Indian Judiciary: Supreme Court Jurisdiction

The Company Rule (1773-1858)

Regulating Act of 1773

• Recognized the East India Company's political and administrative functions in India
• Laid the foundations of central administration in India
• Designated the Governor of Bengal as the 'Governor-General of Bengal'
• Created an Executive Council of four members to assist the Governor-General
• Made the governors of Bombay and Madras presidencies subordinate to the Governor-General of Bengal
• Established a Supreme Court at Calcutta (1774) with one chief justice and three other judges
• Prohibited the Company's servants from engaging in private trade or accepting presents or bribes from the 'natives'
• Strengthened the British Government's control over the Company by requiring the Court of Directors to report on its revenue, civil, and military affairs in India
• Lord warren hastings as a first governor general

Amending Act of 1781

• Rectified the defects of the Regulating Act of 1773
• Also known as the Act of Settlement

Pitt's India Act of 1784

• Distinguished between the commercial and political functions of the Company
• Allowed the Court of Directors to manage the commercial affairs
• Created a new body called the Board of Control to manage the political affairs
• Established a system of double government
• Empowered the Board of Control to supervise and direct all operations of the civil and military government or revenues of the British possessions in India
• The Company's territories in India were for the first time called the 'British possessions in India'
• The British Government was given the supreme control over the Company's affairs and its administration in India

Act of 1786

• Lord Cornwallis was appointed as the Governor-General of Bengal
• He was given the power to override the decision of his council in special cases
• He was also made the Commander-in-Chief

Charter Act of 1793

• Extended the overriding power given to Lord Cornwallis over his council to all future Governor-Generals and Governors of Presidencies
• Gave the Governor-General more powers and control over the governments of the subordinate Presidencies of Bombay and Madras
• Extended the trade monopoly of the Company in India for another period of twenty years
• Provided that the Commander-in-Chief was not to be a member of the Governor-General's council, unless he was so appointed
• Laid down that the members of the Board of Control and their staff were to be paid out of the Indian revenues

Charter Act of 1813

• Abolished the trade monopoly of the Company in India
• Asserted the sovereignty of the British Crown over the Company's territories in India
• Allowed Christian missionaries to come to India for the purpose of enlightening the people
• Provided for the spread of western education among the inhabitants of the British territories in India
• Authorized the Local Governments in India to impose taxes on persons and punish them for not paying taxes

Charter Act of 1833

• Made the Governor-General of Bengal as the Governor-General of India and vested in him all civil and military powers
• Deprived the Governor of Bombay and Madras of their legislative powers
• The Governor-General of India was given exclusive legislative powers for the entire British India
• Ended the activities of the East India Company as a commercial body, which became a purely administrative body
• The Company's territories in India were held by it 'in trust for His Majesty, His heirs and successors'

The Crown Rule (1858-1947)

Government of India Act of 1858

• Abolished the East India Company and transferred the powers of Government, territories, and revenues to the British Crown
• Designated the Governor-General of India as the Viceroy of India
• Ended the system of double government by abolishing the Board of Control and Court of Directors
• Created a new office, the Secretary of State for India, vested with complete authority and control over Indian administration
• Established a 15-member Council of India to assist the Secretary of State for India

Indian Councils Act of 1861

• Made a beginning of the representative institutions by associating Indians with the law-making process
• Provided that the Viceroy should nominate some Indians as non-official members of his expanded council
• Initiated the process of decentralization by restoring the legislative powers to the Bombay and Madras Presidencies
• Empowered the Viceroy to make rules and orders for the more convenient transaction of business in the council
• Recognized the 'portfolio' system, introduced by Lord Canning in 1859

Indian Councils Act of 1892

• Increased the number of additional (non-official) members in the Central and provincial legislative councils
• Maintained the official majority in the councils
• Increased the functions of legislative councils and gave them the power of discussing the budget and addressing questions to the executive
• Provided for the nomination of some non-official members of the Central and provincial legislative councils

Indian Councils Act of 1909

• Also known as Morley-Minto Reforms
• Considerably increased the size of the legislative councils, both Central and provincial
• Retained official majority in the Central legislative council
• Enlarged the deliberative functions of the legislative councils at both the levels
• Provided for the association of Indians with the executive councils of the Viceroy and Governors
• Introduced a system of communal representation for Muslims by accepting the concept of 'separate electorate'
• Provided for the separate representation of presidency corporations, chambers of commerce, universities, and zamindars

Government of India Act of 1919

• Relaxed the central control over the provinces by demarcating and separating the central and provincial subjects
• Introduced bicameralism and direct elections in the country
• Provided for the establishment of a public service commission
• Extended the principle of communal representation by providing separate electorates for Sikhs, Indian Christians, Anglo-Indians, and Europeans
• Granted franchise to a limited number of people on the basis of property, tax, or education
• Created a new office of the High Commissioner for India in London and transferred to him some of the functions hitherto performed by the Secretary of State for India

This quiz covers the restrictions on the Supreme Court's jurisdiction during the British colonial period in India. It tests your knowledge on the exemptions and exclusions from the Supreme Court's authority.