INDORE INSTITUTE OF AW

F L
LAW UTE O
(AFFILIATED TO D.A.V.V. ANDNBCI STI T
, NEW
DELHI) RE I
N DO
SUBJECT – LEGAL HISTORY
D I , I
I M O
www.indoreinstituteoflaw.org

H U R
Presented by Madhuri Modi
A D
M
 LAW
F
B.A.L.L.B. IV(A&B) TI T UTE O
IN S
UNIT-III
IN DO RE
DI ,
I MO
UR
M
LAW
A DH AND ADMINISTRATION IN
THE SUPREME COURT
 AW
CHAPTER - 20 TE O F L
TI T U
IN S
RE
SUPREME COURT DO
, I N OF CALCUTTA,
O DI
MADRAS
R I M AND BOMBAY
H
D U
MA
 The Act of 1800 or LAW
E O F
Government of India I T UT
Act
IN ST
1800 was passed O RE by British
, I N D
O DI
Parliament to establish a
R I M
H U
D Supreme Court at Madras.
MA
Recorder’s Court at Madras In an attempt to
remedy this defect, at least partially, the O LA
BritishW
E F
parliament enacted an Act in 1797. I T UT
IN ST
It authorized the crown to RE issue charters to
establish a recorders’ N DO
court at Madras and
D I , I
Bombay. King
I MOGeorge III issued a charter on 20
H UR
February
A D 1798 authorizing the company to
M
establish recorder’s court at Madras.
The recorder’s court at Madras started
functioning in November 1798. It consisted LAW
E O F
of the Mayor, three Aldermen and I T UT
a recorder.
IN S T
The recorder was to beRappointed
E by the
N D O
king.
DI , I
M O
He was Rrequired
I to be a Barrister of England
DH U
or
M AIreland of not less than five years standing.
He was to be the president of the court.
 The jurisdiction of the court extended to civil,
criminal, ecclesiastical and admiralty cases AW
O F L
All British subjects-resident within theTBritish E
territories as well as those residing T I T
inU the
IN S
territories of native princesO REin alliance with the
, I N D
government were O D I brought under the jurisdiction
R
of the court.I M
DH U
A
M recorder’s court absorbed into itself the
The
Mayor’s court existing under the charter of 1753.
 The fist recorder at Madras was
L AW
Thomas Andrew strange. E O F
I T UT
The position of the recorder
N ST was next
RE I
to the governor.NDO
DI , I
The British
I MOparliament entertained a
H UR
view
A D that the judiciary should be
M
separated from the executive in India.
 It also wanted to extend the judicial system of
Bengal to Madras and Bombay with the Supreme LAW
court as the central court. E O F
I T U T
The parliament still held the view
IN STthat judicial
administration in India should
O RE be served for the
, I N D
British crown D
O I
The SupremeR I MCourt at Madras Under these
D H U
M A
circumstances, the Recorder’s court had a very
brief period of existence.
Sir Thomas Andre Strange, who was already
working previously as the recorder, was F LAW
appointed its first Chief Justice. ITUT E O
The two other person judges IN ST
were Sir Henry
O RE
G William and Benjamin
, I N D Sullivan.
O DI
The Indian
R I M
judiciary was the creation of the
DH
British
U
as they had not inherited any such
M A
institution from the rulers of pre-British India.
 The English administrators had realized
the importance of having a soundOF L A W
UT E
judiciary to better consolidate STI T political
E IN
and administrativeDmeasures.
O R
I , I N
Hence, they O D
had started their task of
R I M
DH U
evolving a judicial system from the
M A
beginning of their administrative career.
Thus, the responsibility of dispensing justice falls
on the Englishmen simultaneous with the LAW
acquisition and administration of territories E O F by
I T UT
the East India Company. IN ST
The administration of D O R E
justice did not seem very
I , I N
intricate. O D
R I M
But with
DH U the growth of the settlement and the
M A
expansion of the presidency, the suits multiplied
in number and diversity.
 New legal issues sprung up and the inability of the
existing courts to deal with them hampered theAW
O F L
administration of justice. TE
In consequence parliament enacted TI T U
fresh
IN S
legislation from time toDtimeO REeither for establishing
the new courtsO I , I N
orDimproving the existing ones.
R
These trendsI Min the judicial organization of
DH U
M A
Madras were particularly conspicuous in 1798-
1802.
The early courts were manned by non-lawyers
who were mainly traders and merchants. LAW
They did not have any judicial training.TE O F
TI T U
They were too much under the IN S
control of the
executive. O RE
, I N D
had followed the O D I
Hindu and Muhammedan laws
and customsR I M
to deal with the Hindu and
DH U
M A
Muhammedan litigants and English law towards
the British.
 As the judicial officers did not know the
intricacies of laws which they were supposed AW
O F L
to follow, justice came largely underTEtheir
TI T U
discretion. IN S
O RE
They had depended I N on
D the doctrine of equity
D I ,
I MO
and good conscience, which led to vast
degree H UR
of inconsistency in the decisions.
A D
M
The situations had slowly started changing
from1687.
The first professional lawyer Sir John Biggs
came to administer justice in that year in the LAW
E O F
admiralty court of Madras.
I T UT
The judiciary began to be EfreedIN STfrom the
DO R
executive control.I, But
I N the establishment of
Mayor’s court O D
in 1688 and its re-constitution
R I M
DH
in 1727 Uonce again drove the judiciary under
M A
the control of the executive.
The establishment of supreme court at
Madras in 1802 had set the judicial system LA W
E O F
of the presidency in a firm footing.
I T UT
IN ST
All the judges of the courtRE were barristers
N D
appointed by theI, crown.O They had followed
D I
English lawI MO
and procedure and with this the
H U R
A D
executive control over the judiciary came to
M
an end.
 THE O F LAW
UTE
T
SUPREME O RE IN STI

, I N D
I
H UR I MCOURT
O D OF
A D
M
BOMBAY
In 1773 the Regulating Act was passed and
Warren Hastings was appointed as the Governor LA W
E O F
General of Bengal.
I T U T
The Supreme Court of Calcutta IN ST
was established
O RE
to remove the evils of
, I N D
the prevailing system.
In 1823, an ActO D
ofIParliament authorised the
R I M
Crown DH U
to establish a Supreme Court in place of
A
M Recorder's Court at Bombay by Royal Charter.
the
The power vested in the Recorder's Court
were to be transferred to the SupremeOCourt. LAW
E F
The Supreme Court at BombayTIwas T T
U to be
IN S
invested with the same O R E
powers and authority
,
and was to be subject I N D to the same limitations
O D I
R I M
& restrictions as the Supreme Court at
DH U
M A
Calcutta by the 17th Section of the Act of
1823.
The Court was formally inaugurated at Bombay
on 8th May, 1824. W
F LA
The Supreme Court functioned from 1824 E O to
I T UT
1862.
IN ST
The purity and prestige O R
of E
judicial
, I N D
I
D an increasing. English
administrationOwent
R I M
DH U
barristers began to practice in Bombay and
A
M of them achieved distinction in the High
some
Court later.
Several notable judgments were given in the Supreme
Court, which made an important contribution to the W
development of Law in India. F LA
T E O
The main inspiration of the Supreme Court
TI T U and even the
IN S
O RE
High Court in its early years, was the Law of England: and
N D
apart from Hindu and,Mahommedan
I Laws,
O
it was the principleD I
of the Common Laws and Equity
R I M
H
whichDwere U embodied with slight modification in the
M A
judgments of the Courts and the principle Acts of the
Indian Legislature later.
 In the first century of British Justice in Bombay,
there is no record of any Indian judge or AW
O F L
lawyer. T E
It was only after the establishment TI T Uof the High
IN S
Court that Indian Barrister O REbegan to make their
, I N D
DI
solitary appearances
O in the High Court.
R I M
DH U
The Supreme Court had its own deficiencies
A
M its inadequacy as a Court of plenary
and
jurisdiction were borne upon the authorities in
 In 1852, it was urged upon the Parliamentary
Committee for East India Affairs that it was LAW
desirable that the Supreme Court andTthe E O F
T I T U
SadarAdalats in each Presidency IN S should be
consolidated. O RE
, I N D
D I
This led the passing
O of the India High Courts Act
I M
R Parliament in 1861 for the creation
U
by theHBritish
D
M A
of High Courts in the three Presidencies instead
of the Supreme Court and SadarAdalats.
 After the Muting of 1857, the Company
was dissolved and the Government ofF LAW
TE O
India was taken over by the CrownI T U in
IN ST
1858. RE
DO
,I IN of responsibility in
This created aDsense
I MO
the British
H U R Government for administration
A D
in India and a complete over hauling of
M
the judicial system took place.
 LAW
. E O F
I T UT
IN ST
RE
, I N DO
O DI
R I M
.
DH U
MA