Regulating Act Of 1773
It was an important act in the constitutional history of India as this was the first act declared(Act of 1773) by the British Parliament.
- It marked the beginning of parliamentary control over the government of the Company and automatically asserted Parliament’s sovereignty on the Indian territories.
- It recognized that the Company’s role in India extended beyond mere trade to administrative and political fields, and introduced the element of centralized administration.
Few important features of the regulation were:
o The directors of the Company were required to submit all correspondence regarding revenue affairs and civil and military administration to the government. (Thus for the first time, the British cabinet was given the right to exercise control over Indian affairs.)
o In Bengal, the administration was to be carried out by governor-general and a council consisting of 4 members, representing civil and military government. They were required to function according to the majority rule. Warren Hastings became the first Governor general of Bengal.
o The act declared that the Governors of Madras and Bombay would be subordinate to the Governor-General of Bengal. The Governor-General was authorized to the superintendent and controls the Governments of Bombay and Madras. This provision laid the foundation of a unitary type of Government in British India.
o This act also provide for the establishment of a Supreme Court at Calcutta with original and appellate jurisdictions where all subjects could seek redressal.