PRATEEK

B.A.LLB SEC. B
HISTORY II
JUDICIAL PLAN OF WARREN
HASTINGS
 JUDICIAL PLAN OF
1772
The first judicial plan was prepared by the Committee of Circuit under Warren
Hastings chairmanship.
Under this plan the three provinces of Bengal, Bihar and Orrisa were divided into
districts. Each district was put under the control of a Collector, who was
responsible for the collection of revenue.
1. COURTS OF ORIGINAL JURISDICTION
MOFUSSIL FAUJDARI ADALAT = It was the court of criminal jurisdiction established in each
district. The collector had a general supervison over the cout. The court had full power to
decide and punish all criminal cases. However, in capital cases, the proceedings of the court
had to be submitted to the Sadar Nizamat Adalat for confirmation and finally to the Nawab
for sentence.
MOFFUSSIL DIWANI ADALAT = It was a court of civil jurisdiction established in each district.
The collector was the judge of this court. In matters of Hindus and Muslims the court was
helped by pandits and the kazis respectively, who expounded the law to be applied by the
judge.
 2.SMALL CAUSE ADALAT= It was the court of the head Farmer of the purganah to decide finally the disputes
upto the amount of ₹10.
2.APPELLATE COURTS
SADAR NIZAMAT ADALAT= IT was the criminal court of appeals presided over by Daroga-i-
Adalat, assisted by the Chief kazi, Chief Mufti and three Maulvies. The Governor and Council
exercised a general supervision over the court.
SADAR DIWANI ADALAT = This court was composed of the governor and council and heard
appeals from the Mofudsil Diwani Adalat where the suit value exceeded ₹500.

Change in the judicial system brought back the confidence of the people in the
government and the administration of justice.
The scheme,however, suffered from two weakness:
1. The court for small cases were very few and they had jurisdiction only upto a small
amount of ₹ 10 which was too small. For most of the cases the people had to travel to the
district headquarters in those days of difficult communications.
2. The collector was given too much authority which he could easily misuse.
 JUDICIAL PLAN OF 1774
Under the judicial reforms of 1774, Collectors were recalled from the districts and
in their place an Indian officer, called Diwan or Amil,was appointed. He acted as
judge of the Moffussil Diwani Adalat and collected the land revenue. The entire
Moffussil area in Bengal, Bihar and Orissa was divided into six divisions. Each
division had a Provincial Council consisting of four or five British servants of the
company. The Council supervised the collection of land revenue, heard appeals
against the decisions of the Moffussil Diwani Adalat and administered original civil
jurisdiction at the place of its seat.
Although the new system was an improvement over the earlier one, the change
did not give good results for long. The Council took the place of the Collector in
creating the difficulties and monopolising the trade within its jurisdiction. Warren
Hastings soon detected this defect but could not make any change until 1780
when an entirely new modified system was established.
 JUDICIAL PLAN OF 1780
It was found that the Provincial Councils which had been established under the Plan
of 1774 did not work properly. The members of the Councils had revenue as well as
other executive work which was more important than their work of sitting as a
court. They didn’t care for the judicial work and left it to be done by the law offices.
In that way the law officers were left free to decide the matters according to their
own wishes. When Warren HASTINGS came to know of these defects he removed
them by a new judicial plan promulgated on 11th April, 1780.
The main features of this plan was separation of revenue matters from judicial
matters. Thenceforth, separate authorities were established
1. To deal with the collection of land revenue and to decide the disputes arising from it
2. For the purpose of deciding other disputes.
DIWANI ADALAT= For the performance of judicial functions a Diwani Adalat was
established in each of the six divisions of Calcutta, Muishidabad, Burdwan, Dacca,
Dinajpore and patna. An independent civil judiciary was established in all the six
divisions. The decisions of this adalat were final in case of value, upto ₹ 100.
 LORD WILLIAM
BENTICK
Lord William Bentick became the Governor-General of India in July, 1828 and
held that office upto till march, 1835. During this period he made several reforms
in judicial administration Various reforms made by him are discussed as follows:-
CREATION OF SADAR ADALAT AT ALLAHABAD- By regulation VI of 1831, Lord
William Bentick established a Sadar Diwani and Sadar Nizamat Adalat at
allahabad from 1st January, 1832. The constitution and powers of the Adalat were
the same as that of the Adalat at Calcutta.
REFORMS IN CRIMINAL JUDICIARY
1. ABOLITION OF CIRCUIT COURT- These courts had heavy work load and therefore the
arrears went on piling and the justice was delayed. In many cases references was to be
made to the sadar nizamat adalat which did not entertain the matter for years and the
accused had to wait for long in the jail for their turn. Accordingly in 1829 Lord Bentick
replaced these courts by the Court of Commissioner.
2. Creation of the court of commissioner- Regulation 1 of 1829 which replaced the Circuit
Court by the Court of Commissioner also provided for the appointment of Commissioner. The
creation of the Court of Commissioner gave relief to the people to the extent that the
Commissioner was more easily available and his territorial jurisdiction being smaller than
that of the Circuit Court, but the problem of arreas and the delay in justice was not fully
solved.
3.Creation of the court of District and Session Judge- Regulation VII of the 1831 authorised
the Government to invest the judges of the District Diwani Adalat with the duties of the
Sessions. As the judges had to meet in session , they were called as Sessions Judges. During
the time in which they did not conduct the criminal work they were called as District
Judges.The creation this new court gave very efficient and immediate justice to the people
and the problem of arrears was also solved to a great extent.
4.Increased participation of Indians – The participation of Indians qas increased in the
criminal administration of justice by lord Bentick through a Regulation of 1831, which
authorized the Magistrates to refer any criminal case to a Sadar Ameen or a Principal Sadar
Ameen for investigation. The powers of these Indian Officers were declared in 1832 and they
could award punishment upto a period of one month.
REFORMS IN CIVIL JUDICATURE
1. Enhancements in the powers of the Minisifs and Sadar Ameens- The
number of Munsifs and Sadar Ameens employed in the civil judicature was
increased by Bentick to a great extent by specifying the local jurisdiction of
those officers. But more important was the increase in their powers.A
monthly salary was also fixed for the Munsifs and the existing system of
giving them commission or fee per case was abolished.
2. Judicial Powers of the registrar Abolished- The registrar was deprived of all
the judicial powers which he was exercising so far. His powers were
transferred to Sadar Ameen and Principal Sadar Ameen
3. Abolition of provincial Court of appeals and Enhancements of powers of
the Diwani Adalat- By regulation V of 1831, the Governor- General- in-
Council was authorized to abolish the jurisdiction of the provincial court of
Appeals in any district and authorize the Diwani Adalat to exercise
jurisdiction of the provincial court of appeal. The Diwani Adalat was given
an unlimited jurisdiction to hear civil cases of any amount.
4.Introduction of jury System- Regulation VI of 1832 authorised the Governor-General-
in-Council to empower any judge of the Diwani Adalat to take the help of Jury in any civil
case. These provisions were made for the purpose of helping the English judges to
understand the Indian constitution and to arrive at a just decision.