The Amending Act 1781

The Amending Act of 1781 was passed by British Parliament on 5th July 1781 to remove the defects of Regulating Act 1773. It is also known as  Declaratory Act, 1781. The key provision of this act was to demarcate the relations between the Supreme Court and the Governor General in Council.

Key Provisions of the Act – Limiting Powers of Supreme Court

One of the biggest problems created by the Regulating Act was the tussle between the Supreme Court and the Governor General in Council. This was done by curtailing several powers of the Supreme Court in favour of the Governor General in Council. These were as follows:

• Under the Regulating Act 1773, the servants of the company came within the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court, and this brought them under dual control of Governor General in Council and Supreme Court. The 1781 amendment exempted the actions of the public servants in the company in their official capacity.
• Revenue collectors (including Zamindars) and judicial officers of the company courts were also exempted from Jurisdiction of the SC.
• The court’s geographic jurisdiction became limited to only Calcutta.
• Its appellate jurisdiction was also skirted. The amending act provided that appeals were to be taken from the provincial courts to the Governor-General in council.
• Further, the act empowered the Governor-General and Council to convene as a Court of Record to hear appeals from the Provincial Courts on civil cases. This means that appeal could be taken from the provincial courts to the Governor General & Council and that was to be the final court of appeal.
• The Act also asserted that Mohammedan cases should be determined by Mohammedan law and Hindu law applied in Hindu cases.
• Under the Regulating Act, the Governor General in Council was empowered to issue rules, ordinances and regulations but they were to be registered in the Supreme Court.

The above discussion makes it clear that Amending Act of 1781 was the first attempt in India towards separation of the executive from the judiciary by defining the respective areas of jurisdiction.