The jurisdiction of the Mayor's and other Crown Courts in Calcutta did not cover Europeans who lived in the interior; their authority was limited to Calcutta and its dependent factories. In 1773 the Regulating Act was passed by the British Parliament which established at Fort William a Supreme Court of Judicature consisting of a Chief Justice and three other judges who were Barristers of not less than five years' standing and were appointed by the Crown. They had full civil, criminal and ecclesiastical jurisdiction, were empowered to administer the English law to all British subjects and persons in the employment of the Company situated anywhere. Appeal from the judgements of this court lay to the Privy Council, subject to certain restrictions. The Mayor's court at Calcutta was abolished, but the Court of Request continued to exist. The Supreme Court began to apply English rules of law and procedure, regardless of Indian conditions. It refused to recognise the government of Nawab or the authority of his agents and of the provincial courts. The boundary line between the authority of the Supreme Court, which derived its existence from the Crown, and of the Council which was appointed by the Company, remained undefined.
To avoid vagueness an amending Act was passed in 1781 which clearly defined the powers and extent of jurisdiction of the Supreme Court. It provided:
(i) that the Supreme Court is not to exercise any jurisdiction in matters concerning the revenue or acts done in collection thereof according to the usages of the country or the regulations of the Governor-General in Council;
(ii) that the Governor-General and Council of Bengal are not to be subject, jointly or severally, to the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court for anything counselled, ordered, or done by them in their public capacity;
(iii) that the Supreme Court is to have jurisdiction in all manner of actions and suits against all inhabitants of Calcutta, provided that the matter of inheritance, succession and contracts will be determined by the personal law of the parties, or where one of the parties is a Mohamedan and the other a Hindu by the laws and usages of the defendant;
(iv) that rules and forms for the execution of process are to be accommodated to the religion and manners of the Indians;
(v) that no action will lie in the Supreme Court against any judicial officer of the country courts in respect of any judgement or order of his court; and
(vi) that the existence of civil and criminal provincial courts, independently of the Supreme Court, is recognised; the appellate authority of the Governor –General and Council is also recognised and confirmed; and the Governor-General is also empowered to frame regulations for the provincial courts independently of the Supreme Court.
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