LLB · Semester 2
Chaudhary Charan Singh University
“Early Charters 1600–1726”, the complete chapter, exactly as it appears in the full notes.
Chapter by chapter, mapped to the LLB Semester 2 syllabus.
About the Indian Legal And Constitutional History paper and these notes.
The notes trace India's legal history from the early charters of the EIC and the Mayor's Courts to the Constitution: Warren Hastings' judicial plans, the Regulating Act 1773, Pitt's India Act 1784, the Cornwallis Code 1793, the High Courts Act 1861, the Law Commissions and codification, the princely states, the Government of India Acts of 1909, 1919 and 1935, and the Independence Act 1947.
Topics the notes tag with the most PYQ years include the Government of India Acts 1909, 1919 and 1935, Warren Hastings' judicial plans, the Charter of 1726 and the early charters, the Law Commissions and codification, development of legislative institutions, the Simon Commission (2016, 2023) and the Independence Act 1947 with the framing of the Constitution.
The Charter of 1726, issued by King George I, brought a uniform system to the three Presidency towns (Bombay, Madras and Calcutta), which had separate, overlapping courts. It set up Mayor's Courts, each with a Mayor and nine Aldermen; they were courts of record that heard civil cases of all inhabitants, with appeals to the Governor and Council and, in high-value cases, to the King-in-Council in London.
The Great Bengal Famine of 1770 exposed the EIC's failures, and its officials, the 'Nabobs', were growing rich through bribery and extortion. Parliament passed the Regulating Act 1773 to take control, the first attempt at Parliamentary oversight of the EIC, and the Act also set up the Supreme Court at Calcutta.
Diarchy was dual governance in the provinces, with provincial subjects split into two sets. The Simon Commission, which had no Indian member and faced the 'Simon Go Back' protests, recommended abolishing diarchy and giving the provinces more autonomy, which led to the Government of India Act 1935.
The Federal Court was set up in 1937 under the Government of India Act 1935, with Sir Maurice Gwyer as its first Chief Justice. Privy Council jurisdiction was abolished in 1949, and in 1950 the Supreme Court of India replaced the Federal Court, with H.J. Kania as the first Chief Justice.
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