India was ruled by Muslims from 1206 to 1857. Their rule, however, was almost on the verge of end since Aurangzeb died in 1707. The British Empire in India was laid down by a company, the East India Company. The ultimate purpose of the company was to grow the British interests in the overseas countries. The representatives of the Company arrived first in the country in 1604.
By 1661, the Company had developed factories in Surat, Madras and Bombay in India. The Company started delivering justice arbitrarily which could be called as “traders’ justice” under the Charters. The Company’s officials, however, were all traders and had no legal background. Before 1726, judiciary developed in the three presidencies without any uniformity of laws. Then came in the Charter of 1726 which focused on this specific issue in all the three places. Importantly, this Charter derived authority of adjudication from just the Kings and not the Company officials.
Municipal institutions were established in the presidency towns which strictly followed the laws of England. Especially since the charter allowed disputes between natives to be heard by these institutions only on request by the Indians. This act of the Company gained the trust as it showed respect the sovereignty of local rulers. The main role of the company until 1757 was the facilitation of trade and commerce.
By 1717, the Company had secured the right to control and collect revenue of villages near Calcutta. After the battle of Plassey, the Company had installed Mir Jafar as the Nawab of Calcutta. He surrendered the Zamindari of the twenty-four Parganas to the Company which is around eight hundred square miles. It was called the “moffussil”. The Company then provided the adalat system for the administration in the moffussil.
In 1765, Shah Alam granted the Diwani also called revenue administration the three cities Bengal, Bihar and Orissa to the Company for an amount of twenty-six lacs of rupees per annum. Then came in the 1772 plan which provided for a Moffussil Diwani Adalat in each district. It comprised of a Collector as judge to decide civil cases. The court was to apply the Quran for the Muslims and for Hindus it applied the Shastras. The Regulations of 1793 later modified the same and referred them as “Hindu Law” and “Mohammedan Laws” instead of the Quran and the Shastra respectively. Similarly, the Collector took the advice of a Qazi for Muslim cases and in the case of Hindus, the advice of a Pundit.
The criminal justice system in 1790 was taken from the Muslim Qazis, Muftis and Maulvis and handed over to the Company’s English officials. The Muslim Law officers advise the courts. Subsequently, the Regulation of 1773 authorized the Calcutta Supreme Court to enroll English, Irish and Scottish advocates in law.
In 1793 Cornwallis created a regular profession by authorizing the Sadar Diwani Adalat to enroll pleaders or lawyers for all Company’s courts. It could be both Muslims and Hinds. The War of Mutiny also called the war of independence, 1857 changed the fate of India as the Bill of 1858 handed the entire possession of government of the Company of all the territories to the Crown. In 1833, the Privy Council was established. High Courts were established in 1861 in the presidency towns Calcutta, Madras and Bombay. Early Law reporting as a private enterprise was introduced for the evolution of the doctrine of precedent. Authentic law reporting began alongside the Indian Law Reports Act, 1875. Thus, Early Law reporting and Authentic Law reporting served as the two indispensable necessities for implementation of the doctrine of precedent. It also proved successful in drawing the hierarchy of courts and the emergence of authentic law reporting was positively executed in 1875.
In 1937, a Federal Court for India was established.
The Supreme Court of India was established on the same set of principles. An appeal from the federal court laid to the privy council which served as the ultimate court of request. But the system could not prevail for much time with the independence of India. The independence of India also made inescapable changes to the structure of the judiciary. The replacement of the Privy Council with the Supreme Court to serve as the ultimate court in India being the hugest of all changes. The Indian Legal System now, consists of various level of courts and one Supreme Court. The Supreme Court serving as the ultimate court of request.
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