The Common Law in India - College of Social Sciences and ...

24 The Common Law in Indiato the Presidency of Madras. Speaking of the Company'scourts in the mofussil of Madras Lord Kingsdownsaid that " There is no prescribed general lawto which their decisions must conform. They aredirected to proceed generally, according to justice,equity and good conscience." 30 In 1865 Sir RichardCouch regarded that decision as "an authority ofthe highest court of appeal that although the Englishlaw is not obligatory upon the courts in the mofussil,they ought in proceeding according to " justice, equityand good conscience " to be governed by the principlesof the English law applicable to a similar state ofcircumstances. 31 In 1887 Lord Hobhouse expressedthe view that " justice, equity and good conscience "could be " interpreted to mean the rules of Englishlaw if found applicable to Indian society and circumstances."32As in the case of civil courts there was also ahierarchy of criminal courts in the mofussil. Controlover the district criminal courts was vested in theSadar Nizamat Adalat which was called the SadarFoujdari Adalat in Madras and Bombay. The criminalcourts in the mofussil were guided principally by theMahomedan criminal law which remained in force inBengal and Madras till the enactment of the IndianPenal Code of 1860. But wherever its rules werefound repugnant to British notions of crime andpunishment they were from time to time modifiedby regulations made by the local governments.30 Varden Seth Sam v. Luckpathy Boyjee Lallah (1863) 9 MooreInd.App. 303, 320.31Dada v. Babaji (1864) 2 Bom.H.C. 36, pp. 37 and 38.3 2 Waghela Rajsanji v. Shekh Masludin (1887) 14 Ind.App. 89, 96.