The Charter Act of 1833

The 1833 Charter Act was also known as the

Government of
India Act, 1833, and St Helena Act, 1833. (It was called St
Helena Act because the act transferred control of the island
of St Helena, off the coast of south-western Africa, from the
East India Company to the Crown.)
Several important developments in Britain followingthe Industrial
Revolution led to the 1833 legislation affecting the East India
 Constiutional, Administrative, and Judicial Developments
591

and government in India. The government was ready

Company d in its attitude to industry. The Reform
acccptlaissez-faire to the liberal attitude.
to 1932 was conduCive
Act of
1833 Act made the following provisions:
The
years to the Company was further extended.
The lease of 20 be governed in the name of the
Teritories of India were to
possessed the territories but these territories
Crown. The company majesty.
were held in trust for his with China and in tea
monopoly over trade
The Company's trading rights of the Company were
the
also ended. Thus, Company became merely an administrative
terminated and the The Company continued to
in ndia.
agency of the Crown provisions of the original charter,
have the rights under other armies, wage war, and rule over
such as the right to raise
the territories conquered.
European immigration and the acquisition
All restrictions on lifted. Thus, the way was paved
were
of property in India colonisation of India.
wholesale European
for the
of Bengal was designated Governor
The Goyernor General British territories.
powers to administer all
General of India with Governor General of India.)
(William Bentinck was the first
General's government was
For the first time, the Governor and his council became
India
known as the Government of
the Indian Council. AL)
financial, legislative, and administrative centralisation
"In India, a
envisaged:
of the government was
governor general was given the power to superintend,
The affairs of the
control, and direct all civil and military
Company.
were
Bengal, Madras, Bombay, and all other territoriesgeneral.
placed under the complete control of the governor
authority of
All revenues were to be raised under the control
the governor general who would have complete
over the expenditure too.
 592 Constitutional, Administrative, and Judicial
A Brief History of
Developments
Bombay wereModern Indio
number of
The Governments of Madras and the increase in the British people living
Withcountry, India
the was allowed to have three bishogs. The
in
deprived of their legislative powers and left with a drastical y
of proposing to the governor general the projects of right
"
establishment of
to be regulated,
Christian institutions jn India was sought
which they thought to be expedient.a law
Act of 1853
" The governor general's council was again to The Charter
members. (The Pitt's India Act of 1784 had
reduced
have for Charter Act of 1853 was influenced by Raja Ram Moban
The visit to England and the petitions of
number to three.) The functioning of the fourth member ihe Roy's Native Associations, and the Bitish Bombay and the
however. limited in that he was only allowed to sit and wasVote, Madras Indian Association
regarding the establishment of a legislature in lndia
when legislation was being debated and not on all Kolkata
fourthOccasions.
(Lord Macaulay was the first to become the of popular character reflecting the growing political
possessing a
also known as the law member). member. consciousness of the period. The reports of two committees of
1852 were the basis of the 1853 Act.
Qne legislative council was set up for allthe British enquiry in
in India, An element of institutional specialisation was territories
sought This was
the last charter act for the East India Company,
the first time, the Company did not recerve the
to be introduced by dferentiating the
law-making
of the council from its executive meetings. Thus, for meetings
the fret
and, for
charter renewal for a fixed time period. The Company was to
time, legislative functions were separated from the execuf continue possession of territories unless the British Pariiament
functions of the State. provided otherwise.
All laws made_ in India were to be laid before the British. The strength of the Court of Directors was reduced from 24
Parliament and were to be known as Acts. Indian laws were to 18. Of these, the croWn was to appoint six.
to be codified and consolidated. To this effect, the governor
The Company's patronage over the services was dissolved he
general-in-council was directed to set up an Indian Lâw services were now thrown open to a competitive examination.
Commission. (India's first Law Commission was duly set up The coveted (higher) civil services that had been under the
with Lord Macaulay as its chairman.) Company's law was thus thrown open to the Indians also.
"No Indian citizen was to be denied employment under the (The Macaulay Committee or the Committee on the Indian
Company on the basis of religion, colour, birth, descent, Civil Service was to be appointed in 1854.)
etc. The act was thus the first to make a provision to admit The law member became the full member of the govemor
the natives of India be a part of the administration in the general's executive council with power to vote.
COuntry. The Court of Directors were told to nominate four
times the number of vacancies, and from these one was to The separation of the executive and legislative functons t
be selected by competitive examination. (Although the reality the Government of British India progressed. The legrsanve
was different, this declaration formed the basis of political and executive powers of the governor general's council Wee
agitation in India.) Separated. Six new members. called legislative counctllos
were added to the council. govemor
" The administration was urged to take steps to the
12 members in the council:
the conditions of slaves and to ultimately abolishameliorate
slavery.
There were now
general; commander in chief; four members ofthe gOveor
(Slavery was abolished in 1843.) Supreme Court
general's council; the Chief Justice of the
 of Modern India
ABrief History
594
Supreme Court Calcutta;
(Calcutta), a regular judge of the
members drawn from the Company's
and four representative minimumtenure in India and appointed
servants with 10 years Bengal, Madras, Bombay, and
by the local governments of however, no Indian
There was,
provinces.
North Western
participation in the council. it functioned in
council, when
12-member legislative mini-parliament following
" The acted as a
its legislative capacity, So, legislation, for the
Parliament.
procedures of the British special function of the government
first time, was treated as a process._For the first
special
with its own machinery and to frame its own rules and
time, the legislature got the right
Questions could be raised and grievances sought
procedure.
to be addressed.
"Discussions in the council, when acting in its legislative
capacity, became oral instead of in writing. Bills were referred
to select committees instead of individuals. Legislative business
was conducted in public, and reports of proceedings were
oficially published.
"The legislative wing came to be known as the Indian (central)
Legislative Council. However, a law to be promulgated needeu
the assent of the governor genera and the
could veto any bill of the executive councl
" The
legislative council.
governor general was now. relieved of administrative
duties of Bengal and had to
centrally. handle the gOvernance of India
India wereThus,
laid. the foundations of central administration
The Act for Better Go