Which of the following statements about the Law Commission headed by Lord Macaulay is/are correct? 1. It attempted to codify the laws. 2. It was opposed to uniform system of Courts. Select the correct answer using the code given below:
- (a)1 only
- (b)2 only
- (c)Both 1 and 2
- (d)Neither 1 nor 2
Correct — A, 1 only. The First Law Commission, set up in 1834 under the Charter Act of 1833 and chaired by Thomas Babington Macaulay, was created precisely to survey and codify India's laws; its most famous product was the draft Indian Penal Code, so statement 1 is right. Statement 2 is wrong — the Commission was not opposed to a uniform system of courts; its whole codifying thrust worked toward common, uniform law across British India rather than against it. So only statement 1 holds, giving option (a).
- (b)2 only — This reverses the truth values — statement 2 is the false one, so '2 only' cannot be the answer.
- (c)Both 1 and 2 — Statement 2 is factually wrong; the Commission's codification drive promoted uniform law, so both cannot be correct.
- (d)Neither 1 nor 2 — Statement 1 is clearly correct — codifying the laws (and drafting the Indian Penal Code) was the Commission's core task.
The First Law Commission was constituted in 1834 under the Charter Act of 1833 with Macaulay as its first chairman. Its purpose was to codify India's laws into a single, uniform body, and its landmark output was the draft Indian Penal Code. Codification, by its nature, moved toward legal uniformity across British India.
The trap is statement 2. It sounds plausible if you imagine colonial legal reform as piecemeal, but codification is a drive toward uniformity, so 'opposed to a uniform system of courts' contradicts the Commission's very purpose.
- The First Law Commission was constituted in 1834 under the Charter Act of 1833, with Macaulay as its first chairman.
- Its landmark output was the draft Indian Penal Code (drafted 1837, enacted 1860).
- Codification sought a single, uniform body of law applicable across British India.
- Later Law Commissions carried the work forward into the Codes of Civil and Criminal Procedure.
- Assuming the Commission opposed a uniform system of courts.
- Confusing the Law Commission's codification role with Macaulay's separate Minute on Education.
Given as a two-statement 'which is correct' item — test each claim about the Macaulay Law Commission independently.
Consider the following statements : 1. Warren Hastings was the first Governor General who established a regular police force in India on the British pattern 2. A Supreme Court was established at Calcutta by the Regulating Act, 1773. 3. The Indian Penal Code came into effect in the year 1860. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- (a) 1 and 2
- (b) 2 and 3
- (c) 1 and 3
- (d) 1, 2 and 3
Answer(b) 2 and 3
Directly overlapping — statement 3 of that UPSC item ('The Indian Penal Code came into effect in 1860') is the very code Macaulay's Law Commission drafted, tying both questions to the codification of Indian law under the British.
- practice — not a real PYQ
The Indian Penal Code was drafted mainly on the recommendation of which body?
- (a)First Law Commission under Macaulay
- (b)Hunter Commission
- (c)Simon Commission
- (d)Sargeant Committee
Answer(a) First Law Commission under Macaulay — it drafted the Indian Penal Code.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Under which Charter Act was the first Law Commission of India established?
- (a)1813
- (b)1833
- (c)1853
- (d)1861
Answer(b) 1833 — it created the Law Commission with Macaulay as chairman.