`

CHANAKYA NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY A Project On

WARREN HASTINGS PLAN OF 1772 & 1774

SUBMITTED TO: - Dr. Priya Darshini FACULTY: - History - II

Made By: Nidhi Navneet 1st year (2nd semester) ROLL No.570 B.A.LL.B. (Hons)

Warren Hastings Plan of 1772 & 1774

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I am feeling highly elated to work on the topic Warren Hastings Plan of 1772 And 1774 under the guidance of my HISTORY teacher. I am very grateful to her for her exemplary guidance. I would like to enlighten my readers regarding this topic and I hope I have tried my best to pave the way for bringing more luminosity to this topic.

I also want to thank all of my friends, without whose cooperation this project was not possible. Apart from all these, I want to give special thanks to the librarian of my university who made every relevant materials regarding to my topic available to me at the time of my busy research work and gave me assistance. And at last I am very much obliged to the God who provided me the potential for the rigorous research work.

At finally yet importantly I would like to thank my parents for the financial support.

-----------Thanking you Nidhi Navneet C.N.L.U.

Warren Hastings Plan of 1772 & 1774

Contents
INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................... 4 WARREN HASTING ......................................................................................................................... 7 1. Administrative Reforms: ............................................................. 8 2. Revenue Reforms: ....................................................................... 8 3. Economic Reforms: .................................................................... 9 4. Judicial Reforms: ........................................................................ 9 Impeachment Of Warren Hastings .............................................. 10
BACKGROUND TO JUDICIAL ADMINISTRATION IN INDIA ................................................ 11

1. Courts in Bengal under the Mughals ........................................ 11 2. Origination of a legal vacuum .................................................. 11 3. Grant of Diwani ........................................................................ 12 4. The Company as Diwan ............................................................ 13 THE DUAL GOVERNMENT OF BENGAL ........................................................................ 14 Effects Of The Dual Government ............................................... 16 1. Merits of the Dual Government: ............................................... 16 2. Demerits of the Dual Government: ........................................... 17 THE JUDICIAL PLANS ................................................................................................................. 19 Plan of 1772................................................................................. 19

Warren Hastings Plan of 1772 & 1774

Plan of 1774................................................................................. 23 DEFECTS OF THESE PLANS ...................................................................................................25 Defects of plan of 1772 ............................................................... 25 Defects of plan of 1774 ............................................................... 26 CONSEQUENCES OF THESE PLANS .................................................................................27 CONCLUSION .................................................................................................................................. 29 BIBLIOGRAPHY ................................................................................................................................32

Warren Hastings Plan of 1772 & 1774

INTRODUCTION
The modern legal system prevalent in India owes its origin to the British rule which ensued after the East India Company obtained political authority over Bengal, Bihar and Orissa in 1765. It established its judicial machinery and procedure first in Bengal presidency and then extended it to other parts which were annexed to British jurisdiction. Till then, though their factories at Calcutta, Madras and Bombay were legally part of the dominion of the Mughal emperor, the judicature of the company was independent of the native authorities and it was limited only to the limits of the trading factories and its employees. The development of Indian judicial system started with the enactment of British charters time to time with each charter advancing and modifying the previous one. By the charter of 1726, a mayor court was established in all the three presidencies, each consisting of a mayor and nine aldermen. These courts were called the courts of record having authority to try, hear, and determine all civil suits, actions, and pleas within their jurisdiction. Appeals against the decision of the mayor court were made to the government Court of Records constituted by the Governor and Council of each of the three presidencies. But this too had some defects and thus was not proved sufficient. From the constitution and the procedure of the courts, it was therefore clear that the courts primarily concerned the British and the final authority in that judicial system lay with the British Crown. In 1753, it was proclaimed that the suits involving natives were not to be entertained by them. The company did not claim any jurisdiction, at that time, over the natives living even within

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their presidencies. This policy of keeping the company aloof of political sovereignty over the natives continued to be the touch stone of the company up to 1772. The legal sovereignty over the natives continued to be claimed and facade of judicature maintained by Nawab. The company obtained Diwani from Shah Alam in 1765 and thus, the revenue matters came under the purview of the company. It led to the establishment of the infamous Dual government. There was a multiplicity of judicial authorities. In Calcutta, itself there existed five authorities i.e. The Nawabs court, the Diwani, the Fauzdari court, the Mohtesil and the Kotwal. In rural areas, Zamindars exercised their jurisdiction. The competency of the courts depended only on authority which had, in fact been misappropriated by the British and their agents as in the Diwani affairs. The company directors were forced to bring an end to this system of dual government and thus in 1772, Warren Hastings was directed to take over the administration in his own hands. WARREN HASTINGS (1732-1818), the first governor-general of British India, was born on the 6th of December 1732 in the little hamlet of Churchill in Oxfordshire. In 1758, Hastings was made the British resident in the Bengal, at the instigation of Robert Clive1, as a writer. After the retirement of Cartier, he was appointed the governor of Bengal in 1772. After the passing of the Regulating Act, he became the Governor General of Bengal. He became the first and the most famous of the British Governor Generals of India, who dominated Indian affairs from 1772 to 1785 and was impeached (though acquitted), on his return to England.

Robert, Lord Clive, Baron of Plassey. Clive of India. (1725-74). English general and colonial administrator.
1

Warren Hastings Plan of 1772 & 1774

When Warren Hastings took up office as governor of Bengal, he had to face many difficulties. There was chaos in the country. The Dual Government had caused confusion and disorder in the state. There was no satisfactory arrangement for the collection of revenue and the revenue income was irregular. Besides these, the Marathas became powerful under Peshwa Madhav Rao and became a threat to the Company. And in Deccan, Hyder Ali rose to power and became a formidable rival to the English. However, Warren Hastings was very successful in tackling all these problems. He established sound procedures for administering justice and collecting revenues during a difficult time of transition. He gave the plan of 1772 and 1774 which marked the beginnings of Adalat System and Supreme Court in India.

Warren Hastings Plan of 1772 & 1774

WARREN HASTING
Warren Hastings joined the English East India Company as a writer at the age of 18. Later on he was appointed as the resident of Kassim Bazar where he showed that he was a man of parts. When the place was captured by Siraj-ud-Daula, he was captured but he managed to escape. In 1761, he was made a member of the Calcutta Council. He went home for a few years and came back as a member of the Madras council. After the retirement of Cartier, he was appointed the governor of Bengal in 1772. After the passing of the Regulating Act, he became the Governor General of Bengal. When Warren Hastings took up office as governor of Bengal, he had to face many difficulties. There was chaos in the country. There was practically no administration. The servants of the company were doing havoc to the people. While the company was getting nothing and its treasury was empty, its servants were making fortunes. There was no administration of justice worth the name. Everything required overhauling. The Dual Government had caused confusion and disorder in the state. There was no satisfactory arrangement for the collection of revenue and the revenue income was irregular. The treasury was empty and there was terrible famine in the country. The country was infested with robbers. In addition to these troubles, the Marathas were a source of danger. The Marathas became powerful under Peshwa Madhav Rao and became a threat to the Company. The emperor Shah Alam had left the protection of the British and gone to the Marathas. And in Deccan, Hyder Ali rose to power and became a formidable rival to the English. Warren Hastings had to meet all these

Warren Hastings Plan of 1772 & 1774

difficulties.2 However, Warren Hastings was very successful in tackling all these problems. Warren Hastings carried out a large number of reforms and those of maybe discuss under four hands, viz., administrative, revenue, economic and judicial.
1. Administrative Reforms:

Warren Hastings put an end to the dual system of government in Bengal which was established by Robert Clive in 1765. The Company took over the responsibility of administration of the province and started to collect the revenue through the agency of its own servants. Mohammad Reza Khan and Raja Sitab Rai, who were the Deputy Nawabs of Bengal and Bihar, were removed from their offices. The treasury was shifted from Murshidabad to Calcutta and it became the seat of government.
2. Revenue Reforms:

Although the Company had got the Diwani of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa in 1765, the work of collection of land revenue had been left in the hands of Amils. Warren Hastings decided that the Company must directly collect the revenue. Consequently, he appointed collectors for revenue collection and administration, who were to be helped by native officers. Settlement was made for five years with the highest bidders. To supervise the whole organization, a Board of Revenue was established at Calcutta. This revenue system was found to be defective and consequently in 1777 the old system of bidding for a year was resorted to. He made the account of revenue simple and intelligible and made many provisions for the protections of Ryots.

Excerpt taken from Modern Indian History by V D Mahajan, 7th edition, 2003, S. Chand publishing company.

Warren Hastings Plan of 1772 & 1774

3. Economic Reforms:

Warren Hastings prohibited the use of Dastaks by the servants of the Company and thereby added to the revenues of the Company. He abolished a large number of custom houses or Chowkies as they were hampering the growth of trade in the country. He reduced the duties on all goods except salt, betel nut and tobacco. He reduced the allowance of the Nawab of Bengal from 26 lakhs of rupees to 16 lakhs of rupees. He also took over district of Kora and Allahabad from the Mughal emperor and sold them to the Nawab Wazir of Oudh for rupees 50 lakhs. He also obtained a large sum of money from the Nawab of Oudh for helping him against the Rohilas.
4. Judicial Reforms:

Warren Hastings carried out a large numbers of reforms in the judicial sphere. In 1772, he established Diwani Adalat (Civil Court) and a Faujdari Adalat (Criminal Court) in each districts. The Diwani Adalat was presided over by the English collector and Faujdari Adalat was presided over by Indian officers Qazis and Muftis. Two courts of appeal were established at Calcutta. They are the Sadar Diwani Adalat (the Supreme of Civil Court) and the Sadar Nizamat Adalat (the Supreme Criminal Court) which heard appeals from the Diwani Adalat and Faujdari Adalat respectively. He also compiled a simple code about the personal laws of Hindus and Muslims. Warren hastings strengthened the British power in India. The treaty of Banaras (1773) and the treaty of Faizabad increased the influence of the English on the state of Avadh. The Nawab virtually became a dependant ally of the British. The first Maratha war was not a decisive war, yet it exposed the internal weakness of the Marathas. The second Mysore war also did not

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determine the fate of Mysore but certainly enhanced the prestige of the English arms. Besides these wars, Warren Hastings consolidated the British power by taking over the administration of Bengal under the direct charge of the Company and by introducing several reforms which laid down the foundation of British administrative structure in India.3
IMPEACHMENT OF WARREN HASTINGS

Warren hasting was quite successful in his reforms and in raising the prestige of the Company. His two wars against the two strong powers in India, however, put heavy financial burden on the company which forced him to engage himself in certain illegitimate actions to gain money. He therefore was impeached by the British parliament after his return to Britain. He was charged with nearly twenty cases. Edmund Burke led this impeachment which began in 1788 and continued up to 1795. He was finally acquitted of all charges. Yet, there is no doubt that, in certain cases, he had acted unjustly. A few important cases for which he was impeached and which created serious doubts about his character and legitimacy of his means to achieve his aim were as follows:4 The Rohilla War The case of Raja Nand Kumar The case of Chait Singh, Raja of Banaras The case of the Begums of Avadh. Warren Hastings was a versatile genius. He has a limitless energy and strong determination. In spite of their difficulties which he had to encounter in the country he was able to accomplish a lot.
3

Landmarks in Indian Legal and constitutional History by V D Kulshreshtha, revised by B M Gandhi, 8th edition, eastern book company, Lucknow. 4 Excerpt from History of Modern India by L P Sharma, 2nd revised and enlarged edition, Konark publishers Pvt. Ltd.

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BACKGROUND TO JUDICIAL ADMINISTRATION IN INDIA

1. Courts in Bengal under the Mughals
In the later Mughal period from 1750 onwards the Mughal Empire began to disintegrate. The provinces assumed independence under Subedar, Nawabs and the executive officers began to try cases themselves. In Bengal the courts which were administering civil and criminal justice, in the districts and at the provincial capital may be stated as follows: At the provincial headquarter three courts were established namely Nazim-e-Subah, Darogha-e-Adalat Diwani and Darogha-e-Adalat Aliah. The court of Nazim-e-Subah was the highest Court of the Province which dealt with all Criminal appeals from District Courts. The court of Darogha-e-Adalat Diwani heard all the local civil suits and appeals from the district civil courts. The court of Darogha-e-Adalat Aliah disposed of all the revenue work on behalf of the diwan. In each District, courts were established to hear civil and criminal cases but there were too many courts assigned with different functions which caused difficulties to the common mass. To dispose of civil litigation, three courts were established, namely, Qazi, Zamindar and Qanungo. Apart from this, there were four criminal courts namely, Faujdar, Zamindar, Qazi and Kotwal. From all these courts appeal was allowed to the court of Nazim-eSubah.

2. Origination of a legal vacuum

According to Kapoor5, the Mughals had an elaborate governmental machinery and had evolved civil and criminal laws to govern their subjects. But unlike the modern times, there was no specific law to govern foreigners.
5

A.C. Kapoor : Constitutional History of India, Edn. 2 nd, 1976, Ch.1.

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Also, the Mughal government had no interest towards it and thus, in respect of inter se affairs of foreigners in these settlements, a legal vacuum were created, in which grew the legal and political authority of the foreign governments. This lacuna and weakness of the Mughals in their administration proved fatal and they became an easy prey to the foreigners. There were many defects in the judicial system. The Zamindars were empowered to try both civil and criminal cases and thus became a very powerful person. James Mill had remarked the functions and pointed out the extensive powers of Zamindar.6 In the districts the peasants were deprived from justice even according to the local customary law. Also, the Judges and the Servants of government were found to be corrupt, increasing the
India during Warren Hastings.

defective state of local system. The courts became the instrument of power instead of justice. To tackle all these problems and to remove corruption7 from the administration of justice, Warren Hastings was transferred from Madras to the Governorship of Bengal in 1772. He first of all paid his attention to remove all those evils which were the greatest obstacles in the proper collection of the revenues of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa.

3. Grant of Diwani
With the Battle of Plassey in 1757, the real authority of the Nawabs of Bengal passed to the English company.8 Further, the Battle of Buxar, the emperor of India got defeated which had far reaching political consequences to British power in India. The court of Proprietors of company in England sent
6 7

James Mill, The History of British India, Vol. III, p.467. Rama Jois: Legal & Constitutional History of India, Ch. 4, pp.142,143. 8 Thornton, History of British India, Vol. I, pp. 410-20.

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Clive to India who reached on May 3, 1765. Clives first achievement was that he entered into a treaty and prevailed upon the Mughal emperor Shah Alam to confer momentous power upon the East India Company and thus the emperor in August 1765 granted the Diwani of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa to the company.

4. The Company as Diwan

Clive left India in 1767. The working of Clives policy of diarchy in Bengal created anarchy. Nobody was taking responsibility for the conduct of the government and the deteriorating conditions of the natives. The Directors of the Company suspected and blamed Indian Officers for the evils. In 1771, therefore, the company changed its policy and the directors declared their resolution to stand forth as Diwan and by the agency of the companys servants to take upon themselves the entire care and management of revenues.9 In order to implement this changed policy and achieve their aim, the Directors transferred Warren Hastings from madras to the governorship of Bengal in 1772. The main object of the Company was to bring under the direct control of the Companys servants the revenue collections and civil justice in order to save both the riots and the government from hardships caused due to the existence of the intermediaries.

General letter of the Court of Directors to Bengal dated August 28, 1771.

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THE DUAL GOVERNMENT OF BENGAL

Following the Treaty of Allahabad (1765), Robert Clive set up the infamous dual system of administration in Bengal wherein the Company acquired the real power, while the responsibility of administration rested on the Nawab of Bengal. The Nawab or Subedar of Bengal, as Viceroy of the Mughal Emperor, exercised two functions namely the Diwani and the Nizamat. The Diwani was concerned with revenue and civil justice and the Nizamat with military power and criminal justice. The Nawab granted practically the Nizamat to the Company in 1765. The Mughal Emperor Shah Alam granted Diwani to the English Company in August 1765. Thus the Company held Diwani from the Emperor and the Nizamat from the Subedar. The difficulty was created by the fact that the servants of the Company did not undertake duties as Diwan or Nizam in their own person. Hence, it appointed two deputy diwans for exercising diwani functionsMohammad Reza Khan for Bengal and Raja Sitah Roy for Bihar. Mohammad Reza Khan also functioned as deputy nizam. In this way, the whole administration of Bengal was exercised through Indian agency, although the actual authority rested with the Company. In 1769, English supervisors were appointed to control the native revenue officers, but they made confusion worse confounded and corruption also increased. The system proved ruinous to the country. No one felt the responsibility for the welfare of the people. The Indian officials who had administrative responsibility had no effective power to enforce their decisions. They were helpless in the face of companys servants whom they regarded as

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their real masters. They could not therefore, afford to take any punitive action against Companys servants even when they committed breaches of peace or indulged in acts of injustice or oppression. The Companys servant interfered with the judicature and the government of the company with impunity.10 The Nawab was merely a puppet in the hands of the British. The Nawab was their creature and depended upon them for his very existence. Lord Clive could have abolished his office and had assumed control of the Government directly. The great disadvantage of the scheme was that it separated power from responsibility. The British were given control over the province but they did not feel any responsibility for its administration and could not be held responsible for anything done badly. The weakness of the system became clear in 1770 when a severe famine broke out in Bengal. The servants of the Company did not feel any duty towards the people who were left to die in thousands. Formally, the abolition of the dual government did nothing more than that the Company was to collect its revenues through the agency of its own servants. In reality it meant becoming responsible for the whole of civil administration. The first step towards abolition was the abolition of the offices of the Naib Diwans of Bengal and Bihar and the persecution of Mohammad Razqa Khan and Raja Shitab Rai for peculation. After a long trial, both of them were acquitted. Although Warren Hastings was opposed to it, it served its purpose. The dual system of Government set up by Clive was abolished by Warren Hastings. It was not intended to last forever. It was merely a stop-gap arrangement with a view to tide over the difficulties confronting the English in 1765.
10

Details in VII Report (1772).

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EFFECTS OF THE DUAL GOVERNMENT

On analyzing the results of the Dual Government in Bengal it can be visualized that it was beneficial for company's administration in Bengal under the prevailing circumstances and injurious to the people of Bengal who were administrated by such system. 1. Merits of the Dual Government: Clive showed his sagacity by following the policy of decentralization in the matter of Company's administration in Bengal. By this policy he could safely avert possible combined attack from the side of the Indian princes. Also, by the dual system of Government in Bengal Clive could save the company from the jealousy of the other European powers like the French, the Dutch and the Portuguese. These European powers would have withdrawn their payment of tariff to the servants of the Company on the event of Clive's occupation of Bengal. Clive was wise enough not to take upon the administration of Bengal directly. He knew well that the servants of the company were not conversant with the languages, customs, traditions and laws prevailing among the people of Bengal. They would have cut a very sorry figure had they been entrusted with the administration of Bengal in the event of Clive's occupation of the state. Both the Board of Directors and the British Parliament were not in favour of direct administration in Bengal. Clive did not like to insure displeasure of the home authority by taking over the administration of Bengal directly. By establishing Dual Government in Bengal Clive showed his honour to the Board of Directors on the one hand and saved the Company from the wrath of British parliament on the other. The English Company got power and pelf by this system of Government by successfully keeping themselves away from the

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hazards of administration. For every omission and commission in the Government the Nawab of Bengal was to Bengal held responsible. The dual government system held a great advantage for the Britishthey had power without responsibility. The Nawab and his officials were responsible for administration, but they had no power to discharge it. 2. Demerits of the Dual Government: The Dual Government of Clive has been criticized in various ways. It led to disastrous results. The administration in Bengal almost collapsed. Power was divorced from the responsibility. The British were in possession of power and money where as the Nawab had neither power nor money. He had only the responsibility of running the administration. The company tried to improve its own lot by the revenue it collected from Bengal, Bihar and Orissa. The Nawab could not do any work of public utility due to paucity of fund. The Nawab also had no power to enforce law. As a result lawlessness prevailed in most parts of Bengal. The common people had to suffer a lot due to want of justice. The condition of agriculture in Bengal gradually deteriorated under the Dual Government of Clive. As they had no power, they could not make any provision like irrigation for the development of agriculture in Bengal. The great famine of 1770 was an indirect outcome of the above difficulties. The poor administration in Bengal led to rapid increase of private trade. The servants of the East India Company carried on trade and commerce privately without paying any tax. But on the other hand the merchants of Bengal suffered a lot, because they were over burdened with tax. The Dual Government of Clive was further responsible for the downfall of local industries. The company's people forced the local weavers to

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work exclusively for the company. The judges of the Nawab were influenced by British authority, because the latter played vital role in their appointment. Thus, the judges failed to give impartial verdict which was detrimental to the interest of the public. Thus, the Dual Government of Clive proved to Bengal a failure. It gave rise to several complicacies in the administration of Bengal. The absence of

responsibility on the part of the company led to abuses of power and corruption.
Hastings in the late 18th century, as painted by Lemuel Francis Abbott.

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THE JUDICIAL PLANS

Plan of 1772
The Judicial Plan of 1772 as been formulated by Warren Hasting consisted of 37 regulations dealing with civil and criminal laws. It was the first Anglo-Indian Code, which worked out on the basis of experience and common observations. An endeavour was made to adopt it to the manners and understandings of the people and exigencies of the country, adhering as closely as possible to their ancient usages and institutions. The idea was to retain, as far as possible, the native magistracy and codes of law, recorded and oral, to which the people had become accustomed. The plan aimed at correcting the defects without destroying the traditions of the local systems. Thus this plan divided the territory of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa into number of Districts. In each District an English servant of the company was appointed as collector who was to be responsible for the collection of land revenue. The main features of Judicial Plan of 1772 may be explained under the following headings. For management of civil justice, the following courts were established: Establishment of Mofussil Diwani Adalat: As per Warren Hastings plan a Mofussil Diwani Adalat was established in every district with collector as the Judge. The court was authorized to decide all civil cases like disputes regarding properties, inheritance, marriage, caste, debts, disputed accounts, contracts, partnerships and demands of rent. Where ever possible religious laws of Muslim as well as Hindus were followed and applied, e.g. Caste, marriage, inheritance etc. As English servant who was appointed as Collector did not

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understand the religious laws, Kazis and Pundits were appointed to help him. The decisions of the Mofussil Diwani Adalat in cases up to Rs.500 were final. Establishment of Small Cause Adalat: As name says, this Adalat decided petty cases up to Rs. 10 .The Head farmer of the Pergunnah became the judge. This system was designed to save the traveling expenses of poor farmers, as they did not need to travel to the district place for justice.11 For administration of Criminal Justice, the following courts were established: Establishment of Mofussil Fozdari Adalat: In every district a mofussil nizamat or fozdari adalat was established to try all criminal cases. The adalat consisted of the Muslim kazi, mufti and moulvies. The moulvies interpreted the Muslim law of crimes. The Kazi and Mufti gave fatwa and render judgment. In this adalat collector exercise general supervision over the Adalat, and saw that no corruption was made in the case. The judgment was given impartially. This Fozdari adalat was not allowed to handle cases where punishment was death sentence or forfeiture of property of the accused. Such cases went to Sadar Nizamat Adalat for final orders.12 Establishment of Sadar Adalats: Firstly two courts were established namely Mofussil Diwani Adalat and Mofussil Fozdari Adalat over them 2 superior courts were established namely Sadar Diwani Adalat and Sadar Nizamat Adalat. The sadar diwani adalat was consisted of Governor and members of the council and was to hear appeals from the mofussil diwani adalat in the cases over 500 Rs. The first sitting of the Sadar Diwani adalat was held on the 17th March, 1773. On each appeal fee of 5 percent was charged. The appeals were

11 12

Dr. N.V. Paranjape, Indian Legal & Constitutional History, 5th Edn., Central Law Agency Prof. J.K. Mittal, Indian Legal & Constitutional History, 1st Edn., Allahabad Law Agency, P. 37

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to be filed in the Adalat within 2 months from the date of the judgment, decree given by the Mofussil Adalat. Establishment of Sadar Nizamat Adalat: Sadar Nizamat Adalat consisted of an Indian judge known as Daroga-i-adalat who was to be assisted by the chief Kazi, chief mufti and 3 moulvies. Nawab appointed all these persons as per the advice of Governor. In case of death sentence, punishment death warrant was made by the Adalat and signed by the Nawab as the Head of Nizamat. The governor and council supervised this adalat to control and reduce the corruption. All cases were heard in the open court. All courts were ordered to maintain registers and records. Any case older than 12 years was not accepted. District courts forwarded their records to the Sadar adalat.13 In civil cases when Plaintiff filed a case, defendant accused person was given only limited time to give answer and then examine the witness and give the decree, pass the final orders. The plan tried to reduce the expenses of people. With this plan law officers like kazis, muftis were given salaries. Before this plan Judge charged the commission but this new plan abolished this law and introduced the Court fee system where fees went to Government. After this plan and establishment of Courts for common Indians it became easy to approach the Judiciary. Warren Hastings was very intelligent person; he purposefully did not take the full charge of Criminal justice system and kept the puppet Nizam alive. He did not change the forms and when possible tried to show case that company respected the Nizam. Like Nizam got the power to sign the death sentence. The other clever intelligent system Warren Hastings kept alive was that following Hindu laws for Hindus and Muslim laws for the Muslims. In this plan collector got the many powers, collector was the administrator, tax
13

Ibid.

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collector, civil judge and supervisor over the criminal courts. With this collectors got the unlimited powers and Warren Hastings knew this that collectors will become corrupt and he already told the company directors about this defect of this plan. The directors of the company understood the fear and reality of this plan. In the year 1773, Company directed the Calcutta council to withdraw the collectors as they became very corrupt. After this Calcutta Government introduced new plan for the collection of revenue and administration of Justice on November 23, 1773 and put it into force in the year 1774. Miscellaneous Provisions: A few provisions were made to promote pure and impartial justice. All cases were to be heard in open court. All adalats were to maintain proper registers and records. District adalats were to transmit abstracts of their records to Sadar Adalats. This precaution was necessary so as to discourage judicial officers from misusing their power. To make justice inexpensive, the old vexatious impositions on administration of justice were abolished and moderate fees were prescribed for trial of civil cases which was bound to give relief to people. To supplement the work of the courts, the method of arbitration was also provided for. The plan of 1772 was in many respects a boon to the people at that time. The change in judicial system brought back the confidence of the people in the government and the justice. However, a grave defect in the plan was that the Collector acted as the administrator; the Judge and the Magistrate in the district i.e. there was over-centralisation of powers in a single official.14

14

Supra 11.

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Plan of 1774
The abolition of the institution of Collector in 1773 on the advice of the Court of Directors of the Company in England up-set the judicial arrangement of 1772 and a new Plan became an urgent need of the time. Warren Hastings prepared new Plan on November 23, 1773 which was implemented in January 1774.15 The various changes made in regard to revenue, civil justice, criminal reforms are as follows: Revenue: Collectors were re-called from the districts and in their place an Indian officer, called Diwan or Amil, was appointed. He was to act as a judge of the Mofussil Diwani Adalat and collected the land revenue also. The entire Mofussil area in Bengal, Bihar and Orissa was divided into six divisions with the Headquarters as Calcutta, Burdwan, Murshidabad, Dinajpore, Dacca and Patna.16 Each division had a Provincial Council consisting of a Chief and four senior servants of the Company. A Committee of Revenue was instituted at Calcutta for superintending that Division, consisting of two members of the Council and three senior servants, assisted by a Diwan and others. The Councils and the Committee were to supervise the collection of revenue in their Divisions. Indian Naib Diwans were appointed in the districts under each Provincial Council to look after the same work. Complaints against the Head Farmers, Naib Diwans, Zamindars and other principal officers of the government, relating to their conduct in the revenue, were to be decided by the Provincial Councils. Aggrieved parties might ultimately go to the Board of Revenue at Calcutta. Civil Justice: The provisions relating to appeals in civil cases were also considerably liberalised under the plan of 1774. Now all cases decided by the
15

M.P Singh, Outlines of Indian Legal & Constitutional History, 7th Edn., Universal Law Publishing Co. Pvt. Ltd. 16 M.P. Jain, Outlines of Indian Legal History, 6th Edn., Wadhwa and Company Nagpur, P. 65

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Mofussil Diwani Adalats were appealable to the Provincial Council irrespective of the value of the subject matter of the suit. There was also a provision for second appeal to the Sadar Diwani Adalat in cases exceeding the value of Rs. 1000.17 Criminal Reforms: The Officers of the Faujdari Adalats were forbidden to hold farms or other offices in the Mofussil and were obliged to reside in their districts on pain of forfeiting their employments. Complaints against them were to be lodged with the Governor-General who would refer them to the Sadar Nizamat Adalat for inquiry and determination. Although the new system was an improvement over the earlier one, the change did not give good results for long. The Council took the place of the Collector in creating the difficulties and monopolising the trade within its jurisdiction. This time also Warren Hastings new that the Provisional council will do the more harm and more corruption than the Collectors. Warren Hastings thought this plan as a temporary plan but Regulating act was passed in this time and Warren Hasting could not change the plan until year 1780. Warren Hastings detected this defect very soon but he could not make any change till 1780 when entirely a new modified system was established.

17

Adalat System in India available at www.findarticles.com.

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DEFECTS OF THESE PLANS

Defects of plan of 1772
One of the major defects of the Plan was that there was overcentralization of powers in a single official, namely, the Collector. He was overburdened with heavy work as he was singularly required to shoulder the responsibility as an administrator, revenue collector, civil judge and a magistrate in his District. The Judicial Plan had a limited application only in the territory of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa. It was based on an erroneous assumption of Hastings that Indian population consisted of only the Hindus and Muslims. There were other communities and races for which there was no provision made in the Judicial Plan.18 Though the functioning of Adalats was under the supervision and control of the Sadar Adalat at Calcutta, but in absence of adequate means of communications it was almost impossible for the government at Calcutta to keep a constant watch on the working of the Collectors of the districts. In absence of an effective control, the Collectors indulged in private trading and misused their position and power for personal gains. The judges of the courts being Englishmen, they did not have knowledge of personal laws of Hindus and Muslims. Though native laws officers were appointed to assist the English judges, but they could easily misguide the judges by deliberately misinterpreting the provisions of the Quran and Shastras. The functions of revenue collection and civil administration were combined in a single official, the Collector. Therefore there was no separation between revenue collection and civil administration. Obviously, the Collector paid more attention to revenue collection than the civil administration.
18

Supra 15.

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Defects of plan of 1774

The defects of the system set up in 1774 were seen in the Patna Case19, which is concerned with the conflict between the jurisdiction of Supreme Court and function of adalat in mofussil areas. As it was in practice those days, the Mofussil Adalat as well as the Provincial Council employed services of Kazis and Maulabis to interpret the Muslim law. The judicial commission arrived at a decision after taking into account the consultation of the Maulabis and Kazis. Thus it became a practice to neglect judicial work. In this case, the Maulwis and Kazis were given the power to take the evidence of the case and arrive to a decision. No established law was followed while taking the evidence and the Provincial Council passed a judgement based on the evidence collected by irregular procedure. The Supreme Court held that the Provincial Council did not delegate its judicial decisions according to the procedures held by the Supreme Court. Thus an order was passed by the Supreme Court to send the wrong-doers to jail. The decisions of the Supreme Court were criticized to a large extent. Following this, the work in Mofussil Adalat came to a halt because no officers in this adalat were ready to take up judicial work as they will have to go to jail. The work of revenue collection also suffered because most of the revenue officers left their jobs. The defect when came to the knowledge of Warren Hastings, could not continue any longer and he remedied it by giving a new judicial plan promulgated on 11 April 1780.20

19

20

Prof. M.P.Jain, Outlines of Indian Legal &Constitutional History, 6th Edn., P.77 http:/www.legalservicesindia.com/...of...of-warren-hastings-252-1.html.

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CONSEQUENCES OF THESE PLANS

Judicial Plan of 1780: Warren Hastings knew that the judicial plan of 1774 was not perfect, and when Warren Hastings again got the chance, he made changes to the judicial plan of 1774, On April 11, 1780 new plan was introduced. As per the plan of 1780 judicial and executive functions were separated. Adalats: The functions were confined to do civil justice and no revenue works were to be done by them. Provincial Council: No judicial works were assigned to them and only revenue related work, collection and revenue cases were to come to them. But with this plan the problem was that, area was vast and Adalats were few to administer those large areas, because of this, cases were more, time was limited with the judges and thus arrears piled up in every adalat. The second problem was that witnesses have to travel lot to reach the adalats. There was only one Adalat in the whole of Bihar. Because of this people thought it is better not to file the cases in courts, as filing cases in court meant, delayed justice, physical harassment, waste of time and money. As per the judicial plan cases up to Rs.100 were referred to the person who stayed near the place of litigant ,but before this it was compulsory to file the case in the Adalat, and 2nd problem was that the person who work as judge has to work as a honorary judge and he did not get any salary. The Zamindar or public officer acted as an honorary judge and they charged money for this and also zamindar got the chance to do corruption as he became the honorary judge. Warren Hasting was not satisfied with the plan of 1780 he always thought about the improving judicial system in India. On 29th September 1780, Warren Hastings proposed in the Council that chief justice Sir Elijah Impey be

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requested to accept the charge of the office of the Sadar Diwani Adalat. Impey accepted this offer. He remained in Sadar Adalat for a year but he introduced, made lot of reforms in sadar adalat. Impey Drafted many regulations to reform the adalats. On November 3, 1780 first reform, regulation was passed to regulate the procedure of the diwani adalats. As per this rule , the Mofussil judge has to decide the facts , he was allow to take the help of Hindu Pundits or Muslim Mulla if it was necessary to understand the cause or case. Impey Compiled a civil procedure code for the guidance of the Sadar Adalat and Mofussil Diwani Adalats. It was the first code of civil procedure to be prepared in India. It was promulgated by the Council on July 5, 1781 in the form of a Regulation. It was the digest of the civil rules. The code consolidated at one place a detailed civil procedure. The code contained 95 clauses and with it all the previous regulations relating to civil procedure were repealed. The code of 1781 clearly defined the functions, powers and jurisdiction of Sadar Diwani Adalat. This code was translated in Persian and Bengali language that time. Regarding criminal justice system Warren Hasting took following steps. Machinery was created for the purpose of arresting criminals and bringing them before the fozdari adalat for the trial. This system never existed in India before this. A new department, office of the Remembrancer was created at Calcutta to keep watch on the functioning of criminal adalats. The department was to work under the Governor General. The head of the department was known as Remembrancer of criminal courts. All criminal courts were required to send periodical reports to this department. Everything was done as per the Muslim criminal law and Warren Hasting was not happy with many things, and wanted to reform them, he tried his best but company heads did not accept his views. Because of this in criminal justice system, everyone made money using the corrupt ways.

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CONCLUSION
The work of Warren Hastings has left a deep impact on the History of India. Though on one hand his contributions to the administration of justice are appreciable to some extent, but on the other hand the reforms made by him had its own flaws. Appreciating his contributions, the various reforms implemented by him justify that he was not only a capable administrator but also a great inventive genius. He adopted the method of trial and error in uprooting the evils of the existing judicial and executive systems and never hesitated even in taking bold steps to remove such evils. As the first Governor-General he proved himself as one of the most faithful servants of the English East India Company, who played a vital role in further strengthening the foundation, which was earlier laid down by Clive, for the future expansion of the British Empire in India. Now taking into account his flaws, one may notice that, certain areas like the constitution of criminal courts, the defects and severity of Muslim criminal law, the mode of trial and proceedings in the criminal courts, which mainly required vital reforms and special attention were left untouched by him. While on the other hand, he only touched the fringe of the whole problem of improving the criminal justice. But considering his limitations which arose due to his conflict with hostile Members of the Council, wavering support of the Companys Directors in England, antagonistic interests of political parties in England prejudicing his reputation, his failure to implement his ideas and plans in this regard, is justifiable.

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In physical appearance, Hastings "looked like a great man, and not like a bad man." The body was wholly subjugated to the mind. A frame naturally slight had been further attenuated by rigorous habits of temperance, and thus rendered proof against the diseases of the tropics. Against his private character not even calumny has breathed a reproach. As brother, as husband, and as friend, his affections were as steadfast as they were warm. By the public he was always regarded as reserved, but within his own inner circle he gave and received perfect confidence. In his dealings with money, he was characterized rather by liberality of expenditure than by carefulness of acquisition. A classical education and the instincts of family pride saved him from both the greed and the vulgar display which marked the typical "nabob," the self-made man of those days. He could support the position of a governorgeneral and of a country gentleman with equal credit. Hastings's public career will probably never cease to be a subject of controversy. It was his misfortune to be the scape-goat upon whose head Parliament laid the accumulated sins, real and imaginary, of the East India Company. If the acquisition of our Indian empire can be supported on ethical grounds, Hastings needs no defence. No one who reads his private correspondence will admit that even his least defensible acts were dictated by dishonourable motives. It is more pleasing to point out certain of his public measures upon which no difference of opinion can arise. He was the first to attempt to open a trade route with Thibet, and to organize a survey of Bengal and of the eastern seas. It was he who persuaded the pandits of Bengal to disclose the treasures of Sanskrit to European scholars. He founded the Madrasa or college for Mahometan education at Calcutta, primarily out of his own funds; and he projected the foundation of an Indian Institute in England. The Royal Asiatic Society was established under his auspices, though he yielded the post of president to Sir W. Jones. No Englishman ever understood

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the native character as well as Hastings; none ever devoted himself more heartily to the promotion of every scheme, great and small, that could advance the prosperity of India. Natives and Anglo-Indians alike venerate his name, the former as their first beneficent administrator, the latter as the most able and the most enlightened of their own class. If Clive's sword conquered the Indian empire, it was the brain of Hastings that planned the system of civil administration, and his genius that saved the empire in its darkest hour.21 Warren Hastings had actively participated in the judicial political development in India as because of his plans of judicial reforms in 1772, 1774 and 1780, paved the way for full fledged Adalat System in India and thus helped in advancing the Judicial administration in India to the next level. Although, his plans had some defects but they were most needed at that time when the judicial administration was going through a dark phase. Thus, it can be said that The plans of 1772 and 1774 were very important in the History of Judicial Administration in India.

21

Excerpt taken from the website http://www.indhistory.com/warren-hastings.html.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY
Books Referred:
1. Outlines of Indian Legal & Constitutional History by Prof. M P Jain, 6 th edition, 2006, Wadhwa publishing company, Nagpur. 2. Landmarks in Indian Legal and constitutional History by V D Kulshreshtha, revised by B M Gandhi, 8th edition, eastern book company, lucknow. 3. Modern Indian History by V D Mahajan, 7th edition, 2003, S. Chand publishing company. 4. History of Modern India by L P Sharma, 2nd revised and enlarged edition, Konark publishers Pvt. Ltd. 5. The Oxford History of India by the Late Vincent A. Smith, CIE, edited by Percival spear, 4th edition, Oxford university press. 6. Social, cultural and economic history of India by S.C. Raychoudhary, surjeet publication. 7. History of India, 1707-1857 by lakshmi Subramanian, orient blackswan publication. 8. History of modern India by Bipin Chandra, Orient Blackswan publication. 9. M.P Singh, Outlines of Indian Legal & Constitutional History, 7th Edn., Universal Law Publishing Co. Pvt. Ltd.

Websites Referred:
1. http://realityviews.blogspot.in/2010/05/part-13-indian-legal-history-judicial.html. 2. http://realityviews.blogspot.in/2010/04/part-9-indian-legal-history-judicial.html. 3. http://www.indhistory.com/warren-hastings.html. 4. http://www.nndb.com/people/124/000101818. 5. http://dulawcentre.com/content/warren-hastings-plan-1772. 6. http://www.indohistory.com/warren_hastings_appointed_governor_of_bengal.html. 7. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warren_Hastings. 8. http://www.banglapedia.org/httpdocs/HT/Q_0016.html.