JUDICIAL REFORMS OF LORD

WILLIAM BENTINCK
1
 INTRODUCTION

• Lord William Bentinck became the governor-general

of India in July,1828 and held that office uptil
March,1835. During this period he made several
reforms in the judicial administration which in many
respects were original and many of the institutions
created by him forms the basis of our present judicial
system. They figure as an outstanding mark in our
legal history next to those made by Lord Cornwallis.
 Creation of Sadar Adalat at Allahabad
• So far 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 places which had
now come under the jurisdiction of the Company. By
Regulation VI of 1831,Lord Bentinck met that demand and
established a Sadar adalat at Allahabad from 1st january,
1832. The constitution and powers of the Adalat were the
same as that of Calcutta. The territorial jurisdiction of the
new Adalat extended to Banaras , Meerut, Muzzfar Nagar
and Bulandshahr.
 Reforms in Criminal Judiciary

• Abolition of Circuit Court – The circuit court was suffering

from many defects like Firstly, that court had heavy work load
and therefore , the arrears went on piling and the justice was
delayed. Secondly, in many cases the references had to be
made to the Sadar Nizamat Adalat which did not entertain the
matter for years and the accused had to wait for long in the jail
for their turn. Thirdly, the no. of circuit courts was very
limited with large territorial jurisdiction. Fourthly, the territory
being large and the turn of the court being hardly twice a year,
these courts didn’t understand the nature of the people and
therefore, many times innocent people were punished. It was
necessary to devise a new system replacing the old one.
Accordingly in 1829 Lord Bentinck replaced these courts
with the Court of Commissioner.
• Creation of Court of Commissioner – Regulation 1 of
1829 which replaced the Circuit court by the court of
Commissioner also provided for the appointment of
Commissioner. The Commissioner was called as the
Commissioner of Revenue and Circuit and had the power
of superintendence and control over the Magistrates,
police, Collectors and other revenue officers. The entire
area was divided into divisions and for each division a
Commissioner was appointed. The commissioner was
subject to the control of the Sadar Nizamat Adalat in his
judicial functions and to the Board of Revenue in his
revenue functions. The commissioners were also authorized
to hear appeals against the decisions of the Magistrates and
the Joint Magistrates. The decision of the commissioner in
the appeal couldn’t be argued.
 Creation of the Court of District and Sessions
judge-
• Regulation VII of 1831 authorized the government to
invest the judges of the District Diwani Adalat with
the duties of the Sessions. The judges had to meet in
sessions and hence called Sessions Judges. During the
time in which they did not conduct the criminal work
they were called as District Judges. The Sessions
Judges tried those cases which committed to them by
the Magistrates.
• Creation of Collector-Magistrates-

The collectors were authorized to exercise

Magisterial function and thus the institution of
Collectors- Magistrates was created .
 Increased participation of Indians-

• The participation of Indians was increased in the

criminal administration of justice by Lord Bentinck
through a Regulation of 1831, which authorized the
Magistrates to refer any criminal case to a Sadar
Ameen or a Principal Sardar Ameen for investigation.
But they could not be authorized to make any
commitment. The powers of these Indian Officers
were declared in 1832 and they could award
punishment upto a period of one month along with
hard labour and corporal punishment not exceeding,
30 Rattans.
 Reforms in Civil Judicature

• Enhancement in the powers of the Munsifs and

Sadar Ameens- The number of Munsifs and Sadar
Ameens employed in the civil judicature was
increased by Bentinck to a great extent by specifying
the local jurisdiction of those officers. By Regulation
V of 1813, the jurisdiction of the Munsifs was raised
to Rs.300. Their monthly salary was fixed . While
the jurisdiction of the Sadar Ameen was extended
upto Rs.1000 incases referred to him by the District
Diwani Adalat. In 1832, they were also authorized to
execute their decrees and orders.
 Court of Principal Sadar Ameen-

• A court of Principal Sadar Ameen with a native

officer was created. Principal Sadar Ameen was to be
appointed by the Governor-General-in –Council and
was given powers to decide cases of civil nature
between Rs. 1000 to Rs. 5000 If referred to him by
the District Diwani Court he could hear appeals
against the decisions of the Munsifs and Sadar
Ameens. Appeals against him were heard by the
Diwani Adalat and in special cases by the Sadar
Diwani Adalat.
 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 Sadar Ameen and Principal Sadar
Ameen.
 Abolition of Provincial Court of Appeals and
enhancement of powers of the Diwani Adalat-

• By Regulation V of 1831 Provincial court of Appeals

was abolished and replaced by Diwani Adalat
 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 Jury in any civil
case. The jury could be certain prominent members of
the locality or the two persons working as assessors
who had to hear evidence with the judge .
 REFERENCE

• M.P. Jain, Outlines of Indian Legal History,

Wadhwa & Co, Nagpur,2003(6th Edn)