Regulating Act of 1773
This act was of great constitutional importance as (a) it was the first step taken by the British Government to control and regulate the affairs of the East India Company in India; (b) it recognised, for the first time, the political and administrative functions of the Company; and (c) it laid the foundations of central administration
in India.
Features of regulating act of 1773
- It designated the Governor of Bengal as the ‘Governor-General of Bengal’ and created an Executive Council of four members to assist him. The first such GovernorGeneral was Lord Warren Hastings.
- It made the governors of Bombay and Madras presidencies subordinate to the governor-general of Bengal, unlike earlier, when the three presidencies were independent of one
another. - It provided for the establishment of a Supreme Court at Calcutta (1774) comprising one chief justice and three other judges.
- It prohibited the servants of the Company from engaging in any private trade or accepting presents or bribes from the ‘natives’.
- It strengthened the control of the British Government over the Company by requiring the Court of Directors (governing body of the Company) to report on its revenue, civil, and military affairs in India.
Amending act of 1781
To rectify the defects of the regulating act of 1773, the British Parliament passed the amending act of 1781. It is also known as act of settlement.
- It exempted the Governor-General and the Council from the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court for the acts done by them in their official capacity. Similarly, it also exempted the servants of the company from the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court for their official actions.
- It excluded the revenue matters and the matters arising in the collection of revenue from the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court.
- It provided that the Supreme Court was to have jurisdiction over all the inhabitants of Culcutta. It also required the court
to administer the personal law of the defendants i.e., Hindus were to be tried according to the Hindu law and Muslims were to be tried according to the Mohammedan law. - It laid down that the appeals from the Provincial Courts could be taken to the Governor-General-in-Council and not to the Supreme Court.
- It empowered the Governor-General-inCouncil to frame regulations for the Provincial Courts and Councils.
Pitt’s India Act of 1784
- It distinguished between the commercial and political functions of the Company.
- It allowed the Court of Directors to manage the commercial affairs, but created a new body called Board of Control to manage the political affairs. Thus, it established a system of
double government. - It 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.
Thus, the act was significant for two reasons: first, the Company’s territories in India were for the first time called the ‘British possessions in India’; and second, the British Government
was given the supreme control over Company’s affairs and its administration in India.
Act of 1786
In 1786, Lord Cornwallis was appointed as the Governor-General of Bengal. He placed two demands to accept that post, viz.,
1. He should be given power to override the decision of his council in special cases.
2. He would also be the Commander-in-Chief.
Accordingly, the Act of 1786 was enacted to make both the provisions.
Charter Act of 1793
- It extended the overriding power given to Lord Cornwallis
over his council, to all future Governor-Generals and
Governors of Presidencies. - It gave the Governor-General more powers and control over
the governments of the subordinate Presidencies of Bombay
and Madras. - It extended the trade monopoly of the Company in India for
another period of twenty years. - It provided that the Commander-in-Chief was not to be a
member of the Governor-General’s council, unless he was
so appointed. - It laid down that the members of the Board of Control and their staff were, henceforth, to be paid out of the Indian revenues.
Charter act of 1813
- It abolished the trade monopoly of the company in India i.e.,
the Indian trade was thrown open to all British merchants.
However, it continued the monopoly of the company over
trade in tea and trade with China. - It asserted the sovereignty of the British Crown over the
Company’s territories in India. - It allowed the Christian missionaries to come to India for the
purpose of enlightening the people.
Charter act of 1833
- It made the Governor-General of Bengal as the Governor-
General of India and vested in him all civil and military
powers. Thus, the act created, for the first time, Government
of India having authority over the entire territorial area
possessed by the British in India. Lord William Bentick was
the first Governor-General of India. - It 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. The
laws made under the previous acts were called as
Regulations, while laws made under this act were called as
Acts. - It ended the activities of the East India Company as a
commercial body, which became a purely administrative
body. It provided that the Company’s territories in India were
held by it ‘in trust for His Majesty, His heirs and successors’. - The Charter Act of 1833 attempted to introduce a system of
open competition for selection of civil servants and stated
that the Indians should not be debarred from holding any
place, office and employment under the Company. However,
this provision was negated after opposition from the Court of
Directors.
Charter act of 1853
This was the last of the series of Charter Acts passed by the
British Parliament between 1793 and 1853. It was a significant
constitutional landmark.
- It separated, for the first time, the legislative and executive
functions of the Governor-General’s council. It provided for
addition of six new members called legislative councillors to
the council. In other words, it established a separate
Governor-General’s legislative council which came to be
known as the Indian (Central) Legislative Council. This
legislative wing of the council functioned as a mini-Parliament, adopting the same procedures as the British
Parliament. Thus, legislation, for the first time, was treated
as a special function of the government, requiring special
machinery and special process. - It introduced an open competition system of selection and
recruitment of civil servants. The covenanted civil services
was, thus, thrown open to the Indians also. Accordingly, the
Macaulay Committee (the Committee on the Indian Civil
Service) was appointed in 1854. - It extended the Company’s rule and allowed it to retain the
possession of Indian territories on trust for the British Crown.
But, it did not specify any particular period, unlike the
previous Charters. This was a clear indication that the
Company’s rule could be terminated at any time the Parliament liked. - It introduced, for the first time, local representation in the Indian (Central) Legislative Council. Of the six new legislative members of the GovernorGeneral’s council, four members were appointed by the local (provincial) governments of Madras, Bombay, Bengal and Agra.
COMPANY RULE 1773-1858
During this time the British Parliament passed several laws to regulate the actions of East India company in India.
