RAS question
The Regulating Act of 1773 established the Supreme Court at which city?
Correct answer: (B) Calcutta.
The Regulating Act of 1773 established the Supreme Court at Calcutta in 1774.
Explanation
The Regulating Act of 1773 is tested here through one of its most concrete institutional outcomes: the creation of the Supreme Court at Calcutta. The Library of Congress Law Library, The Judicial and Legislative Systems in India states that the Act authorised the King, by charter or seal, to establish a Supreme Court of Judicature at Fort William in Bengal, and that this Supreme Court was established in 1774 under a royal charter. The court was set up at Calcutta in 1774, with Sir Elijah Impey as its first Chief Justice. Therefore, among the listed presidency and administrative centres, Calcutta is the only city directly tied to the 1773 Act's Supreme Court provision.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) Bombay is wrong because it received a Supreme Court later, not under the Regulating Act of 1773.
- (C) Madras is wrong because, although it was a presidency, the Supreme Court created under this Act was at Calcutta.
- (D) Delhi is wrong because it was not the major British administrative centre relevant to this 1773 provision.
Concept
This tests the institutional changes introduced by early Company-era legislation, especially the Regulating Act of 1773. RAS repeats such facts because they connect constitutional development with British administrative control in India.