Charter Act of 1853
Features of the Act
- It separated, for the first time, the legislative and executive functions of the Governor-General’s council. It provided for the addition of six new members called legislative councilors to the council. In other words, it established a separate Governor-General’s legislative council which came to be known as the Indian (Central) Legislative Council. This legislative wing of the council functioned as a mini-Parliament, adopting the same procedures as the British Parliament. Thus, legislation, for the first To time, was treated as a special function of the government, requiring special machinery and special process.
- It introduced an open competition system for the selection and recruitment of civil servants. The covenanted civil service was thus thrown open to the Indians also. Accordingly, the Macaulay Committee (the Committee on the Indian Civil Service) was appointed in 1854.
- At that time, the Civil Services of the company were classified into covenanted civil services (higher civil services) and uncovenanted civil services (lower civil services). The former was created by a law of the Company, while the
- later was created otherwise.
- It extended the Company’s rule and allowed it to retain the possession of Indian territories on trust for the British Crown. But, it did not specify any particular period, unlike the previous Charters. This was a clear indication that the Company’s rule could be terminated at any time the Parliament liked.
- It introduced, for the first time, local representation in the Indian (Central) Legislative Council. Of the six new legislative members of the governor general’s council, four members were appointed by the local (provincial) governments of Madras, Bombay, Bengal, and Agra.
