Bombay Settlement

1. Bombay got name- Deity Mumbadevi

a. Goddess was worshipped by Lord Ram- when asked for victory over Ravana- to get
Sita back- performed a yajna- to please the deity
2. Portuguese gave this island in dowry to English King- in turn gave this to Brit EIC @ annual
rent of £10
a. 1534:This island of Bombay was acquired by Portuguese from King of Gujarat, Sultan
Bahadur Shah
b. King of Portugal Alphonso VI gave this dowry to King of England Charles II- when
Charles married Alphonso’s sister, Catherine of Briganza
3. 1668:Became difficult for Charles II to exercise control- from England- so transferred
BOMBAY to EIC @ 10 bucks per annum rent
4. Position of Bombay changed with transfer- by new charter of 1668
5. Charter authorised company to legislate & exercise judicial authority in island of Bombay.
6. Phases of Bombay Settlement
a. 1668-83
b. 1684-90
c. 1718-26
7. In first phase- Charter of 1668- empowered company to frame laws & ordinances to admin
Bombay
a. Impose punishment- fine, imprisonment & death sentence
8. Company was given right to make money from Bombay
9. Initially-bombay was under control of Prez. And Council of Surat factory
10. Governor of Surat- ex officio gov. of Bombay
11. 1669: Sir George Oxendin- prez of Surat Factory- visited Bombay- est. government under
Deputy Governor and Council.
12. Provision mentioned in ’68 charter led to incorporation of two peeps,Thomas Papillion and
Moses – deputed to introduce laws for admin of justice categorised into 6 divisions:
a. Worship/religion
b. Common rights of man
c. Legal procedure
d. Registration of Sale & purchase of land & houses
e. Penal Offence
f. Military Discipline
13. As effect of Charter of 1668: transition of company- trading association to territorial
authority in Bombay was convened
14. 1670: Regular system of law in Bombay- introduced by Gerard Aunger.
15. Deputy Governor of Surat factory divided Bombay into 2 territorial division
a. Bombay, mazagaon & Gurgaon
b. Mahim, Parel, Sion, Worli
16. He improved judicial system gradually- was aware- it is not possible to supercede old pattern
of admin given by Portuguese law
17. In judicial system- separate court of judicature was est.- one for each division for these
areas- court had judges- decided civil cases- custom officers was prez for each court- held
once a week- decided civil disputes upto 200 xerophenes
 18. Aunger was not satisfied with judges- wanted people who were well versed in law- request
was denied- asked to choose among company
19. Judicial Scheme of 1672: George Wilcox was appointed by Aunger- new judicial English law
was introduced-court’s jurisdiction in all cases- civil and criminal- civil was dealt once a
week- with help of judges who acted as Registrar- handled Probate, Admin & Registration
of Wills related to property.
20. Bombay was now categorised in 4 division
a. Bombay
b. Mahe
c. Mazagaon
d. Sion
21. For each division, justice of peace was appointed- was an Englishman
a. Main power was to apprehend the offender- to hold enquiry to examine witness-
to send record to court of judicature for the final trial of the case.
b. Court of Judicature was to sit once in a month- and it was to decide criminal case
with help of justices of peace
22. Highest Court of appeal – Court of Deputy Governor & Council of Bombay
a. Decided civil cases upto value less than 20 xerophenes
b. Purpose: to impart justice to the poor free of cost
23. Other Court that existed
a. Panchayat(village)- reorganised in 1672
i. Decided case of their own castes or they were brought to Court of
Judicature to discuss the case
24. This system of admin continued upto 1683 until Keigwin’s rebellion took place- after this it
ceased to function for one year
25. 1684: Island of Bombay came back to English Company.

RAMAKAMATI CASE

1. Laws applied were vague in nature, uncertain, evident from trial of Rama kamati
2. Wealthy Hindu merchant of Bombay- Chief Justice was Lawrence Parker
3. Charges inflicted upon him was that he communicated with dacoit Angeera through letter
4. Case was based on hearsay evidence of a dancer who told court- Angeera himself told her-
Rama Kamati had written letters to him
5. It’s believed that it was conspired by Governor Boone
6. Kamati was convicted- sentenced to imprisonment of life- confiscation of all properties- 8
years later in jail he died(1728)- Case started in 1720