Regulating Act of 1773

Regulating Act of 1773
This act is of great constitutional importance as (a) it was the first step taken by the British
Government to control and regulate the affairs of the East India Company in India; (b) it recognised,
for the first time, the political and administrative functions of the Company; and (c) it laid the
foundations of central administration in India.
Features of the Act
1. It designated the Governor of Bengal as the ‘Governor-General of Bengal’ and created an
Executive Council of four members to assist him. The first such Governor-General was Lord
Warren Hastings.
2. It made the governors of Bombay and Madras presidencies subordinate to the governorgeneral
of Bengal, unlike earlier, when the three presidencies were independent of one
another.
3. It provided for the establishment of a Supreme Court at Calcutta (1774) comprising one chief
justice and three other judges.
4. It prohibited the servants of the Company from engaging in any private trade or accepting
presents or bribes from the ‘natives’.
5. It strengthened the control of the British Government over the Company by requiring the Court
of Directors (governing body of the Company) to report on its revenue, civil, and military
affairs in India.