Consolidation of the Indian Judiciary under the Charter Act 1793

The Charter Act of 1793 marked an important phase in the evolution and consolidation of the judicial system in British India. Enacted during the administration of Lord Cornwallis and following the earlier reforms of the Regulating Act of 1773 and the Charter Acts of 1781 and 1793, this legislation sought to bring coherence, regularity, and uniformity to the administration of justice. It reflected the British Parliament’s continued attempt to clarify the judicial powers of the East India Company’s government and to strengthen the foundations of colonial governance in India through a more centralised and standardised judicial framework.

Background and Context

By the late eighteenth century, the judicial system in British India had become increasingly complex. The Regulating Act of 1773 had established the Supreme Court at Calcutta, intended to administer English law to British subjects, while the Company’s adalat system—consisting of Mofussil Diwani and Faujdari Adalats—administered civil and criminal justice to Indians according to local laws and customs.
However, conflicts arose between the Supreme Court and the Governor-General in Council, particularly over jurisdictional boundaries. These conflicts created confusion among both British subjects and Indian inhabitants regarding which laws applied and under whose authority cases were to be tried. To mitigate these issues, the Act of Settlement (1781) had already clarified the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court and limited its interference in the Company’s revenue and administrative matters.
By 1793, under the direction of Lord Cornwallis, comprehensive judicial reforms were implemented to make justice more accessible, impartial, and systematically administered. The Charter Act of 1793, therefore, functioned both as a renewal of the East India Company’s charter and as a consolidation of the judicial arrangements that had evolved in the preceding decades.

Main Judicial Provisions of the Charter Act of 1793

The Act of 1793 did not radically overhaul the judicial structure but rather confirmed, codified, and consolidated the existing system introduced by Cornwallis and earlier governors-general. Its chief judicial provisions included the following:
1. Confirmation of Judicial Reforms by Lord Cornwallis: The Act formally recognised and confirmed the judicial arrangements introduced under Cornwallis’s Judicial Plan of 1793. This system separated the executive from the judiciary and standardised the structure of courts throughout the Company’s territories in Bengal, Bihar, and Orissa.
2. Continuation of the Supreme Court at Calcutta: The Supreme Court at Fort William, established in 1774, was retained with its existing jurisdiction over Calcutta and its European inhabitants. It continued to function as a court of record with authority to administer English law to British subjects residing within its territorial limits.
3. Provincial and District Courts: The Act endorsed the hierarchy of courts established under the Cornwallis Code:

• District Diwani Adalats (Civil Courts): Headed by a District Judge, responsible for civil disputes involving property, contracts, and inheritance.
• District Faujdari Adalats (Criminal Courts): Supervised by Indian law officers under the control of European judges, applying Islamic criminal law with modifications introduced by the Company.
• Provincial Courts of Appeal: Four provincial appellate courts were maintained at Calcutta, Dacca, Murshidabad, and Patna to hear appeals from the district-level adalats.

4. Establishment of the Sadar Courts: The Act reaffirmed the existence of the Sadar Diwani Adalat (Supreme Civil Court of Appeal) and the Sadar Nizamat Adalat (Supreme Criminal Court of Appeal) at Calcutta. These were presided over by the Governor-General and members of the Council, assisted by native law officers. They served as the highest judicial authorities in the Company’s territories, subject only to appeal to the Privy Council in London.
5. Separation of Powers: A key feature of the judicial consolidation under the 1793 Charter was the reaffirmation of the separation between the executive and judiciary, a principle that Lord Cornwallis had introduced earlier. District collectors were deprived of their judicial functions to prevent administrative bias and ensure impartial justice. Civil and criminal cases were placed exclusively under the jurisdiction of professional judges.
6. Appointment and Control of Judges: The Charter Act empowered the Governor-General in Council to appoint and remove judges of the Company’s courts. It also emphasised judicial integrity by fixing salaries for judges from the Company’s revenues, thereby reducing opportunities for corruption and ensuring independence of the judiciary from local administrative influence.
7. Uniformity of Laws and Judicial Procedure: The Act consolidated the rules governing the administration of justice by compiling the Cornwallis Code (1793)—a systematic body of regulations that outlined court procedures, rules of evidence, and principles of appeal. It attempted to bring uniformity across the Company’s territories, ensuring that justice was administered consistently in all districts.
8. Appeals to the Privy Council: The Act confirmed the right of appeal from the Sadar Diwani Adalat to the King-in-Council (Privy Council) in England for cases exceeding a specified monetary value. This established a clear chain of judicial hierarchy extending from local courts to the British Crown, reinforcing metropolitan control over colonial justice.

Significance of Cornwallis’s Judicial Plan (1793)

Although the Charter Act of 1793 provided the legal framework, much of the practical consolidation was achieved through Cornwallis’s Judicial Plan, incorporated into the Act. Key features of this system included:

• Codification of civil and criminal laws applicable in Company territories.
• Appointment of European judges trained in British legal principles to preside over courts.
• Reduction in arbitrary power of Company officials by placing judicial authority under specific regulations.
• Protection of the rights of Indian subjects through standardised procedures and the codification of native laws under British supervision.

Cornwallis’s reforms marked the beginning of a professional judicial service in India and laid the groundwork for later developments such as the establishment of High Courts in the nineteenth century.

Impact and Evaluation

The Charter Act of 1793 played a critical role in consolidating the dual system of justice in India—English law for Europeans and codified customary law for Indians. Its main contributions to the evolution of the Indian judiciary can be summarised as follows:

• Institutional Stability: It brought permanence and clarity to the judicial system that had been in a state of flux since the 1770s.
• Judicial Hierarchy: The Act confirmed a clear hierarchy of courts, from district-level adalats to provincial courts and the Sadar courts at the apex.
• Judicial Independence: By separating executive and judicial functions, it enhanced fairness and reduced corruption.
• Legal Codification: The Cornwallis Code, consolidated under the Act, served as the foundation for modern Indian administrative and judicial procedures.
• Integration with British Legal Tradition: The inclusion of appeals to the Privy Council symbolised the subordination of Indian justice to imperial authority, ensuring consistency with British jurisprudence.

However, the system also had certain limitations:

• It created a dual legal structure, favouring Europeans and marginalising Indian participation in higher courts.
• The imposition of British legal procedures often conflicted with local customs and traditional dispute-resolution mechanisms.
• The judicial system remained largely inaccessible to the rural population due to its formalism, language barriers, and costs.