Judicial Reforms Under Warren Hastings
Modern History › Administrative and Judicial Developments Under British Rule · Topic 26.6
The Mayor's Courts of 1726 began the common law system in India. Under Warren Hastings (1772-85) the Company set up District Diwani Adalats for civil cases under the collector, with appeal to the Sadar Diwani Adalat, and District Fauzdari Adalats for criminal cases under Indian officers, with the Sadar Nizamat Adalat at Murshidabad above them. The Regulating Act of 1773 created a Supreme Court at Calcutta, whose jurisdiction often clashed with other courts.
5 min read · UPSC Prelims · History · Administrative and Judicial Developments Under British Rule
At a Glance
- Beginning Mayor’s Courts, 1726
- Civil courts District Diwani Adalats; appeal to Sadar Diwani Adalat
- Criminal courts District Fauzdari Adalats; Sadar Nizamat Adalat at Murshidabad
- Supreme Court Calcutta, under the Regulating Act of 1773
- Exam link UPSC Prelims, Modern History: Administrative and Judicial Developments Under British Rule
Where Does It Fit?
This is the sixth topic of the category on administrative and judicial developments under British rule. The previous topic covered the military. This topic covers the judicial reforms under Warren Hastings. The next topic covers the judicial reforms under Cornwallis and Bentinck. Previous topic: The Military Under the British.
What Was the Judicial System Before the British?
In pre-colonial India, in the Mughal era and earlier, the judicial system neither adopted proper procedures nor had a regular gradation of courts from highest to lowest or courts distributed in proportion to the area they served. Most litigation among Hindus was decided by caste elders, village panchayats or zamindars. For Muslims the unit of judicial administration was the qazi, an office held by religious persons, located in provincial capitals, towns and qasbas. Rajas and badshahs were the fountainhead of justice, and the process could be arbitrary.
How Did the Common Law System Begin?
The beginning of a common law system based on recorded judicial precedents can be traced to the establishment of the Mayor’s Courts at Madras, Bombay and Calcutta in 1726 by the East India Company. As the Company changed from a trading company into a ruling power, new elements of a judicial system replaced the existing Mughal legal system.
Why Do These Reforms Matter?
The reforms of Hastings mattered because they replaced the loose system of caste elders, panchayats, zamindars and qazis with Company courts organised in a hierarchy from the district to the Sadar courts, and put the Company, for the first time, in charge of administering justice in its territories. They also fixed a principle that lasted for a long time: in matters of personal law, Hindus were governed by Hindu law and Muslims by Muslim law, while in criminal matters the Company retained Muslim criminal law, administered with the help of qazis and muftis, until the reforms described in the next topic. The Supreme Court, by contrast, applied English law to British subjects in Calcutta, so that two systems of law and two sets of courts existed side by side, which is why their jurisdictions clashed. As an analytical point, these early reforms were less a plan of justice than a plan of control: courts were placed under collectors who also collected revenue, and the Company’s interest in revenue shaped the form of the judicial system.
What Did Warren Hastings Do, 1772-1785?
| Court | Details |
|---|---|
| District Diwani Adalats | Established to try civil disputes, under the collector; Hindu law applied to Hindus and Muslim law to Muslims; appeals went to the Sadar Diwani Adalat, which functioned under a president and two members of the Supreme Council |
| District Fauzdari Adalats | Set up to try criminal disputes, under an Indian officer assisted by qazis and muftis, with general supervision by the collector; Muslim law was administered |
| Sadar Nizamat Adalat | At Murshidabad, headed by a deputy nizam (an Indian Muslim) assisted by the chief qazi and chief mufti; approved capital punishment and the acquisition of property |
| Supreme Court | Established at Calcutta under the Regulating Act of 1773; competent to try all British subjects within Calcutta and the subordinate factories, including Indians and Europeans; original and appellate jurisdictions |
The jurisdiction of the Supreme Court often clashed with that of the other courts. The Regulating Act is covered in Constitutional Development 1773-1858: Regulating Act to the Act of 1858.
As an analytical point, Hastings’s scheme kept the existing personal laws and Indian officers in the criminal courts, while placing the courts under the collector, so that the revenue and judicial functions were still joined, a feature that was removed in the next phase, in Judicial Reforms Under Cornwallis and Bentinck. The first police arrangements of the same years are in Evolution of the Police System in Modern India.
Why Is This Topic Important?
- Origin of the court system The Mayor’s Courts and Hastings’s adalats are Prelims facts
- Personal law Hindu and Muslim law applied separately
- Supreme Court conflicts A standard topic in the Company’s judicial history
What Came Next?
The next topic covers the judicial reforms under Cornwallis and Bentinck. Next topic: Judicial Reforms Under Cornwallis and Bentinck.
Key People and Terms
- Diwani Adalat A civil court
- Fauzdari Adalat A criminal court
- Sadar Diwani Adalat The chief civil appeal court
- Sadar Nizamat Adalat The chief criminal court at Murshidabad
- Qazi and mufti Muslim law officers assisting the courts
- Mayor’s Courts The courts established in 1726
Exam Corner
Points to Remember
- Mayor’s Courts: 1726 at Madras, Bombay, Calcutta.
- Diwani = civil; Fauzdari = criminal.
- Sadar Nizamat Adalat at Murshidabad.
- Supreme Court at Calcutta: Regulating Act 1773.
- Hindu law for Hindus, Muslim law for Muslims.
Do Not Confuse With
- Diwani and Fauzdari Adalats Civil versus criminal
- Sadar Diwani and Sadar Nizamat Chief civil court versus chief criminal court
- Hastings’s and Cornwallis’s courts Hastings: collector as judge; Cornwallis: separation of revenue and justice
Memory Hook
Diwani for civil, Fauzdari for crime, the Supreme Court for Calcutta, and the collector in charge.
Mains Angle
Questions ask about the judicial system of the Company. These points add depth.
- Courts Civil, criminal and Supreme Court
- Law Personal law
- Weakness Overlapping jurisdictions
A Question You May Face
An original practice question, not a past paper question.
“Describe the judicial system established by Warren Hastings.”
How to Answer
- Background Pre-colonial system.
- Hastings Civil and criminal courts.
- Supreme Court Regulating Act.
- Conclude Conflicts and later reform.
GS Relevance
Frequently Asked Questions
How was justice administered before the British?
Hindu disputes were mostly decided by caste elders, village panchayats or zamindars, and Muslim cases by qazis in capitals, towns and large villages. Rajas and badshahs were the fountainhead of justice, and the procedure could be arbitrary, without a regular gradation of courts.
What were the Mayor's Courts?
They were courts set up by the East India Company at Madras, Bombay and Calcutta in 1726. They mark the beginning of a common law system in India, based on recorded judicial precedents, which gradually replaced the Mughal legal system.
What did Warren Hastings's civil courts look like?
He established District Diwani Adalats under the collector to try civil disputes, applying Hindu law to Hindus and Muslim law to Muslims, with appeals going to the Sadar Diwani Adalat, which worked under a president and two members of the Supreme Council.
What were the Fauzdari Adalats?
They were district criminal courts under an Indian officer assisted by qazis and muftis, supervised by the collector, administering Muslim law. Capital punishment and acquisition of property needed approval from the Sadar Nizamat Adalat at Murshidabad.
What was the Supreme Court established in 1773?
The Regulating Act of 1773 set up a Supreme Court at Calcutta competent to try all British subjects, Indians and Europeans, within Calcutta and the subordinate factories, with original and appellate jurisdictions. Its jurisdiction often clashed with that of other courts.
PYQ Practice — Statement Analysis
1 The Mayor's Courts were established in 1726.
At Madras, Bombay and Calcutta.
2 Under Hastings the District Diwani Adalats tried criminal cases.
They tried civil disputes.
3 The Sadar Nizamat Adalat was established at Murshidabad under Hastings.
A deputy nizam headed it.
4 The Supreme Court at Calcutta was established under the Regulating Act of 1773.
Its jurisdiction clashed with other courts.
5 Hastings's criminal courts applied Hindu law.
They applied Muslim law.
Related Topics
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