Read the following statements: Statement I: The Act of 1793 followed the tradition of personal rule without bringing in any legal reforms. Statement II: Judges were assigned to interpret laws rather than depend on the ruler's personal judgment. Which of the above statements is/are true?

Correct — B. The legal measures of 1793 were issued as a series of regulations dated 1 May 1793, known together as the Cornwallis Code.

Statement I is false. The code was itself a legal reform: it split the Company's service into revenue, judicial and commercial branches and reorganised the courts.

Statement II is true. District judges, answerable to provincial courts in civil cases and to courts of circuit in criminal cases, administered set bodies of law: Hindu and Muslim personal law and a modified Muslim criminal code.

That leaves only 2 → option (b).

Why the others are wrong

• (a)
  Only 1 is true — Statement I is the false one. The 1793 regulations were themselves a legal reform, rebuilding the courts around district judges.
• (c)
  Both Statement 1 and 2 are true — Statement I cannot stand. A code that divided the service into revenue, judicial and commercial branches and reorganised the judiciary did bring legal reform.
• (d)
  Neither 1 nor 2 is true — Statement II is true. Under the code, district judges administered Hindu and Muslim personal law and a modified Muslim criminal code, inside a hierarchy of provincial and circuit courts.

Cornwallis headed the Company's government in Bengal from 1786 to 1793 and left behind the body of legislation called the Cornwallis Code.

Its best-known part is the Permanent Settlement with the zamindars. The zamindars lost their magisterial and police functions, which passed to a newly organised government police.

The judiciary was rebuilt around district judges, answerable to provincial courts (civil) and courts of circuit (criminal).

Key facts

• The Cornwallis Code was issued as a series of regulations dated 1 May 1793.
• It divided the Company's service into revenue, judicial and commercial branches.
• Its best-known provision was the Permanent Settlement with the zamindars.
• The Charter Act of 1793 continued the East India Company's trade monopoly for 20 years.

Common traps

• Reading 'Act of 1793' as the Charter Act and judging the statements by it: the reforms described are those of the Cornwallis Code.
• Marking both statements true: statement I says no legal reform came in 1793, and the code was exactly that.

No directly related past PYQ was found.