Cossijurah case

Cossijurah case is one of the landmark cases in the history of law and order during the time of colonial
rule in India. In this case, the supreme council opposed and bypassed the order of the then supreme
court of Calcutta.As a result, the then supreme court of Calcutta claimed jurisdiction over the entire
native population which the supreme council opposed. Because of these anomalies, the case is
significant in the legal history in India.

Background of the case: From the establishment of the supreme court, there was a conflict between
the supreme court at calcutta and supreme council with their jurisdiction.

The Supreme Court’s jurisdiction had been specified in the Regulating Act of 1773, although many issues
were left unclear in the Act, causing confusion. The Supreme Court’s official penned jurisdiction,
according to the Regulating Act of 1773, was all British subjects in Bengal and anyone employed directly
or indirectly by the Company. The confrontation between the court and the Governor-General-in-
Council became inevitable because the words “directly or indirectly” could be applied to practically
everyone who worked for the company.

Fact of the case: Raja Sundornaraiyan, Zomidar of cossijurah, owed Kasinath babu a huge sum of
money. In spite of the best effort the money could not be recovered from the raja. As a result, kasinath
filed a civil suit at the Supreme Court of Calcutta against the Raja of Cossijurah. The Supreme Court
issued a writ of Capias and ordered to arrest the raja.

Raja went into hiding in order to avoid serving the writ since he was terrified. The Council published a
notice alerting all landowners that they did not need to pay attention to the Supreme Court’s
proceedings till they were serving the company. The Raja was also particularly notified by the council,
and the Council further ordered the collector of Midnapur (an Orissa district) to refuse the Sheriff and
his men any assistance. As a result, when the Sheriff of the supreme court arrived with a writ to arrest
the Raja of Cossijurah, his people drove him away.

The Supreme Court issued another writ of Sequestration, on the 12th of November
1779 to seize the Raja’s house, to force him to appear before the supreme court. The
Raja was imprisoned by the officials and in doing so they outraged the holy sanctum
of the house.
Meanwhile, Colonel Ahumty – Commander of the British Armed Forces of India was
ordered by The Governor-General and the Council to arrest the Sheriff and release
the Raja. On the 3rd of December 1779, the sheriff was arrested and confined for
three days and sent to Calcutta as a prisoner. Finally, the sheriff was released under
the council’s instructions. Later, Cossinaut Babu instituted a case against the
Governor-General, which he refused to accept as he was on official duty.
Cossinaut Babu filed a lawsuit against the Governor-General and the council members individually. The
Governor-General and councilors refused to appear in court because the act was committed while they
were acting in their official capacities. The Council announced that those living outside of Calcutta in
Bengal do not have to submit to the court and that they will preserve the locals’ interests even if they
have to use armed forces.

Army officers refused to let the Supreme court’s officials serve the writ on the Council members. The
Supreme Court judges and members became enraged and felt humiliated. The Supreme Court took
proceedings against North Naylor, the Company’s Attorney General because the members of the council
were not served with the writ. Since this sentence was deemed “exemplary,” he was committed to
prison and no bail was granted.

The Council declared that the interest of the natives would be protected at all costs.
The army Officials declared that the Supreme Court Officials could not issue writs to
the Council members. The Judges of the Supreme Court felt insulted as a natural as
their authority was undermined. The Supreme Court took an action against North
Naylor the companies attorney General As the council member could not be served
writ’s. No one was prepared to make a compromise. The plaintiff, Cossinaut Babu, dropped his lawsuit
against the Governor-General and his council, as well as the Raja of Cossijurah, on March 12, 1780.

Issue of the case: The Cossijurah case raises two critical issues that must be addressed:

I) Whether the Supreme Court had jurisdiction over zamindars.

In response to these events, a petition was sent to the British Parliament in March 1779, signed by all
major British residents of Bengal, company servants, and zamindars, protesting the excesses of the SC in
Bengal. As a result, a parliamentary committee was formed, which later presented before the
parliament a detailed report. As a result, the parliament passed the Act of Settlement, 1781.

Conclusion: The Supreme Court of Judicature’s early years in Fort William, Bengal, was tumultuous.
During these years, there were several conflicts between the Governor-General-in-Council and the
Supreme Court. The majority of these disagreements were over who had jurisdiction over certain
subjects. Conflicts over jurisdiction between the council and the court were evident in disputed cases
such as the Cossijurah Case.

This sequence of confrontations continued until 1781 when the Bengal Judicature Act was passed. It
established the Supreme Court’s jurisdiction in respect to the council and resolved disputes between the
Governor-General-in-Council and the Supreme Court.