Strictly for Internal Circulation - KCL

UNIT – I
ESTABLISHMENT IN PRESIDENCY TOWNS AND
ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE FROM 1600-1726

Why the Company was Formed: As we know, renaissance occurred in Europe between 13th and 15th

S
centuries. That is why the European countries became developed and advanced because of rationalistic
thinking analytical approach and scientific attitude which gave birth to brave and courageous youth like
RaIphfitch, Mildenhall etc. who made sea voyages, which encouraged the Britishers to form a company to
start trade with East. Then the voyages of Vascode Gama and the profitable trade· of the Dutche and Danes

U
also encouraged the Britishers. Besides their need of spicy trade (trade of spices) with India encouraged
the Britishers to start trade with eastern countries. On 31st Dec. 1599 the company was incorporated by a
charter of Queen Elizabeth and was given exclusive rights to trade in Asia and America. The full name of the
company was "The Governor and Company of merchants of London trading into the East". In the beginning
it was created for fifteen years and could be wound up earlier on the two years' notice if the trade did not

K
prove profitable but by another charter which was passed on 31st May 1609 during the time of James I of
England the company was given the perpetual existence subject to the Crown's overall power to revoke it
on the three years' notice on proof of injury to the natives. The control of the company's business was
vested in a Governor and twenty four members who later on became the Directors and their assembly

M
(court of directors). The first governor of the company was Thomas Smythe. This court of Director was to be
annually elected by the shareholders of the company who met in a "Court of Proprietors".

Till now we have seen how and why the company was formed. Now we will see how the company started its

A
functioning after coming to India.

When the company was established India was being ruled by the Mughal Rulers and Surat (Important
Gujarat City) was an important port because it was linked by the holy places of Mecca and Madecia. The

K
Britishers also considered Surat an important trading centre and got the permission of Mughal emperor
Jahangir to open an office there in 1612 by the efforts of James-I who sent Thomas Roe in 1615 as the kings
Ambassador and Jahangir issued a farman granting several facilities to the English like:

1. To trade with Indians

2. To live according to their own religion and customs
3. To settle disputes between them by their own laws i.e. English laws
4. The disputes between -Englishmen and Indian were to be decided by the native Judges (Indian
Judges).
The entire control of the factory was under governor also called president and council. The Surat settlement
of the company remained in prominence till 1687 because after that the headquarter of the president and
council were shifted to Bombay. It is important to note that the chief officers of the country were adventurers
and not gentlemen. They were trades with profit motive in their mind; they were not lawyers and judges.
Naturally the administration of justice was very poor because of certain drawbacks:

1
 Strictly for Internal Circulation - KCL

a. There were no established courts for settling the disputes between Britishers.

b. The president of the factory literally had no knowledge of the English Law and there was no check
over his legal rights.

c. The English people exploited the native judicial officers by giving them bribes.

JUDICIAL ADMINISTRATION OF MADRAS

After getting encouraging results from Gujarat (Surat) britishers were looking for new places for trading
purposes and in the race Madras was their second place. How they got Madras?

U S
The local Raja a Hindu Chief gave the site to Francis Day in 1639 where he got constructed a factory
(fortified factory-later called Fort George). The local king also gave them adjacent area to the fort called
Madraspatanam to govern. The Britishers and the Europeans who were residing in the factory area were
called the white town and the people residing in the Madraspatanam were called Black Town and the whole
settlement of white town and black town was called Madras. Let us discuss now the judicial administration
of Madras which was divided into 3 stages:

K
a) 1639-1665
b) 1665-1683
c) 1683-1726

M
I Stage (1639-1665)

As we know the 2 towns i.e. white town and black town were occupied by Europeans and Indians
respectively.

A
White Town: In the white town the judicial administration was administered by an agent and council who
had no proper legal knowledge and gave judgement by their commonsense and wisdom and sometimes
the cases were referred to England also both in civil and criminal cases.

K
Judicial Administration of White Town: Madras became the presidency in 1665 and before that its
judicial administration was carried out by an agent and council in petty civil and criminal cases while the
serious criminal cases were referred to U.K.
Tele-communications were unsystematic and administration of justice was very delayed and time
consuming. Only one incident of an Englishman who was punished under the Anti National Act can be
quoted here.

Judicial Administration in Black Town: Old traditional system of Adigar (Village Head) and his council in
the choultry Court was continued for the petty civil and criminals cases. Serious offences were punished by
the English law by the native king. A dishonest Adigar named Kanappa was dismissed and two company
servants captain Martin and John Leigh were appointed to sit as Judges.

Defects of the Judicial Administration

2
 Strictly for Internal Circulation - KCL

1. The judicial power of Agent and council was not definite and the serious cases were referred to U.K.
which was very much time consuming.

2. Agent and his council were simple merchants and not lawyers, who had not even the elementary
knowledge of law.

3. There was no separation between the judiciary and the executive.

4. There was no fixed process for the trial of cases and the procedure differed from case to case.

Charter of 1661: For improving the existing system of Judicial Administration Charles-II granted a charter
in 1661 which gave enormous powers to the company. Under the charter of 1600 only the cases of the

S
servants of company could be heard, but by 1661 charter. The cases of all persons whether they were the
servants of the company or not could be heard and decided by the council. That's why the Agent and council
got the title of Governor and council now and the Indians were also kept under the judicial power of the
Governor and Council. The Indian customs, usages and laws were kept aside by the new charter. We are

U
seeing how the English were getting power on the Indian soil. The governor and council of each factory
were authorised to hear and decide all types of civil cases and criminal cases and could award any kind of
punishment including death sentence.

K
Defects
1. No separation between the executive and the judiciary. The Governor and council were performing
both the works of judiciary and executive.

2. Governor and members of his council were simple merchants and not lawyers who had no

M
elementary knowledge of English law and used to give justice by their commonsense.

3. Under the charter of 1661 the cases of the Indians were also decided by the English law; hence the
Indian laws and customs could not be protected.

A
II Stage (1665-1683): The second stage was definitely an improvement over the 1st stage because more
powers were granted to the company. Madras became a presidency and the status of agent and council
rose to the governor and council.

K
White Town: The court of governor and council was called High Court of judicature, and decided all civil
and criminal cases with the help of jury. It was also to hear appeals from the choultry court. It was to decide
cases according to the English law and met twice a week. S. Master was appointed as the governor of
Madras in 1678. As we know the II stage was an advance over I stage but still no machinery existed for
dealing with serious offences. One Mrs. Ascentia Dawes wounded an Indian slave girl Francisca and
Dawes was charged of capital crime. She was found not guilty.

Black Town: There was improvement in the administration of Black town also as compared to 1st stage.
The number of judges increased from 2 to 3 and of them 2 had to sit in the court twice a week. They could
hear petty civil and criminal cases upto 50 pagoda and the high court of judicature was authorised to hear
cases from the country court.

One important feature of second stage was the charter of 1683 by King Charles II because many
independent traders were involved in illegal trading interest. So in order to curb illegal activities court of
admiralty was set up in which learned people of law were appointed to preside over the court very first time

3
 Strictly for Internal Circulation - KCL

in the legal history of India. The admiralty court was set up on July 10th 1686 in the III stage.

Merits of II Stage

1. Regular meetings of the court started. Both High Court of judicature and choultry court were to meet
twice a week.
2. Jurisdiction of both High Court of Judicature and choultry court was well defined.

Demerits of the II stage

1. The judges of the high court of judicature and the choultry court were not qualified lawyers but were
simple common men who did not have even the elementary knowledge of English law and they

S
would give judgement according to their commonsense.

2. The serious criminal cases of the company were referred to England which was very time-
consuming. In a case of 31st Jan. 1678 an Englishmen was kept behind the bars for 31 months on

U
the murder charges without trial because his case was referred to U. K. Although the Governor and
council had the power by the charter of 1661 to award punishment for murder they had no legal
knowledge. That is why they referred the case to U.K.

K
3. There was no separation between the judiciary and the executive. The governor and council
constituted both the judicial and executive authority.
III Stage: 1686-1726

Court of Admiralty: During this period two important courts the court of admiralty and the Mayor Court,

M
were established under the British Crown's charters of 1683 and 1686. The Mayor's Court was established
under the charter of 1687 issued by the company, not by the British crown.

The need of establishing the court of admiralty was felt on account of the followingreasons:

K A
a) Under the charter of 1600 the East India Co. was conferred an exclusive trading right in East Indies
including, India, Asia and Africa and no British subject was permitted to carryon trade in these areas
without a license from the company. The right of the company was being infringed by other' British
traders. On account of it the need of the court having jurisdiction to punish such traders was felt.

b) The crime of piracy (Le. sea dacoity) on the high seas was on increase. To deal with it the need of a
court having jurisdiction to hear and decide the case of piracy was felt.

Court of Admiralty was to hear and decide all mercantile and maritime cases concerning persons
within the charter limits of the company. It was also to hear and decide all cases of forfeiture of ships,
piracy, trespass, injuries and wrongs. It was to decide cases according to the values of equity etc.

The provisions of the charter of 1683 were repeated by the British crown in another charter granted
in April, 1686. The charter of 1686, however modified the provisions of the charter 1683 regarding
the charter of admiralty to some ixtent. The judicial administration in 1687 may be punished for the
following good features:

a. The separation between executive and the judiciary was maintained. The governor and council had

4
 Strictly for Internal Circulation - KCL

executive power only they had no judicial power. The judicial power was exercised by the court of
admiralty.

b. Before the establishment of the court of admiralty the judges were laymen. As a result, they used to
decide cases according to their wisdom of commonsense. But after the establishment of the court of
admiralty, the administration of justice came in the hands of professional lawyers.

JUDICIAL ADMINISTRATION AND DEVELOPMENT OF COURTS AND JUDICIAL INSTITUTION IN

BOMBAY BEFORE 1726

Synopsis

S
1. Introduction
2. First Stage: 1670-1683
- Judicial Plan of 1670

U
- Judicial Plan of 1672
3. Second Stage: 1684-1690
4. Third Stage: 1690-1726

K
Introduction: The island of Bombay was acquired by the Portuguese from the King of Gujarat in 1534. In
1661 this Island was transferred by the Portuguese king to the British crown as a dowry on the marriage of
his sister. In 1668 the British crown transferred this Island to the East India Company for eminent of £10.
The administration of justice and development of courts and judicial institution in Bombay before 1726 may

M
be studied in the following stages:

First Stage: 1670-1683: At an early stage Bombay was under the control of smart Presidency. The
Governor of the Surat Factory was ex-officio Governor of Bombay. Gerald Aungein was the Governor of the

A
Surat Presidency and he was ex-officio Governor of Bombay also. He was much more interested in
introducing a sound judicial system in Bombay. Due to his efforts, the judicial plans of 1670 and 1672 could
be made to improve the judicial system in Bombay.

K
Judicial Plan of 1670: According to the judicial plan 1670 the whole Island of Bombay was divided into two
divisions-One division consisted of Bombay, Mazagoan and Gingoan, while the other division consisted of
Mahim, Parel, Soin and Worly. A separate court was established for each division. Each court consisted of 5
judges. The court was empowered to decide cases of small thefts and civil actions. An appeal from the court
of each division could be heard by the court of Deputy Governor of Council. Thus the Deputy Governor of
Council constituted a Superior court.

Defects

1) The lawyers and judges were the simple laymen there for own common sense and not ace to
English law.

2) No separation between executive and judiciary.

Aungier was aware of these defects. He selected Mr. George Wilcox and with his advice and cooperation

5
 Strictly for Internal Circulation - KCL

prepared a new judicial plan known a judicial plan of 1672, for improving the existing judicial systems in
Bombay.

Judicial plan of 1672: Under the judicial plan of 1672 the whole judicial system in Bombay was emerging.
A new court, known as the court of judicature was establishment. George Wilcox was appointed as the
Judge of this court. The court of judicature was empowered to hear and decide all civil criminal, probate and
testamentary cases. The court was to sit once a week to try civil cases. Besides this plan, a court of
conceive was created to decide petty civil cases upto 20 xeraphias.

For the purposes of administration of criminal justice, under this plan, Bombay was divided into divisions-
Bombay, Mahim, Mazagaon and Sion. In each division a justice of peace was to be appointed. He was to be
an Englishman. Justices of peace were to act not as a court but as committing magistrates to arrest the

S
accused and to examine the witness and thereafter they were to send the record of this examination to the
court of judicature which was to sit once a month to try criminal cases with the help of jury.

Merits

KU
1. Under the plan regular courts with well defined jurisdiction were established. The courts were to sit
regularly.
2. The civil cases were to be decided by the court of judicature with the help of jury.
3. The administration of justice was inexpensive.
4. The laws and procedures to be followed by the courts were settled. It was made clear that these
courts would follow the English procedural law as far as possible.

So long as Aungier was governor the judiciary was paid much respect but after him the later governors

M
could not follow the same tradition and the judiciary was considered subservient to the executive.

The rebellion against the company in 1684 was suppressed by it. So long as the Island of Bombay was
under the control of Keingwin's rebellion, the company's court stopped functioning.

A
Second Stage: 1684-1690 : In 1684, the company made every possible effort to set up, as early as possible,
regular judicial system at Bombay. When Keingwin's rebellion surrendered the Island of Bombay to the
company in 1684 a court of Admiralty was established in Bombay under the charter of 1683. The court was
established to decide admiralty and maritime cases but later on it began to decide civil and criminal cases

K
also. Dr. 81. John was appointed as judge-advocate of the admiralty court. He was considered to be an
expert in civil law. The authority of the admiralty was not sufficient to cover all civil cases. A court of
judicature was established, Dr. 81. John was authorised to act as the chief Justice of the court of judicature
also. Dr. 81. John was inspired by the sprit of judicial independence which caused much annoyance to the
Bombay council and the Governor.

Anew court with Voux as the judge was established to decide civil and criminal cases. Dr. John criticised the
appointment of Vane as judge of the new court. Again the conflict between Dr. John and council began.
Ultimately in 1687 he was dismissed from his office. After his dismissal the Deputy Governor of Bombay
became the Judge of the admiralty court. In 1685 Voux was appointed judge of the admiralty court also and
he remained in the office till 1690. In 1691 8iddi Yakub, admiral of the Moghul Emperor attacked Bombay
and due to it the judicial systems of Bombay came to an end. From 1690 to 1718 there was no court in
Bombay and Governor-in-council used to decide cases in rough manner.

Third Stage: 1718-1726: On 25th March, 1718 the court of judicature was restarted. The court of judicature

6
 Strictly for Internal Circulation - KCL

consisted of an English Chief Justice, five English Judges and four Indian judges. The four Indian judges
represented the four principal communities, namely, Hindus, Mohammedans, Portuguese, Christians and
Parsis.

The chief justice and English judges were members of the Governor's council. The court was to sit once a
week. The court of judicature was empowered to decide all civil, criminal and testamentary cases. It was
conferred with probate and administrative jurisdiction also. The cases were to be decided by it according to
law, equity and good conscience.

Merits
1. From 1690 to 1718 there was no court in Bombay and therefore the establishment of a court in 1718
was itself an important event.

U S
2. The appointment of Indian judges was also a good feature of the judicial systems established during
this period.

3. The administration of justice was cheap and speedy. The court fee was moderate.

Demerits

K
1. The whole judicial administration was executive oriented. The judiciary was kept under the thumb of
the executive.

2. The laws and procedures to be followed by the court were not settled.

M
3. No provision was made for jury trial.

4. The status of the Indian judges was not equal to English judges.

A
THE ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE AND DEVELOPMENT OF COURTS AND JUDICIAL
INSTITUTIONS IN CALCUTTA BEFORE 1726

In 1690 some Englishmen landed at Sutanti on the bank of river Hooghly and constructed a fortified factory,

K
named as Fort William. In 1698 Subedar of Bengal granted zamindari rights of three villages Calcutta,
Sutanati and Govindpur to the East India Company.

After this grant the status of the company was raised to that of zamindars and the company was entitled to
exercise all those powers which were exercised by the zamindars. Company acquired even the judicial
powers also. In 1700 an English officer known as collector was appointed to act as zamindar on behalf of
the company. He used to be a member of Governor and council. The collector used to decide civil cases in a
summary manner. The appeals from the collector court would be heard by the Governor and council. The
petty civil cases pertaining to the English people could be decided by the Governor and council The
collector was also responsible for the revenue cases and criminal cases. Whipping fines, imprisonment and
work on road were the important punishments awarded by the collector in such cases.

Defects

1. The administration of justice was not of high order. The collector was over-empowered. He was to

7
 Strictly for Internal Circulation - KCL

collect revenue and also decide civil, revenue and criminal cases. He paid more attention to the
collection of revenue than to the administration of justice.

2. The whole judicial administration was executive oriented. The collector, an executive officer, was
vested with the judicial power also on. We can say that there s no separation between the judiciary
and the executive.

The judicial systems continued till 1727, when Mayors court was established under the charter of 1726 and
this judicial system was replaced by a new judicial system.

THE MAYOR'S COURT

S
The Charter of 1726: The Charter of 1726 is regarded as being the first and the last, to introduce the
English law in the Presidency towns and the English law was not re-introduced subsequently. It was not the
whole of the English law introduced in India but only so much was introduced which suited best to the
conditions of India. Thus it is clear that Charter of 1726, for the first time, introduced the English law, though

U
it was not the entire English law, but a portion of it because the English law consisted of special as well as
general law. But it was the general law (Common law and Statute law) which was introduced in India. All of
the Indians as well as Europeans were placed under the obligatory force of the English law of 1726. Most of
the English law was applicable to the conditions prevailing in England and those conditions and

K
circumstances were alien to India. To apply the law which punished marrying a second wife whilst the first
was living to a people amongst whom polygamy was a recognised institution, would have been monstrous
and accordingly it was not applied. In like manner, the law which in England punished as a heinous offence,
the carnal knowledge of a female under ten years of age could not with propriety be applied to India where
early marriages were in vague.

AM
King George I issued a Charter in September 1726, which opened a new chapter in the evolution of the
judicial institution in the three presidency towns- Calcutta, Bombay and Madras. Before it, there was a
discriminatory system of judicial administration. Every city had its own judicial system. This Charter brought
about an end to the diversity and introduced the element of uniformity.

The Charter established civil and criminal courts in the presidency towns which derived their authority not
from the company but from the King. These courts could, therefore be designated as royal courts in the true

K
sense of the term. The status of the courts, prior to 1726 was very vague and indefinite. Instead, the new
civil and criminal courts had more formal, regular and definite basis. The advantage in having royal courts
was that their decisions were as authoritative as those of courts in England because the source of authority
for both the English and the Indian courts was the same viz. the King who is regarded as the fountain of
justice. Further, the Charter of 1726 initiated the system of appeals from India to the Privy Council in
England, and thus was established a bridge between the English and the Indian legal systems with the
result that the former made a deep impact on, and profoundly influenced, the latter. A channel for the
reception of the English law into India was thus created.

The Charter of 1726 marks the introduction of the English law in India. It came as a result of the request of
the East India Company, which wanted to overcome the several possible legal difficulties, that had cropped
up because of the large number of the English settlers and their having acquired a good deal of property.

Main provisions of the Charter of 1726: The Charter of 1726 has a historic significance, so far as the
development of justice is concerned. Its main provisions were as follows:

8
 Strictly for Internal Circulation - KCL

1) Setting up of Corporations in Calcutta, Bombay and Madras: As a result of this Charter,

Corporations were set up in Calcutta, Bombay and Madras. These Corporations were set up in
accordance with the English law. These Corporations were run by a Mayor and nine Aldermen, out
of which seven were to be Englishmen by birth and by citizenship and the remaining two could be
the citizens of any country that had friendly relations with the King of England. They were appointed
for life or during their stay in India. The Governor had the authority to dismiss these Aldermen, but
appeals against such dismissal could be filed in England in the courts of the King-in-Council. The
first Mayor and the Aldermen were appointed through this Charter. Under the provision of this
Charter, the Mayor was to be elected every year by the Aldermen.

2) Setting up of the Mayor's Court: In each Presidency town, a Mayor's Court was set up. This Court

S
consisted of the Mayor and the 9 Aldermen, and the presence of threre formed the quorum.

3) Civil jurisdiction of the Mayor's Court: Tile Mayor's Court did not have criminal jurisdiction. Its
jurisdiction was confined to civil matters. It could hear and try civil suits that were concerned with the

U
towns in which such courts were situated and its subordinate factories.

Appeals against the decision of this court could be made to the Governor and the Council. Appeals
in the cases that involved the valuation of RS.3000/- or more could also be made to the King-

K
inCouncil.

4) Court of Record: The Mayor's Court was also a Court of Record. It, therefore, had the authority to
punish those persons who were guilty of the contempt of the Court.

M
5) Testamentary jurisdiction: The Mayor's Court had also testamentary jurisdiction. It could grant
probates of wills of deceased persons. It also granted authority for administration of a person who
died intestate.

A
6) Sheriff: This official had the jurisdiction throughout the presidency town and for ten miles around.
He was to serve the processes of the Courts.

7) Type of law: There was no specific provision in regard to the type of law to be followed by these

K
courts. It was not clear if these courts would act according to English law or Indian law. It had been
laid down in the Charter that the Court would pronounce its judgment according to justice and
rights'. Since, as a result of the Charter of 1661, English law had been made applicable to these
presidency towns, it was implied that these Mayor's Courts would work according to the provisions
of English law.

Merits
1. Before 1726 there was no uniform judicial system in the company settlement in India. The Charter of
1726 for the first time made provision for the introduction of a uniform judicial system in all the three
presidency towns of Madras and Calcutta. The Mayor Courts to be established under the Charter
were to derive their authority from the British crown and not from the company and thus they were to
be British crown's courts (i.e. Royal courts) and not the company's courts.

Thus the charter intended to introduce such courts in India as having status equivalent to that of the
courts in England.

9
 Strictly for Internal Circulation - KCL

2. Under this charter an attempt was made to make the judiciary (i.e. Mayor's courts) independent of
the executive control. The establishment of a local legislature in each presidency town made it
possible to enact laws in accordance with the local needs.

3. The charter of 1726 introduced the system of appeal from India to the privy council in England. The
appeals from the mayor's court were to be heard by the governor and council and the appeal from
the governor and council were allowed to King in council (i.e. privy council) in England in all the
cases of the value of 1000 Pagodas or more (Pagoda was gold coin-one pagoda was equivalent to
three rupees); the privy council used to apply English law. Thus the charter of 1726 opened the door
for the introduction of the English law in India. The charter gave opportunity to the privy council to
modify and develop the Indian law on the basis of the English law.

Demerits

U S
1. The executive (Governor in Council) was fully competent to remove any Aldermen (Judges of the
Mayor's court) on reasonable cause; no doubt the dismissed aldermen could challenge their
dismissal in the privy council in England but in practice it was not an easy job that an aldermen could
challenge the decision of governor in council.

Besides, the executive was given wide judicial powers. Executives were to hear appeals from the

K
Mayors court and their decision was final in the cases of the value of less then 1000 Pagodas. The
Mayor's Courts were not empowered to try criminal cases. The governor and five senior members
of the council were to constitute justice of the peace and they were to exercise the criminal
jurisdiction; thus executive was still predominant.

M
2. The judges of the Mayor's court were laymen and not experts in law thus justice remained in the
hands of non-professional judges.

3. The representation of the Indians in the constitution of the Mayor's court was negligible. Out of the 9

A
aldermen, seven were required to be natural born of England thus the Mayor's court was too much
English ridden.

Comparison between the charter of 1726 and the Madras charter of 1687: The charter of 1726 with a

K
few exceptions was based on the pattern of the charter of 1687 issued by the company for the city of
Madras. Following are the important differences-

1. The new Mayor court under the charter Act of 1726 was a crowns court while the old Madras court
was a company's court.
2. The former Mayor court exercised only civil cases while the latter also exercised the criminal cases.
3. By the new court an appeal could be made to the governor in council. A second appeal to the King in
council was provided but in the old courts, it could be taken only to the admiralty court at Madras.
4. A lawyer worked as a recorder in the old court but in the new court judges were laymen.
5. Old court had a good number of the Indian judges while the new court had English judges.
6. In the old courts there were no specified procedures and technical rules of laws but the new court
was started on the lines of the English court.

10
 Strictly for Internal Circulation - KCL

Charter of 1753: In September, 1746, the French occupied Madras and surrendered it to the British in
August, 1749. During the period of French occupation, the Madras Corporation established under the
Charter of 1726 ceased to function. The lawyers advised the Company that the foreign occupation had put
the Charter of 1726 to an end in its application to Madras and that a fresh Charter was necessary to revive
the old institutions. Accordingly, the King George II issued a new Charter on the 8th January, 1753. The
Company utilized this opportunity to remove the defects which had been experienced in the working of the
old Charter. The new Charter was made applicable uniformly to all the three Presidency towns.

This Charter made the following changes in the previous Charter:

i. It tried to do away with the causes of dissension and dissatisfaction by changing the method of the

S
appointment of the Mayor and Alderman. Now the Governor and Council were given the authority to
select a man out of the panel submitted by the Alderman. This led to loss of autonomy and
independence of the Mayor as well as the Mayor's Court.

U
ii. The jurisdiction of the Mayor's Court was expressly restricted. It could now decide cases concerning
Indians alone. It could not hear cases between the natives in which both the parties agreed to abide
by the decision of the court.

K
iii. Certain new conditions were laid down in the Charter. It was also laid down that the Mayor's Court
could entertain an action against the Mayor and no person who was in any way interested in the
case could act as a judge.

iv. A new court, the Court of Request or Small Causes Court was set up to try cases upto a valuation of

M
5 pagodas or 15 rupees in a cheap or quick manner. It was to meet once in a week and was to be
manned by commissioners between 8 to 24.

Under the charter of 1753, the following types of courts were created in each Presidency town-

A
a. A court of request or small cause court,
b. A Mayor's court which had only civil jurisdiction,
c. Court of governor and council, which had the appellate jurisdiction in regard to the decisions of the

K
Mayor's court.
d. Courts of the justices of peace.
e. Quarter Sessions courts, which consisted of the governor and the members of the Council and
decided criminal cases.
f. Privy Council in England or the Court of King in Council, which was situated in England and had
relevance to the courts of Presidency towns because the appeals against the judgements of the
Presidency courts lay in this court.

Although the Charter of 1753 was basically designed for the good government of the Europeans, yet some
provisions were made for administration of justice for Indians. They were authorised to go to the Mayor's
Court provided they agree to accept the provisions of the Indian law. They were, however, left free to have
their own judicial system. Thus the company as a policy, did not interfere with the judicial administration of
the Indians.

11
 Strictly for Internal Circulation - KCL

IMPORTANT QUESTIONS

Q.1. Discuss the development of administration of justice in Madras from 1639 to 1726.
Q.2. Explain the judicial system in Bombay in early settlement of East India Company.
Q.3. Discuss in brief the administration of justice in Calcutta between 1690 and 1726.
Q.4. Trace out the working of the Mayor's Court from 1726 to 1753.

U S
K
AM
K
12