Charter Act of 1853.

This was the last of the series of the Charter Acts passed by the British Parliament between 1793 and 1853. It was a significant constitutional landmark.

Features of the Charter Act of 1853.

1. It separated, for the first time, the legislative and the executive functions of the Governor-General’s council. It provided for addition of six new members that is called the legislative councillors to the council. In other words, it established the 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 time, was treated as a special function of the government, requiring special machinery and the special process.

2. It introduced an open competition system of selection and recruitment of the civil servants. The covenanted civil service was thus thrown open to the Indians also. Accordingly, by the Macaulay Committee (the Committee on the Indian Civil Service) was appointed in the 1854.

3. 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.

4. It introduced, for the first time, local representation in the Indian (Central) Legislative Council. Of the six new legislative members of the governorgeneral’s council, four members were appointed by the local (provincial) governments of Madras, Bombay, Bengal and Agra.