Administration of

Justice in Madras
1639-1726
 FIRST PERIOD (1639-1665)
In 1639, Francis Day acquired a piece of land
called Madraspatnam from a Hindu Raja of
Chandragiri for the EIC.
Here Fort St. George built in 1640 for Company’s
factory and for residence of Company’s
employees
The fort known as “White Town” and the village
nearby known as “Black Town”
Fort St. George under an administrative head
called the Agent.
The Agent and Council to decide all civil and
criminal cases of English people residing with the
fort
 First Period
In the Black Town the old traditional indigenous
system continued. A Choultry Court headed by
the Village Headman, Adigar administered
justice.
Kanappa, a Brahmin was appointed the first
Adigar. Due to charges of bribery and corruption,
from 1648 Europeans were appointed as judges.
No fixed form of trial procedure and the methods
used were informal as seen from various cases
Trials conducted on an ad hoc basis and
procedure varied from case to case
Charter of 1661- all persons living within
Company’s settlements under the jurisdiction of
 Second Period 1665-1686
 The Trial of Ascentia Dawes
 Charge of murdering her slave girl.
 The Governor and Council tried Mrs. Dawes with the help
of a jury consisting of 6 Englishmen and 6 Portugese
 The jury found her guilty of murder “but not in manner and
form” and wanted instructions from the court
 Court asked jury to return a verdict of either “guilty” or
“not guilty” without any exception
 Jury returned the verdict of “not guilty”
 None of the Governor and Council was a lawyer in
education or training and couldn’t deal with legal
complications
 Second Period
Governor requested the Company to send a
person better skilled in law because of the
difficulty of non-lawyer judges without any legal
assistance. But no lawyer was sent to Madras
Charter of 1661 provided for the administration of
English law but none of the judges had
elementary knowledge of that law
Reorganisation- in 1678, Streynsham Master
appointed as Governor. The court of Governor
and Council designated as the Court of
Judicature. The court to meet twice a week and
decide all civil and criminal cases with the help of
a jury of 12 men.
 Second Period
In Choultry Court, the no. of judges increased to
3. Not less than 2 were required to preside over
the trial of cases. Justices were required to sit for 2
days a week.
All civil cases upto 50 pagodas heard by the
Choultry Court. All other cases and appeals from
Choultry Court heard by the Court of Governor
and Council.
In 1680 English was recognised as the only official
language in Madras. Prior to this, Portugese, Tamil
and Malyalam were used
 THIRD PERIOD 1686-1726
 ADMIRALTY COURT
 To curb the activities of unauthorised traders, the EIC
obtained a letters patent from Charles II in 1683 to
establish Courts of Admiralty.
 Its purposes:
1. To try all traders committing various crimes on the high
seas
2. Hear and determine all cases concerning maritime and
mercantile transactions
3. To deal with all cases of forfeiture of ships, piracy,
trespass, injuries and wrongs.
 The court was to be guided by laws and customs of
merchants and rules of equity and good conscience
 Third Period
1686 the Admiralty Court established at Madras
by a Charter provided by James II
It provided for a civil lawyer because Admiralty
law was of an international character rather than
the common law of England
In 1683 English common law lacked any rules
governing mercantile cases

Sir John Biggs appointed Judge-Advocate, the

Chief Judge of the Court of Admiralty at Madras.
He was a learned lawyer in civil law and he
brought professional background and expertise
to the administration of justice
 Admiralty Court
The Governor and Council gave up its judicial
functions and ceased to sit as a court
After Biggs’ death, the Governor appointed as
Judge-Advocate in 1689. he was assisted by 2
members of the Council along with 2 merchants,
an Armenian and a Hindu
In 1696 Company directed that members of the
Council should serve as Judge-Advocate
After 1704 the Admiralty Court ceased to sit on a
regular basis and was convened only when
required
 THIRD PERIOD
 MAYOR’S COURT
 The Company issued a Charter in 1687 which authorized it
to create a Corporation of Madras and a Mayor’s Court
 Customary in England to confer judicial powers on a
municipal corporation
 Company issued its own charter rather than acquire it
from the Crown because it wanted the Corporation to be
subject to the Governor and Council
 Madras had become a populous town, difficult to
administer
 Local population resistant to taxes by the British
 Need for a composite body of Englishmen and Indians
who could levy taxes
 THIRD PERIOD (Mayor’s Court)
The Madras Corporation came into existence in
September 1688.
It was to consist of a Mayor, 12 Aldermen and
from 60 to 120 Burgesses
Tenure of the Mayor was one year; could be re-
elected by the Aldermen and the Burgesses
Only an Englishman could hold the Mayor’s office
At least 3 Aldermen were supposed to be
covenanted British servants of the Company, the
rest of the nine could be of any nationality
 30 Burgesses were heads of various castes in the
town, rest appointed by the Charter
 THIRD PERIOD (Mayor’s Court)
The Mayor and the 3 senior Aldermen were to
form a court of record, the Mayor’s Court,
authorised to try all civil and criminal cases.
Could punish by fines, amercements,
imprisonment and corporal punishment
In civil cases exceeding 3 pagodas and in
criminal cases where the accused was given
death sentence, appeals went to the Admiralty
Court
Since there was no legal expert in the Mayor’s
Court, Judge-Advocate Sir Biggs appointed as
first Recorder of the Court. His position was
second to the Mayor and he was to have a vote
like the other Aldermen
 THIRD PERIOD (Mayor’s Court)
 Drawbacks of the Court:
1. It power to award death sentence remained vague until
1712 when the Governor and Council decided it could
award death sentence to natives only.
2. The Court dispensed justice not according to any fixed
rules but as the Charter laid down, “in a summary way,
according to justice and good conscience”. So
decisions lacked uniformity.
3. There were also allegations of bribery and corruption
against the judges
4. Anomaly in appointing Sir Biggs as Recorder because
appeals lay to the Admiralty Court from the Mayor’s
Court but no other lawyer was available to the
Company
 THIRD PERIOD (Mayor’s Court)
The Government had too much influence over
the court since the Mayor and few Aldermen
were members of the Council
Governor and Council could remove any
members of the Corporation
Differences between Governor Elihu Yale and his
Council
When the Admiralty Court was suspended,
Mayor’s court claimed its decision to be final but
Yale forcibly released 2 prisoners
After 1704 appeals came to be heard by the
Governor and Council
 THIRD PERIOD
CHOULTRY COURT
Tried small offences and civil cases upto 2
pagodas
In criminal cases, gave punishments of fine,
imprisonment, pillory, whipping and even slavery
THIRD PERIOD
3 types of courts from 1686-1726:- the
Choultry court, the Mayor’s Court and the
Admiralty court
Mayor’s court was a Company court while
the Admiralty court was created by a royal
Charter
Judiciary and executive remained separate
as long as the Admiralty Court functioned
No separation of executive and judiciary in
Mayor’s court since some of the Aldermen
were members of the Council