1639-1661/5

Black town White town

Choultry Court English Court
Adigar Agent and council
Civil and criminal Civil and criminal

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 II stage
1665-1688

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 after 1665
Governor and Council
12 Jury
Choultry Court
Adigar
After 1652
Two English servants
Civil and criminal

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Courts in Madras after 1678
High Court of Judicature
Governor and Council
Jury 12(6+6)
Civil and Criminal
Choultry Court
Three English servants
Civil and criminal

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 Charter 1683
Court of Admiralty

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• The Charter of 1683, empowered the
company to establish Court of Admiralty.
• To control illegal trade and unauthorized
trading activities of independent trades
on high seas.
• This court was to try all the cases of
Mercantile and all offences committed
on the high seas.

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• For the first time in the legal history of
India a learned person in law was
appointed to preside over the court.

• All the cases were to be tried according to

equality and good conscience and the laws
and customs of the merchants.

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• The Court was consist of a person learned
in the civil law and two merchants
appointed by the Company.

• The court was to decide cases according to

the rulers of equality and good conscience
and the laws and customs of merchants.

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• The Court of Admiralty was started in
Madras on 10th July, 1686.
• In 1687, the Company appointed Sir
Biggs, a professional lawyer learned in
the Civil law.
• The court exercised a much wider
jurisdiction and dispensed justice in all
cases; civil, criminal, maritime and
mercantile.
• A professional lawyer came on the
scene to administer justice.

• The executive gave up judicial

functions in favor of the Admiralty.

• The court used jury in criminal but not

in civil cases.

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• Sir Biggs was died in 1689.
• As no other qualified person was
available in the settlement to take his
place,
• Company appointed the Governor as the
Judge of Admiralty with the help two
council members and a jury

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Governor and two council members,
associating with them two merchants,
an American and a Hindu
In 1692, a new Judge John Dolben and
with in short he was dismissed from the
service on the charge of taking bribes.
From 1698 onwards, under instructions
from the company, the Governor and
Council started hearing appeals from
the Admiralty Court.

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Third stage
1688-1726

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The third shape of the judicial system of
Maras was given by the charter of 1688.
The company created a Corporation at
Madras consisting of
• Mayor
• 12 Aldermen (3+9)
• 3 English, 3 Hindus, 1 Frenchman,
• 2 Portuguese,
3 Jew and Americans
• 60 Burgesses ( 30+ 30)
• Recorder
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First Mayor and Aldermen nominated by the
company.
The mayor and Aldermen constituted the
court and all of them being laymen, a man
well versed in law was attached with the
court know as Recorder.

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The Mayor and the three senior Aldermen
were to be Justice of peace.
These Mayor and Aldermen were to form a
court of record known as the Mayor court.
The court was authorized to try all civil and
criminal cases.
In criminal cases…..
The quorum of the Court was fixed at
three

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• Witnesses were examined by the Bench
• No Lawyer appeared from any side
• Court dispensed justice not according to
any fixed law.
• Cases were decided based on good
conscience and rule and regulations of
East India Company.

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• Appeals from Mayor’s court lay to
• the Admiralty court.
• 1712 the Governor and Council decided that, it
could award death sentence to the natives
only.

• This Company’s courts continued up to 1726

when the entire judicial structure created by
the company at various places in India.

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19
 The Admiralty Court
Law expert
Two Merchants
The Court of Judicature
Governor and Council
The Mayor Court
Mayor
3 Aldermen
The Choultry Court
Three Aldermen
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Bombay Judicial system
1668-1726

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• First phase:1668-1684
• Second Phase:1684-1690
• Third Phase: 1718-1726

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• The Portuguese occupied the Island of
Bombay in 1534.

• In 1661 the Portuguese king Alfonses VI

transferred the Island to Charles II, as
dowry on marriage of his sister Princess
Catherine with British king.

• The same land transferred to the East India

Company.

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The Charter empowered the company to
make laws for the good government of
the Island and also authorized to create
courts to judge all persons who were
residing in Island.
Both civil and criminal powers were given to
the company and they could inflect any
punishment based on English law.

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The Charter 1668 marks that, the transition of
the company from a trading company to a
Sovereign invested with powers of civil and
military Government.

Deputy Governor and Council were appointed to

administer Bombay.

The first judicial system was established in 1670

with efforts of Aungier.
 Bombay 1670
Division II

Division I
Bombay, Mazagaon
and Girgon

Division II
Mahim, Parel, Sion
Girgon
and Worli

Division I
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 Division I Division II
Bombay, Mazagaon Mahim, Parel, Sion
and Girgon and Worli
Customs officer Customs officer
5 justice of peace 5 justice of peace

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 Each Division
Customs officer
5 justice of peace

1 2 3 4 5
Subdivision Subdivision Subdivision Subdivision Subdivision

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• A court consisting five judges was started
in each division.
• A customs officer of each division, was to
be president of respective court.
• The court was authorized to decide all cases
and required to keep a register and had to
submit their reports to the deputy
governor.
• Causes beyond the jurisdiction and limits of
the local courts placed under deputy
governor and council.
• The deputy governor and council were
constitute a superior court.
• By means of standard, the system of 1670
was very elementary and suffered from
several drawbacks.
• No division between executive and the
judiciary.
• Administration of justice was committed to
traders who had no knowledge of law and
who received no salary for judicial work
done by them.
• The old system abolished in 1672, and the
new courts came into existence.
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 Court of Judicature
Civil Jurisdiction
Wilcox
Jury ( 12 British )
( once in a week)
Criminal Jurisdiction
Wilcox
4 Justice of peace
Bombay, Mahim, Mazagaon and Sion
( once in Month)

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 Court of Judicature
Criminal Jurisdiction Civil Jurisdiction
Wilcox Wilcox
4 Justice of peace Jury ( 12 British )
Bombay, Mahim, ( once in a week)
Mazagaon and Sion
( once in Month) Court of conscience
Justice of peace court Wilcox
Justice of peace One in a week

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 Mahim
3 Sion 4

Mazagaon
2

Bombay
1

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 Criminal Court
Wilcox
4 Justice of peace 1

Bombay Mazagaon Mahim Sion

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Court of conscience
Wilcox
Civil
One in a week

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Courts from 1672
Deputy Governor Court
Governor with Council
Court of Judicature
Wilcox with a Jury
Court of conscience
Wilcox

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 Judicial system of 1672
Court of Judicature:
Civil Jurisdiction ( once in a week)
Mr. Wilcox appointed as judge and all civil and
criminal matters placed under him.
All the civil cases were to be tried with held of
Jury.
Jury would usually consist of 12 Englishmen
A nominal court fee was imposed on civil cases.
Criminal Jurisdiction ( once in a Month )
Bombay divided into four section Bombay Mahim,
Mazagaon and Sion.
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For each section a person name Justice of peace
was appointed worked as a Community Magistrate
The justice of peace held a preliminary examination
of witness against an accused.
Appeals from the court lay to the Deputy governor
and council of Bombay
Court of Conscience
For deciding the cases in summary manner this
court was established.
The jurisdiction made available to this court was to
decide petty cases up to the values of Rs. 25

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Central Court
Deputy Governor and Council was empowered to
decide major cases in additional to hearing
appeals from the lower courts.

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 Court of Admiralty
With the charter of 1683, a court of admiralty
came to established exactly on the same lines as
this court existed in Madras.
The company sent from England Dr. John, a person
learned in the civil law to preside in the court as
the Judge Advocate.
Keigwin’s rebellion had put an end to the operative
judicial system and no other court except the
Admiralty Court.
From 1685 onwards court of Admiralty was working
to deicide civil, criminal, Maritime and
mercantile.
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• Disputes between Governor Child and Dr. John,
led to establishment of new court to decided civil
and criminal cases.

• Court of judicature established again and a

Bombay council member ( Vaux) acted as judge on
the same lines as the court of 1672.

• Dr. John acting as an independent officer and

Governor could not tolerate assertion of
independence of Judiciary; they regarded the
judiciary as subservient to the executive.

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In 1688, Dr. John was dismissed from the service
for this refusal to subordinate his own judgment to
the whishes and direction of the Governor and
Council.

In 1690, Bombay was attacked by Mughal Admiral

Siddi put and to the judicial system.

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 1718-1726
Central court
Civil and criminal
(Once in a week)
Chief justice
9 judges
5 British
4 natives
Hindus, Mohammedans, Portuguese and Parsis

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By 1718, a new court of Judicature was established in
Bombay
This court was consisted with nine judges including
chief Justice.
The quorum of the court was fixed at three English
judges
All the civil and criminal cases placed under this
court.
The Indian judges did not enjoy the equal status with
British judges.
Indian judges
The Indian judges are not mentioned, not by the
name individually, but collectively as “ Black justice”
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 Calcutta
• By 1690 the company secured the zamindari of three
villages of Kalikata, Sutanati and Govindapur.
• They established factory by 1691 and fortified in 1698.
• In 1699, the status of the Calcutta was raised to that of
a Presidency.
• Governor and council were entrusted with all the
necessary administrative and judicial powers.
• The collector who was the company’s officer, appointed
for the collection of tax in the presidency.
• Collector was the responsible person for both civil and
criminal cases in the three villages. He acted like, mughals
Faujdar.

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