Judicial Reforms Of Lord William Bentinck

Nupur Godboley1A

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Lord William BentinckLord William Bentinck became the

Governor-General of India in July, 1828 and held that office up to march,1835.

He made several reforms in judicial administration which in many respects were original .

Many of the institutions created by him form the basis of our present judicial system.

They figure as an outstanding mark in our legal history next to those made by Lord Cornwallis.

Various reforms made by him are discussed in this project.

Creation of a Sadar Adalat at Allahabad

Earlier there was only one Sadar Adalat at Calcutta.

People had to travel long distances to seek justice from that court.

Therefore in many cases, people instead of going to the Adalat, preferred to suffer injustice.

It was necessary that a Sadar Adalat should be created in those far situated areas which had now come under the jurisdiction of the company.

By regulation VI of 1831, Lord William Bentinck met that demand and established a Sadar Diwani Adalat and a Sadar Nizamat Adalat at Allahabad from 1st January, 1832.

The constitution and the powers of the Adalat were the same as that of the Adalat at Calcutta.

The territorial jurisdiction of the Adalat extended to Banaras province and other conquered areas including the districts of Meerut, Saharanpur, Muzzafarpur Nagar and Bulandshahr.

Reforms in criminal judiciary

In the administration of criminal justice, Bentinck made far-reaching changes which may be discussed as follows:-

1.Abolition of circuit courts The Circuit Court which was the man court of

criminal judiciary, was suffering from many defects –

firstly the court had heavy workload and therefore, the arrears went on piling and justice was delayed.

Fourthly, the territory being large and the turn of the courts being hardly twice a year, these courts did not understand the nature of the people

Thirdly, the number of circuit courts was limited with largely territorial jurisdiction.

Secondly, in many cases reference was to be made to the Sadar Nizamat Adalat which did not entertain the cases for years

2. Creation of the court of commissioner

Regulation 1 of 1829 replaced the Circuit Courts with the courts of the commissioner.

The entire area was divided into divisions and for each division a commissioner was appointed called the Commissioner of Revenue and Circuit.

He had the powers of superintendence and control over the magistrates, police, collectors and other revenue officers.

He was subject to the control of the Sadar Nizamat Adalat and to the board of revenue. the commissioners were also authorized to hear appeals against the decisions of the Magistrates and the Joint Magistrates.

The creation of the court of commissioner gave relief to the people to the extent that the commissioner was more easily available and his territorial jurisdiction was smaller than that of the circuit court

Also, he could more easily and better understand the needs of the people.

But the problem of the arrears and the delay in justice could not be fully solved.

3. Creation Of The Courts Of District And Sessions Judge-

Regulation vii of 1831 authorized the government to invest the judges of the district Diwani Adalat with duties of the Sessions.

The Sessions Judges tried those cases which were committed to them by the Magistrates.

The creation of this new court gave very efficient and immediate justice to the people and the problems of arrears was also solved to a great extent.

4. Creation of the Collector-Magistrates -

Lord Hastings under his scheme of 1821, authorized the government to confer upon the collectors magisterial powers, but that authority was actually exercised only during the time of Bentinck.

However, the authorizing of a revenue officer with the powers to determine the fate of the people in criminal matters was against the principal of natural justice.

5.Increased Participation Of Indians-

The participation of Indians was increased in the criminal administration of justice by lord Bentinck through a regulation of 1831.

It authorized the magistrates to refer any criminal case to a Sadar Ameen or a Principal Sadar Ameen for investigation.

They could award punishment up to a period of one month along with hard labour and corporal punishment not exceeding 30 Rattans.

Further, the provisions were made for Indians to associate as assessors and jurors in criminal trials

Reforms In Civil Judicature

More important reforms were made by Bentinck in the administration of justice in civil cases than those made in criminal justice.

The most important aspect of these reforms was the increased participation of Indians with substantial powers given to them.

The reforms so made are-

1. Enhancement Of The Powers Of The Munsifs And Sadar Ameens-

The number of Munsifs and Sadar Ameens in the civil judicature was increased by Bentinck to a great extent by specifying the local jurisdiction of those officers.

Further by Regulation of 1830, the jurisdiction of the Munsifs was raised to Rs. 300 in all matters.

A monthly salary was also fixed for them and the existing system of giving them commission or fee per case was abolished.

The jurisdiction of the sadar ameen was extended upto the value of Rs. 1000 in cases referred to him by the district diwani adalat. These cases could relate to any personal property. In 1832, they were also authrised to execute their decrees and orders.

2.Court Of Principal Sadar Ameen-

A court of Principal Sadar Ameen with a native officer was created.

He was to be appointed by the Governor-General-In-Council and was given powers to decide cases of civil nature of the value of Rs 1000 to Rs 5000 if referred to him by the district Diwani Adalat.

He was also authorized to hear appeals against the decisions of the Munsifs and Sadar Ameens

3. Judicial Powers Of The Registrar Abolished-

The Registrar was deprived of all the judicial powers which he was exercising so far.

His powers were transferred to the Sadar Ameen and Principal Sadar Ameen.

4. Abolition Of Provincial Court Of Appeals And Enhancement Of Powers Of The Diwani Adalat-By Regulation ii of 1833, the Governor-General-In-Council was specifically authorized to abolish all the provincial courts of appeals.

Regulation vii of the same year authorized the Governor-General-In-Council to appoint additional judges to help the district judge in his civil work with the same powers of deciding cases as the district judge.

5. Introduction Of Jury System-

Regulation vi of 1832 authorized the Governor-General-In-Council to empower any judge of the Diwani Adalat to take the help of the jury in any civil case.

The jury could be of three types:-

certain prominent members of the locality who gave their report after an enquiry of the dispute

Two persons as assessors who had to hear evidence with the judge and to give their separate reports on the facts.

Certain prominent persons of the area to work as jurors.

Appraisal of the reforms of Lord William Bentinck-

Lord Bentinck made very important contributions to the administration of justice.

It can be said with certainty that the main outlines of the present Indian legal system were settled during his time.

According to Dr. M.P. Jain. “the key note of Bentinck’s judicial reforms was indianisation and economy”.

The reforms of Lord Bentinck were more far-reaching in effect and vouchsafed greater efficiency within quite reasonable pecuniary limits.

The most distinguished of all these reforms was the increased employment of Indians in the civil and criminal judicature with substantial powers given to them.

However, they suffered from may drawbacks, for e.g.,

They had a limited monetary jurisdiction.

The suits of high amount which were decided by the principal Sadar Ameen were not filed in his court.

The Americans and the British were excluded from the jurisdiction of the courts of the Indian judges.

No power of final adjudication was given to any court presided oven by an Indian judge.

In all matters, their decisions were appealable to the court of English judges.