Warren Hasting was the Governor of Madras. He was transferred to Bengal in 1772.

As
Governor of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa, he prepared the First Judicial Plan in 1772. It was the
first step to regulate the machinery of administration of justice. The plan being a land mark in
the judicial history became famous as Warren Hastings Judicial Plan of 1772
Warren Hasting was appointed as Governor of Bengal, he started his efforts for
eradicating the evils in the administration of the justice and revenue collection. He abolished
the system of Double Government and executed the Diwani functions through the
Companys servants. He appointed a committee consisting of Governor and four members of
his Council to find out the causes of the evils in the existing judicial administration and
revenue collection. The committee was also to prepare a plan for the administration of Justice
and revenue collection. The committee under the Chairmanship of Warren Hastings prepared
the First Plan in 1772. This is known as Warren Hastings Plan of 1772.
Warren Hasting administrative plan divided territory of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa into
number of District. In each district an English servant of the Company was appointed as
collector who was to be responsible for the collection of revenue.
Under this plan the whole of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa were divided into districts. The
district was selected as the unit for the collection of revenue and for the administration of
civil and criminal justice.
ADMINISTRATION OF CIVIL JUSTICE
Establishment of Mofussil Diwani Adalat
As per Warren Hastings plan a Mofussil Diwani Adalat was established in every district with
collector as the Judge. The court was authorized to decide all civil cases like dispute
regarding, Properties inheritance, Marriage, Caste, Debts, Disputed Accounts, Contracts,
Partnership and Demand of Rent etc. where ever possible religious laws of Muslims as well
as Hindus were followed and applied.
As English servant who was appointed as a collector did not understand the religious
laws. So there was Kaziz and Pundits were appointed to help them.

ADMINISTRATION OF CIVIL JUSTICE

Establishment of Mofussil Faujdari Adalat
In every district Mofussil Nizamat or Faujdari Adalat was established to try all
criminal cases. The Adalat consisted of Kaziz, Mufti and Moulvies. The Moulvies interpreted
the Muslim law of crimes. The Kazis and Mufti gave Fatwa and render Judgment. In this
Adalat Collector exercise general supervision over the adalat and saw that no corruption was
made in the cases. The judgment was given impartially.
This Faujdari Adalat was not allowed to handle cases where punishment was death
sentence of forfeiture of property of the accused. Such cases went to Sardar Nizamat Adalat
for final order.
Establishment of Small Causes Adalat
AS NAME SAYS THIS Adalat decided petty cases up to Rs. 10/- the head farmer of
the village became the judge. This system was designed to save the travelling expenses of
poor farmers as they did not need to travel to the district place for justice.
Establishment of Sardar Adalat
Firstly, two courts were established namely Mofussil Diwani Adalat and Mofussil
Faujdari Adalat over them two superior Courts were established. Namely Sardar Diwani
Adalat and Sardar Nizamat Adalat. The Sardar Diwani Adalat was consisted of Governor and
member of the Council and was to hear appeals from Mofussil Diwani Adalat. In the case of
over Rs. 500/-. The First sitting of Sardar Diwani Adalat was held on 17 th March 1773. On
each appeal of 5 percent was charged. The appeal were to be filed in the Adalat within 2
months from the date of the judgment decree given by the Mofussil Diwani Adalat.
Establishment of Sardar Nizamat Adalat
Sardar Nizamat Adalat consisted of an Indian judge known as Daroga- e- Adalat. Who
was to be consisted by the chief Kazi, Chief Mufti and Three Moulvies. Nawab appointed all
these persons as per the advice of Governor. In case of death sentences punishment deal
warrant was made by the adalat and signed by the Nawab as the head of Nizamat.
The governor and Council supervised this adalat to control and reduce the corruption
all cases were ordered to maintain registers and records. Any case older than 12 years was not
accepted. District Courts forwarded their records to Sardar Adalat.
In civil cases when Plaintiff field a case defendant accused person was given only
limited time to give answer then examine the witness and give the decree pass the final
orders. The plan tried to reduce the expenses of people with this plan officers like Kaziz,
Muftis were given salaries. Before this plan judge charged the commission but the new plan
abolished this law and introduced the court fee system where fee went to government. After
this plan and establishment of Courts for common Indians it became easy to approach the
judiciary. Warren Hasting was very intelligent person he purposefully did not take the full

charge of criminal justice system and kept the puppet Nizam alive. He did not change the
forms and when possible tried to show case that company respects the Nizam like case Nizam
got the power to sign the death sentences. In other clever intelligent system Warren Hasting
kept alive was that following Hindus Laws for Hindus and Muslim Laws for Muslims. In this
Plan Collector got the many powers Collectors was the administrator Tax Collector, Civil
Judge and Superior over the Criminal Courts with this Collectors for the unlimited powers
and Warren Hasting knew this the Collectors will become corrupt and he already told the
Company directors of the Company understood the fear and reality of this Plan. In the year
1773 Company directed the Calcutta Council to withdraw the Collectors as they became very
corrupt. After this Calcutta government introduced new plan for the collection of revenue and
administration of justice on November 23rd 1773 and put into force in the year 1774.
PLAN OF 1774
With the plan collectors were recalled from every district in place of collectors an
Indian officer was appointed called Diwan or Amil Diwan got the power to collect the
revenue as well as act as a Judge in the Mofussil Diwani Adalat. The territory of Bengal,
Bihar and Orissa was divided into 6 divisions with their headquarters at Calcutta, Burdwan,
Murshidabad, Dinajdore, Dacca and Patna. In each division many districts were created, the
complete Bihar came under the Patna Division.
A provincial council consisting of 4 or 5 English servant of the Company were
appointed in each division to supervise the collection of revenue and to hear appeals from the
cases decided by the Amil and Indian Diwan. The appeals from this Provincial Council were
allowed if the case amount was more than Rs 1000/- the appeal went to Sardar Diwani
Adalat. This time also Warren Hasting new that the Provincial Council will do the more harm
and more corruption then the collectors. Warren Hasting thought this plan as temporary plan
but regulating act was passes in this time and Warren Hasting could not change the Plan until
year 1780.
PLAN OF 1780
The Indian Civil procedure Code prepared 1780. Warren Hasting knew that the
Judicial Plan of 1774 was not perfect and when Warren Hastings again got the chance and he
made changes to the Judicial Plan of 1774 on April 1780. New plan was introduced as per the
Plan of 1780. Judicial and Executive functions were separated.
Words and Meanings
Adalat
Functions to do Civil Justice no revenue work.

Provincial Council

No Judicial work only revenue related work, collection and revenue cases. But with this
plan the problem was that area was vast and Adalat were few to administer those large areas,
because of this cases were more time was limited with the judges and this arrears piled up in
every Adalat. 2nd problem was that witness have to travel lot to reach the Adalats. There was
only one Adalat in the whole Bihar, because of this people thought is better not to file the
cases in courts as filing cases in court meant delayed justice, physical harassment waste of
time and money.
As per the Judicial Plan cases up to Rs. 100/- were referred to the person who stayed
near the place of litigant but before this. It was compulsory to file the case in Adlalat and
2nd problem was that the person who works as a Honorary Judge and he did not get any
salary. The Zamindar or Public Officer acted as an Honorary Judge and they charged money
for this and also Zamindar got the chance to do corruption as he became the Honorary Judge.
Warren Hasting was not satisfied with the Plan of 1780 he always thought about the
improving Judicial System in India. The Judicial System of East India Company.
On 29th September 1780, Hasting proposed in the Council that Chief Justice, Sir
Elijah Impey be requested to accept the charge of the office of the Sardar Diwani Adalat.
Impey accepted this offer. He remained in sardar Diwani Adalat for a year but he
introduced lot of reforms in Sardar Diwani Adalat. Impey drafted many reulations to reform
the Adalat on November 3rd 1780. First reform regulation was passed to regulate the
procedure of the Diwani Adalat. As per this rule he was allow to take the help of Hindu
Pundits or Muslims Mulla if it was necessary to understand the cause or case.
Impey compiled a civil procedure code for the guidance of the Sardar Adalat and
Mofussil Diwani Adalat, it was the First Code of CivilProcedure to be prepared in India. It
was promulgated by the Council on July 1751 in the forms of regulation it was the digest of
the Civil rules. The Code consolidated at one place a detailed Civil Procedure. The code
contained 95 clauses and with it all the previous regulations regulating to civil procedure
were repeated. The code of 1781 clearly defined the functions, power and jurisdiction of
Sardar Diwani Adalat.
This code was translated in person and Bengali language that time in India. Impey
was doing great job, but in England, people were not happy with the impey because of
following reasons Impey was appointed as the Supreme Court judge to monitor the Company
affairs in India. But in India Impey stated to work as the Judge of Sardar Diwani Adalat,
accepting this violated the Regulation Act. Because of other job they believed that the Impey
would not do the Justice with the job of Supreme Court, because of all above reasons on
3rd May 1782 in England House of Commons adopted a resolution requesting the Crown
King to recall Impey to answer the charge of having accepted an officer and violating the
Regulation Act. After this Impey left India on 3rd December 1782. From the Impey
appointment one should learn that whatever post or job may be the concern person must be
studied in the profession.
Regarding Criminal Justice System Hasting took following Steps

Machinery was created for the purpose of arresting Criminal and bringing them before
the Fouzdari Adalat for the trial. This system never existed in India before this a new
department office of the remembrance was created at Calcutta to keep watch on the
functioning of Criminal Adalats. The department was to work under the Governor General.
The head of the department was known as Remembrance of Criminal Courts. All Criminal
Courts were required to send periodical reports to this department. Everything was done as
per the Muslims Criminal Law and Hastings was not happy with he tried his best but
Company heads did not accept his views because of this Criminal Justice System, every one
made using corrupt ways.
Merits
1)

The personal laws of Hindus and Muslims were safe guarded.

2) District was selected as a unit of the administration of justice and collection of the
revenue.
3)

The jurisdiction of the Diwani and Faujdari Adalats were clearly defined.

4) The judges of these Courts were Englishmen and they did not have the knowledge of the
personal laws of Hindus and Muslims, but this defect removed out to the large extent of
appointing native law officers.
5) The commission basis was replaced by the court-fee which was to be deposited with the
Government and not with Judges. This changes was made so that Judges ceased to have any
personal interest in a particular case. Thus the change was made to promote impartial and fair
justice.
Demerits
1)

Less number of courts

The head farmers were given power to decide petty cases up to Rs. 10/- in fact it was
necessary to have more subordinate courts keeping in view the population and the population
and the area of each district.
2)

Concentration of Powers

Administrative, Tax collection and Judicial in the hands of the Collectors. The Collectors was
the Civil Judge as well as Supervisor of the Criminal Courts. It was impossible for the
collectors to devote time and energy to regulate all these affairs.

ADALAT SYSTEM

The administration of justice at the time Warren Hasting took over as Governor of Bengal
was in a bad shape. It was almost verging on a total collapse. The dual system of government
proved very defective and unsatisfactory. The courts had become the instruments of power
rather than of justice, useless as means of protection but apt instruments for oppression. On
realizing the fact that the system of double government had failed the company authorized the
then Governor Warren Hastings to adopt such regulations and pursue such measures as shall
at once ensure every possible advantage to the Company and free the ryots from the
oppression of Zamindars and petty tyrants.
Warren Hastings hence proceeded to make major changes in the administration of justice.
This paper work views the various reforms made by Warren Hastings during his time in
India. This administration of justice maybe studied in four stages. To start with Warren
Hastings realized the very fact that an impartial and regular administration of justice was
extremely essential for creating conditions for a better collection of land revenue. Thus
changes were made in regard to civil and criminal justice while various other provisions were
also introduced. Moreover one of the major development which took place was that the three
presidenciesBengal, Bombay, and Madras were divided into a number of districts for the
betterment of administration. Lastly, the appointment of Impey helped in fulfilling the need
of reforming the judicial system under the control and supervision of a powerful authority. In
fulfillment of his duties, his work of compiling the Civil Procedure Code was quite
recommendable. It was for the first time that the law was put on solid and certain grounds so
that the people could know as to what the procedure of courts was.
Administration Of Justice:
First Stage
The Judicial Plan of 1772 as been formulated by Warren Hasting consisted of 37 regulations
dealing with civil and criminal laws. It was the first Anglo-Indian Code, which worked out on
the basis of experience and common observations. An endeavour was made to adopt it to the
manners and understandings of the people and exigencies of the country, adhering as closely
as possible to their ancient usages and institutions. The idea was to retain, as far as possible,
the native magistracy and codes of law, recorded and oral, to which the people had become
accustomed. The plan aimed at correcting the defects without destroying the traditions of the
local systems. Thus the diwani area of Bengal, Bihar, and Orissa was divided into several
districts, each with an English collector as its head. This district was the main administrative
unit in the plan. The main features of Judicial Plan of 1772 may be explained under the the
following headings
Civil Justice: A Mofussil Diwani Adalat was established in each district to decide civil cases.
The collector was the judge of this court. The court took cognizance of all civil cases
including property, inheritance, succession, caste, marriage, contracts, accounts etc. In the
suits regarding inheritance, marriage, caste and other religious usages and institutions, the
Hindu law was applicable to the Hindus while the laws of Koran was applied to the
Mohammedans. The collector in matters of Hindus and Muslims was helped by pandits and
kazis respectively who expounded the law. Appeals from these courts were to be heard by the

Sadar Diwani Adalat at Calcutta where the subject matter of the case exceeded Rs. 500. This
court comprised Governor as its President and at least two members of the council aided by
Diwan Treasury and Chief Kanungos.[1]
Criminal Justice: A Mofussil Faujdari (or Nizamat) Adalat was established in each district
for the trial of crimes and misdemeanours.[2] This court was assisted by a Kazi or Mufti and
two Maulvies who expounded the law, while the Collector had a general supervision over the
court. The court had full power to decide and punish all criminal cases though they were not
empowered to award death sentence. In such cases, the courts decision was submitted to
Sadar Nizamat Adalat for confirmation and finally to the Nawab for his sentence.
Sadar Nizamat Adalat, established at Calcutta, was presided by an Indian judge known as
Daroga-i-Adalat who was to be assisted by the chief Kazi, chief Mufti and three Maulvies to
hear the appeals from the Faujdari Adalat.
Revenue Administration: The whole revenue system was reorganized under the Hastings
plan of 1772. The revenue Boards at Murshidabad and Patna were abolished and a supreme
authority called the Board of Revenue was set up at Calcutta which consisted of the Governor
and all the members of the Council. The Treasury was also shifted to Calcutta. Further, the
district supervisors were appointed as Collectors of revenue and also native Naib Diwans as
heads of the native executive in districts.[3]
Moreover, the Board of Revenue comprising Governor and his Councilors at Calcutta sat
twice a week for issuing necessary orders and instructions to the Collectors of Districts and
inspecting, auditing, and passing the revenue accounts.
The plan of 1772 was in many respects a boon to the people at that time. The change in
judicial system brought back the confidence of the people in the government and the justice.
However, a grave defect in the plan was that the Collector acted as the administrator; the
Judge and the Magistrate in the district i.e. there was over-centralisation of powers in a single
official.[4]
Miscellaneous Provisions: A few provisions were made to promote pure and impartial
justice. All cases were to be heard in open court. All adalats were to maintain proper registers
and records. District adalats were to transmit abstracts of their records to Sadar Adalats. This
precaution was necessary so as to discourage judicial officers from misusing their power. To
make justice inexpensive, the old vexatious impositions on administration of justice were
abolished and moderate fees were prescribed for trial of civil cases which was bound to give
relief to people. To supplement the work of the courts, the method of arbitration was also
provided for.

Despite the merits of Judicial Plan of 1772, it had certain demerits which are stated as
follows:
One of the major defects of the Plan was that there was over-centralization of powers in a
single official, namely, the Collector. He was overburdened with heavy work as he was

singularly required to shoulder the responsibility as an administrator, revenue collector, civil

judge and a magistrate in his District.
The Judicial Plan had a limited application only in the territory of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa.
It was based on an erroneous assumption of Hastings that Indian population consisted of only
the Hindus and Muslims. There were other communities and races for which there was no
provision made in the Judicial Plan.[5]Though the functioning of Adalats was under the
supervision and control of the Sadar Adalat at Calcutta, but in absence of adequate means of
communications it was almost impossible for the government at Calcutta to keep a constant
watch on the working of the Collectors of the districts. In absence of an effective control, the
Collectors indulged in private trading and misused their position and power for personal
gains.
The judges of the courts being Englishmen, they did not have knowledge of personal laws of
Hindus and Muslims. Though native laws officers were appointed to assist the English
judges, but they could easily misguide the judges by deliberately misinterpreting the
provisions of the Quran and Shastras.
The functions of revenue collection and civil administration were combined in a single
official, the Collector. Therefore there was no separation between revenue collection and civil
administration. Obviously, the Collector paid more attention to revenue collection than the
civil administration.
Administration Of Justice:
Second Stage
The abolition of the institution of Collector in 1773 on the advice of the Court of Directors of
the Company in England up-set the judicial arrangement of 1772 and a new Plan became an
urgent need of the time. Warren Hastings prepared new Plan on November 23, 1773 which
was implemented in January 1774.[6]The various changes made in regard to revenue, civil
justice, criminal reforms are as follows:
Revenue: Collectors were re-called from the districts and in their place an Indian officer,
called Diwan or Amil, was appointed. He was to act as a judge of the Mofussil Diwani Adalat
and collected the land revenue also. The entire Mofussil area in Bengal, Bihar and Orissa was
divided into six divisions with the Headquarters as Calcutta, Burdwan, Murshidabad,
Dinajpore, Dacca and Patna.[7] Each division had a Provincial Council consisting of a Chief
and four senior servants of the Company. A Committee of Revenue was instituted at Calcutta
for superintending that Division, consisting of two members of the Council and three senior
servants, assisted by a Diwan and others. The Councils and the Committee were to supervise
the collection of revenue in their Divisions. Indian Naib Diwans were appointed in the
districts under each Provincial Council to look after the same work. Complaints against the
Head Farmers, Naib Diwans, Zamindars and other principal officers of the government,
relating to their conduct in the revenue, were to be decided by the Provincial Councils.
Aggrieved parties might ultimately go to the Board of Revenue at Calcutta.

Civil Justice: The provisions relating to appeals in civil cases were also considerably
liberalised under the plan of 1774. Now all cases decided by the Mofussil Diwani Adalats
were appealable to the Provincial Council irrespective of the value of the subject matter of
the suit. There was also a provision for second appeal to the Sadar Diwani Adalat in cases
exceeding the value of Rs. 1000/Criminal Reforms: The Officers of the Faujdari Adalats were forbidden to hold farms or
other offices in the Mofussil and were obliged to reside in their districts on pain of forfeiting
their employments. Complaints against them were to be lodged with the Governor-General
who would refer them to the Sadar Nizamat Adalat for inquiry and determination.
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 detected this defect very
soon but he could not make any change till 1780 when entirely a new modified system was
established.
Administration of Justice:
Third Stage
The defects of the system set up in 1774 were seen in the Patna Case[9] which is concerned
with the conflict between the jurisdiction of Supreme Court and function of adalat in mofussil
areas.
As it was in practice those days, the Mofussil Adalat as well as the Provincial Council
employed services of Kazis and Maulabis to interpret the Muslim law. The judicial
commission arrived at a decision after taking into account the consultation of the Maulabis
and Kazis. Thus it became a practice to neglect judicial work.
In this case, the Maulabis and Kazis were given the power to take the evidence of the case
and arrive to a decision. No established law was followed while taking the evidence and the
Provincial Council passed a judgement based on the evidence collected by irregular
procedure.
The Supreme Court held that the Provincial Council did not delegate its judicial decisions
according to the procedures held by the Supreme Court. Thus an order was passed by the
Supreme Court to send the wrong-doers to jail.
The decisions of the Supreme Court were criticized to a large extent. Following this, the work
in Mofussil Adalat came to a halt because no officers in this adalat were ready to take up
judicial work as they will have to go to jail. The work of revenue collection also suffered
because most of the revenue officers left their jobs.
The defect when came to the knowledge of Warren Hastings, could not continue any longer
and he remedied it by giving a new judicial plan promulgated on 11 April 1780.[10]
The basic feature of this plan was the separation of revenue matters from judicial matters.
Henceforth, there were established separate authorities

(a) To deal with the collection of land revenue and to decide the disputes arising there from
and
(b) For the purpose of deciding other disputes.
Under this system the provincial councils were left only with the function of collecting the
land revenue and deciding revenue disputes and other judicial functions were taken away
from their hands.
Revenue
Bengal, Bihar, Orissa
In each District an English servant of the company was appointed as collector who was to be
responsible for the collection of land revenue.

DIWANI ADALAT
A new court, called the Provincial Court of Diwani Adalat was established at each of the
headquarters of the six divisions. This Adalat was presided over by an English covenanted
servant of the Company who was called the Superintendent of the Diwani Adalat. He was to
be appointed by the Governor-General and Council. This Court was to hold its sittings thrice
a week and decide civil cases pertaining to property, inheritance and contracts. It was also
empowered to hear cases relating to inheritance and succession of Zamindari and Talukedari
which were hitherto within the purview of the Governor and Council. The decision of the
Provincial Court of Diwani Adalat in cases upto the value of Rs.1000/- was final and in cases
exceeding this value, an appeal lay to the Sadar Diwani Adalat at Calcutta which consisted of
the Governor General and Council.
The plan of 1780 was certainly a great improvement upon the plan of l774.
Its main merit lay in its effecting the separation of the judicial from the executive functions. It
was a welcome change. The plan, however, suffered from defects also.
The Superintendents of the Diwani Adalats were not selected from the senior servants of the
Company. Some of them were illiterate, ignorant of the Eastern languages and most
extravagant, dissipated young men.
There was a tendency of the new Adalats to come into conflict with the Provincial Councils.
The Governor-General-in-Council had no time to sit at the Sadar Court to hear appeals and
supervise the work of these Courts. Without the support and control of some powerful
authority, it was impossible for them even to subsist; there was possibility of their sinking
into contempt or becoming instruments of oppression.
There were only six Diwani Adalats. This number was very small in a vast area of Bengal,
Bihar and Orissa. This resulted into great expense on the part of the suitors, waste of their
time and energy and inconveniences they suffered from, on account of long journeys. Even
those persons, whose cases, not exceeding Rs. 100 in value, were referred to Zamindars or

public officers, had to come at least once to the Divisional Headquarters for such reference.
The Zamindars or public officers as honorary Judges. There was thus a danger of their
abusing the authority to their own advantage. Further the paucity of the Courts put a very
heavy strain on the Diwani Adalats.
The Provincial Council which was left only with revenue functions also had the power to
decide the disputes relating to revenue matters and to that extent it worked as a court in its
own
cause
which
was
against
the
principles
of
natural
justice.

Appointment of Impey at Sadar Diwani Adalat:

There was an urgent need of reforming the judicial system under the control and supervision
of a powerful authority. From the beginning, the business of the Sadar Diwani Adalats was
not only to receive appeals from the inferior Courts in all cases exceeding a certain amount
but to receive and revise their proceedings, to attend to their conduct, to remedy their defects
and to form generally such regulations and checks as experience should prove to be necessary
to the purpose of their institution. The Governor-General and Council, who previously
constituted the Sadar Diwani Adalat, admitted their incapacity of exercising these powers and
expressly stipulated that Chief Justice Sir Elijah lmpey should act as the sole Judge of the
Sadar Diwani Adalat on a salary at their pleasure. They thought that this would lessen the
tension between the Council and the Court, would facilitate and give vigour to the course of
justice, lessen the burden of the Council and add, to its leisure for occupations more urgent
and better suited to the genius and principles of Government. The Governor-General and the
Councillors were non-lawyers. Impey, being an experienced and trained lawyer was expected
to discharge judicial functions in a far better way and curb out evils from the judicial
establishment of the Company.
Elijah Impey was, therefore, appointed the sole Judge of the Sadar Diwani Adalat in October,
1780. He continued in this office till November, 1782 when he was recalled to England. In
fulfillment of his new duties, Impey prepared thirteen articles of Regulations for the guidance
of the Civil Courts. They were afterwards incorporated, with additions and amendments, in a
revised Code, consisting of ninety-five articles, which was passed in July, 1781. This was the
first Civil Procedure Code of India. The aims were to explain such rules, orders, and
regulations as might be ambiguous, to revoke such as might be repugnant or obsolete to
frame a consistent Code, to formulate the procedure and jurisdiction of the civil courts, to
prescribe a general table of fees, to make the law of civil procedure cognizable to the people,
to provide for arbitration and appeals to the Sadar Diwani Adalat, to provide for the limitation
of suits, giving in most cases a term of twelve years, to protect the litigating people from the
extortions or frauds of the unscrupulous officers of the Courts, and so on.

Reforms by Impey:

Sir Impey remained in his office for about a year but during this time he made very important
reforms in the administration of judiciary of that time. He issued regulations for the
improvement of all the courts existing in the Mofussil area. By those regulations the
following new changes were made.
1. The Diwani Adalat at the divisions were directed to hear all the cases in the open court
after administering proper oath to the witnesses. The law officers should be used only for the
purpose of expounding the law on the facts which the court had decided, i.e. the law officers
had no power to decide the facts or hear the witnesses or the parties. The procedure which
was found to have been followed in Patna Case of reporting the matter to the court by the law
officers was stopped by this Regulation.
2. The number of the Diwani Adalats was increased from 6 to 18 so as to avoid the
inconvenience to the people coming from long distances and also to reduce the arrears of
work.
3. The most distinguished work which Impey did was the compilation of a Civil procedure
Code which was first of its kind ever introduced in this country. The Code was promulgated
by the Governor General and Council on 5 July 1781. Although the Code did not make very
far reaching Changes, it put the law on solid and certain grounds so that the people could
know as to what the procedure of courts was. It also bound down the courts to follow the
procedure specified in it. The Code consisted of 95 clauses.
4. The provision regarding the application of personal laws in certain categories of cases viz.,
inheritance, marriage, caste and other religious usages or institutions was incomplete so far as
the rule of decision in other cases was concerned. Besides, adding the word 'succession' to the
word 'inheritance', Impey filled up the gap by providing that in all cases for which no specific
directions were given, the Sadar Diwani Adalat and the Mofussil Diwani Adalats were to act
according to justice, equity and good conscience, This was a remarkable provision which
completed the rule of decision in all civil cases of Hindus and Mohammedans.
5. Another important feature of the Plan was putting the Sadar Diwani Adalat on a sounder
basis. Impey brought the union of the powers of a Board of Superintendence with those of a
Court of Appeal. Laziness, laxity, impatience and want of method were the faults of which
young, inexperienced Judges, devoid of any legal know1edge and having only an imperfect
knowledge of languages of their respective huge districts, were guilty. Superintendence was,
therefore, as urgent as appeal. The Sadar Diwani Adalat was, therefore, to perform the
following functions:
(a) To hear appeals from the lower Courts in cases exceeding Rs. 1,000;
(b) To decide any matter of civil nature referred to it by the Governor-General-in-Council;
(c) to exercise control and supervision over the lower Court, firstly, by receiving an original
complaint, cognizable by a lower Court which refuses to entertain it, and then referring it to
Mofussil Diwani Adalat for expeditious disposal, and secondly, by suspending a Judge of a

lower Court on ground of misconduct and reporting the matter to the Governor-General-inCouncil for final decision.
Recall of Impey
The appointment of Impey to the Sadar Diwani Adalat was actually a good step for the
reformation of judicial system and he himself also worked very vigorously and sincerely to
reform it. But his holding the twin offices of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and the
Judge of the Sadar Diwani Adalat was not favoured by the authorities in England. They
thought it was a violation of The Regulating Act which had established a judicial system at
Calcutta independent of all control from the Company. To them, by accepting the judgeship
of the Sadar Diwani Adalat, Chief Justice, Impey had put himself under the subordination of
the Company from whom he got his appointment and also the salary as judge of the Sadar
Diwani Adalat. Although after few months Impey refused to draw his salary as judge of the
Sadar Diwani Adalat unless the Lord Chancellor gave him a clearance. His sincerity was
doubted in England and he was recalled on May 3, 1782 from his office of judgeship of the
Sadar Diwani Adalat as well as from the Chief Justiceship of the Supreme Court. After the
recall of Impey the Sadar Diwani Adalat again came into its previous from, i.e., the court was
again constituted of Governor General Council.
Though Impey was accused of compromising his judicial independence as a Crown's Judge,
and was, therefore, called back, he gave no opportunity to anyone to say that he, as the sole
Judge of the Sadar Diwani Adalat, acted in a way which compromised his judicial
independence as the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Whatever the criticism, his Code
was an extraordinary contribution giving new directions to Judges of the Diwani Adalats and
litigants. Its compilation was the first attempt of its kind in India, and it made the law of civil
procedure certain to some extent. Under the judgeship of Impey the whole judicial system
indefinitely became much better. Thus the act of appointing Impey was later regarded as one
of
the
wisest
measures
which
Warren
Hastings
carried
through.

Administration of Justice:
Fourth Stage

Under the Plan of 1772, a Sadar Nizamat Adalat was established at Calcutta. In 1775, it was
shifted to Murshidabad probably to avoid any interference from, and conflict as to
jurisdiction with, the Supreme Court. There it was put under the authority of the Naib-Nazim
Reza Khan. In 1776, a plan for criminal justice from Reza Khan was adopted, under which
twenty-three Fauzdari Adalats in all were established in the districts. But as the system had
once become loose and the Collector or the Governor-General and Council could not get
enough time to have an effective control over these courts, they failed to provide justice to the
people. Justice was neither given in time nor any principles of justice was taken into
consideration. The accused had to remain in detention for years before his trial was finalised.
The conditions of prisons were inhuman. There were number of defects in the system which
required total overhauling of criminal administration of justice. The Mohammedan law of
crimes was also very defective. Warren Hastings was quite conscious of all this and in the
year 1781 he drew a scheme for some reforms in the criminal judicial administration.
Reforms in the Criminal Judicature
The following reforms were made by Warren Hastings in the Criminal Judicature:
In order to devise a machinery to arrest criminals and to bring them to trial, the Judges of the
Mofussil Diwani Adalats were appointed as Magistrates also. They were, however, not given,
for the time being any jurisdiction to try them. They were to apprehend those persons who
were suspected of having committed crimes and send them to the nearest Faujdari Adalats for
trial with written accusations.
To have an effective supervision over the proceedings of the criminal courts including the
Sadar Nizamat Adalat, Warren Hastings created a separate department at Calcutta to receive
monthly reports and returns of proceedings, lists of persons apprehended and sent for trials by
Magistrates, details of charges leveled against them, and the lists of persons released,
convicted, and put in confinement by the criminal courts.
A covenanted servant of the Company was appointed to act under the Governor-General as
head of this Department, with the title of the Remembrancer of the Criminal Courts. He was
incharge of all the reports dispatched by various Magistrates and courts. He was to analyze
these reports, prepare extracts and arrange them in a proper way. This is how a check was to
be maintained on all persons entrusted with the administration of criminal justice.
But the control exercised by this officer was very weak and imperfect. The system did not
prove to be effective. The Remembrancer depended for information on the reports of various
courts and it was not difficult for the latter to manipulate them so as to present a favourable
picture of the things and to conceal the real state of affairs from the Government.
In 1782, the number of Faujdari Adalats was reduced from twenty-three to eighteen. While in
1785, for more speedy and effectual administration of criminal justice, the Magistrates were
empowered to try petty offences; but in all cases affecting either the life or limb of the
accused persons or subjecting them to imprisonment of more than four days or to corporal
punishment exceeding fifteen stripes, the Magistrates could not try the accused themselves

but to send them to the Faujdari Adalats. This particular provision was made soon after the
departure of Warren Hastings to England.[12]

Judicial Plan of 1780, First Indian Civil Code Prepared

Warren Hastings knew that the judicial plan of 1774 was not perfect, and when Warren
Hastings again got the chance, he made changes to the judicial plan of 1774. On April 11,
1780 new plan was introduced. As per the plan of 1780 judicial and executive functions were
separated. Adalats Function to do civil justice, no revenue work Provincial Council - No
judicial work, only revenue related work, collection and revenue cases. But with this plan the
problem was that, the area was vast and adalats were few to administer those large areas,
because of this, cases were more, time was limited with the judges and thus arrears piled up
in every adalat. 2nd problem was that witnesses had to travel lot to reach the adalats For eg.
There was only one Adalat in the whole of Bihar. Because of this people thought it better not
to file the cases in courts, as filing cases in court meant delayed justice, physical harassment,
waste of time and money. As per the judicial plan cases up to Rs.100 were referred to the
person who stayed near the place of litigant ,but before this it was compulsory to file the case
in the Adalat, and 2nd problem was that the person who worked as judges has to work as a
honorary judge and did not get any salary . The Zamindar or public officer acted as an
honorary judge and they charged money for this and also zamindar got the chance to do
corruption as he became the honorary judge.
Warren Hasting was not satisfied with the plan of 1780 and always thought about improving
the judicial system in India. On 29th September 1780 Warren Hastings proposed in the
Council that chief justice Sir Elijah Impey be requested to accept the charge of the office of
the Sadar Diwani Adalat. Impey accepted this offer. He remained in Sadar Adalat for a year
but he introduced a lot of reforms in sadar adalat. Impey drafted many regulations to reform
the adalats. On November 3, 1780 first reform, regulation was passed to regulate the
procedure of the diwani adalats. As per this rule , the Mofussil judge had to decide the facts ,
he was allowed to take the help of Hindu Pundits or Muslim Mulla if it was necessary to
understand the cause or case. Impey compiled a civil procedure code for the guidance of the
Sadar Adalat and mofussil diwani adalats. It was the first code of civil procedure to be
prepared in India . It was promulgated by the Council on July 5, 1781 in the form of a
Regulation. It was the digest of the civil rules The code consolidated at one place a detailed
civil procedure. The code contained 95 clauses and with it all the previous regulations
relating to civil procedure were repealed. The code of 1781 clearly defined the functions,
powers and jurisdiction of Sadar Diwani Adalat. This code was translated in Persian and
Bengali language that time. In India, Impey was doing a great job, but in England people
were not happy with Impey because of following reasons Impey was appointed as the
Supreme Court judge to monitor the Company affairs in India. But in India Impey started to
work as a company servant when he accepted office as the Judge of Sadar Adalat. Accepting
this violated the Regulation act. Because of other job, they believed that Impey would not do
the justice with the job of Supreme Court. Because of all above reasons , on 3rd May 1782 in

England House of Commons adopted a resolution requesting the crown, king , to recall
Impey to answer the charge of having accepted an office and violating the Regulating act.
After this Impey left India on 3rd December 1782 Regarding criminal justice system Warren
Hasting took certain steps. Machinery was created for the purpose of arresting criminals and
bringing them before the fozdari adalat for the trial. This system never existed in India before
this. A new department, office of the Remembrancer was created at Calcutta to keep watch on
the functioning of criminal adalats. The department was to work under the Governor General.
The head of the department was known as Remembrancer of criminal courts All criminal
courts were required to send periodical reports to this department. Everything was done as
per the Muslim criminal law and Warren Hasting was not happy with many things, and
wanted to reform them, he tried his best but company heads did not accept his views. Because
of this in criminal justice system, everyone made money using the corrupt ways.

Indian Legal History - Judicial Plan of 1780, First Indian Civil Code
Warren Hastings knew that the judicial plan of 1774 was not perfect, and whenWarren
Hastings again got the chance and He made changes to the judicial plan of 1774, On April 11,
1780 new plan was introduced.
As per the plan of 1780 judicial and executive functions were separated.
Adalats Function to do civil justice, no revenue work
Provincial Council - No judicial work, only revenue related work, collection and revenue
cases.
But with this plan the problem was that, area was vast and adalats were few to
Administer those large areas, because of this, cases were more, time was limited with the
judges and thus arrears piled up in every adalat.

2nd problem was that witnesses have to travel lot to reach the adalats

There was only one Adalat in the whole of Bihar.Because of this people thought it is better
not to file the cases in courts, as filing casesin court meant, delayed justice, physical
harassment, waste of time and money.
As per the judicial plan cases up to Rs.100 were referred to the person who stayed near the
place of litigant ,but before this it was compulsory to file the case in the Adalat, and 2nd
problem was that the person who work as judge has to work as a honorary judge and he did
not get any salary . The Zamindar or public officer acted as an honorary judge and they
charged money for this and also zamindar got the chance to do corruption as he became the
honorary judge. Warren Hasting was not satisfied with the plan of 1780 he always thought
about the improving judicial system in India. The judicial system of East India Company.

On 29th September 1780 Warren Hastings proposed in the Council that chief justice Sir
Elijah Impey be requested to accept the charge of the office of the Sadar Diwani Adalat.
Impey accepted this offer. He remained in Sadar Adalat for a year but he introduced, made lot
of reforms in sadar adalat.

Impey Drafted many regulations to reform the adalats.

On November 3, 1780 first reform, regulation was passed to regulate the procedure of the
diwani adalats. As per this rule, the Mofussil judge has to decide the facts , he was allow to
take the help of Hindu Pundits or Muslim Mulla if it was necessary to understand the cause or
Impey Compiled a civil procedure code for the guidance of the Sadar Adalat and mofussil
diwani adalats It was the first code of civil procedure to be prepared in India It was
promulgated by the Council on July 5, 1781 in the form of a Regulation.It was the digest of
the civil rules The code consolidated at one place a detailed civil procedure.The code
contained 95 clauses and with it all the previous regulations relating to civilprocedure were
repealed.The code of 1781 clearly defined the functions, powers and jurisdiction of Sadar
Diwani Adalat.
This code was translated in Persian and Bengali language that time. In India, Impey was
doing great job, but in England People were not happy with the Impey because of following
reasons Impey was appointed as the Supreme Court judge to monitor the Company affairs
in India. But in India Impey stated to work as a company servant when he accepted to work
as the Judge of Sadar Adalat. Accepting this violated the Regulation act. Because of other job,
they believed that Impey would not do the justice with the job of Supreme Court. Because of
all above reasons , on 3rd May 1782 in England House of Commons adopted a resolution
requesting the crown, king , to recall Impey to answer the charge of having accepted an office
and violating the Regulating act. After this Impey left India on 3rd December 1782 From the
Impey appointment one should learn that what ever post or job may be, the concern person
must be studied in that profession. Sports minister should be a sports man in his youth,
Agriculture Minister should be graduate from the agriculture collage.Regarding criminal
justice system Warren Hasting took following steps.
Machinery was created for the purpose of arresting criminals and bringing thembefore the
fozdari adalat for the trial. This system never existed in India before this. A new department,
office of the Remembrancer was created at Calcutta to keep watch on the functioning of
criminal adalats. The department was to work under the Governor General.
The head of the department was known as Remembrancer of criminal courts.
All criminal courts were required to send periodical reports to this department. Everything
was done as per the Muslim criminal law and Warren Hasting was not happy with many
things, and wanted to reform them, he tried his best but company heads did not accept his
views. Because of this in criminal justice system, everyone made money using the corrupt
ways.

Development of Adalat System during the time of Warren Hastings

The administration of justice at the time Warren Hasting took over as Governor of Bengal
was in a bad shape. It was almost verging on a total collapse. The dual system of government
proved very defective and unsatisfactory. The courts had become the instruments of power
rather than of justice, useless as means of protection but apt instruments for oppression. On
realizing the fact that the system of double government had failed the company authorized the
then Governor Warren Hastings to adopt such regulations and pursue such measures as shall
at once ensure every possible advantage to the Company and free the ryots from the
oppression of Zamindars and petty tyrants. Warren Hastings hence proceeded to make major
changes in the administration of justice. This paper work views the various reforms made by
Warren Hastings during his time in India. This administration of justice maybe studied in four
stages. To start with Warren Hastings realized the very fact that an impartial and regular
administration of justice was extremely essential for creating conditions for a better collection
of land revenue. Thus changes were made in regard to civil and criminal justice while various
other provisions were also introduced. Moreover one of the major development which took
place was that the three presidenciesBengal, Bombay, and Madras were divided into a
number of districts for the betterment of administration. Lastly, the appointment of Impey
helped in fulfilling the need of reforming the judicial system under the control and
supervision of a powerful authority. In fulfillment of his duties, his work of compiling the
Civil Procedure Code was quite recommendable. It was for the first time that the law was put
on solid and certain grounds so that the people could know as to what the procedure of courts
was.

Reforms of Warren Hastings

When Warren Hastings assumed the administration of Bengal in 1772, he found it in utter
chaos. The financial position of the Company became worse and the difficulties were
intensified by famine. Therefore, Warren Hastings realized the immediate need for
introducing reforms.
Abolition of the Dual System
The East India Company decided to act as Diwan and to undertake the collection of revenue
by its own agents. Hence, the Dual System introduced by Robert Clive was abolished. As a
measure to improve the finances of the Company, Warren Hastings reduced the Nawabs
allowance of 32 lakhs of rupees to half that amount. He also stopped the annual payment of
26 lakhs given to the Mughal Emperor.
Revenue Reforms
After the abolition of the Dual System, the responsibility of collecting the revenue fell on the
shoulders of the Company. For that purpose, a Board of Revenue was established at Calcutta
to supervise the collection of revenue. English Collectors were appointed in each district. The
treasury was removed from Murshidabad to Calcutta and an Accountant General was
appointed. Calcutta thus became the capital of Bengal in 1772 and shortly after of British
India.
The Board of Revenue farmed out the lands by auction for a period of five years instead of
one year in order to find out their real value. The zamindars were given priority in the
auction. However, certain good measures were taken to safeguard the interests of the
peasants. Arbitrary cesses and unreasonable fines were abolished. Besides, restrictions were
imposed on the enhancement of rent. Yet, the system was a failure. Many zamindars defaulted
and the arrears of revenue accumulated.
Reorganisation of the Judicial System
The judicial system at the time of Warren Hastings ascendancy was a store-house of abuses.
The Nawab who was hitherto the chief administrator of justice, misused his powers. Often,
his judgments were careless. The zamindars who acted as judges at lower levels within their
own areas were highly corrupt and prejudiced. On the whole, the judicial institution suffered
from extreme corruption. Warren Hastings felt the necessity of reorganising the judicial
system. Each district was provided with a civil court under the Collector and a criminal court
under an Indian Judge. To hear appeals from the district courts two appellate courts, one for
civil cases and another for criminal cases, were established at Calcutta. The highest civil
court of appeal was called Sadar Diwani Adalat, which was to be presided over by the
Governor and two judges recruited from among the members of his council. Similarly, the
highest
appellate
criminal court was known as Sadar Nizamat Adalat which was to function under an Indian
judge appointed by the Governor-in-Council.

Experts in Hindu and Muslim laws were provided to assist the judges. A digest of Hindu law
was prepared in Sanskrit by learned Pandits and it was translated into Persian. An English
translation of it Code of Hindu Laws was prepared by Halhed.
Trade Regulations and other Reforms
Warren Hastings abolished the system of dastaks, or free passes and regulated the internal
trade. He reduced the number of custom houses and enforced a uniform tariff of 2.5 percent
for Indian and non-Indian goods. Private trade by the Companys servants continued but
within enforceable limits. Weavers were given better treatment and facilities were made to
improve their condition. He also introduced a uniform system of pre-paid postage system. A
bank was started in Calcutta. He improved the police in Calcutta and the dacoits were
severely dealt with.
The Regulating Act of 1773
The Regulating Act of 1773 opened a new chapter in the constitutional history of the
Company. Previously, the Home government in England consisted of the Court of Directors
and the Court of Proprietors. The Court of Directors were elected annually and practically
managed the affairs of the Company. In India, each of the three presidencies was independent
and responsible only to the Home Government. The government of the presidency was
conducted by a Governor and a Council.
The following conditions invited the Parliamentary intervention in the Companys affairs.
The English East India Company became a territorial power when it acquired a wide
dominion in India and also the Diwani rights. Its early administration was not only corrupt
but notorious. When the Company was in financial trouble, its servants were affluent. The
disastrous famine which broke out in Bengal in 1770 affected the agriculturists. As a result,
the revenue collection was poor. In short, the Company was on the brink of bankruptcy. In
1773, the Company approached the British government for an immediate loan. It was under
these circumstances that the Parliament of England resolved to regulate the affairs of the
Company.
Lord
North,
the
Prime
Minister
of
England, appointed a select committee to inquire into the affairs of the Company. The report
submitted by the Committee paved the way for the enactment of the Regulating Act.
Provisions of the Regulating Act of 1773
The Regulating Act reformed the Companys Government at Home and in India. The
important provisions of the Act were:
(i) The term of office of the members of the Court of Directors was extended from one year
to four years. One-fourth of them were to retire every year and the retiring Directors were not
eligible for re-election.
(ii) The Governor of Bengal was styled the Governor-General of Fort William whose tenure
of office was for a period of five years.

(iii) A council of four members was appointed to assist the Governor-General. The
government was to be conducted in accordance with the decision of the majority. The
Governor General had a casting vote in case of a tie.
(iv) The Governor-General in Council was made supreme over the other Presidencies in
matters of war and peace.
(v) Provision was made in the Act for the establishment of a Supreme Court at Calcutta
consisting of a Chief Justice and three junior judges. It was to be independent of the
Governor- General in Council. In 1774, the Supreme Court was established by a Royal
Charter.
(vi) This Act prevented the servants of the Company including the Governor-General,
members of his council and the judges of the Supreme Court from receiving directly or
indirectly any gifts in kind or cash.
Merits and Demerits of the Act
The significance of the Regulating Act is that it brought the affairs of the Company under the
control of the Parliament. Besides, it proved that the Parliament of England was concerned
about the welfare of Indians. The greatest merit of this Act is that it put an end to the arbitrary
rule of the Company and provided a framework for all future enactments relating to the
governing of India. The main defect of the Act was that the Governor-General was made
powerless because the council which was given supreme power often created deadlocks by
over-ruling his decision. However, many of these defects were rectified by the Pitts India Act
of 1784.
Expansionist Policy of Warren Hastings
Warren Hastings was known for his expansionist policy. His administration witnessed the
Rohilla War, the First Anglo-Maratha War and the Second Anglo-Mysore War.
The Rohilla War (1774)
Rohilkand was a small kingdom situated in between Oudh and the Marathas. Its ruler was
Hafiz Rahmat Khan. He concluded a defensive treaty in 1772 with the Nawab of Oudh
fearing an attack by the Marathas. But no such attack took place. But, the Nawab demanded
money. When Rahmat Khan evaded, the Nawab with the help of the British invaded
Rohilkand. Warren Hastings, who sent the British troops against Rohilkand was severely
crticised for his policy on Rohilla affair.
First Anglo-Maratha War (1775-82)
The Marathas were largely remained disunited since the Third Battle of Panipet (1761). The
internal conflict among the Marathas was best utilized by the British in their expansionist
policy. In 1775, there was a dispute for the post of Peshwa between Madhav Rao and his
uncle Ragunatha Rao. The British authorities in Bombay concluded the Treaty of Surat with
Raghunatha Rao in March 1775. Rahunatha Rao promised to cede Bassein and Salsette to the

British but later when he was unwilling to fulfill his promise, the British captured them. This
action of the Bombay Government was not approved by Warren Hastings. In 1776, Warren
Hastings sent Colonel Upton to settle the issue. He cancelled the Treaty of Surat and
concluded the Treaty of Purander with Nana Fadnavis, another Maratha leader. According to
this treaty Madhava Rao II was accepted as the new Peshwa and the British retained Salsette
along with a heavy war indemnity. However, the Home authorities rejected the Treaty of
Purander. Warren Hastings also considered the Treaty of Purandar as a scrap of paper and
sanctioned operations against the Marathas. In the meantime, the British force sent by the
Bombay Government was defeated by the Marathas.
In 1781, Warren Hastings dispatched British troops under the command of Captain Popham.
He defeated the Maratha chief, Mahadaji Scindia, in a number of small battles and captured
Gwalior. Later in May 1782, the Treaty of Salbai was signed between Warren Hastings and
Mahadaji Scindia. Accordingly, Salsette and Bassein were given to the British. Raghunath
Rao was pensioned off and Madhav Rao II was accepted as the Peshwa.
The Treaty of Salbai established the British influence in Indian politics. It provided the
British twenty years of peace with the Marathas. The Treaty also enabled the British to exert
pressure on Mysore with the help of the Marathas in recovering their territories from Haider
Ali. Thus, the British, on the one hand, saved themselves from the combined opposition of
Indian powers and on the other, succeeded in dividing the Indian powers.
The Second Anglo-Mysore War (1780-84)
The first Anglo-Mysore War took place in 1767-69. Haider Ali emerged victorious against the
British and at the end of the War a defensive treaty was concluded between Haider Ali and
the British. After eleven years, the Second Mysore War broke out and the main causes for the
second Anglo-Mysore War were:
1. The British failed to fulfill the terms of the defensive treaty with Haider when he was
attacked by the Marathas in 1771.
2. There was an outbreak of hostilities between the English and the French (an ally of Haider)
during the American War of Independence.
3. The British captured Mahe, a French settlement within Haiders territories.
4. Haider Ali formed a grand alliance with the Nizam of Hyderabad and the Marathas against
the British in 1779. The War began when the British led their forces through
Haiders territory without his permission to capture Guntur in the Northern Sarkars. Haider
Ali defeated Colonel Baillie and captured Arcot in 1780. In the next year, Warren Hastings,
by a clever stroke of diplomacy, divided the Confederacy. He made peace with the Nizam,
won the friendship of Bhonsle and came to an understanding with the Scindia (both
Marathas). Consequently, Haider was isolated without any alliance. He was defeated by Sir
Eyre Coote at Porto Novo in March 1781. In December 1782, Haider died of cancer at the
age of sixty and his death was kept secret till his son Tipu Sultan assumed power.

The Second Mysore War came to an end by the Treaty of Mangalore in 1783. Accordingly, all
conquests were mutually restored and the prisoners on both sides were liberated.
Pitts India Act, 1784
The Regulating Act proved to be an unsatisfactory document as it failed in its objective. In
January 1784, Pitt the Younger (who became Prime Minister of England after the General
Elections) introduced the India Bill in the British Parliament. Despite bitter debate in both the
Houses, the bill was passed after seven months and it received royal assent in August 1784.
This was the famous Pitts India Act of 1784.
Main Provisions of the Pitts India Act, 1784
(i) A Board of Control consisting of six members was created. They were appointed by the
Crown.
(ii) The Court of Directors was retained without any alteration in its composition.
(iii) The Act also introduced significant changes in the Indian administration. It reduced the
number of the members of the Governor-Generals Council from four to three including the
Commander-in-Chief.
Pitts India Act constitutes a significant landmark with regard to the foreign policy of the
Company. A critical review of the Act reveals that it had introduced a kind of contradiction in
the functions of the Company. The Court of Directors controlled its commercial functions,
whereas the Board of Control maintained its political affairs. In fact, the Board represented
the King, and the Directors symbolised the Company.
The Impeachment of Warren Hastings
The Pitts India Act of 1784 was a rude shock and bitter disappointment for Warren Hastings.
The Prime Ministers speech censuring the policy of the Government of Bengal was
considered by Warren Hastings as a reflection on his personal character. His image and
reputation were tarnished in England. Therefore, he resigned and left India in June 1785. In
1787, Warren Hastings was impeached in the Parliament by Edmund Burke and the Whigs
for his administrative excess. Burke brought forward 22 charges against him. The most
important of them were related to the Rohilla War, the Case of Nanda Kumar, the treatment of
Raja Chait Singh of Benares and the pressures on the Begums of Oudh. After a long trail
which lasted till 1795, Warren Hastings was completely acquitted. He received pension from
the Company and lived till 1818.
Nanda Kumar was an influential official in Bengal. He was hanged to death by the verdict of
the Supreme Court at Calcutta for a petty offence of forgery. The English law was applied in
this judgement. It was contended that Warren Hastings and Sir Elija Impey, the judge of the
Supreme Court conspired against Nanda Kumar. Warren Hastings imposed heavy penalty on
the Raja Chait Singh of Benares for his delay in payment of tribute and deposed him in an
unjust manner.

The Begums of Oudh were mother and grand mother of the Nawab of Oudh. Warren Hastings
helped the Nawab by sending his troops to the help of Nawab who squeeze money from the
Begums. This was a highhanded policy.
Estimate of Warren Hastings
He was a gifted personality endowed with strong will, great energy and resourcefulness. His
long stay in Bengal in the shadow of the Mughal cultural tradition gave him, enough
opportunity to learn oriental languages such as Bengali (the local language) and Persian (the
diplomatic language) and to develop oriental tastes. Since he considered Indian culture as a
basis for sound Indian administration, he patronised the learning of Indian languages and arts.
His task was a challenging one since he was surrounded by hostile forces. He faced his
external enemies with unflinching courage and unfailing resource, and his internal opponents
with extraordinary patience and firmness. It was on the foundation which Warren Hastings
laid down, that others erected a stately edifice.
Warren Hastings came as Governor of Bengal in 1772 at the age of forty when he had been
already two years in India. He had risen regularly up the rungs of the civilian ladder from the
position of a writer, the lowest grade in the Companys service.
As a member of Vansittarts council he was posted as the resident at Murshidabad Court.
He returned to England after fourteen years service in India. Impressed by the ability with
which gave evidence before a committee of the House of Commons, he was sent back to
India as the second of the Madras Council in 1769. He was next appointed Governor of
Bengal towards the end of 1771 and he assumed charge early in 1772.
The incompetence of Gives successors had fully revealed the evils of Dual Government.
Miseries of the people due to oppression and exploitation by the Companys servants were
aggravated by the famine of 1770 which stalked whole of Bengal leaving a third part of it
desolate and one-third of the population decimated.
The Companys dominions in Bengal then consisted of these types of territories of a variety
of titles. Burdwan, Midnapur and Chittagong were gifted to the Company in 1960 and were
revenue tree. Calcutta and the 24-Parganas were held as Zamindary under the Nawab. Other
places of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa were held by the Company as Diwani granted to the
Company in 1765 for an annual payment of 26 lakhs of rupees to the Emperor.
From 1765 to 1772 the administration of the diwani was in the hands of two Indian officials
called Naib-Diwans or deputy finance ministers of the Company although legally and

actually the Company was the real diwan. There naib-diwans were Muhammad Reza Khan in
Bengal and Shitab Rai in Bihar.
This system of Indian executive officers functioning under vague British control, known as
dual system had fallen into great disrepute and while the Company itself was in great
financial straits, its servants returning to England carried immense fortunes with them and
their Indian counterparts were amassing fortunes by all questionable means.
The directors of the Company strongly suspected the naib-diwans of intercepting a great part
of the revenue that ought to have reached the Companys exchequer. Such, in short, was the
state of things Hastings was called upon to deal with. As Warren Hastings understood the
situation is clear from his remark when appointed Governor of Bengal: a station he said of
more eclat, but of more trouble and difficulty.
His task was to consolidate the Companys rule in Bengal, preservation of the British
possessions from deadly danger without, and bitter schism within. He found the Company, a
Commercial Corporation turned revenue former with all the attendant problem of such
transformation.
The Court of Directors wrote:
We now arm you with full powers to make a complete reformation. The dictatorial
instructions, by which Hastings was guided, however, left much scope for his own discretion
of which he made full use.
Hastings reforms fall under four heads, namely to:
(1) Deal with the diwani or revenue administration,
(2) Reform of the judicature,
(3) Settlement of land revenue, and
(4) Commercial reforms.
Diwani or Revenue Administration:
The Court of Directors instructed him that the Company muststand forth as Dewan, and
take over the Civil administration directly in the hands of the Company. This was, in the
words of Warren Hastings, implanting the authority of the Company, and the Sovereignty of
Great Britain, in the constitution of the country. This was only a half-way house measure

towards the British Crowns taking over of their conquests. It continued to remain in this state
until the Revolt of 1857 precipitated its completion.
Hastings first task was the abolition of the officers of the naib-diwans of Bihar and Bengal
and prosecute the naib-diwans Shitab Rai and Muhammad Reza Khan for peculation and
tyranny. Hastings had to do all this under instruction from the Directors.
He was also instructed to use Nanda Kumar, former Naib-Diwan who had been ousted by the
Company to put in Reza Khan in that position as their representative and was not to be
removed by the Nawab without Companys consent. Hastings was ordered by the Directors to
give the whole matter of deposing the naib-diwans an ethical colour by staging a formal trial
of the two. This was obviously a political measure to meet any possible opposition to the
deposition of the two native high officials. Shitab Rai naib-diwan of Bihar was acquitted
honourably and Hastings himself wrote: Indeed I scarce know why he was called to
account. Muhammad Reza Khan was also ultimately acquitted.
The burden that lay on one manWarren Hastingswas too heavy to bear. He aptly
described the situation as every part of the Government had been clogged. But Hastings
ability-was Herculean and he addressed to the job with ability and efficiency.
He reduced the allowance of the Nawab to sixteen lakhs from thirty-two and this was the
third reduction of allowance which was fifty-three lakhs in 1765, reduced to forty-one lakhs
in 1766, to thirty-two lakhs in 1769. Hastings, however, cannot be blamed for the third
reduction (to sixteen lakhs) for it was done under the orders of the Court of Directors.
Hastings now turned his attention to work out a satisfactory system of revenue administration
and to reform the civil justice which was a part of it. In 1769 Supervisors were appointed and
they had been given a roaming mission to study the revenue system in their districts.
But they had neither any training nor any inclination to have a clear idea of the revenue
system of the time. Hastings appointed a Committee of Circuit which was to visit each
district to effect revenue settlement with tax farmers or Zaminders. A preliminary revenue
settlement was made for five years, lands being farmed out by auction to the highest bidder,
although a few hereditary Zamindars were appointed tax farmers in this process, the system
of rack-renting kept most of the hereditary Zaminder houses out, and fortune-seekers became
the highest bidders in their eagerness to realize whatever they could within the span of five
years without any thought of the ability of the ryots to pay the higher demand of revenue.

Hastings proceeded from the motion that the State was the Supreme landlord which was
contrary to Hindu theory, although the Muslim theory was that the land of the conquered
belonged to the conqueror. To the English, the status of revenue farmers posed a difficult
problem. Under the Mughal revenue system the revenue farmers or Zamindars had become a
heterogeneous body of descendants of old Hindu chiefs, court-favourites, farmer officials etc.
But by the middle of the eighteenth century the Mughal system of land revenue had almost
completely decayed and the English Company found the revenue System in utter confusion.
Hastings revenue settlement, therefore, was experimental. He ignored the claims of
hereditary Zaminders and strongly objected to the Zamindars being accepted as the owners of
(he lands subject to payment of a fixed rent.
He appointed collectors, one in each district, in place of the supervisors. The collectors had
no settlement or assessment work to do, for this was done by the Committee of Circuit,
Hastings himself accompanying it. The collectors were under strict orders to prevent the
Zamindars from raising rents and Indians were appointed to assist them.
A Board of Revenue with the Governor and his Council was constituted with its seat in
Calcutta upon which was entrusted the highest authority in revenue matters. The treasury of
the diwani was shifted from Murshidabad to Calcutta.
Hastings revenue experiment proved a failure largely due to the lack of caliber and power of
the Collectors. Physical difficulty in dealing with villages throughout the deltaic plain added
to their difficulty. The Collectors only added to the confusion. Defaults were frequent, the
evils of settling lands with speculators of poor standing led to the hopeless failure of the
quinquennial settlement. Bengal Presidency was put under six Revenue Boards and the
system of Collectors was abolished. A Metropolitan Revenue Board was placed upon all these
six Revenue Boards.
Thompson and Garratt are reluctant to put the blame for the failure of the quinquennial
settlement on Warren Hastings on the grounds that he was not responsible for legal chaos
produced by the Regulating Act of 1773; he had to satisfy the rapacity of the Court of
Directors at London who had an unusually exaggerated notion about the wealth of Bengal
which forced him to assess the revenue too high. Further, he had not the staff, Indian or
English, under him who had the knowledge, probity or willingness to carry out his scheme.

It is also contended by Thompson and Garratt that the criticism of Hastings in ignoring the
claims of the hereditary Zamindars is untenable because according to them due to the anarchy
in the early eighteenth century a large proportion of the Zamindars were adventurers, many of
whom had secret link with gangs of robbers, dacoits and river pirates. Hastings indeed failed
to provide an alternative policy but Thompson and Garratt pointed out that the Zamindars did
not justify the later policy of Permanent Settlement by their services to the country-side or
their treatment of the tenantry.
Yet we cannot lose sight of the facts that the system of settling land by auction to the highest
bidder brought in fresh horde of speculators who, not sure of a renewal of tenancy, exploited
to the utmost. The Companys servants themselves also participated in the bidding at the
auction through their banians or servants. Warren Hastings also cannot escape the charge of
corruption. There was a grant of land registered in the name of a ten-year old son of Can-too
Bamboo (Krishna kanta Nandy), a banian of Warren Hastings, inordinately high assessment,
despite pressure from Directors for it, should have been resisted by him. This, added to the
harshness of collection, contributed to the failure of Hastings revenue experiment. Hastings
failed, but his policy is important because it marks the first tentative effort to evolve the
district system and the district Officer.
After the expiry of the term of quinquennial settlement in 1776, Hastings reverted to annual
revenue settlement on the basis of open auction to highest bidder. Preference was, however,
given to Zamindars in settling land. In the same year (1776) Hastings appointed the A mini
Commission for gathering information about the land revenue system of Bengal and on the
basis of this abolished the six Provincial Councils of revenue and reappointed the collectors,
one to each district in 1781.
According to Penderal Moon all the members of the abolished Provincial Councils had to be
provided with job under direction from the Directors and Hastings had to absorb many of
these former members of the Provincial Councils as collectors and judges of Diwani Adalats.
Quanugos who had been an important Mughal revenue staff and who had ceased to function
were reappointed and the supervision of the entire revenue system was centralized in the
hands of the Committee of Revenue at Calcutta.
Hastings Judicial Reforms:
Under the Mughal system, the diwan was in charge of the revenue collection of the Subah
and to decide all cases related to land and land revenue. With the grant of the Diwani (1765)

the Company also obtained the responsibility of the civil justice. With the change in the
revenue system, therefore, change in the system of civil justice was inevitable.
The Criminal justice was, however, the responsibility of the Nizamat, as such the Company
had no right to effect any change in the criminal law a criminal justice. But the Company did
not regard this legal distinction in the powers of the Company and the Nawab in civil and
criminal justice.
It may be mentioned here that judicial system in Bengal before Hastings reforms was very
unsatisfactory. The Zamindars were in charge of both the civil and criminal justice in their
own areas and arbitration rather than judicial trial was the popular method of justice. Every
decision is a corrupt bargain with the highest bidder. Trifling offenders are frequently loaded
with heavy demands and capital offences are as often absolved by the renal judge. (Verelst)
Interference by the Companys servants or their servants made the situation worse still. With
Companys obtaining the grant of Diwani the Civil Justice became the responsibility of the
Company and it was defrayed through the naib-diwan of the Company.
Warren Hastings addressed himself to the task of reform of judicial system immediately after
the new revenue Settlement in 1772. On the recommendation of the Committee of Court he
set up a Diwani Adalat and a Faujdari Adalat in each district and called them Mofussil
Diwani Adalat and Mofussil Faujdari Adalat.
Mofussil Diwani Adalat:
This court was presided over by the Collector of the district, and. it was competent to decide
relating to inheritance relating to Zamindary and taluqdari. It also decided all cases relating to
landed property, caste, marriage, debts etc. If the litigants were Hindus, the Hindu Law and
custom would be applicable and in the case of Muslims, the Muslim law and custom. This
court was competent to deal with cases up-to the value of Rs.500. An-appeal against the
decisions of the Mofussil Diwani Adalat would, however, lie to the Sadar Diwani Adalat at
Calcutta which was constituted of the Governor and two members of his council assisted by
Indian Officers.
Mofussil Faujdari Adalat:
The Mofussil Faujdari Adalat was competent to try all criminal cases. Only in cases where
the accused was awarded capital punishment, the punishment had to be sent to the Sadar

Nijamat Adalat which was presided over by the Nawab. Nawabs confirmation was necessary
for Capital punishment or confiscation of property. The Mofussil Faujdari Adalat was presided by an Indian Officer of the Company who was assisted by a Qazi, a Mufti and two
Maulavis. The Collector of the district had power of supervision over the Mofussil Faujdari
Adalat and he could see that the evidence was duly considered and impartial judgment
arrived at.
From the Mofussil Faujdari Adalat appeal would lay to the Sadar Nizamat Adalat at
Murshidabad. The Sadar Nizamat Adalat was presided over by the Nizam who would be
assisted by the Chief Qazi, Chief Mufti and three expert Maulavis. The President and Council
at Calcutta exercised right of control and supervision over the Sadar Nizamat Adalat.
Supreme Court at Calcutta:
In 1773 Regulating Act was passed by the British Parliament in order to control and regulate
the affairs of the East India Company in India. Besides provisions relating to general
administration etc. this Act provided for, the establishment of a Supreme Court at Calcutta
with a Lord Chief Justice and three puisne judges under him. This court was competent to by
all British subjects. Over Calcutta and the English factories the Court exercised jurisdiction
over all persons European or non-European.
But outside this jurisdiction if parties would agree, their case might be heard by this Court.
The Supreme Court administered English laws. It may be mentioned here that the Sadar
Dewani Adalat and Sadar Nizamat Adalat with their subordinate Adalats administered justice
according to Hindu and Muslim laws, supplemented by the capacity.
The Supreme Court claimed jurisdiction and actually did exercise it over all persons and not
only ignored the authority of the Companys courts but even entertained cases against the
judges of those\ courts, by cases again which had already been tried by other courts. This
court began to exercise jurisdiction over Zamindars and others who were neither British
subjects nor servants of the British subjects All this was being done taking advantage of the
failure of the Regulating Act in defining the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court. This was also
responsible for the conflict between the Supreme Court and Supreme Council which will be
discussed elsewhere.
Other Reforms of Hastings:

Hastings reforming hands touched a variety of subjects. As the Companys Courts, i.e. the
district and Sadar Courts used to deal many cases according to Hindu and Muslim laws,
Hastings caused a translation of the Sanskrit, i.e. Hindu Laws in a Code called Code of
Gentoo Laws was published in 1776.
He also introduced:
(i) The system of preserving the records of judicial cases,
(ii) That cases would become time-barred if not instituted within twelve years from the time
of the cause of action,
(iii) The debtor could not be tortured after taking him to the house of the creditor,
(iv) Prohibited imposition of heavy furies by courts,
(v) Rate of interest was fixed at Rs.100/-,
(vi) Application of the Hindu laws in cases of the Hindus and Mohammedan law in cases of
the Muslims was formally accepted, and
(vii) Abolished the system of acceptance of fees by the Qazis, Muftis etc. from those who
would seek justice and instead he introduced payment of salaries to them.
Hastings found that free movement of Trade and Commerce was hindered by innumerable
customs within Zamindaries. These were all abolished and only five customs houses or
stations at Calcutta, Hooghly, Murshidabad, Dacca and Patna were retained. Customs duty
was lowered down to 2 % payable by all merchants and misuse of dastaks was checked
with a strong hand. Exploitation of weavers by the Companys agents was suppressed.
Hastings, reformed the currency system and thereby removed the mismanagement of the
currency of the time.
Hastings tried to expand the Companys trade to Tibet and through Tibet to Nepal and
Bhutan. To this end he had sent George Bogle in 1774 to the court of Pashi Lama in Tibet as
an emissary. He also had sent Abdul Qader mission to Nepal for prospecting the future of a
trade relation with Nepal and the Company.
Supreme Court and Supreme Council: Their Conflict:

In 1773 the British Parliament enacted the Regulating Act finding that the earlier charter was
not adequate to meet the exigencies of the situation and to prevent the corruption among the
Companys servants.
This Act vested the administration of British territories in India in the hands of a GovernorGeneral with a Council of four members. The Governor of Bengal was given the name of
Governor-General of Bengal. The four members of the Governor-Generals Council were
named in the Act, they were Clavering, Monson, Barwell and Philip Francis.
The Council was appointed for a term of five years but could be removed from office earlier
on the recommendation of the Court of Directors. Over the Councils of Bombay and Madras
the Governor-General and Council had supervisory power in matters of declaration of war
and signing of peace.
The Governor-General was to preside over the meeting of the Council and matters were to be
decided by majority votes. The Governor-General had no over-riding power, he had only a
casting vote in cases of tie. Three members formed the quorum. Of the four members of the
Council named in the Act, Barwell was already in the Companys service in India, others
came from England.
The three members who came from England were greatly prejudiced against Warren Hastings
and the Companys government which they thought were utterly corrupt. Clavering, Monson
and Francis formed a triumvirate and were out to find fault with Warren Hastings who had a
lone supporter in Barwell. The defect of the Regulating Act in not providing the GovernorGeneral, who was the President of the Council with overriding power made the situation
extremely difficult from the very start. On their arrival the members of the triumvirate
complained of mean and dishonourablereception accorded to them, and even imputed
motive in Warren Hastings failure to show befitting courtesy in receiving the members of the
Council. This was a bad augury for things that were to follow.
The first meeting of the Council showed the shape of things to come. The Councillors, except
Barwell, demanded all papers relating to Hastings transactions with Nawab Wazir of Oudh
and all correspondence with Middleton, the English Resident at Lucknow to be placed before
the Council.

They also wanted to examine the propriety on the Companys part in the Rohilla War. Warren
Hastings Who knew his own weak points refused to place the papers demanded by the
majority, before the Council whereupon the majority recalled Middleton from Lucknow and
appointed Bristow in his place as President and arrived at the conclusion that Companys
involvement in the Rohilla War was unjust and impolitic. The majority comprising Clavering,
Monson and Francis entered into a new treaty with the. Nawab of Oudh known as the treaty
of Fyzabad. Asaf-ud- daulah was now the new Nawab of Oudh who succeeded his father.
By this treaty the Nawab was required to pay an increased amount of rupees two lakh sixty
thousand in place of two lakh ten thousand for the maintenance of Companys troops in
Oudh. The Nawab had also to cede permanently Benares to the Company. The majority
criticized the quinquennial settlement of 1772 as it was unrealistic as the amount of revenue
fixed by auction with the highest bidder was extremely exhorbitant and beyond the power of
the tax fanners to pay.
Hastings reforms of the criminal justice was also objected to by the majority inasmuch as the
power of the Nawab was curtailed. By a resolution all rights of the Nawab with regard to
criminal justice were restored. Mohammad Reza Khan was reinstated in his position at naibsubah. In external affairs as well the majority did not endorse Warren Hastings policy of
interference in the internal disputes of the Marathas and objected to policy of territorial
expansion.
For the period from 1774 to 1776 Warren Hastings was in an uncomfortably embarrassing
situation because all his powers and authority had been virtually usurped by the majority in
the Council which was hostile to him. But the situation changed in the same year when
Monson died (Sept. 25, 1776). With his casting vote Hastings now had a majority in the
Council.
But in 1775 when Warren Hastings was having a very hard and trying time with the hostile
majority in the Council, he wrote to Colonel Macleane in London desiring to be relieved of
his post. His desire was conveyed to the Court of Directors who accepted Hastings
resignation and appointed Clavering as the Governor-General in his place (Nov., 1776).
Edward Wheeler was appointed a member of the Council of the Governor-General in place of
Hastings.

But in the meantime (Sept. 1776) died Monson which gave Hastings majority in the Council
with his casting vote changed the situation for Hastings and he informed the Court of
Directors of his intention to continue as Governor-General. Early in 1777 instruction had
reached Calcutta about Claverings appointment as Governor-General and Clavering took
oath as Governor-General on June 20, 1777. Hastings however did not make over charge to
Clavering and the matter was referred to the Supreme Court which decided in Warren
Hastings favour. Wheeler arrived in Calcutta and it was apprehended that he would toe the
line of Philip Francis. But again luck favoured Warren Hastings, Clavering died (Aug., 1777)
leaving Hastings in the majority. Francis was too intelligent and firm a person to relax his
criticism and opposition to Warren Hastings.
Philip Francis conflict with Warren Hastings was both a conflict of personalities as well as of
principles. Both differed in principles, and policy matters of the Company. Francis was an
honest, puritanic type with whom conviction was more important than convenience. He had
started from England with the conviction that Warren Hastings was an oppressing tyrant with
whom human consideration was out of question. Francis letter to Lord dive bears out this
attitude about Hastings. Mr. Hastings wholly and solely has sold and ruined Bengal wrote
Francis. Francis was also not without age or ambition.
It was his conviction that it was he alone who could save- Bengal and in order accomplish
that he needed power and it could be had by removing Hastings from office. As such there
were occasions when his attack of Warren Hastings or criticism of his work and policy was
unmerited. Thus far the conflict between Warren Hastings and Francis was of personalities.
But the difference in principles and policy between the two was deeper and of a fundamental
nature.
Philip Francis was an ardent believer in the French Philosophers and honestly and sincerely
thought that Bengal could not thrive under a European Government. His idea was that in
order to put an end to the prevalent corruption the British Government should assume
sovereignty of Bengal which was to be restricted to defence of Bengal and receipt of a
tribute. The Government of the country should be felt with the Nawab with no mandatory
power over him from the British side.
Francis was against Companys rule in Bengal because from its very nature, the Company
would try to enhance profit, extort money, resort to every type of corruption. He also did not

endorse the Companys standing forth as the diwan. He wanted the administration to be left
with the Nawab. It was due to this conviction of Francis that the majority restored the power
of the Nawab in matters of criminal jurisdiction. Francis also suggested a plan for permanent
settlement of revenue and was highly critical of the quinquennial settlement of Warren
Hastings (1772).
Warren Hastings, however, had enough experience of the affairs of Bengal and was aware of
the evils of the dual government He believed that the miseries of the people of Bengal could
be removed if the system of responsibility without power on the part of the nawab and power
without responsibility on the part of the Company was abolished.
He also believed that the prevailing administrative confusion and inefficiency and the
financial corruption among the Companys servants could best be tackled by assuming direct
responsibility of the diwani and by relegating the Nawab into the background. He also
realized that a weak Nawab of Mirjafars type or a strong and independent Nawab of Mir
Qasims character was not conducive to the interests of the Company and therefore, the
Company must assume the position of a trustee in respect of its Indian conquests on behalf of
the British nation.
Again Warren Hastings believed that the Indian system of administration was decadent and
disorganized and the only way to infuse life and efficiency in it was to undertake a
programme of reforms and render it workable. Francis who was against British interference
in Indian affairs on the other hand thought that the English should not undertake the
responsibility of making the Nawabs government workable, on the contrary if the Company
would let the Nawab freedom of action the Nawabs administration would be reformed on
native initiative.
While Hastings contended that the Sadar Diwani Adalat, Sadar Nizamat Adalat with district
civil and criminal courts under them were necessitated by the assumption Diwani and by the
need for better administration of justice, Francis, a theoretician fed in the school of French
Philosophy was opposed to the reform of native judicial system by the Company.
He was critical of the abolition of the judicial function of the Zamindars in their own estates.
According to him the traditional despotic system of government in India could not be mixed
up with the enlightened system of English jurisprudence and Hastings judicial reforms was

an interference in the traditional judicial system of the natives. About the judicial reforms of
Hastings Francis remarked that Hastings had rashly forced the accumulated wisdom and
experience of ages to yield to the crude ideas of a few foreigners. Out of this conviction the
majority in Council passed a resolution to abolish the Sadar Diwani and Sadar Nizamat
Adalats and to restore the Nawabs criminal jurisdiction. To Francis the establishment of the
Supreme Court alt Calcutta was an outrage on the native prejudices and institutions.
The revenue arrangements made in 1772 for five years had been criticized by Francis on the
ground of its narrow commercial outlook of raising as much revenue as possible by settling
land with adventures who had given the highest bid in the auction of land settlement. Francis
also did not agree with Hastings view that conquests had made the Company proprietor of
the soil.
He was for a permanent settlement of land with the Zamindars. He wanted to reduce the
Companys interference in the district revenue administration by abolishing the Six
Provincial Revenue Councils and reverting to the system of supervisors as under the dual
government. Hastings, however, refused to agree with Francis points of view.
In foreign policy Warren Hastings believed in the principle of expansion in the circumstances
of the Indian political situation at the time. He also believed in the principle of extension of
British influence on territories on the borders of Companys dominions.
In pursuance of this policy Hastings created Oudh a buffer state against any possible attack
by the Marathas, Rohilla or Maratha attack and made Oudh dependent on the British support.
Francis wanted no further extension of British control beyond Bengal and vehemently
opposed Hastings policy, which he described as, one of extirpation, annihilation and
extermination of the native powers on the borders of the British territories.
Francis regarded Oudh as a dangerous rival of the Company and it was at his instance that the
treaty of Fyzabad in 1775 superseded the treaty of Benares which according to him corrected
the imbalance between Oudh and the Company effected by the treaty of Benares. It was also
the idea of Francis to reinstate the Emperor to his position as the emperor of India and to turn
his help to the Companys advantage. Francis also opposed Hastings policy of offence as a
means to defence.

The personalities and principles of the two antagonists Philip Francis were not reconcilable.
While Hastings policy was dictated by exigencies of the situation and was pragmatic, and his
policy ruthless and domineering, Francis policy was more theoretical and at the same time
dogmatic.
Although it would not perhaps have been altogether impossible to bring about a harmony
between the policies and principles of the two and effect a common approach to the problems
of the time but the difference in personalities made it impossible. Despite attempts at
reconciliation between the two and temporary cessation of conflict, no permanent
understanding or reconciliation was possible and in 1780 the personal differences reached
such a point of mutual vendetta that both met in a duel under the pipul tree outside the gates
of Fort William in which Francis received a pistol shot and he left for home.

THE FIRST CIVIL CODE

The Judicial Plans of Warren Hastings 1772, 1774 and 1780 Till the middle of the 18th
century, the Company held under it only three presidency towns of Calcutta, Madras and
Bombay. As time passed, the company expanded its political activities and brought new
territories surrounding the presidency towns under its control. This territory came to be
known as the moffusil. The first territorial acquisition of the company consisted of Bengal,
Bihar and Orissa. Here the first adalat system was started in 1772. Warren Hastings
introduced the new judicial administration system as well as a revenue collection system in
the year 1772 It laid the Foundation of Adalat system. Judicial Plan of Warren Hastings 1772
Warren Hastings Administrative plan divided territory of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa into
number of Districts. In each District an English servant of the company was appointed as a
Collector who was to be responsible for the collection of land revenue. Establishment of
Mofussil Diwani Adalat As per Warren Hastings plan a Mofussil Diwani Adalat was
established in every district with collector as the Judge. The court was authorized to decide
all civil cases like disputes regarding properties, inheritance, marriage, caste, debts, disputed
accounts, contracts, partnerships and demands of rent. Wherever possible religious laws of
Muslim as well as Hindus were followed and applied .E.g. Caste, marriage, inheritance etc.
As the English servant who was appointed as Collector did not understand the religious laws ,
Kazis and Pundits were appointed to help him The decisions of the Mofussil Diwani Adalat
in cases up to Rs.500 were final. Establishment of Small Cause Adalat This Adalat decided
petty cases up to Rs. 10 .The Head farmer of the Pergunnah became the judge. This system
was designed to save the traveling expenses of poor farmers, as they did not need to travel to
the district place for justice.
Establishment of Mofussil Fozdari Adalat In every district a mofussil nizamat or fozdari
adalat was established to try all criminal cases. The adalat consisted of the Muslim kazi, mufti
and moulvies. The moulvies interpreted the Muslim law of crimes. The Kazi and Mufti gave
fatwa and render judgment. In this adalat collector exercise general supervision over the
Adalat, and saw that no corruption was made in the case. The judgment was given
impartially. This Fozdari adalat was not allowed to handle cases where punishment was death
sentence or forfeiture of property of the accused. Such cases went to Sadar Nizamat Adalat
for final orders. Establishment of Sadar Adalats Firstly two courts were established namely
Mofussil Diwani Adalat and Mofussil Fozdari Adalat over them 2 superior courts were
established namely Sadar Diwani Adalat and Sadar Nizamat Adalat. The sadar diwani adalat
consisted of Governor and members of the council and was to hear appeals from the mofussil
diwani adalat in the cases over 500 Rs. The first sitting of the Sadar Diwani adalat was held
on the 17th March, 1773. On each appeal fee of 5 percent was charged. The appeals were to
be filed in the Adalat within 2 months from the date of the judgment, decree given by the
Mofussil Adalat. Establishment of Sadar Nizamat Adalat Sadar Nizamat Adalat consisted of
an Indian judge known as Daroga-i-adalat who was to be assisted by the chief Kazi, chief
mufti and 3 moulvies. Nawab appointed all these persons as per the advice of the Governor.
In case of death sentence punishment, the death warrant was made by the Adalat and signed
by the Nawab as the Head of Nizamat. The governor and council supervised this adalat to
control and reduce the corruption. All cases were heard in the open court. All courts were

ordered to maintain registers and records. Any case older than 12 years was not accepted.
District courts forwarded their records to the Sadar adalat
In civil cases when Plaintiff filed a case, defendant accused person was given only limited
time to give answer and then examine the witness and give the decree, pass the final orders.
The plan tried to reduce the expenses of people. With this plan law officers like kazis, muftis
were given salaries. Before this plan Judge charged the commission but this new plan
abolished this law and introduced the Court fee system where fees went to Government. After
this plan and establishment of Courts for common Indians it became easy to approach the
Judiciary. Warren Hastings purposely did not take the full charge of Criminal justice system
and kept the puppet Nizam alive. He did not change the forms and when possible tried to
show that the company respected the Nizam. Thus Nizam got the power to sign the death
sentence. The other intelligent system that Warren Hastings kept alive was that following
Hindu laws for Hindus and Muslim laws for the Muslims. In this plan the collector got many
powers, collector was the administrator, tax collector, civil judge and supervisor over the
criminal courts. Because of this the collectors got unlimited powers and Warren Hastings
knew that the downside of this would be that the collectors would become corrupt .he already
told the company directors about this defect of this plan. The directors of the company
understood the fear and reality of this plan. In the year 1773, Company directed the Calcutta
council to withdraw the collectors as they had become very corrupt. After this the Calcutta
Government introduced a new plan for the collection of revenue and administration of Justice
on November 23, 1773 and put it into force in the year 1774. Plan of 1774 With this plan
collectors were recalled from every district. In place of Collector an Indian officer was
appointed called as Diwan or amil. Diwan got the power to collect the revenue as well as act
as a judge in the Mofussil diwani adalat. The territory of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa was
divided into six divisions with their headquarters at Calcutta, Burdwan, Murshidabad,
Dinajpore, Dacca and Patna In each division many districts were created. The complete Bihar
came under the Patna Division A provincial Council consisting of four or five English
servants of the company were appointed in each division to supervise the collection of
revenue and to hear appeals from the cases decided by the amil, the Indian diwan. The
Provincial Council was a link between the Mofussil Diwani Adalat and the Sadar Diwani
Adalat. While in the Plan of 1772, appeals from the mofussil diwani adalats lay to the Sadar
Diwani Adalat in all cases over Rs. 500, now all cases decided by the amils irrespective of
their value were appealable to the Provincial Council. This time also Warren Hastings knew
that the Provisional council will do more harm and more corruption than the Collectors.
Warren Hastings considered this plan as a temporary plan but the Regulating Act was passed
at this time and Warren Hasting could not change the plan until year 1780 Judicial Plan of
1780, First Indian Civil Code Prepared Warren Hastings knew that the judicial plan of 1774
was not perfect, and when Warren Hastings again got the chance, he made changes to the
judicial plan of 1774. On April 11, 1780 new plan was introduced. As per the plan of 1780
judicial and executive functions were separated. Adalats Function to do civil justice, no
revenue work Provincial Council - No judicial work, only revenue related work, collection
and revenue cases. But with this plan the problem was that, the area was vast and adalats
were few to administer those large areas, because of this, cases were more, time was limited

with the judges and thus arrears piled up in every adalat. 2nd problem was that witnesses had
to travel lot to reach the adalats For eg. There was only one Adalat in the whole of Bihar.
Because of this people thought it better not to file the cases in courts, as filing cases in court
meant delayed justice, physical harassment, waste of time and money. As per the judicial plan
cases up to Rs.100 were referred to the person who stayed near the place of litigant ,but
before this it was compulsory to file the case in the Adalat, and 2nd problem was that the
person who worked as judges has to work as a honorary judge and did not get any salary .
The Zamindar or public officer acted as an honorary judge and they charged money for this
and also zamindar got the chance to do corruption as he became the honorary judge
Warren Hasting was not satisfied with the plan of 1780 and always thought about improving
the judicial system in India. On 29th September 1780 Warren Hastings proposed in the
Council that chief justice Sir Elijah Impey be requested to accept the charge of the office of
the Sadar Diwani Adalat. Impey accepted this offer. He remained in Sadar Adalat for a year
but he introduced a lot of reforms in sadar adalat. Impey drafted many regulations to reform
the adalats. On November 3, 1780 first reform, regulation was passed to regulate the
procedure of the diwani adalats. As per this rule , the Mofussil judge had to decide the facts ,
he was allowed to take the help of Hindu Pundits or Muslim Mulla if it was necessary to
understand the cause or case. Impey compiled a civil procedure code for the guidance of the
Sadar Adalat and mofussil diwani adalats. It was the first code of civil procedure to be
prepared in India . It was promulgated by the Council on July 5, 1781 in the form of a
Regulation. It was the digest of the civil rules The code consolidated at one place a detailed
civil procedure. The code contained 95 clauses and with it all the previous regulations
relating to civil procedure were repealed. The code of 1781 clearly defined the functions,
powers and jurisdiction of Sadar Diwani Adalat. This code was translated in Persian and
Bengali language that time. In India, Impey was doing a great job, but in England people
were not happy with Impey because of following reasons Impey was appointed as the
Supreme Court judge to monitor the Company affairs in India. But in India Impey started to
work as a company servant when he accepted office as the Judge of Sadar Adalat. Accepting
this violated the Regulation act. Because of other job, they believed that Impey would not do
the justice with the job of Supreme Court. Because of all above reasons , on 3rd May 1782 in
England House of Commons adopted a resolution requesting the crown, king , to recall
Impey to answer the charge of having accepted an office and violating the Regulating act.
After this Impey left India on 3rd December 1782 Regarding criminal justice system Warren
Hasting took certain steps. Machinery was created for the purpose of arresting criminals and
bringing them before the fozdari adalat for the trial. This system never existed in India before
this. A new department, office of the Remembrancer was created at Calcutta to keep watch on
the functioning of criminal adalats. The department was to work under the Governor General.
The head of the department was known as Remembrancer of criminal courts.
All criminal courts were required to send periodical reports to this department. Everything
was done as per the Muslim criminal law and Warren Hasting was not happy with many
things, and wanted to reform them, he tried his best but company heads did not accept his

views. Because of this in criminal justice system, everyone made money using the corrupt
ways.