Brief History of Judicial Developments in AP

Source: http://hc.ap.nic.in/aphc/history.html

The State of Andhra Pradesh was formed by the merger of the Andhra area of the Madras Presidency – Governed by the British and the Telangana area of the former Indian State of Hyderabad ruled over by the Nizam of the Hyderabad.

1. THE ANDHRA AREA:
The History of the Judiciary in Madras and Andhra commences with the setting up of the Fort St.George in Madras in 1639 by the East India Company. From 1639 to 1666, no regular court or judicial system functioned under the Company Rule. From 1666 to 1686 a regular Court consisting of the Governor and Council sat and administered Civil and Criminal Justice to all the inhabitants. Between 1686 and 1726, two regular courts functioned at Madras, a Mayor’s court made up of the Mayor (always an Englishman) and two our of twelve Aldermen constituting the Corporation of Madras and an Admirality Court mainly to determine all mercantile and maritime cases. These courts were followd by freshly constituted Mayor’s Courts established under Charters issued by the British Crown in 1726 and 1753, three Courts were set up, a Court of Requests to try cases upto 5 pagodas (Rs.15/-), a Mayor’s Court to try civil cases of value over 5 pagodas – in the case of Indians (Natives as the British used to call us) their consent to the Jurisdiction of the court was necessary – and a court of President decisions of Mayor’s Courts. Thereafter, in 1793, under an Act of Parliament a Recorders Court was set up consisting of the Mayor, three Alderman and a Recorder viz., a lawyer of not less than five years standing to supersede the courts established under the Royal Charter of 1753. This Court exercised Civil, Criminal, Ecclesiastical and Admirality jurisdiction. The Recorder’s Court was superseded by a Supreme Court established under the Letters Patent issued by George III in 1801. Thus, initially, the jurisdiction of the Mayor’s Courts and other Courts, except Court of Requests, merged into the jurisdiction of the Recorder’s Court and, thereafter, the Recorder’s Court was merged into the Supreme Court of Judicature. By 1823, Supreme Courts had been established on almost identical lines at Madras, Bombay and Calcutta. The Law administered by these Supreme Courts was the Common Law and statute law as its prevailed in England prior to 1726, the Law as obtained in Admirality and Ecclesiastical Courts in England, the Regulations made by the Governor-General-in-Council and the Hindu and Mohammedan Customary laws.

While this was the position in the Presidency town of Madras, so far as the Mofussil was concerned, before the year 1802 there were no Company Courts, Civil and Criminal justice had in many parts of the province continued much as it has been under the native rulers – there being a concentration of authority in the hands of the Collector of the District who took the place and exercised the same wide powers as the Amildar of the old regime (William Marley’s Digest quoted by Viscount Simon, Lord Chancellor in AIR 1943 Privy Council – 1164 Ryots of Garbandho v. Raja of Parlakimedi). The Adalat system, first introduced in Bengal by Lord Cornwallis, was extended to Madras under the Regulation of 1802. Under the system, Civil Justice was rendered by Zilla Courts or District Courts, Provincial Courts of Appeal to hear appeals from District Courts and the Sadar Diwani Adalat (viz., the Governor and members of the Council) to hear appeals from the Provincial Courts of Appeal. By 1843, the provincial Courts were abolished. Thereafter, in 1873, the Madras Civil Courts Act was passed providing for three categories of Judges viz., the District Munsiffs, the Sub-Judges and the District Judges – as exist now. This Act in substance continues to hold the field in the Andhra Area of the State except for some minor modifications when it wassubstitutedby the Andhra Pradesh Civil Courts Act of 1973 and this was again amended by A.P.Civil Courts Act of 2000 (Act 28/2000).

On the Criminal side also, the Bengal pattern was extended to Madras in 1802, Magistrates and Assistant Magistrates were appointed, besides four circuit courts and the Chief Criminal Courts or Fouzdari Adalat consisting of the Governor and Council. The system so established was frequently altered, amended and re-adjusted and at length over a hundred of these Regulations and Acts were codified into one Code of Criminal Procedure. The ultimate enactment is the Code of Criminal Procedure Act VIII of 1869, wherein all the earlier codes were consolidated and the various categories of criminal courts as now exist viz., the Court of Sessions Judges, Assistant Sessions Judges, and 1st, 2nd and 3rd Class Magistrates were duly established. The Code of Criminal Procedure of 1898 was revised and re-enacted in 1973 and substituted by the Code of Criminal Procedure 1973 (Act 2 of 1974).

Thus, with the introduction of the Madras Civil Courts Act and the Code of Criminal Procedure in the Moffusil area, the various Civil and Criminal Courts, as now exist came to be established. In the City of Madras, the next land mark. After the setting up of the Supreme Court in 1923 the High Courts Act of 1861 was passed, whereunder the High Court of Judicature was set up at Madras with original jurisdiction over the Presidency town of Madras and with appellate Jurisdiction over all other Courts in the Presidency. Under Section 15 of the Act, the High Court was given powers of superintendence over all courts and this power was reiterated in the Government of India Acts of 1915 and 1935 and ultimately, in the Constitution. Thus, the British had set up an integrated judicial system and organization which continues to exist without much change till today. The only draw back was the continuing of the powers of the Magistracy on the executive Revenue Officers, on the Criminal side. The British, for reasons of their own, never sought to implement the principles of their own, never sought to implement the principles of the separation of the judiciary from the Executive and it was left to the Government of Madras after the grant of Independence to make a start in this direction in 1949. The separation of Judiciary from the Executive was introduced to the whole of the Andhra area by 1958.


2. TELANGANA AREA:
The origin of the Courts in the Telangana can be traced to the Islamic System of administration of Justice introduced by the Moghuls. Khaziz disposed of Civil and Criminal cases in the districts while in Hyderabad City and Subha Headquarters a Bada Khazi disposed of cases. Petty Criminal Cases were dealt with by the Police. Important Civil and Criminal cases were heard and disposed of by the Ruler or the Naib Sultan or Subedar. After 1858, a Civil Court (Adalat Diwani) and a Criminal Court (Adalat Fouzadari) were set up in the city of Hyderabad. There were also two superior Courts viz., a King’s Court (Badashahi Adalat) to try important Criminal cases and an Appellate Court (Mohmooma Murafa). Other Courts functioning in the City were those of Naibs Sultanat, the Subedar of Hyderabad and the Commissioner of Police. In the Mofussil, the Subedars, the Collectors, the Amaldars, the I and II Talukdars and the Tahsildars were invested with Civil and Criminal powers. In about 1875, regular Civil Courts were established and the Revenue Officers were divested of Civil powers. The Scheme of separation of the Judiciary from the Executive was introduced as early as 1922 long before the scheme was ever contemplated in British India and with this scheme the Revenue Officers were deprived of their magisterial powers.

There were also separate Courts for Muslims (Darul-Quaza Court), for Hindus (Govindrao Court), for Chirstian (Adalat Beroon Bolds) and Arabs (Makums Qaza-wte-Arab). A separate Court was established in the residency in 1864 for Europeans. There were special Magistrates’ Courts for Districts dealing with thugs and dacoits. There were also Special Magistrate for Customs, Excise and Postal Cases.

The High Court of Hyderabad was established in 1872 with the Civil and Criminal Jurisdiction of the Adalat Buzrug and Padshahi Adalat Fouzdari. In 1885, a Regulation was passed to enlarge its powers. In 1336 a Royal Charter was issued and an Act was passed in 1337 F. under which, the High Court had both Judicial and Administrative powers, the former consisting in hearing Appeals, entertaining Revisions, answering References and trying cases transferred to itself, and the latter in deposing of, or expressing opinions of administrative matters concerning the Courts. Under Section 11 of the Act, the decisions of the High Court were to be final with the exception of cases in which a sentence of death or imprisonment for life were passed or in which the decision was modified or reversed by the Nizam. Originally, the Nizam was exercising his Royal Prerogative over the Full Bench decision of the High Court, but later the law minister was disposing of Appeals. In 1323 F(1914) a Judicial Committee was constituted with three or five Judges, including a Legal Advisor and atleast two Judges of the High Court who did not participate in the decision under appeal.

The Hyderabad Civil Courts Act, 1324 F.first cofified the law relating to the Subordinate Courts. Under that Act, the State was divided into 4 Subahs and a Sadar Adalat was constituted for each of them. A Nizamat-e-Adalat Diwani was cnstituted for each District and a Munsiff’s Court for one or more Taluks. Where there was no Munsiff’s Court, - Tahsildars were conferred with Civil Powers upto Rs.100/- which could be raised to Rs.300/- Provision was made for the appointment of Honorary Judicial Officers with jurisdiction upto Rs.300/-. The Nizam Darwi Quaza Court continued to exercise all the powers of a Sadar Adalat to decide cases of Mohammedans in matters like pre-emption, marriage, meher, Dower etc., Jagirdars were constituted as Courts within their Jagirs. In 1355 F. a Sadar Adalat, a District Court and a Munsiff Court were constituted for the renditioned area. The above act was repealed and re-enacted by the Hyderabad Civil Courts Act, 1954 which is still in force in Telangana area. It provided for the establishment of a District Court and Sut-Court for each District or for one or more Districts and a Court of Munsiff for each Taluk or Taluks. Appeals from the decisions of the District Judge lay to the High Court and those from the decisions of the Munsiffs lay to the District Judge. Appeals from the decision of the Sub-Judges lay to the District Judge where the value of suit did not exceed Rs.5,000/- and to the High Court in other cases.

II. THE PRESENT ORGANISATION AND FUNCTIONS OF THE JUDICIARY
The Andhra area of the composite State of Madras was carved out and constituted into the State of Andhra in 1954. Thereafter, in 1956, consequent on the passing of the State Re-organisation Act, the State of Andhra Pradesh comprising of 11 Districts of the Andhra State and the 9 District of Telangana area of the State of Hyderabad was established. Subsequently Prakasam District was formed on 2.2.1970 carved out of Kurnool, Guntur and Nellore. Vizianagaram District was formed on 1.6.1979 by taking some areas from Srikakulam and Visakhapatna. Rangareddy District was formed on 15.8.1978 by carving out some portions of Hyderabad (Urban) Taluk and the mergerj of the rural and urban areas of the remaining Taluks of Hyderabad District. The High Court of Andhra which was established in 1954 at Guntur under the Andhra State Act had all the powers hitherto being exercised by the High Court of Madras in respect of the territories included in the State of Andhra. In 1956 with the establishment of one High Court of Andhra Pradesh the jurisdiction of the High Court of Andhra was extended to the whole of the Telangana area of the erstwhile Hyderabad State and the High Court of Hyderabad was abolished. The High Court at the Apex of the Judiciary exercises superintendence and control over all the subordinate Courts functioning in the City and in Mofussil. In discussing the functions and organization of the Judiciary, it would be convenient to take up the Courts in the following order viz., the High Court, the Courts in the City (Civil and Criminal), the Civil Courts in the Districts and the Criminal Courts in the Districts.