Supreme Court at Calcutta 1774
Topic: Europeans in India and the Rise of Company Rule · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
The Supreme Court at Calcutta was set up in 1774 at Fort William under the Regulating Act of 1773. It was the first such royal court in British India. Elijah Impey was its first Chief Justice. It used English law, often in English, and its powers were not clearly defined, so it frequently clashed with the Governor-General's council.
Example
In 1775 Maharaja Nandakumar accused Governor-General Warren Hastings of taking bribes. Soon after, Nandakumar was tried for forgery in Impey's court and hanged. Many saw this as a "judicial murder" to protect Hastings, and it later became one of the charges in Hastings's impeachment.
Don't confuse with
- Sadar Diwani Adalat: the Company's own highest civil court, started under Warren Hastings in 1772. It applied local laws. The Supreme Court was a court set up by the British Crown and applied English law.
- Calcutta High Court (1862): it replaced the Supreme Court after the Crown took over from the Company.
Related concepts
- Charles Metcalfe
- Warren Hastings
- Regulating Act 1773
- Pitt's India Act 1784
- Impeachment of Warren Hastings
- Cornwallis Code 1793
- Charter Act 1793
- Covenanted civil service
- Fort William College
- Haileybury College