History Project
Regulating Act Of 1773
hus, it became necessary to bring uniformity in the
administration of these three towns.
These all circumstances forced the British government to pass the
Regulating Act of 1773 in order to regulate the affairs of British
East India Company.
And, accordingly, Lord North (Prime Minister of England at that
time) decided to revamp the affairs of the East India Company
with the Regulating Act. And, so in May 1773 Lord North
presented a bill in the British Parliament which when passed was
known as ‘Regulating Act of 1773 ‘. An interesting point to note
here is that by this act the, British Parliament only ‘regulated’ the
affairs of the company but, didn’t take all power completely to
itself.
The Aim of the Act
The basic objectives of implementing the Regulating Act of 1773
are listed below.
To control and regulate the affairs of East India Company
To remove the political power from the hands of the
Trading Company
To recognize the political and administrative power of the
Company
To provide new administrative reforms which were to
provide a Central Administration System
To improve the despotic state of affairs (situation) of the
company
To sort out the chaos created by the introduction of the
system of dual government
To bring anti-corruption practices via the medium of the
act by prohibiting the servants of the company, from
engaging in any form of private trade and from accepting
bribes, gifts, and presents from the people
Key Provisions of the Act (Major features)
This was the first step taken by the British Parliament to
interfere in the administration of the company, directly.
The key features of the have described in the following
paragraphs.
Introduction of the office of the Governor-General
of Bengal
The office of the Governor of Bengal was redesignated as the
Office of the Governor of the Presidency of Fort William, also
known as Governor-General of Bengal. Lord Warren Hastings was
the first person to hold this designation.
Creation of Executive Council to Assist the
Governor-General
Also, the Executive Council of four members was created to assist
the Governor-General.
Governors of Bombay and Madras presidencies
subordinate to the Governor-general of Bengal
The Governors of Bombay and Madras were made subordinate to
the Governor General of Bengal, thereby making the Governor
General of Bengal as the ultimate authority.
Establishment of the Supreme Court at Judicature
at Fort William
In the year 1774, Supreme Court of Judicature at Fort William was
established at Calcutta with one Chief Justice and three other
judges. The jurisdiction of this court extended to all areas lying
under the Bombay, Madras and Bengal Presidency. It was a Court
of Record and its power extended to try both Civil, Criminal cases
(only over the British subjects not on natives) as well as it had
jurisdiction over admiralty cases. Judges were to come from
England. The first Chief Justice of the court was Sir Elijah Impey.
Reforms to curb corruptions
This act brought prohibition on the servants of the company from
engaging in any private trade or accepting bribes and gift from the
local people.
The directors of the company were to be elected for a
period of five years and one-fourth of them used to retire
every year. There was no procedure for re-election
available.
The Contribution of the Act to Indian Legal History
(Impacts)
1. This enactment is considered to be a landmark enactment
as it brought a lot of dynamic and significant changes in
the structure of judiciary in the country.
2. The act brought changes some important changes in the
Constitution of Court of Directors (COD)
3. For the first time, the political and administrative
functions of the company were recognized.
4. This act also laid down the foundation of the Central
Administration in the country.
5. This act created for the first time the Supreme Court at
Calcutta thereby, making a proper judicial system and
Judiciary got regulated to an extent and for the first time
learned judges from England was made part of the
Supreme Court in India.
Drawbacks of the Act
Though the act is considered to be a very significant one in the
Indian legal history, still there was a lacuna left behind as the act
failed to resolve the issues prevailing at that time in the legal
system. The major drawbacks of the Act are listed below.
1. The situation was a paradoxical situation for the
Governor-General had no veto power and the Governor-
General was made answerable to the Directors and was
held responsible for all the acts related to the
administration in India. But, the Governor-General had no
free hand to give an independent decision as he was bound
by the decision of the majority decision of the council.
Because of this situation, the council used the Governor-
General as the puppet to make their decision.
2. Though the Governors were subordinate to the GG in
actual practice, led to the ultimate power in the hands of
the Governor and his subordinates resulting in widespread
corruption and weakening of the administration at lower
levels.
3. There was a lot of confusion regarding the powers and
jurisdiction of the Supreme Court. Also, there was
ambiguity between the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court
and that of the Council of the Governor-General. Also, the
Act failed to address the concerns of the Indian natives
who were the actual sufferers.
Bibliography
V.D.Kulshrestha, “Landmarks in Indian Legal and Constitutional
History” 8th edition in 2005.
Wolpert, Stanley (2009). A New History of India (8th ed.)
