NATIONAL LAW INSTITUTE UNIVERSITY BHOPAL

HISTORY- II

TRIMESTER-VI

PROJECT on:

SETTLEMENT IN MADRAS

SUBMITTED TO: SUBMITTED BY:

Prof. (Dr.) Uday Pratap Singh Gaurav Singh
2018BALLB34
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Table of Contents
CERTIFICATE ........................................................................................................................................... 3
ACKNOWLEDGMENT ............................................................................................................................. 4
RESEARCH OBJECTIVES ........................................................................................................................ 5
HYPOTHESIS ............................................................................................................................................ 5
RESEARCH METHODLOGY ................................................................................................................... 5
REVIEW OF LITERATURE ...................................................................................................................... 5
INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................................................... 6
THE STORY: BEGINNING ....................................................................................................................... 7
MADRAS PRECIDENCY .......................................................................................................................... 9
First phase: Judiciary elementary state (1639-1665)................................................................................... 11
The Agent and his Council for the White Town ..................................................................................... 11
The Choultry Court for the black town ................................................................................................... 11
SECOND STAGE: COURT OF GOVERNOR AND COUNCIL (1665-1686) ........................................... 13
COURT OF JUDICATURE ...................................................................................................................... 14
THIRD STAGE: ADMIRALTY COURT (1686-1726).............................................................................. 15
MAYOR’S COURT .................................................................................................................................. 16
CONCLUSION......................................................................................................................................... 18
1. Absence of proper judicial system .............................................................................................. 18
BIBLIOGRAPHY ..................................................................................................................................... 19
WEBSITES........................................................................................................................................... 19

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CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that this project on “SETTLEMENT OF MADRAS” has been

prepared and submitted by Gaurav Singh who is currently pursuing B.A LLB
(Hons.) at the National Law Institute University, Bhopal in fulfillment of History -
II Course. It is also certified that this is this research is original and this research has
not been submitted to any other University, nor published in any journal.

Date……………..

Signature of the Student……………………...

Signature of the Supervisor……………………

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ACKNOWLEDGMENT

I would like to acknowledge and extent my heartfelt gratitude to Prof. Dr. Uday
Pratap Singh for guiding me throughout the development of this project into a
coherent whole by providing helpful insights and sharing his brilliant expertise. I
would also like to thank the officials of The Gyan Mandir, NLIU for helping me to
find the appropriate research material for this case analysis. I am deeply indebted to
my parents, senior and friends for all the moral support and encouragement.

GAURAV SINGH

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RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
Following are the objectives of this project-

1. To understand British settlement in Madras.

2. To understand historical importance of Madras.
3. To understand the role play by the Portuguese.

HYPOTHESIS
Even after having a good administrative system and rule in Madras, the British government are
able to control whole Madras city. Madras had oldest judiciary system but even not have codified
Muslims law during British administrative.

RESEARCH METHODLOGY
The various books, various articles, websites, Law journals, Acts, Treatises, are referred for this topic. The
sources from which the material for this research collected are primary & secondary. The methodology used
in the research has been Doctrinal. No non-doctrinal method has been used by the researcher in this project
work.

REVIEW OF LITERATURE
 V D Mahajan: History of modern India
It is one of the finest Modern history books. It explains every topic in understandable manner and
easier way. It describes whole British rule in India and how Britisher are able to managed control
on India. It also explains British starting rule in Madras and their settlement.

 Muthiah,S. , Madras Rediscovered-

A Historical Guide to Looking Around is a book on the history of Chennai authored by Chennai
historian S. Muthiah. Originally titled Madras Discovered, the first edition was published in 1981.
This book contains all important event or incident take place in Madras are recorded. It explains
Madras history in detail from medieval to modern one.

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INTRODUCTION

The East India Company was formed to do business with the East India. East India Company
is also known as East India Trading Company, English East India Company then British East
India Company. The oldest among several similarity formed European East India Companies,
the Company was granted an English Royal Charter, under the name Governor and Company
of Merchants of London Trading into East India, by Elizabeth.

Company first started business at Surat, Agra, Ahmadabad, and Broach,and Surat factory
become the main head office. In the year 1639 first time Company got the power and right to
mint money and govern Madras on condition that half the customs and revenues of port
should be paid to the grantor.

In the year 1658 company paid 380 pagodas as king ‘s shares. Later In the year 1672 the
amount was increased to 12, 00 pagodas and company first time got the full unrestricted
power and control over madras including justice. Later company added more villages with
the same rights.

In 1752, company got full control over Madras and that remaining India was controlled by
Muslim or Hindu kings. In 1698 the company purchased at the cost of 12,00 rupees a year the
right of zamindar over the three villages of Sutanati,Calcutta,and govindpur.the fortified
factory was named Fort William in honor of the King, and in 1700 became the seat of a
precidency.By giving bribe, company got complete control over all three villages including
Hindu as well as Muslim people, indirectly company became owner, ruler of those villages.
Like company got full power at their three towns Madras, Bombay, and Calcutta which were
came to be known as Presidency Towns.

With the Presidency Towns our judicial history started to grow. In the beginning at
Presidency towns, the judicial system was them only to administer the Englishmen, and as
towns made progress population of Hindu and Muslim people grew. And company had to
make adjustments, changes to administer these people in their English Legal System.

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THE STORY: BEGINNING

Three hundred years ago, Madras, under the name of 'Madraspatnam' was a tiny rural village
on the Coromandel Coast. Scattered about in the neighborhood there were other rural villages,
such as Egmore, Vepery, and Triplicane, which are crowded districts in the great city of
Madras to−day. In Triplicane there was an ancient temple, a centre of pilgrimage, dating, like
many village temples in India, from very distant times; this was the Parthasarathy temple,
which is the 'Triplicane Temple' still. A little fishing village called Kuppam, lying directly on
the seashore, sent out, even as Kuppam does now, its bold fishermen in their rickety
catamarans in perilous pursuit of the spoils of the sea. There was one small town in the
neighborhood, namely, the Portuguese settlement at Mylapore, where the tall façades of the
several churches, peeping over the trees, formed a land−mark for the Portuguese ships that
occasionally cast anchor in the roads.
Such was the scene in 1639, the year in which our story of Madras begins. The Portuguese had
already been in India for nearly a century and a half; and under their early and able viceroys
they had made themselves powerful. The stately city of Goa was the capital of their Indian
dominions, and they had settlements at Cochin, Calicut, Mylapore, and elsewhere. But the
influence of the Portuguese was now on the wane. For nearly a century they had been the only
European power in India and the Eastern seas; but merchants in other European countries had
marked with jealous eyes the rich profits that the Portuguese derived from their Eastern traffic,
and competitors appeared in the field. First came the Dutch, who in India established
themselves at Pulicat, some twenty−five miles north of Mylapore. Holland had lately thrown
off the yoke of Spain, and was full of new−born vigour; and Dutch trade in the East—chiefly
in the East India.
Islands—were pushed with a rancorous energy that roused the vain indignation of the
decadent Portuguese. Six years later, in 1600, came the English. The English traders were
employees of the newly−established East India Company, and were sent out to do business for
the Company in the East; and they had to face the opposition of the Dutch as well as of the
Portuguese. Their earliest enterprise was in the East India Islands, and it was eleven years
before they gained their first footing in India, at Masulipatam. Here they established an agency
and did very considerable business; later they formed a fortified sub−agency at Armagaum, a

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good way down the coast, not far from Nellore. At first their fortunes went well; but local
rulers exacted ruinous dues, and at Armagaum in particular the local ruler, alarmed at the
influence that the English merchants had gained, set himself so seriously to the work of
handicapping their trade that Mr. Francis Day, the Company's representative at Armagaum
and a member of the Masulipatam Council, proposed to the Council that he should be allowed
to seek a field for commercial enterprise more favorable than either Armagaum or
Masulipatam.

Mr. Francis Day was committed the business of finding a suitable spot for a fresh settlement.
It was an important commission. The East India Company's existence depended entirely
upon the profits of their trade. The Company's enterprise at Armagaum was hopeless; at
Masulipatam it was very unsatisfactory; and Mr. Francis Day was appointed to find a place
where the commercial prospects would be bright. It should always be remembered that the
East India Company was established purely as a commercial association, with its head office
in London, and that its employees in India were men with business qualifications, appointed
to carry on the Company's trade. The prime concern even of an Agent or a Governor was the
making of good bargains on the Company's behalf—and sometimes on his own—getting the
best prices for European broadcloths and brocades, and buying as cheaply as possible Indian
muslins and calicoes and natural produce, for exportation to London, where they were sold at
a large profit. Any fighting in which the Company's servants engaged was merely incidental
to the pursuit of business in a land in which the ruling sovereigns, as well as the many small
chiefs, were constantly at war. It is a maxim that 'Trade follows the Flag;' but in the case of
India the Flag has followed Trade.

It is as a commercial man, therefore, that we must picture Mr. Francis Day setting out on his
commercial mission; but it can be imagined that the English merchant, starting on an
expedition in which he would be likely to seek personal interviews with rajas and nawabs
and bid for their favour, set out in such style as would do the Company credit. In our mind's
eye we picture Master Francis Day, Chief of Armagaum, standing on the deck of one of the
Company's vessels lying at anchor in the Armagaum roads, and receiving his colleagues'
farewells. His garb is that of a substantial merchant in the days of King Charles I. It has none
of the extravagances that were the fashionable affectations of gay Cavaliers, but its sobriety
makes it none the less smart.

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He wears a purple doublet and hose, a broad white collar edged with lace, and
gracefully−short black−velvet cloak. Curly hair falls beneath his broad−brimmed black hat,
but not in long and scented ringlets such as were trained to fall below the shoulders of
fashionable gallants at King Charles's court. He is in every way a fitting representative of the
Honorable Company.

The boson has piped his whistle, and the last good−byes have been said. The anchors
weighed, and the white sails are spread to the breeze. Master Day waves his hand to his
colleagues in the surf−boat which is taking them shoreward, and the ship is headed to the
south. The expedition is important—yes, and it was much more important than Master Day
imagined; for something more serious than profits on muslin and brocade was on the anvil of
fate.

MADRAS PRECIDENCY
Madras Presidency also known as Madras Province and known officially as Presidency of
Fort St. George was a province of British India.1 At its greatest extent, Madras Presidency
included much of southern India, including the present-day Indian State of Tamil Nadu, the
Malabar region of North Kerala, Lakshadweep Islands, the Coastal Andhra and
Rayalaseema regions of Andhra Pradesh, Ganjam district of Odisha and the Bellary,
Dakshina Kannada, and Udupi districts of Karnataka. The presidency had its winter capital
at Madras and summer capital at Ootacamund.
The origin of Madras as we know it dates back to a few centuries - about 350 years. Prior to
that, small villages existed for well over 1000 years in a cluster of civilization. Villages
around Temples like Parthasarathy in Triplicane and Kapaleeswarer temple in Mylapore near
the southern coast and Marudheeswarer Temple in Thiruvanmiyur were in existence for
several centuries long before the Europeans arrived here.
The first Europeans to reach the shores of Madras were, as usual in this part of the world,
Portuguese. They built a church in Saint Thomas Mount enshrining the Bleeding Cross. And
then they went further down to Little Mount where they built another small church in 1551

1
Muthiah,S. , Madras Rediscovered-2004( A Historical Guide to Looking Around.

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where St.Thomas, the disciple of Jesus Christ was hiding in a cave from his persecutors before
being martyred in St.Thomas Mount.
One Francis Day, a member of the Masulipatnam council undertook a journey down the east
coast of south India looking for a promising place. He found one near Poonamalee, ruled by
one Damarla Venkatapathy Nayak, a local chieftain. He had chosen a village called as
madraspatnam. The fort built by Francis Day was called as Fort.St.George as it was finished at
the festival of St.George - 23rd April, 1653.
The settlement soon occurred around the Fort and the new town was called as
Srirangarayapatnam, named after the nephew of Venkatapathy Nayak, Srirangarayalu.

The Presidency had its origins in the Agency of Fort St George established by the British East
India Company soon after the purchase of the village of Madraspatnam in 1639. However,
there have been Company factories at Machilipatnam and Armagon ever since the early 17th
century. Madras was upgraded to a Presidency in 1652 before reverting to its previous status
as an Agency. In 1684, Madras was elevated to a Presidency once again and Elihu Yale was
appointed its first President. From 1785 onwards, as per the provisions of the Pitt's India Act,
the ruler of the Presidency of Fort St George was styled Governor instead of President and
was made subordinate to the Governor-General at Calcutta. Madras made a significant
contribution to the Indian independence movement in the early decades of the 20th century.
Madras was the first province in British India where the system of dyarchy was first
implemented. The Presidency was dissolved when India became independent on August 15,
1947. On January 26, 1950, when the Republic of India was inaugurated, Madras was
admitted as one of the states of the Indian Union.
Madras was one of the three provinces originally established by the British East India
Company as per the terms of the Pitt's India Act. The head of state held the title of Agent from
1640 to 1652 and 1655 to 1684, and President from 1652 to 1655 and 1684 to 1785, and
Governor from 1785 to 1947. The judicial, legislative and executive powers are rested in the
Governor who is assisted by a Council whose constitution has been modified by reforms
enacted in 1861, 1909, 1919 and 1935. As per the Montague-Chelmsford reforms of 1919, a
system of dyarchy was established and regular elections were conducted till the outbreak of
the Second World War. The head of the government was known as Prime Minister. In 1908,
the province comprised 22 districts each under a District Collector. Each district was further

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sub-divided into taluks and firqas. The smallest unit of administration was the village.

First phase: Judiciary elementary state (1639-1665)

Madras was founded by Francis Day in 1639 who got grant from Hindu Raja and company build
first fort, factory which is known as Fort St. George.2 Near the fort there was a village
Madraspatnam on which also company got full power and right ,this town later became Black
Town and inside factory town where British lived became White Town and these both towns
came to be known as Madras. Madras was subordinate of Surat that time. Madras is the first
Presidency town of company.

Its chief officer was called Agent ‘who administered the affairs of the company with the help of
a council. The judicial system that existed at this stage was conspicuous by the absence of any
systematic and regular administration of justice. the only system that existed was:
The Agent and his Council for the White Town

During this period company agent did not do anything to change the justice system of black
village, headman of black village did the justice for the black village. No normal procedure was
there, very few cases are reported but interesting case happened in 1644.A sergeant Bradford
killed a native from Black town and company agent did not try him and but they gave the case to
the black town head and who found that death is caused by accident. That time normally Agent
referred the case as per importance to the headman or the Raja or sent the report to England
Regarding criminal or serious crimes.
The Choultry Court for the black town

The charters dated December 31, 1600, May 31, 1609, and February 4, 1622 granted powers to
East India Company to chastise and correct all English persons committing a misdemeanor in
India. During the initial period of British in Madras, justice was administered to Indians by
Native Adigar(headman). (The term adigar is derived from the term adhikari meaning one who
has authority).

2
Jain.M.P,Legal History

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The Governor sat at the Choultry, or Town House’s it was called, as a justice of peace. Hence the
name choultry Court. The Choultry Courts tried petty cases, civil or criminal. The Choultry
Court was a court of petty cause, a custom house, and a registration office for the record of sales
of real property and for the licensing of slaves. It had a jail attached to it. The court remitted
important cases, where English subjects were involved, to England, while it persuaded the local
Naik to deal with the cases in which Indians were parties. The Jurisdiction or calling of the value
of cases that could be dealt by the Choultry Court was fixed at fifty pagodas. The presiding
officer of the court was called the Chief Justice of the Choultry.

Sir Edward Winter was appointed in February 1661 as the first President of Madras. He had wide
powers to dismiss Company’s servants who engaged in private trade and have them sent back to
England.

In 1661, a charter was granted by the British Crown authorizing the Governor and Council to
hear the cases of all persons, whether Indians or English, inhabiting the settlements of the
Company. However, this charter did not immediately become operative in Madras. It was in
accordance with the Charter of 1661 that the Governor and Council tried Ascentia Dawes with
the help of jury in 1665.This criminal case was the first trial by jury in India. Twenty-four
persons were summoned to constitute the Grand jury and returned the indictment previously
made. Still, following London ‘s instructions,36 prospective jurors for a jury of 12 were
summoned, the indictment was read and Mrs. Dawes informed that she could discharge any 20 of
prospective jurors without showing case. She objected to three, including winter, and six
Englishmen and six Portuguese were sworn in. Once the indictment was read and the witness es
examined, the jury retired to consider the verdict. Two hours later it was back, finding her guilty
of further of her maid servant ,but not in manner of form and therefore in need of directions from
the court .The Governor and the Council returned the answer that the jury must bring the verdict
of guilty or not guilty without any exception or limitation. Quite unexpectedly, the jury returned
the verdict not guilty ‘and Mrs. Dawes was acquitted. Neither the neither Governor nor Council
was a lawyer by education or training and had difficulty in addressing the legal complications
which arose during the trial.

Between 1670 and 1677, many rules on behavior were laid down during the Governorship of Sir
William Langhorne. For instance, drinking and drunkenness were punished with fines and

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stocks. All people who were addicted to any social evil were to be imprisoned at the discretion of
the Governor and, if not reclaimed, sent back to England.

SECOND STAGE: COURT OF GOVERNOR AND COUNCIL

(1665-1686)
The Charter of 1661 gave judicial power to the Governor and Council, and they could decide
every matter according to the laws of England. To try serious cases like murder agent was not
entitled and he referred those cases to England, but in the year 1665 Company made changes
and the agent of Madras became the Governor of Madras. So he can use all the powers given
by the charter of 1661 which became effective in black town as well as in white town that is
Madras. In year 1665 first trial was held with the help of grand and petty judges which
involved six Englishmen and five Portuguese on the charge of murder of Mrs. Ascentia Dawes.
As per practice, the agent and council could only refer the matter to England. To get rid of this
procedure the company thought it proper that the Governor and the Council should be
appointed under the Charter of 1661 so that such cases may be decided then and there.
Accordingly, in 1665 the Company raised the status of Madras to a Presidency and appointed a
Governor and council who would also work as court .The case of Mrs.Dawes was decided by
this court. Perhaps because of absence of any legal expert in the court the lady got acquitted.
Many requests were made by the Governor and the Council to the Company to send legal
expert, but none was heard.
In 1678, the Governor and Council resolved that they would sit as court for two days in a week
to decide the cases in all civil and criminal matters with the help of a jury of twelve men. The
court was called as the High Court of Judicature. This court decided important cases both in
civil and criminal matters and also heard appeals against the decisions of the Choultry courts.

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COURT OF JUDICATURE
In 1677, Streynsham Master became the Governor. Master framed rules for the better
administration of justice. Two English officials were appointed as Choultry Justices to
administer justice to the Indian inhabitants and their numbers increased subsequently. The
Governor himself began to sit as a judge, thus forming an appellate court.
To meet the shortcomings of Choultry Courts, Master established the Court of Judicature in
Madras. The Court of Judicature was inaugurated on March 27,1678 at a public function
.March 27,1678 saw first sitting of the Agent and Council in the Court of Judicature which sat
in the Chapel in the Fort in the matter of Mr. John tivill, plaintiff ,and Mr. William
Jearsey,Defendant.The same case also provided for the first trial by the jury in the Court of
Judicature on April 10,1678,the Justices of the Choultry also acted as the Court of Execution,
because constables were attached to the Choultry Court. 3The Judges and constables under the
Choultry were to execute all orders of court relating to writs, summonses, jurymen, execution
and apprehension of criminals. In cases of manslaughter and murder, the delinquents were
kept in prison for a year and sent home for trial in English Court.
During these periods ,foreign nationals were generally sent back home for trial .However ,in
case of Manoel Brandon de Lima ,a Portuguese inhabitant, who was tried for the murder of
Black Christian, it was decided that the case would be tried in the Court of Judicature rather
than be sent to England or Goa in order to set an example of fair trial in Court of Judicature
.de Lima was convicted of murder but was sent home on appeal. The appeal petition was
signed by 44 of the Portuguese inhabitants of Madras. This was the first noted instance of a
foreign national being tried by the Court of Judicature.

Collet was Governor in 1717-1720 and his administration was remarkable for changes in the
marriage laws laid down by Stringham Master.4

3
Kulke and Rothermund: A History of India (4th edit), croom helm Australia pty ltd. 1986

4
Ravindran Sudir, The Judiciary

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THIRD STAGE: ADMIRALTY COURT (1686-1726)

Proper administration of justice was absent in the presidency and the same was the case with
the other establishments. Crimes were increasing and occurred more frequently on ships
transporting goods from one place to another. To face this difficulty and to avoid the evils
arising from it, it was founded necessary that a court having the jurisdiction to decide the
maritime cases should be established. On August 9 1683, Charles 2 granted a charter to the
company making a provision for the establishment of the Admiralty Courts. Admiralty Court
was to consist of three members, one of whom was to be learned in the civil law, and the other
two were merchants, appointed by the Company. 5
The court had to hear all cases, mercantile and maritime concerning all persons coming within
the limits of the charter, e.g., the cases of trespass, injuries, wrongs, etc. committed at the high
seas. The court had to apply the principles of equity justice and good conscience and the
customs of the merchants. Subject to the directions of the crown, the court could determine its
procedure. The proposed court was established in Madras on 10th July, 1686.The first members
of the court were three civil servants who were also members of governor ‘s council. in the
year 1687, a lawyer member with the designation of judge-Advocate was appointed to this
court the lawyer was Sir john Biggs. On the arrival of the judge-Advocate, governor and
council found that there was no need of the governor and Council administering justice
separately and they, therefore, relinquished their job in favors of the court of Admiralty which
henceforth decided all types of cases whether civil, criminal, maritime or mercantile. Criminal
cases were decided with the help of jury.
In 1689, Sir John Biggs died and the post of the Judge-Advocate fell vacant .in absence of any
lawyer-member, the governor himself assumed the charge of judge-Advocate. This
composition of court was against the nature of the original Charter which required a civil
lawyer as the judge- Advocate. Hence in 1692, a new judge-Advocate was appointed who was
dismissed in 1694 on a charge of bribery. in 1696, the Company directed that the members of
the council would successively work as judge-advocate. but none of them was a civil lawyer

5
Sharma LP: History of modern India (2nd edit) 1987, konark publishers pvt. Ltd.

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, hence the court lost its importance. After 1704, the court ceased to work regularly. In the
meantime, other Courts were established to decide the disputes.

MAYOR’S COURT
The charter dated August 9, 1683 granted by Charles II emphasized the qualifications of the
persons to preside in court. In 1687, the East India Company issued a Charter dated December
30th, by which they constituted the town of Fort St.George and all the territories thereunto
belonging, not exceeding the distance of ten miles from Fort St.George, to be a corporation.
The corporation was inaugurated with due solemnity on September 29, 1688, when the Mayor,
Aldermen and Burgesses took their oaths. The charter constituted the Mayor and the Aldermen
as a Court of Record. Appeal against the order of the Mayor ‘s Court to dispense justice and
good conscience.6

The Mayor and Corporation were established by the Charter of 1687.The Corporation which
came into existence from October 29, 1688, considered of the Mayor, twelve Aldermen were
to be a Court of Record within the Town of Fort St.George and City of Madrasspatam and the
Precincts thereof. The Mayor of the said Corporation was also to be the justice of the Peace
within the precincts of the said Corporation. Three senior Aldermen were also to be justices of
the peace. The Mayor ‘s Court was empowered to try all causes, civil or criminal. Right of
appeal lay to the Mayor ‘s Court in civil cases when the value of the award exceeded three
pagodas, and in criminal cases if the offender was sentenced to lose his life or limb. The Mayor
and Aldermen might nominate ―one discreet person skillful in the Laws, being an
English-born covenanted servant, to be recorder of the corporation, but the first Recorder was
to be Sir John Biggs ,Knight, Judge of our Supreme Court of Judicature, The Mayor‘s Court
was authorized to deal with offences by fine,imprisionment or corporal punishment. It was
also decided that the Court would have a Marshal who would take charge of the prisoners, the
first Marshal being Robert Bayley.

After the Mayor ‘s Court came on the scene, the Choultry Court lost its importance and

6
Ravindran. Sudhir The Judiciary pg-21

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functioned as a Court of Petty Jurisdiction, trying only small offences and civil cases. Only an
Englishman could hold the office of Mayor and only an Englishman skillful in law was to be
appointed as Recorder of the Court by the Mayor and Aldermen. The Mayor was empowered
to try all cases, civil or criminal. The Mayor ‘s Court was a Court of conscience, and its
decisions were very irregular. The Court was authorized to punish offences with fine,
imprisonment or corporal punishment. The Mayor ‘s Court could also punish persons for
contempt and award death sentences too.

In 1702, two men were charged with piracy on the high seas and stealing 3000 pagodas. The
judge Advocate condemned both of them to death. In a case of mutiny at sea, Harrison ‘s
Council decided that the Mayor ‘s Court could, under the Charter, sentence criminals to
execution by a majority of votes and hang the executed in chains to defer others from
committing such crimes. Martin, the then Chief Justice of the Choultry Court, pointed out that
the maintenance of criminals in prison was a burden on the Company and it suffered grater
punishment than the one who committed the offence. Criminals as well as debtors seem to
have been committed to prison for indefinite periods. Debtor prisoners were confined in the
bastions in the north-west angle of the northern wall, while criminals were put in another
bastion in the same wall ;and even today the street next to the demolished north wall of which
some remnants remain in the compound of the Bharathi Women‘s College ,is called the Old
Jail Street.

In 1704, the then Marshall Council, after his return from England, decided that the office of
the Judge should remain vacant and appeals against the decisions of the Mayor ‘s Court and
Admiralty Court were to be heard by the President in Council.

Thus, from 1686 to 1726, there functioned in Madras the Coultry Court, the Mayor ‘s Court
and for some time, the Admiralty Court. The Mayor ‘s Court was merely a Company Court
having been established by the Company’s charter. So long as the Admiralty Court functioned,
the Governor and Council as such exercised no judicial powers.7While there was a separation
between the Admiralty Court and the executive, the same of the Aldermen were members of

7
V D ma55hajan: History of modern india (1991), s.chand &company ltd.

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the Council. When, however, the Admiralty Court became irregular after 1704, the Governor
and Council became active as an Appellate Court to hear appeals from the decisions of the
Mayor ‘s Court .8 The courts that functioned during this period were, to a great extent, devoid
of professionals trained in law.

CONCLUSION

The law and judicial system in Madras in its primitive days were influenced by religious and
social practices. The system of professional lawyers appearing for the litigants appears to have
been unknown. During British rule, the law administered was the English law as extended to
India and British established their own set of courts and judges. Accordingly, the law and
judicial system in Madras were greatly influenced by the development of English law and
various reforms brought in by the British legal system and the English language .However, in
matters of personal law, the British applied the Hindu Law or the Muslim law, depending on
the religion of the subject. Even today, different personal laws govern Hindus and Muslims. A
substantial portion of Hindu Law has been codified by the Indian Parliament after
Independence; Muslim law is yet unmodified. Courts apply Muslim Law based on authorities’
commentaries and on precedents. It is also clearly evident that wherever there was a
shortcoming, English legal principles were applied. Leading personalities, lawyers and judges
from Madras played a prominent role in the evolution of Indian Law and the Indian judicial
system.
The overall picture of administration of justice in Madras was not very good in early stages.
The system suffered many drawbacks. The most outstanding of them are the following: -
1. Absence of proper judicial system
2. Uncertainty of laws-The Courts and the people did not know the law applicable to
them and their disputes

3. Severe punishments-Usually, the punishments were barbarous and inhuman they

were based on the mixed idea of deterrence and prevention.

8
Murthy Sreenivasa: History of India (part ii) 2003, eastern book company

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4. Lack of facilities in the jails-The inmates lived in inhuman conditions

5. Unfair trail-The English principles of fair trail such as the principles of natural justice
and benefit of doubt to the accused were not observed. The benefit of clergy was
however available to the Britishers.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. Muthiah,S. , Madras Rediscovered-2004( A Historical Guide to Looking Around.

2. Gopalratnam.V.C: A Century Completed (1862-1962)

3. V D mahajan: History of modern india (1991), s.chand &company ltd.

4. Kulke and Rothermund: A History of India (4 th edit), croom helm Australia pty ltd. 1986

5. Murthy Sreenivasa: History of India (part ii) 2003, eastern book company

6. Sharma LP: History of modern India (2 nd edit) 1987, konark publishers pvt. Ltd.

7. Mujaumadar and Raychandni: An advanced History of India (6 th edit) 1997,

Macmillan India Ltd.

WEBSITES
www.realityblogs.com

http://www.time.com/time/asia/features/journey2001/india.html

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