It "\l

al ~
Pi-- ti~ ~
~~~
lltly Or
Jll t by
:1facts
. Wbat
~rging
pe for 1
ny .to THE EAST INDIA COMPANY
s and AND ITS
re 1\ot EARLY SETTLEMENTS
1 i~
never
THE EAST IN D IA CO
ersity MP A N Y
The First Ea st In di a C om pa
' This ny w as in co rp or at ed in
r fife.
Charter gr an te d by Q ue en En gl an d un de r a

~-
El iz ab et h on 31 st D ec em
title was "t he G ov er no r an be r, 1600. Its official
~ven d C om pa ny of M er ch an
into the East In di es ". It w ts of Lo nd on tra di ng
as gi ve n th e ex cl us iv e rig
)up5, parts of Asia, A fr ic a an d ht of tra di ng in all
A m er ic a be yo nd th e Ca
d· or eastward to th e St ra its of M pe of G oo d H op e
ag el la n. Th e tra di ng ar ea
ni ts almost every pa rt of th e w so de fin ed covered
or ld ex ce pt Eu ro pe . N o
and could trade in th is ar ea w ith ot he r British subject
afst) ou t ob ta in in g a licence fr
The charter w as gr an te d fo om th e Company.
)di't,g 15 years only if it r 14 ye ar s an d it co ul d be re ne w ed for
di d no t pr ej ud ic ia lly effe an ot he r
The company w as m an ag ed ct th e Cr ow n an d its peop
by C ou rt of Directors. Th le.
a11d ~ompany in a ge ne ra l m ee e m em be rs of the
uest tin g, ca lle d "t he Co ur t"
?Vernor an d tw en ty -f ou r di , elected annuall~ a
· 'fo r re ct or s to lo ok af te r an d
o the Company.1 m an ag e the affairs
ra te

l
·ga l ·
as
an Powers of the C om pa ny
n./ reasonable la w s, co ns tit ut
Cocessary an d co nv en ie nt
ein_rnpany, an d of all factor
.- B y m aj or ity vo te th e Co
io ns , or de rs an d or di na
,, fo r th e go od go ve rn
s, m at te rs , m ar in es , an
ur t cou~d make
nc es as it fo ~d
m en t of the . said
trd act Ployed or to be em pl d other officers;
oy ed in an y of th ei r vo ya
,q.r Viit~cernent an d co nt in ua ge s an d for the bette
to ation 0 f nc e of th e sa id tra de an d traffic"·
For ~n
ou rt co ul d a1so pr ov i·d e for such pa in5y,
p11 ... : th es e la w s
ty '<!ushrn th e C
Per'"'l. ents, an d pe na lti es
'i s • <q tie8 as w er e de em e d necessar These laws an d
iuld y.
If not
W er e sub1·ect to th
e co nd iti on th at th ey ha d t O b "reasona ble,
contrary or re pu gn an t e
to th e la ws, s ta tu tes or custom s" of
~
iJ:l -vl

tf l :----
. ror a .
e deJe v~ew that Co mp an y
gat wa s no t a pri va te co rpo rat . d. urpose on ly bu. t. a
e Hist 0 ion f royal so ve rei
° ion for tradhmg p Studies in fud1c1al
gn po liti ca l po we r, see B s Ch ow ury
ry of British India, Ch. X. · ·

1
 2 Indian Legal & Constitutional f-listr,~
England. Ilbert has called these powers of the Company ''the germ
which the Anglo-Indian codes were ultimately developed"1. A num:ut (J!
Charters granted subsequently (Charters of 1609, 1661; 1668,
·,
:;i
preserved these powers of the Company.
A Second East India Company, to which the Commerce of India was
exclusively granted, was incorporated under a Charter of 5th September
1698 issued by William III. The two companies were united into one ~
1709 under an award of Lord Godolphin. The n~w united company came
to be called "The East India _C ompany.If _Th(} ~harter of 1698 which
formed the basis -·of-· the ?constitution,· powers -~nd -functions of the new
Company added 9~F\¥J ~w t!ii.J;lgs: t~_'. the1 - Cparter of 1600. Under
the new Charter the. ·t otal ·nhinber : of , triembers of the Company
constituted the General Court.-:Toe General- Court elected annually
twenty-four directors, cafled~-:fhe ·tJ6tirf of Ditedors, for the purpose of
managing and directing the affairs--of the,; Company. In addition to the
powers granted under the Charter ·of J60D, the Charter of 1698 also
provided that subject to the ·sovereign:rights of the Crown the Company
shall have the power to govern its · factorJes· and forts. To establish the
accountability of the Company to _the.Grown the Company was require_d
to submit annually its accounts to · the British Parliament. This
constitution of the Company remained unchanged until the enactment of
the Regulating Act, 1773 discuss_e d-below.
In addition to the a-bove-rrientiorted wide general powers, the
Company acquired from time to time specific powers from the British
sovereign. Among such powers we may mention the Royal Commissions
and the Charter of 1661:
Royal Commissions.-With in a short time of its creation the
Company realised that the powers in its hands were insufficient to
control the lawlessness and disobedience in respect of its functioning and
operations. Therefore, the Company sought the help of the -Crown ~w
punish people for .--c·apit,al 'offences. This the Crown did by issuing-
Commissrons. By such · Commissions the Crown authorised the
Commander-in-Chief of each voyage separately to punish for serious
offences. The first such Commission was issued in 1601. On 14th
December, 1615 the Crown gave a general power to the Company to
issue such commissions to its Captains. Th e power of the Company in
this regard was subject to the limitation that in capi tal offences of mL~rder
and mutiny the trial should be by a jury of twelve servants ot the
Company. Subsequently, when the Compa~y established its business a:
different places, on 4th February, 1623 King Jan1es II gran ted to th
• ffO • rM,n., ,rn,o nl nf India, p . 10 (1915).
 The East India Company and its Early Settlements 3

Chie f Officers
Com pan y the pow er of issu ing Com mis sion to any of its
trial in case of
auth oris ing them to pun ish pers ons, subj ect to _~ jury
capi tal pun ishm ent. ·'
Charles II
Charter of 166 1.-T he Cha rter issu ed on 3rd Apr il, 1661 by
Cha rter the
has a spec ial sign ifica nce in the Indi an legal histo ry. By this
s Council at its
Com pan y was emp owe red to app oint a Gov erno r and
Council were
factories. In add ition to othe r pow ers , the Gov erno r and
1
g und er the
n auth oris ed to judg e all pers ons belo ngin_g to or livin
g to the laws
L€ Com pan y "in all cases, whe ther civil or crim inal " acco rdin
whi ch had no
:h of Eng land and to exec ute judg men t acco rd~g ly. In places,
emp owe red to
w Gov erno r and Cou ncil , the Chie f Factor and Council wer e
ther e was a
er send offe nder s for pun ishm ent eith er to a place whe re
166 1-
,y Gov erno r and Cou ncil or to Eng land . Thus the Cha rter of
(1) auth oris ed the Com pany to try and pun ish all
pers ons living
lly
of und er it, incl udin g the Indians,
(2) ope ned the door s for the intro duct ion and applicati
on of English
:he
law in Indi a, and
lso Gov erno r
(3) conf erre d judi cial pow ers on the executive, viz., the
.rtY and Cou ncil.
rtie
:ed SETTLEMENT AT SUR AT
hed its first factory in Indi a at Surat in 1612
l.' mpcrors themselves". ·rhe re w":1 "" d-g~~~s ;;s rampant. Man_y., anct
, un\shments and corruption. c1mt. >ng 1~ JU ff . f . . . ·1 . ca~~
\ · . . . t ai,d letting o. .· o cnm1nas on acccptan
u\ ,nd,~cr1n11nate pun1~1,111u1 ' . .
l

. . . 1 . b k· B b . C('.
n\ bri\~l' b ' the judie Me cited by Malaban in J~ S oo . om ay zn lfii
. ) , l . ~ /\d111i11istraf 1011 oif the East India Company. Manv
I .

M( ~ 1ll ~ ,1 nd b) Kc1 \I l' l 115

1
1
I n . . .
t th · own han s an
•
d d d1.d not c J
, -. ;
\ n·.J 1--,h people, therefore, took law in o eir ·· · are
11 ,1 th l''"'l' court~. . .
\ hl' Sur"t sctt\en,ent of the Company remained 1n prominence until
\ \-. D~lc ~o the transfer of the seat of the President and Council to
11
\;<>rnbay in that year, Surat lost all its importance for the Company.
SETTLEMENT IN MADRAS
\1adras was founded by Francis Day in 1639 on a piece of land
~1 l1 nted to him by a Hindu Raja. A fort named as Fort St. George was

l''--li1blished there. The Raja also authorised the Company "to govern and
di'-) pose off the Government of Madras Patnam"-a small village adjacent
to the fort. Inside the fort lived the English and outside in Madras
l >z, tn am lived the native people and accordingly the two were known as
th e White Town and the Black Town respectively. The two towns
together later came to be known as Madras.
The legal system that existed in Madras upto 1726 may be divided
into three stages.
First Stage (1639 to 1665).-To begin with, Madras was ari agency
~ubordinate to Surat. Its Chief Officer was called 'AgenJ' · who
administered the affairs of the Company with the help of a ·coundf The
judicial system that existed at this stage was conspicuous by the absence
of any systematic and regular administration of justice. The only system
that existed was-
(a) The Agent and his Council for the White Town; and
(b) The Choultry Court for the Black Town. .
The jurisdiction and powers of the former were not clearly laid down.
It could not decide serious offences and generally sent them to the
Company's authorities in England. No decision could be given in such

1. Epochs in Hindu Legal History, p. 301 (1958).

 The East J11dia Company 1111d its Early Scttlcm<'n l::; 5
th
cases for_ ye~rs due to e lack of effective and exped itious means of
conununicahon. The Choul try Court was a native court presided by the
village he~dm an ~ ~ ' ~s Adiga r. In 1652, Comp any's two servan ts
0 11

were appom ted _to sit In this ~ourt , after the dismissal of the then Adiga r
on ground of dishon esty. This Co~rt could decide only petty civil and
criminal matters. What happe ned 111 cases of serious nature , is hardly
known. Apparent~y there was no specific and regul~r proced ure to dea]
with such matte r in the Black Town and the proce dure and punish ment
differed from case to case. Gener ally the matte r used to be referred to the
native Raja who either gave a specific direct ion in the case or author ised
the English author ities to decide the matte r accord ing to the English law.
Charter of 1661 was grante d by Charle s II and radica l changes were
brought by it as under it the Comp any could appoi nt Gover nors and
II

other officers in India" . Comp any's autho rity was exclud ed over the
natives i.e., non-e mploy ees of the compa ny. Justice was to be impar ted
according to the Englis h Law.
Second Stage (1665 to 1686) .-Alth ough the Chart er of 1661 provid ed
that the Gover nor and Counc il could decide every matte r accord ing to
the laws of Engla nd, nothin g was done until ~665, when the Dawe s case
arose. Mrs. Ascen tia Dawe s was broug ht on a charge of murde r before
the Agent and Counc il. As per practi ce, the Agent and Counc il could
only refer the matte r to Engla nd. To get rid of this proce dure the
Company thoug ht it prope r that the Gover nor and Counc il shoul d be
appointed under the Chart er of 1661 so that such cases may be decide d
then and there. Accor dingly , in 1665 the Comp any raised the status of
Madras to a Presid ency and appoi nted a Gover nor and Counc il who
could also work as Court . The case of Mrs. Dawe s was decid ed by this
Court. Perhaps becau se of the absen ce of any legal exper t in the Court the
lady got acquitted. Many reque sts were made by the Gover nor and the
Council to the Comp any to send a legal expert , but none was heard . In
1678
, the Governor and Counc il resolv ed that they would sit as Court for
~o days in a week to decid e the cases in all civil and crimin al matter s
;~~ the he!~ of a jury of twelve men. The Court was called ~s t~e_Haigh
nd
· _t of Judicature. This Court decid ed impor tant cases both m Civil
cl'UninaI matters and also heard appea ls again st the d ecisw · · ns of the
Cho
ultry Court.
pr Thittl 5tage (1686 to 1726) -Adm iralty Cour t.-As noted above
sr1:Per admin istrati on of J·ustice was absen t in the Presid· encyasmg ~nd thde
. . . . L,e w h an
occur ~s t e case with other establ ishme nts. Crime s were mere to
1
anothre more freque ntly on ships transp orting goods fr~~ onferom pa~; it
1'
er. To f · . ·d h vils ansmg ·de the
Was f . ace this diffic ulty and to av01 t e e d
ound necessary that a Court havin g the jurisd iction to ec1 .

J
 ,
ffator;
Indian Legal & Con stii utiona/
6
lished. Therefore, on 9th
August, 1.683
ca se s sh ou ld be es tab
maritim e ion for th:
an te d a Ch ar te r to th e Co m pa ny making a provis
Ch ar les II gr Admiralty Court was to con
sist of
of th e Ad m ira lty Co ur ts.
establishm en t be 'learned in the civil law
,' and the
on e of wh om wa s to
th ree m em be rs, the Company. The Court had
to
er ch an ts, ap po in ted by
ot he r two we re m e concerning all persons
coming
rc an til e an d ma rit im
he ar all cases, me ., cases of trespass, injuries,
th e Ch ar ter , e.g the
wi th in the lim its of se as . The Court had to apply
the
ed at th e hi gh
wr ongs, etc. co m m itt co ns cience an d the customs of the
sti ce an d go od
pr in cip les of eq ui ty ju s of the Crown, the Court could
th e di re cti on
merchants. Subject to
de ter m in e its proc~dure.
ur t wa s es tab lis he d in Madras on 10th July, 1686.
The pr op os ed Co e civ il servants who were
also
of th e Co ur t we re th re
The first m em be rs . fu th e ye ar 16871 ~ lawyer-mem
ber
ve rn or 's Co un cil
me mb er s of the Go ca te was appointed to this.Court
. The
tio n of Ju dg e- Ad vo
wi th the designa the arrival of the Judge-A
dvocate,
Sir Jo hn Bi gg s. On
law ye r was Governor and
an d Co un cil fo un d th at 'there was no need of the
Governor e, re lin q~ hed
ad mi ni ste rin g jus tic e se parat~lj an d they, therefor 1~ed
Council
of the Co ur t of Ad mi ralty which henceforth dec
their job in favour cri minal, maritime or merca
ntile.
se s wh eth er ~iv il,
all types of ca
ed with the he lp of jury.
Criminal cases ·were decid dge-Advocate fell vacant.
ed an d the po st of the Ju
In 1689, Sir Biggs di the Governor him se lf assumed
the
an y law ye r-m em be r,
In the absence of composition of the Court
was againSt
Ju dg e-A dv oc ate . Th is
charge of the la wy er as the
of the or igi na l Ch art er which required a civ il ed
the na tu re
nc e in 16 92 , a ne w Ju dge-Advocate wa s appoint
Judge-Advocate. He e Comp an y
mi sse d in 16 94 on a ch arge of bribery. In 1696, th rk as
who was dis Co un cil wo uld successively wo
mb ers of the
directed that the me m wa s a civ il lawyer, ]l.ence the
Court
. Bu t no ne of the
Judge-Advocate
04, the Court ceased to
W(?{J5/regular1y. In ~
im po rta nc e. Af ter 17
lost its
Co ur ts we re est ab lis h~ d to decide the disputes.
meantime other e Mayor's Co ur t.- Under
a
of Co rp or ati on an d th
Establishment East India Company pr op
osed to
De ce mb er, 16 87 , the
Charter of 30 th rporation wa s-
h a Co rp or ati on in M ad ras. The purpose of the Co
es tablis
(1) to provide a repres
entative local government.
(2) to impose local tax
es, and
.
powe. rs "for the sp eed'1er etermma tion of small
d
(3) to have the . . ~
requently happening amon
of little irnpo t f
contr.ov ers1es d . . . ts. . r ance
th.e unarme m.hab1tan
, . . er,
The first CorpMa oration in Mad
. ras wa s est abl ished on 29th SeptembTht'
1688 . It ha d on e c
m 60 to 120 Bu rge sse s.
yor, 12 Aldermen and fro
 The East ]lldia Co111pa11y nnd its Early Srttle111e11ts 7
Mayor was to be elected annually. The Corporation was subject to the
authority of the Governor and Council who could remove any of the
members of the Corporation including the Mayor.
Mayor's Court.-Th e Mayor's Court consisted of the Mayor and all
the Aldermen. The quorum for the Court was three-1 mayor and 2
Aldermen. A lawyer member, called Recorder, was appointed by the
Mayor and Aldermen for helping them in deciding the cases of
"considerable value and intricacy".
The jurisdiction of the Court extended to all civil and criminal
matters. It had power to inflict any punishment on any Indian as well as
Englishmen subject to the condition that no Englishman could be
punished to death. In criminal cases the Court had to take the help of
jury. Appeals against the judgment of this Court both in civil and
criminal matters, went to the Admiralty Court. In civil matters, an appeal
could be filed only when value exceeded 3 pagodas 1 and in criminal
cases when the loss of life or limb was involved.
The law to be applied by this Court was not specifically laid down.
The only provision made in the Charter was that the Court would decide
the disputes "in
a summary way according to justice and conscience,"
and according to the laws made by the Company.
th The Co~rt, although provided a forum for deciding the disputes of
It e people, 1t could not enjoy the independence needed by the judiciary.
always depended on the Governor and Council because they could
remove th
Ald e Mayor and any Alderman. Moreover, the Mayor and the
coui:man were a!so _the members of the Council and, therefore, th~y
exe ~ot do full Justice in the matters related to the Company and its
cutive.

Cho~houJtry Court-Af ter the establishment of the Mayor's Court the

irnpo ~y Court, which used to impart justice to the natives, lost its
coulctr ~nee. Its jurisdiction was limited only to petty criminal cases. It
whip/111P0 se only minor punishments of fine, imprisonment and
Pagoct:g. In civil matters it could hear the cases upto the value of 2
sonly
w !he May . ' .
ere thr · ors Court, the Choultry Court and the Court of Admiralty
;eaSed toe~ Co~rts which functioned in Madras. The Admiralty Court
°vernor unction after 1704 and its jurisdiction was exercised by the
1727 nd
\Vhena Council. They also heard the Mayor Court's appeals till
"1 C'onci ~ Mayor's Court was established under 1726 Roya l Charter.
~s
1
w:~ 0
.,.,n•-The overall picture of the administration of justice in
• Pa~ot very good in these early stages. The system suffered
a \-Vas the
Madras currency at that time.
 8 Indian Legal & Cons
titutional H~tor:
from m any d ra b k
1
T h e m o st o u ts
w ac s. ta n d in g o f th
em are the
fo ll o w in g :-
. . .
(1) A bs en ce O f Proper 1ud1c1al system.
(2) U n ce rt ai n ty of la w s. -T e C t an d th e p eo p le di d not
h
o u rs . . know
the law ap p li~a b le to th em an d th ei r d is p u te s.
(3) S ev er e p u th e p u n is h m en ts we
n 1 sh 11
b ar b ar o u s an d in m en ts .- U su a y, b d o n th e mixed
re
h u m an . T h ey w id ea oi
de terence an d p . er e as e
re v en tm n . 1
(4) L ac k of fac1. . . . . 1•i . d · in
s .- h e in m at es h v e m human
hties 1n the 1a T
conditions.
(5) U n fa ir tr ia
l- T h e E ng li sh p: . . .
principles of n at rmc1ples o f fair • 1 su ch as the
u ra l justice an d tn a th accused
w er e n o t observ b en ef it o f d o ~ ~
ed. T he "b en ef t to ehowever,
available to the B it o f cl er g y
ritishers. w as
SETTLEMENT IN
The island of Bom BOMBAY
ba y w as u n d er th e o cc u p . f p tu gu es e sw. ce
1534. In 1661, th
England as a dow
e Portuguese ki ng at
ga ve th is is la n d
io n ° .or ll of
ry in the_ marriag to K in g Charles 11)
gave island to the East Indi e of _his sister. T
a C o h e K in g (Charl: 5
In the same year m p an y m 1668 at an an £10
Charles II is . n u al re n t O
au thority on the su ed a C h ar te r w . h n f ..
C om pa ny for th h ic . ~o e~re d qt11s1te
including the ad e ge ne ra l ad rm re . d
ministration of ru st ra ti o n of is
Company could m just la n
ake necessary la w ice. an d m ak in g _o f laws. ~
good governence
an d could impo
s, or dm an ce s, re
gu la ti on s, etc. fo 1
~
death sentence on se fines an d pe r ·
those w ho disobe na lt ie s in cl ud in
noted in the very ye d th e la w s o f th e g th e
beginning of this C o m p an y . But, a~
exercised reasonab C ha pt er , th es e
ly and consistent p o w er s co ul d be
administration of w it h th e la w s of
justice, the C om pa E ng la nd . For th
to follow the proc ny could es ta bl is t'
edure of English h C o u rt s w h ic h
ln th e beginning Courts. had
Bombay was p u t ~
Governor a~d Cou u n d er th e au th or
ncil. The D ep u~ -G it y of a D r·r ut v~
to the Pres1d~ncy ov er no r an d Co
at Surat. The fu st un cil W t' r e subj ~
Gerald Aung1er. H _~ ep uty-Governo t
e was a good adm r of Bomba y was
estab li shing a good inis tr ator and took
judi cial system on much interest in
judicial system in th e is land. Like
Bombay upto 17 M ad ra s, the
26, may also be
stages . d iv id ed into thre
e
.
1. Ja1n, M·J>· Jndian Le6val Jlt:,tory, p. 31,
(1966) .
"13 ,nefi I of clergy" wa
2. c ~ or igina l! y th e righ t of
n ]av tribunals ~1 11
over b,Y a Y , / in be fon• whom they init, dP rks in religio us ordt•rs tu bt• hall~h'•
;ht bt> ac ~
Putter ~ Jfot unu1 trodu ction to t'.ttglisft lJllV, P· 36l, (4 cm,t•d to ,111 ticdt•sids til'al (o llr t.
. . . " d th Edn.), C dm in al
aboll&hcd th . privilege tn bngldf1
I½ .
L\ \v Act, HC 7
 9
The East Iruiia C@mpany and its Ea.rr.ly Settlements
systems
First Stage (1668 to 1683 ).-D urin g this. perio d two judicial
Acco rding to
were established. The first of them was estab lishe d in 1670.
1
this, Bombay was divid ed into two divis ions . Each divis
ion had a Cou rt
sion was the
consisting of five judg es. The Cust om Officer of the Divi
Indians.
President of the Court.. Som e of fue judg es in thes e Cou rts were
The juris dicti on of this Cou rt exte nded to petty crim inal cases, e.g.,
2 similar othe r
thefts invo lving the stole n prop erty upto 5 xeraphins and
also of petty
cases. The civil cases whic h cam e before this Cour t, were
than 200
nature. It had no juris dicti on to deci de cases invo lving more
filed in
xeraphins. App eals agai nst the judg men ts of this Cou rt coul d be
the Cour t of the Dep uty-G over nor and Council.
Cou rt
The Depu ty-G over nor and Council work ed as a supe rior
and criminal
having both origi nal and appe llate jurisdiction, in all civil
ers of the
cases. In civil cases , it had the jurisdiction to ente rtain matt
h co1:1ld not
value exceeding 200 xeraphins. All the serious offences, whic
rt with the
be entertained by the Divisional Court, were tried by this Cou
confined to
help of jury. The appe llate jurisdiction of this Cou rt was
appeals agai nst the decisions of the Divisional Cou rls.
ry and
The judicial syste m established in 1670, was quite elem enta
and the
primitive . No distinction was mad e betw een the executive
er in the
judiciary. Nor was there any prov ision for a lawy er-m emb
nor to the
Courts. Man y requ ests were mad e by the Depu ty-G over
not care.
Company for prov iding a man learn ed in law, but it did
lawyer-
Ultimately it auth orise d the Deputy-Governor to select any
nor selected
member of its choice available in India. The Depu ty-G over
inistration.
Mr. Geor ge Wilcox to be a lawy er-m emb er in the judicial adm
1670 was
Soon after the selection of Wilcox, the judicial system of
abolished and a new syste m was established in 1672.
By this
On 1st Aug ust, 1672, a governmental proclamation was made.
replaced by
proclamation the existing Port uguese law in the island was
the law of
the English law. From then onw ards , the English law became
judicial
the island in all matt ers. Und er this proclama tion a new
ts w ere
system was also estab lishe d unde r whic h three types of Cour
created .
judge, was
Court of Judicature.- A Cour t · with Wilcox as its
t also had
estab lishe d to hear all civil and crim inal cases. The Cour
ma tters the
ju risdi ction in matt ers of prob ate and testa men ts. For civil
help of jury.
Cour t sat once a week. All the cases w ere decid ed with the
1. One division comp rised Bomb ay, Mazag aon and
Cirg,w n, tlw olhcr of Mahim , Pan.•l,
Sion and Worli .
10
A C ourt- fee at the Indian Legal & Constit .
rate of 50/40 was I . . . utzonal History
cnm mal cases , the Cour t used to as·tso impo
• •
sed · -1
. . . . in c1v1 cases. For dec1·ct·
.
cru~.mal adm inist ratio n of justic1e, once 1n a m th F
Bom ba on . _o~ the purpose of
ing The East India
secti ons.1 For each secti on one Just· f Py was d1v1ded into four two contin_1
wor ke d as a comm itting magi strat e Thice o t· eacef was appoin · Gove rnor 1
e Jus ices o Peace t · ted who
as asses sors at the time of the trial.· h
sa int e Court
Judg e-Ad vc
Cour t of A d
. Court of Con scien ce.-T his Cour t was also presi ded over· b . not funct ior
it was called_ as Cour t of Conscience because it provided q~i: In 1690,
tl:d
summ ary JUshce. It enter taine d only petty .cases and decid ed c the islan d o
of 1 t O 20 h · 1·v·1 tt
va ue_ up xerap m~. Ther e was no provi sion for · I ma ers till 1718. N e
any court-fee. This
Cour t did not have any Jury. It could be said that the judge-decid the islan d d 1
matt er to the best of his judgm ent. ed the
the islan d a
Court of App eals. -The Depu ty-Go verno r and Coun cil functioned as syste m was
Cour t of Appe al. They heard appe als again st the judgm ents of Third St;
the Court Justice and
of Judic ature in all matte rs.
English and
The judic ial syste m whic h was so estab lishe d unde r the plan of India n comr r
1672
work ed well. It was quick , inexp ensiv e and effici ent Its.main defec Justices'.
t was
that the Judg es did not enjoy indep ende nce, reqµired for
good The Cou1
admi nistr ation of justic e. They were noJ _p~i<;i properly;2 were
always ad.minis tr a tio
unde r the subje ction of the execu tive and .could be haras se~
by the j~stices and ~
offic ers of the Com pany . This syste m work ed till 1683 when
the time to time.
Keig win's rebel lion brou ght it to an end by captu ring the island
. The and not conh
islan d rema ined unde r the rebel lions for abou t a year; It was recap
tured crimi nal matt
by the Com pany in 1684. After its recaptur~ the comp any establ
ished a proba tes, and
new judic ial syste m in it.
Seco nd Stage (1684 -1693 ).-Un der- the new syste m of judici The Cour t
al speci fied law
admi nistr ation , a Cour t of Adm iralty was.e stabli shed in Bombay
on the slllnr nary and
1· 0 f the Cour t of Adm iralty estab lished in Madra~ unde r the C~a~ter
ines Procect Ure or •
of 1683 . Bas1ca . 11 the Cour t had J·urisdiction in admiralty @d ~anti me
y c·IVil
due to the absence of any other Court. , eve:ry . -----. :r --~
+q.Y~ OJ.1&1-~
cases
matte rs. But h" C urt After some time dispute arose Petty in
. . 1 tters went to t is o . tisect natur ,
cnmm a ma and Council and the Judge-Advocate of t h e Cou~ t cu.sto to be dee
betw een the Gove rnor th . respective jurisdictions. Consequen 111.s p
tly this relate d. revc
of Adm iralty a_bout f e_ir_l and criminal jurisdiction in 1685.
Cour t was depri .
ved o c1v1
.· . d criminal matters, a Cour t was esta bl"is hed 1'heCrin-..~
~ .. unaI CE
To deal with the e1vil an . dicat ure created unde r the plan of 1672; . y .exten d d
give e
he lines of the Cour t of Junst d of the Cour t of Admiralty were no enforJ~idgment
on t . . f this Cour an . . . b tween these
Bu t the J. urisd1ct1on o . f dispu tes of junsd1 ct10n, e Yet t~ing Pllni s
ted There ore, telat1· e PUnis
clear ly dema rca . h ' Mazagaon and Sion. h 0 nsh·
- other t-'ll.l)ishJn 1P b e
. were Born b a Y, Ma· un, f Rs 2000 was never pa id · for
These sect10n s . ted at a salary o . . 150 ~ ninen t ~h
1. ·1 who wa s appo~nB bay in the Making, P· l.D~
Ever W1 cox, .
2. simila r instanc es
sC'e Malab an om C: . t. Joh
0Lltt n, cl.
of Ad1n
 '/ • , (11d i11Con11 1,11 111
T It /',(i.:/ . 0 11d 11 .. /'or/1/
' Sl'llf,,111e11/ s 11
two Ct)ntinul'd to ari sL'. Ri ttcrncss between the Judge-Advoca te 1 and the
CoYcr-rH1r incrL',lSL'd to the extent that after the retirement of the fl n,t
Judge-/\ d\'OC.ltl', no
other lawyer-member was ever appointed to the
Court l)f Adm iralty. In the absence of the lawyer-member the Court could
rn1t function on the expected lines.
ln 1690, one Siddi Yakub, Admira l of the Mughal Emperor, attacked
the island of Bombay and captured it. It remained under his occupation
till 1718. Nothing is known about the judicial system which existed on
the island during Siddi's occupation. In 1718, when the Administration of
the island again came into the hands of the Company a new judicial
system was established for it.
Third Stage (1718 to 1726).-0n 25th March, 1718 a Court with Chief
Justice and 9 judges was established. Out of the 9 judges, five were
English and four were Indians. The Court thus represented the major
Indian con1mw1ities through the four judges who were known as 'Black
Justices'.
The Court had jurisdiction in all criminal and civil matters. In the
.:idministration of justice, the Court applied the principles of equity,
justices and good conscience, and the rules made by the Company from
time to time. Application of law, however, had to be in confirmity with
01
:d not contrary to the laws of England. Apart from deciding civil and
cnminal matters, the Court also had the jurisdiction in the matters of
proba tes, and testaments. It also functioned as Registration Office.
The Court used to sit once a week to decide all cases. There was no
~pecified law which the Court had to apply and, therefore, it gave a
\l'.ll1ll1ary and ready justice in all cases which came before it. No rules of
f iocedure or evidence were prescribed for the Court.
Civil cases whkh came before the Court were small in number and
PPtt .
used In nature_, not in volving any intricate issues. Many of t~ese cases
cu, to be decided according to the personal laws of the parties or the
st0
rel rns- preva1·1·mg among the commumbes · · to w h om th e d.1spu tes
ated.

17, Cri l1Hnal

· .
cases which came before the Court were of vaned nature.
iey ext
give . ended from minor offences to capital offences. The Court could
enforJ~dg.men t and punishment in every minor or major offencl'. In
Yet cling punishments generally the rules of English law were observed,
t 1e p . l .
re]a1--: . . urns 1ments were severe and sometimes there was no
Pu1 ttOnshi
· ·P bctween the
. punishment
. and the off· ence. A cunous
. ,
'---- 11shme . .
~ h1ch no body will support today was the .. . h·
punts ment ot
.
1
· ~r. ~t. fo hn, ,1 m 111 IL· ,n d • .· . _ was the firs t Judge-Advocate to pre~ide over the
ourt of " . ' , 1 e in c1v1 11 t1w, , . ,
nd111 1r,1lt)'.
 ◄

12 Indian Legal & Con stitutional H~t1Yr,

det en tio n in jail . No tim e lim it
of im pri so nm en t wa s prescribed.
\,·h ipp ing wa s a co mm on pu nis hm en
t. Th e pre su mp tio n of innocence oi
the acc use d an d be ne fit of do ub t to
him als o did no t ge t recognition iri
thi s C ou rt. Th e jur y sys tem wh ich ex
ist ed ear lie r wa s als o giv en up anc
the Co urt de cid ed all cas es wi tho ut
jur y.
In Ram Kanati' s cas e, Kanati wa s
arr est ed on the cha rge of being
in v olv ed wi th a dac oit An gir a on a
da nc er' s he ars ay evi den ce who told
tha t dac oit An gir a tol d he r .th e sam
e. Ra m Kanati's pro per ty was
con fis cat ed an d he wa s gra nte d pe
rpe tua l im pri son me nt because of
fic titi ous cha rge s wh ich the Go ve rno
r an d Co un cil ha d fra me d.
Co nc lus ion .-T he sys tem est abl ish ed
in 1718 wa s an imp rov emen~
up on the ear lie r sys tem at lea st to
Ind ian jud ges wa s all ow ed in the ad
the ex ten t tha t the par tici pat ion 1
mi nis tra tio n of jus tic e. This helped
°
the Co urt in wi nn ing the con fid enc e
an d res pe~,t of the loc al people. The
int ern al po sit ion of the Co mp an y did
no t, ho we ver , all ow ed the Co urt to
fun cti on pro per ly. A litt le bit sep ara
tio n of exe cut ive fro m the judiciary
ha d bee n int rod uce d by the Co urt
of 171 8, yet the exe cut ive , i.e., the
Go ver no r an d Co unc il alw ays int erf
ere d wi th the ind epe nd enc e of the
jud icia ry. Ap art fro m tha t ma ny of the
En gli sh jud ges in the Co urt wer e
the me mb ers of the Go ver no r's Co unc
il as we ll as of the Co urt . The
jud ges we re als o the pro sec uto rs. In
ma ny cas es the Go ver nm ent of the
com pan y itse lf wa s inv olv ed. In tho se
cas es the jud ges cou ld no t impart
im par tia l justice. Ex am ple s are ava ila
ble wh ere the se jud ges pre par ed
an d pro cur ed evi den ce aga ins t the per
son s wh o we re bro ug ht bef ore tht'
Co urt for justice. An oth er ano ma ly wa
s tha t bei ng me mb ers of the Co urt
as we ll as of the Go ver nor 's Co unc
il, the se jud ges hea rd app eal s a~
Go ver no r and Co unc il aga ins t the ir
ow n dec isio ns. In thi s way the
jud ici al sys tem wa s wa nti ng in so ma
ny res pec ts. Th e can ons of nat ura l
jus tic e and the pri nci ple s of law we re
vio late d by the def ect s wh ich ~aV L'
bee n jus t me nti one d.
·•i.!l,.J. , ~ -"' ~

SETTLEMENT IN CALCUTTA
Job Ch arn ock , a ser van t of the com pan
y, laid the fou nd atio n_ of th~
.. h ttle me nt in Ca lcu tta, on 24th Au gus t,
Bn tis se
. h ent of a factory at Su tan ati on the .
1690. It beg an wtt h tJit:
k ~
esta bl1s m ban s o f n.ver H ug 1·L A •fort, c
b •1t wh ich wa s nam ed as For t Wi.lha . m. E. h
wa s ui 1g t yea rs a f.ter, 1n
· 1698,
~
. sec ure d the zam ind ari of thr ee village
th Co mp any s, na1ne ly Ci:d cu tt,~ tl
e . d Go vin dp ur from the Sub eda r of Bcn
c.~t-r.1...,::::i ga t Pn.n A . u.; 1,