The regulating act of 1773 was introduced due to a misgovernment act of the East India Company which eventually resulted in the situation of bankruptcy, forcing the British government to interfere and rectify the control of East India company over its territories in the  Bengal region. As the name signifies, this act was brought into action after getting approved in the British parliament in 1773. The main motive of regulating the act was to decentralise powers into the hands of Britishers again and again. However, this could not operate successfully and failed badly. This article aims at providing you with information about the regulating act of 1773. We will discuss every aspect of the regulating act of 1773, its provisions and how badly it affected the Indian Constitution.

Why was there a need to regulate the act?

Several reasons demanded the regulating act of 1773 like

  1. The enormous financial crisis for East India Company left it without any choice except to sanction loans. East India Company asked for a loan of 1 million pounds to help them recover their financial issue by some financial aid from the British government in 1772.
  2. The company officials were practising corruption and nepotism, which led to rampant allegations against the company. Corruption and nepotism were eating the system from inside.
  3. Bengal was facing a heavy increase in lawlessness, forcing the British government to interfere. This interference led to further updates in the law and act when they regulated the pitt’s act.
  4. The East India company’s primary focus was to generate maximum revenue. The company successfully achieved this goal on the cost of improvements required for the farmers and general population. The dual administration directed by Robert Clive was complex to follow with complaints.
  5. The defeat of the East India Company against Mysore’s Haider Ali in 1769 was one of the main reasons behind the need for the regulating act of 1773. However apart from it there were several other reasons which became the prime need for the regulating act of 1773.

Effective Provisions of the regulating act of 1773

The regulating act of 1773 brought certain provisions

  1. The act amended the regulation of functioning and activities of the company but with the proper regulation of power with unchanged territorial possessions. 
  2. The act proposed and implemented the appointment of a Governor-General to work jointly with four counsellors of Calcutta. This act of joint operation is known as the governor-general in Council. 
  3. The Governor in Council of Madras and Bombay was again brought under control in Bengal to ensure that the possibilities of waging war against the Indian state without Bengal’s approval became impossible. 
  4. The establishment of the supreme court in Calcutta also came under the regulating act, and the first chief justice to be appointed at the supreme court was Sir Elijah Impey. The judges of the supreme court civil to come from England. 

Facts about the poor effects of regulating act of 1773

The regulating act of 1773 head start in demerits associated with its implementation like

there was no option for veto power of the governor-general. The regulating act of 1773 did not concern the Indian population, who were also the revenue generated for the company. The increasing levels of corruption remained unchanged inside the company officials, which eventually resulted in the demerits of the regulating act of 1773. There was no well-defined structure for supreme courts’ power. The judges were brought from England with a civil and criminal jurisdiction limited to British subjects and not Indian residents. The parliamentary control was without any mechanism to monitor the company’s activities. 

Conclusion 

The regulating act of 1773 came into existence after a successful approval from the British parliament to gain the Bengal territories occupied by the East India Company. There were several reasons behind the need for regulating the act of 1773. The financial condition of the East India Company remains at the top of it. When the company was about to become bankrupt, they asked the British government to sanction a loan of 1 million pounds to resume their operations in India. The economy didn’t come alone. It was equipped with traditional interference of powers in India, and now not only the East India Company but the Britain government itself was somehow invested in India.