mofussil nizamat or fozdari

adalat was established to try all criminal cases. The adalat consisted of the Muslim kazi,
mufti and moulvies. The moulvies interpreted the Muslim law of crimes. The Kazi and Mufti
gave fatwa and render judgment. In this adalat collector exercise general supervision over the
Adalat, and saw that no corruption was made in the case. The judgment was given
impartially. This Fozdari adalat was not allowed to handle cases where punishment was death
sentence or forfeiture of property of the accused. Such cases went to Sadar Nizamat Adalat
for final orders.9

Establishment of Sadar Adalats: Firstly two courts were established namely Mofussil
Diwani Adalat and Mofussil Fozdari Adalat over them 2 superior courts were established
namely Sadar Diwani Adalat and Sadar Nizamat Adalat. The sadar diwani adalat was
consisted of Governor and members of the council and was to hear appeals from the mofussil
diwani adalat in the cases over 500 Rs. The first sitting of the Sadar Diwani adalat was held
on the 17th March, 1773. On each appeal fee of 5 percent was charged. The appeals were to
be filed in the Adalat within 2 months from the date of the judgment, decree given by the
Mofussil Adalat.

Establishment of Sadar Nizamat Adalat: Sadar Nizamat Adalat consisted of an Indian judge
known as Daroga-i-adalat who was to be assisted by the chief Kazi, chief mufti and 3
moulvies. Nawab appointed all these persons as per the advice of Governor. In case of death
sentence, punishment death warrant was made by the Adalat and signed by the Nawab as the
Head of Nizamat. The governor and council supervised this adalat to control and reduce the
corruption. All cases were heard in the open court. All courts were ordered to maintain
registers and records. Any case older than 12 years was not accepted. District courts
forwarded their records to the Sadar adalat.10

In civil cases when Plaintiff filed a case, defendant accused person was given only limited
time to give answer and then examine the witness and give the decree, pass the final orders.
The plan tried to reduce the expenses of people. With this plan law officers like kazis, muftis

9
Prof. J.K. Mittal, Indian Legal & Constitutional History, 1st Edn., Allahabad Law Agency, P. 37
10
Ibid.

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were given salaries. Before this plan Judge charged the commission but this new plan
abolished this law and introduced the Court fee system where fees went to Government. After
this plan and establishment of Courts for common Indians it became easy to approach the
Judiciary. Warren Hastings was very intelligent person; he purposefully did not take the full
charge of Criminal justice system and kept the puppet Nizam alive. He did not change the
forms and when possible tried to show case that company respected the Nizam. Like Nizam
got the power to sign the death sentence. The other clever intelligent system Warren Hastings
kept alive was that following Hindu laws for Hindus and Muslim laws for the Muslims. In
this plan collector got the many powers, collector was the administrator, tax collector, civil
judge and supervisor over the criminal courts. With this collectors got the unlimited powers
and Warren Hastings knew this that collectors will become corrupt and he already told the
company directors about this defect of this plan. The directors of the company understood the
fear and reality of this plan. In the year 1773, Company directed the Calcutta council to
withdraw the collectors as they became very corrupt. After this Calcutta Government
introduced new plan for the collection of revenue and administration of Justice on November
23, 1773 and put it into force in the year 1774.

MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS:

A few provisions were made to promote pure and impartial justice. All cases were to be heard
in open court. All adalats were to maintain proper registers and records. District adalats were
to transmit abstracts of their records to Sadar Adalats. This precaution was necessary so as to
discourage judicial officers from misusing their power. To make justice inexpensive, the old
vexatious impositions on administration of justice were abolished and moderate fees were
prescribed for trial of civil cases which was bound to give relief to people. To supplement the
work of the courts, the method of arbitration was also provided for.The plan of 1772 was in
many respects a boon to the people at that time. The change in judicial system brought back
the confidence of the people in the government and the justice. However, a grave defect in
the plan was that the Collector acted as the administrator; the Judge and the Magistrate in the
district i.e. there was over-centralisation of powers in a single official.11

11
Supra 11.

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PLAN OF 1774

The abolition of the institution of Collector in 1773 on the advice of the Court of Directors of
the Company in England up-set the judicial arrangement of 1772 and a new Plan became an
urgent need of the time. Warren Hastings prepared new Plan on November 23, 1773 which
was implemented in January 1774.12 The various changes made in regard to revenue, civil
justice, criminal reforms are as follows:

Revenue: Collectors were re-called from the districts and in their place an Indian officer,
called Diwan or Amil, was appointed. He was to act as a judge of the Mofussil Diwani Adalat
and collected the land revenue also. The entire Mofussil area in Bengal, Bihar and Orissa was
divided into six divisions with the Headquarters as Calcutta, Burdwan, Murshidabad,
Dinajpore, Dacca and Patna.13 Each division had a Provincial Council consisting of a Chief
and four senior servants of the Company. A Committee of Revenue was instituted at Calcutta
for superintending that Division, consisting of two members of the Council and three senior
servants, assisted by a Diwan and others. The Councils and the Committee were to supervise
the collection of revenue in their Divisions. Indian Naib Diwans were appointed in the
districts under each Provincial Council to look after the same work. Complaints against the
Head Farmers, Naib Diwans, Zamindars and other principal officers of the government,
relating to their conduct in the revenue, were to be decided by the Provincial Councils.
Aggrieved parties might ultimately go to the Board of Revenue at Calcutta.

Civil Justice: The provisions relating to appeals in civil cases were also considerably
liberalised under the plan of 1774. Now all cases decided by the Mofussil Diwani Adalats
were appealable to the Provincial Council irrespective of the value of the subject matter of
the suit. There was also a provision for second appeal to the Sadar Diwani Adalat in cases
exceeding the value of Rs. 1000.14

Criminal Reforms: The Officers of the Faujdari Adalats were forbidden to hold farms or
other offices in the Mofussil and were obliged to reside in their districts on pain of forfeiting

12
M.P Singh, Outlines of Indian Legal & Constitutional History, 7th Edn., Universal Law Publishing Co. Pvt.
Ltd.
13
M.P. Jain, Outlines of Indian Legal History, 6th Edn., Wadhwa and Company Nagpur, P. 65
14
Adalat System in India available at www.findarticles.com.

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their employments. Complaints against them were to be lodged with the Governor-General
who would refer them to the Sadar Nizamat Adalat for inquiry and determination.

Although the new system was an improvement over the earlier one, the change did not give
good results for long. The Council took the place of the Collector in creating the difficulties
and monopolising the trade within its jurisdiction. This time also Warren Hastings new that
the Provisional council will do the more harm and more corruption than the Collectors.
Warren Hastings thought this plan as a temporary plan but Regulating act was passed in this
time and Warren Hasting could not change the plan until year 1780. Warren Hastings
detected this defect very soon but he could not make any change till 1780 when entirely a
new modified system was established.

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DEFECTS OF THESE PLANS

Defects of plan of 1772

One of the major defects of the Plan was that there was over-centralization of powers in a
single official, namely, the Collector. He was overburdened with heavy work as he was
singularly required to shoulder the responsibility as an administrator, revenue collector, civil
judge and a magistrate in his District.

The Judicial Plan had a limited application only in the territory of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa.
It was based on an erroneous assumption of Hastings that Indian population consisted of only
the Hindus and Muslims. There were other communities and races for which there was no
provision made in the Judicial Plan.15 Though the functioning of Adalats was under the
supervision and control of the Sadar Adalat at Calcutta, but in absence of adequate means of
communications it was almost impossible for the government at Calcutta to keep a constant
watch on the working of the Collectors of the districts. In absence of an effective control, the
Collectors indulged in private trading and misused their position and power for personal
gains.

The judges of the courts being Englishmen, they did not have knowledge of personal laws of
Hindus and Muslims. Though native laws officers were appointed to assist the English
judges, but they could easily misguide the judges by deliberately misinterpreting the
provisions of the Quran and Shastras. The functions of revenue collection and civil
administration were combined in a single official, the Collector. Therefore there was no
separation between revenue collection and civil administration. Obviously, the Collector paid
more attention to revenue collection than the civil administration.

Defects of plan of 1774

The defects of the system set up in 1774 were seen in the Patna Case 16, which is concerned
with the conflict between the jurisdiction of Supreme Court and function of adalat in mofussil
areas. As it was in practice those days, the Mofussil Adalat as well as the Provincial Council

15
Supra 15.
16
Prof. M.P.Jain, Outlines of Indian Legal &Constitutional History, 6th Edn., P.77

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employed services of Kazis and Maulabis to interpret the Muslim law. The judicial
commission arrived at a decision after taking into account the consultation of the Maulabis
and Kazis. Thus it became a practice to neglect judicial work.

In this case, the Maulwis and Kazis were given the power to take the evidence of the case and
arrive to a decision. No established law was followed while taking the evidence and the
Provincial Council passed a judgement based on the evidence collected by irregular
procedure. The Supreme Court held that the Provincial Council did not delegate its judicial
decisions according to the procedures held by the Supreme Court. Thus an order was passed
by the Supreme Court to send the wrong-doers to jail.

The decisions of the Supreme Court were criticized to a large extent. Following this, the work
in Mofussil Adalat came to a halt because no officers in this adalat were ready to take up
judicial work as they will have to go to jail. The work of revenue collection also suffered
because most of the revenue officers left their jobs.

The defect when came to the knowledge of Warren Hastings, could not continue any longer
and he remedied it by giving a new judicial plan promulgated on 11 April 1780.17

17
http:/www.legalservicesindia.com/...of...of-warren-hastings-252-1.html.

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CONSEQUENCES OF THESE PLANS

Judicial Plan of 1780:

Warren Hastings knew that the judicial plan of 1774 was not perfect, and when Warren
Hastings again got the chance, he made changes to the judicial plan of 1774, On April 11,
1780 new plan was introduced. As per the plan of 1780 judicial and executive functions were
separated.

Adalats: The functions were confined to do civil justice and no revenue works were to be
done by them.

Provincial Council: No judicial works were assigned to them and only revenue related work,
collection and revenue cases were to come to them.

But with this plan the problem was that, area was vast and Adalats were few to administer
those large areas, because of this, cases were more, time was limited with the judges and thus
arrears piled up in every adalat. The second problem was that witnesses have to travel lot to
reach the adalats. There was only one Adalat in the whole of Bihar. Because of this people
thought it is better not to file the cases in courts, as filing cases in court meant, delayed
justice, physical harassment, waste of time and money. As per the judicial plan cases up to
Rs.100 were referred to the person who stayed near the place of litigant ,but before this it was
compulsory to file the case in the Adalat, and 2nd problem was that the person who work as
judge has to work as a honorary judge and he did not get any salary. The Zamindar or public
officer acted as an honorary judge and they charged money for this and also zamindar got the
chance to do corruption as he became the honorary judge.

Warren Hasting was not satisfied with the plan of 1780 he always thought about the
improving judicial system in India. On 29th September 1780, Warren Hastings proposed in
the Council that chief justice Sir Elijah Impey be requested to accept the charge of the office
of the Sadar Diwani Adalat. Impey accepted this offer. He remained in Sadar Adalat for a
year but he introduced, made lot of reforms in sadar adalat.

Impey Drafted many regulations to reform the adalats. On November 3, 1780 first reform,
regulation was passed to regulate the procedure of the diwani adalats. As per this rule , the

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Mofussil judge has to decide the facts , he was allow to take the help of Hindu Pundits or
Muslim Mulla if it was necessary to understand the cause or case. Impey Compiled a civil
procedure code for the guidance of the Sadar Adalat and Mofussil Diwani Adalats. It was the
first code of civil procedure to be prepared in India. It was promulgated by the Council on
July 5, 1781 in the form of a Regulation. It was the digest of the civil rules. The code
consolidated at one place a detailed civil procedure. The code contained 95 clauses and with
it all the previous regulations relating to civil procedure were repealed. The code of 1781
clearly defined the functions, powers and jurisdiction of Sadar Diwani Adalat. This code was
translated in Persian and Bengali language that time.

Regarding criminal justice system Warren Hasting took following steps. Machinery was
created for the purpose of arresting criminals and bringing them before the fozdari adalat for
the trial. This system never existed in India before this. A new department, office of the
Remembrancer was created at Calcutta to keep watch on the functioning of criminal adalats.
The department was to work under the Governor General. The head of the department was
known as Remembrancer of criminal courts. All criminal courts were required to send
periodical reports to this department. Everything was done as per the Muslim criminal law
and Warren Hasting was not happy with many things, and wanted to reform them, he tried his
best but company heads did not accept his views. Because of this in criminal justice system,
everyone made money using the corrupt ways.

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CONCLUSION

The work of Warren Hastings has left a deep impact on the History of India. Though on one
hand his contributions to the administration of justice are appreciable to some extent, but on
the other hand the reforms made by him had its own flaws.

Appreciating his contributions, the various reforms implemented by him justify that he was
not only a capable administrator but also a great inventive genius. He adopted the method of
trial and error in uprooting the evils of the existing judicial and executive systems and
never hesitated even in taking bold steps to remove such evils. As the first Governor-General
he proved himself as one of the most faithful servants of the English East India Company,
who played a vital role in further strengthening the foundation, which was earlier laid down
by Clive, for the future expansion of the British Empire in India.

Now taking into account his flaws, one may notice that, certain areas like the constitution of
criminal courts, the defects and severity of Muslim criminal law, the mode of trial and
proceedings in the criminal courts, which mainly required vital reforms and special attention
were left untouched by him. While on the other hand, he only touched the fringe of the whole
problem of improving the criminal justice.

But considering his limitations which arose due to his conflict with hostile Members of the
Council, wavering support of the Companys Directors in England, antagonistic interests of
political parties in England prejudicing his reputation, his failure to implement his ideas and
plans in this regard, is justifiable.

In physical appearance, Hastings "looked like a great man, and not like a bad man." The body
was wholly subjugated to the mind. A frame naturally slight had been further attenuated by
rigorous habits of temperance, and thus rendered proof against the diseases of the tropics.
Against his private character not even calumny has breathed a reproach. As brother, as
husband, and as friend, his affections were as steadfast as they were warm. By the public he
was always regarded as reserved, but within his own inner circle he gave and received perfect
confidence. In his dealings with money, he was characterized rather by liberality of
expenditure than by carefulness of acquisition. A classical education and the instincts of
family pride saved him from both the greed and the vulgar display which marked the typical

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"nabob," the self-made man of those days. He could support the position of a governor-
general and of a country gentleman with equal credit.

Hastings's public career will probably never cease to be a subject of controversy. It was his
misfortune to be the scape-goat upon whose head Parliament laid the accumulated sins, real
and imaginary, of the East India Company. If the acquisition of our Indian empire can be
supported on ethical grounds, Hastings needs no defence. No one who reads his private
correspondence will admit that even his least defensible acts were dictated by dishonourable
motives. It is more pleasing to point out certain of his public measures upon which no
difference of opinion can arise. He was the first to attempt to open a trade route with Thibet,
and to organize a survey of Bengal and of the eastern seas. It was he who persuaded the
pandits of Bengal to disclose the treasures of Sanskrit to European scholars. He founded the
Madrasa or college for Mahometan education at Calcutta, primarily out of his own funds; and
he projected the foundation of an Indian Institute in England. The Royal Asiatic Society was
established under his auspices, though he yielded the post of president to Sir W. Jones. No
Englishman ever understood the native character as well as Hastings; none ever devoted
himself more heartily to the promotion of every scheme, great and small, that could advance
the prosperity of India. Natives and Anglo-Indians alike venerate his name, the former as
their first beneficent administrator, the latter as the most able and the most enlightened of
their own class. If Clive's sword conquered the Indian empire, it was the brain of Hastings
that planned the system of civil administration, and his genius that saved the empire in its
darkest hour.18

Warren Hastings had actively participated in the judicial political development in India as
because of his plans of judicial reforms in 1772, 1774 and 1780, paved the way for full
fledged Adalat System in India and thus helped in advancing the Judicial administration in
India to the next level. Although, his plans had some defects but they were most needed at
that time when the judicial administration was going through a dark phase. Thus, it can be
said that The plans of 1772 and 1774 were very important in the History of Judicial
Administration in India.

18
Excerpt taken from the website http://www.indhistory.com/warren-hastings.html.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

Books Referred:

Outlines of Indian Legal & Constitutional History by Prof. M P Jain, 6th edition, 2006,
Wadhwa publishing company, Nagpur.
Landmarks in Indian Legal and constitutional History by V D Kulshreshtha, revised
by B M Gandhi, 8th edition, eastern book company, lucknow.
Modern Indian History by V D Mahajan, 7th edition, 2003, S. Chand publishing
company.
History of India, 1707-1857 by lakshmi Subramanian, orient blackswan publication.
History of modern India by Bipin Chandra, Orient Blackswan publication.
M.P Singh, Outlines of Indian Legal & Constitutional History, 7th Edn., Universal
Law Publishing Co. Pvt. Ltd.

Websites Referred:

http://realityviews.blogspot.in/2010/05/part-13-indian-legal-history-judicial.html.

http://realityviews.blogspot.in/2010/04/part-9-indian-legal-history-judicial.html.

http://www.indhistory.com/warren-hastings.html.

http://www.nndb.com/people/124/000101818.

http://dulawcentre.com/content/warren-hastings-plan-1772.

http://www.indohistory.com/warren_hastings_appointed_governor_of_bengal.html.

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