SCHOOL OF LAW AND GOVERNANCE

PROJECT ASSIGNMENT SUBMISSION ON

JUDICIAL REFORMS OF WARREN HASTING

UNDER THE SUPERVISION OF

DR. KUMARI NITU, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR , SCHOOL OF LAW AND

GOVERNANCE (CENTRAL UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH BIHAR )

SUBMITTED BY :-

NITISH KUMAR

BALLB (HONS.) 3RD SEMESTER

ENROLLMENT NUMBER:- CUSB2213125061

SUBJECT : HISTORY ( SECTION A )

 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

It is a great pleasure to express my deep sense of thanks and gratitude to my course instructor and guide
Dr. Kumari Nitu mam . Her dedication and keen interest above all and her overwhelming attitude to
help her students had been solely and mainly responsible for completing my work. Her scholarly and
timely advice, meticulous scrutiny, and her logical approach has helped me to a very great extent to
accomplish my project in an excellent manner. I owe a deep sense of gratitude to prof. S.P. Srivastava,
dean of School of Law and Governance, C.U.S.B, for making sure that we are provided with the best
facilities and surroundings to fetch the best out of ourselves. His prompt inspirations and timely
suggestions with kindness, enthusiasm and dynamism has also enabled me to complete my project on
time. It is my great privilege to thank my parents for their constant encouragement throughout my
research period.

Nitish Kumar
 Contents

WARREN HASTING’S JUDICIAL REFORM...................................................................................................................4

JUDICIAL PLAN OF 1772............................................................................................................................................5

MERITS OF PLAN 1772..............................................................................................................................................7

DEMERITS OF PLAN 1772.........................................................................................................................................7

JUDICIAL PLAN OF 1774............................................................................................................................................8

MERITS OF PLAN 1774............................................................................................................................................10

DEMERITS OF PLAN 1774.......................................................................................................................................10

JUDICIAL PLAN OF 1780..........................................................................................................................................10

MERITS OF PLAN 1780............................................................................................................................................11

DEMERITS OF PLAN 1780.......................................................................................................................................11

THE PLAN OF 1781 : Impey as the chief of Sadar Diwani Adalat...........................................................................11

CONCLUSION..........................................................................................................................................................12

REFERENCE.............................................................................................................................................................12
WARREN HASTING’S JUDICIAL REFORM

Warren Hastings came as Governor of Bengal in 1772 at the age of forty when he had been already two
years in India. Judicial system in Bengal before Hasting’s reforms was very unsatisfactory. The
Zamindar were in charge of both the civil and criminal justice in their own areas and arbitration rather
than judicial trial was the popular method of justice. “Every decision is a corrupt bargain with the
highest bidder. One of the major development which took place was that the three presidencies Bengal,
Bombay, and Madras were divided into a number of districts for the betterment of administration.
Lastly, the appointment of Impey helped in fulfilling the need of reforming the judicial system under the
control and supervision of a powerful authority.

In fulfillment of his duties, his work of compiling the Civil Procedure Code was quite recommendable.
It was for the first time that the law was put on solid and certain grounds so that the people could know
as to what the procedure of courts was Separate courts for civil and criminal cases.
JUDICIAL PLAN OF 1772

Some of the main features of this plan were as follows:

1. The provinces Bengal, Bihar and Orissa were divided into 6 divisions. In each of these divisions
a small council renowned as the Provincial Council was appointed whose function was to look
after the collection of revenue in the division1.

2. Each division was sub-divided into several districts. In each district, an Indian officer known as
the Diwan was appointed in place of the Collector. The Diwan was responsible for the collection
of revenue in his district.

3. In all cases decided by the Mofussil Diwani Adalat appeals could go to the Provincial Council
of the Division as the Provincial Court of Appeal.

Different courts in Adalat System: (in order of the hierarchy)2

a) Small Cause Courts -

These courts were present in each of the village or pergunnah and used to deal with small or
petty cases. Decisions of these courts used to be binding up to the value of Rs 10. These
courts were headed by either the village headman or the head farmer of the respective
pergunnah.

b) Mofussil or district courts :-

 Mofussil Diwani Adalat- These courts used to be present in each district and had
jurisdiction over the revenue and civil cases including the disputes related to
marriages, inheritance, castes, debts, contracts, disputed accounts, personal
properties, partnership and demand on rent. It used to have pecuniary jurisdiction
of up to Rs. 500such that decisions of this court up to this amount was final.
Collector of the districtuse to act as the judge of this court who use to work in
assistance with the native law officers such as the Kazis and Pundits. These law
officers used to assist the judge as the collector did not has the knowledge about

1
The British Impact on India By Percival Griffiths MacDonald, 1952
2
See Evolution of Adalat System in India, available at :
https://www.legalserviceindia.com/legal/article-10001-evolution-of-adalat-system-in-india.html
(Last visited on October 26, 2023).
 the personal laws of the Hindus and the Muslims which was to be applied to
different disputes which were presented before the court3.
 Mofussil Nizamat Adalat - These courts were also known as Fauzdari Adalats.
These courts were also present in each district but unlike the mofussil Diwani
Adalat, it used to deal only with the criminal cases. Further, it was not empowered
to try cases involving death sentences or cases demanding forfeiture of property of
the accused as such cases were to be submitted to Sadar Diwani Adalat for final
orders. These courts were presided over by the Muslim law officers only. The
Moulvi used to expound the law, while the Kazi and the Mufti used to give Fatwa
and render the judgment accordingly. But alongside these officers of law,
collectors also used to have an important role in these courts which was that of a
supervisor. He used to see that all the necessary witnesses were heard, that the
cases were tried regularly and that the judgments were impartial.

c) Sadar or Provincial courts :-

 Sadar Diwani Adalat - This was the apex court for civil cases in the province. It used to
have both the appellate as well as original jurisdiction as it not only used to hear appeals
from Mofussil Diwani Adalat but also used to take up cases which involving dispute of
over Rs 500. It used to charge five percent of the amount of dispute on each petition or
appeal. It was presided over by the governor and his council, and was located in the
presidency town of Calcutta. Its first sitting took place on 17th March, 1773.
 Sadar Nizamat Adalat - This was the apex court for criminal cases in the province.
Similar to Sadar Diwani Adalat, it also used to have both original as well as appellate
jurisdiction. As mentioned above, it used to have specific jurisdiction to decide over matter
of death sentence and forfeiture of property. In cases of death sentence, the death warrant
was prepared by this Adalat and was to be signed by the Nawab as the head of the
Nizamat. This court was presided over by Daroga-I-Adalat who used to act as the judge of
this court. He was assisted by a Chief Kazi, a Chief Mufti and three Moulvies. Similar to
Mofussil Nizamat Adalat, there used to be a supervisory authority in the form of
Governor-in-Council who used to keep a check over the functioning of this court. It was
earlier located in Calcutta but was later shifted to Murshidabad, where the Nawab resided,
in order to reduce the effort which used to be there to get his signature in cases of death
sentences. Another development which was seen later was the development of the office
of Naib Nazim in which Mohd. Reza Khan was appointed, who was to work and give
assent on behalf of Nawab4.

3
British Orientalism and the Bengal Renaissance: The Dynamics of Indian Modernization, 1773-1835By David Kopf
University of California Press, 1969
4
Warren Hastings By Keith Feiling MacMillan, 1954
MERITS OF PLAN 1772

These are some important points in that plan:

1. Warren Hastings Administrative plan divided territory of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa into number
of Districts.
2. In each District an English servant of the company was appointed as collector who was to be
responsible for the collection of land revenue.
3. Establishment of Mofussil Diwani Adalat
4. 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.
5. Where ever possible religious laws of Muslim as well as Hindus were followed an applied .E.g.
Caste, marriage, inheritance etc.
6. As English servant who was appointed as Collector did not understand the religious laws, Kazis
and Pundits were appointed to help him.
7. The decisions of the Mofussil Diwani Adalat in cases up to Rs.500 were final.

DEMERITS OF PLAN 1772

These are some important points in that plan:

1. The collector was over burdened with heavy work as an administrator, revenue
collector ,civil judge and magistrate in the district.
2. Based on erroneous assumptions of Hastings that the Indian population consisted of only the
hindus , Muslims, only Hindu and Muslim laws were followed" No provision for other
communities.
3. Though the functioning of Adalat was under Sadar Adalat at Calcutta, the absence of
adequate means of communication made it impossible for the Sadar Adalat to keep constant
watch on working of collectors.
4. As judges being English men the native officers who assisted them misinterpreted the
provisions of the Quran and Sastras for their personal interest.
JUDICIAL 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 a new Plan on November 23, 1773 which was
implemented in January, 1774. The new judicial reforms of Hastings can be discussed under the
following three heads:-

1). Establishment of Provincial Council for Civil Justice – Under the Judicial Plan of 1774 the
entire Diwani area of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa was divided into six divisions with headquarters
at Calcutta, Burdwan, Murshidabad, Dinajpur, Dacca and Patna. Each division consisted of
several districts. A ‘Provincial Council’ consisting of five covenanted servants of the Company
was established in each of these divisions except Calcutta where a ‘Committee of Revenue was
set up.
These Councils supervised the revenue collection in the Division and heard appeals from the
Mofussil Diwani Adalats from the districts within its territorial jurisdiction.

Recall of Collector and Appointment of Diwan– The post of Collector having been abolished
in 1773 now each district was placed, in charge of an Indian officer called the ‘Diwan’ or the
‘Amil.5 His main function was to look after the work of revenue collection in his district. He also
presided over the Mofussil Diwani Adalat of the district which was previously presided by the
Collector.
Appeals from Mofussil Diwani Adalats were to be taken to the Provincial Council, which in this
capacity was known as the Provincial Court of Appeal, the decision of the Provincial Court of
Appeal (Provincial Council) was final in all cases upto the value of Rs. 1,000/- but if the value of
the subject matter of the suit exceeded this amount, a further appeal lay to the Sadar Diwani
Adalat.
The Provincial Council also had original jurisdiction to decide all cases arising at the
headquarters of the division, in the first instance. Thus, the Provincial Council had both, the
original as well as the appellate jurisdiction over civil cases. It was also empowered to hear
complaints against the head farmers, Naib Diwans, Zamindars and other officers of the
Government.

2). Establishment of Board of Revenue at Calcutta for Revenue Administration – The head
of the district, i.e., the Diwan was to collect revenue under the supervision of the Provincial
Council. The Provincial Councils were to supervise revenue collection in their respective

5
Strange Destiny: A Biography of Warren Hastings by A. Mervyn Davies Putnam, 1935
divisions. They were further subjected to overall control and supervision of the Board of
Revenue at Calcutta.

3). Establishment of the Court of Naib Nazim or Diwan for Criminal Justice – Under the
Judicial Plan of 1774, the supervision of the Collector on the working of the Mofussil Fouzdari
Adalats and that of the Governor and Council over the Sadar Fouzdari Adalat, came to an end.
Now Sadar Fouzdari Adalat was shifted from Calcutta to Murshidabad and placed under the
supervision and control of the Nawab. A new office of Naib Nazim was created who controlled
the working of the Sadar Nizamat Adalat on behalf of the Nawab. Mohammad Raza Khan was
appointed as Naib-Nazim.
MERITS OF PLAN 1774

1).Supervision of revenue collection - They were to supervise the collection of revenue by the Amils.

2).Hear appeals from Mofussil Diwani Adalat - They used to hear appeals from Mofussil Diwani
Adalat such that an appeal lie to Sadar Diwani Adalat if the dispute involved matter above Rs. 1000 in
value. Thus, it became link between Mofussil Diwani Adalat and Sadar Diwani Adalat and all cases
irrespective of value were appealable in the Provincial Council.

3).Court of first instance - It also had an original jurisdiction and used to act as court of first instance in
the divisions where they were located such that cases arising in the division town (headquarters) could
be directly referred to these courts. It proved to be beneficial as an appeal system was created close to
district adalats and thus supervision of the working of district judges was possible which was not in the
previous case of governor and council.6

DEMERITS OF PLAN 1774

1. He considered this plan only a temporary measure.

2. A trial and error process.
3. Corruption and bribery continued in the company.
4. The separation between the civil justice and revenue could not be maintained.
5. Provincial council were conferred with excessive powers so they became despots they could not be
controlled by the governor and the council at Calcutta.

JUDICIAL PLAN OF 1780

Judicial plan of 1780:

- First Indian Civil court prepared.

- As per Warren Hasting’s new plan of 1780 judicial and executive functions were separated or Separation
of revenue from Judiciary.
6
Moon, Penderel. Warren Hastings and British India (Macmillan, 1949)
MERITS OF PLAN 1780
Adalats –

- Function to do civil justice, no revenue work

Provincial Council -

- No judicial work, only revenue related work, collection and revenue cases.

DEMERITS OF PLAN 1780

1. 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.
2. Witnesses have to travel lot to reach the adalats. There was only one Adalat in the whole of
Bihar
3. 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.

THE PLAN OF 1781 : Impey as the chief of Sadar Diwani Adalat

- On 29th September 1780 Warren Hastings proposed in the Council that chief justice Sir Elijah Impey be
requested to accept the charge of the office of the Sadar Diwani Adalat and Impey accepted this offer. 7
- Sir Elijah Impey was appointed sole judge of sadar Diwani adalat 1780.
- He took the charge of sadar Diwani adalat in addition to his duties as the chief justice of the Supreme
Court .
- 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 allowed to take the help of Hindu
Pundits or Muslim Mulla if it was necessary to understand the cause or case. 8
- The first civil code was adopted in 1781.

7
Marshall, P.J., The impeachment of Warren Hastings
(1965)
8
Forrest, G.W., ed.Selections from the State Papers of the Governors-General of India: Warren Hastings (2 vols.)Blackwell's,
Oxford (1910)
 - The number of Mufussil Diwani Adalat was increased from 6-12 in order to remove the difficulties of the
litigants.
- The Sadar Diwani Adalat was given full power to frame rules , make necessary alteration in existing
rules . This rule insisted as register and record proceedings of the courts.

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 Company’s
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.

REFERENCE

1. Prof. M.P.Jain, Outlines of Indian Legal &Constitutional History, 6th Edn., Wadhwa and
Company Nagpur.
2. https://www.slideshare.net/AparnaSingotia1/adalat-system-62269005
3. https://www.academia.edu/24029383/Warren_%20Hasting_plan
4. https://deepakmiglani.com/warren-hastings-judicial-plan-of-1772-and-1774/
5. Prof. J.K. Mittal, Indian Legal & Constitutional History, 1st Edn., Allahabad Law Agency.
6. https://www.legalservicesindia.com/article/252/Development-of-Adalat-System-during-the-time-
of-Warren-Hastings.html