India Office Records: Public & Judicial Department

IOR/L/PJ

India Office Records: Public & Judicial Department

1792-1955

The scope of the records is broadly similar to the Government of India Home Department. For a summary of the areas of administration dealt with by the Home Department, see D A Low, J C Iltis, and M D Wainwright 'Government Archives in South Asia' (1969) pp 150 - 151. Most of the pre-India Office materials belong to the Board of Control Judicial and Public Departments (1807-58) and consist of copies of correspondence with India. There are also a few volumes of Indian and Home correspondence originating in the Public and Judicial Departments of the Examiner's Office (1804-58) at East India House, and minutes and other papers of the Revenue, Judicial and Legislative Committee of the Court of Directors (1834-58). Between 1858 and 1947, the records of the following succession of India Office departments are included in IOR/L/PJ: Public 1858-67 Judicial 1858-67 Judicial and Public 1867-72 Judicial, Public and Revenue 1872-79 (excluding the Revenue series- see IOR/L/E) Judicial and Public 1879-1924 Public and Judicial 1924-41 Public and Judicial (Reforms) 1930-41 Political 1941-44 Political (British India) 1944-47 Political (States) 1944-47 Political (General) 1947 Political (Constitutional) 1947 The records include: Reforms papers 1918-1923 India and Burma constitutional papers 1930-1940 Transfer of Power papers 1942-55 A wide and complex range of administrative subjects is covered.

Public Record(s)

English

21660 volumes/files and 224 boxes

Available for research unless otherwise stated

Under East India Company and Board of Control administration, the Examiner of Indian Correspondence was responsible from 1782 for drafting replies to despatches from India. In 1804, two assistants were appointed to take charge of Judicial and Revenue drafts together with those classified as Public. Responsibility for the Judicial Department was subsequently separated from the Revenue. This basic pattern of organisation for the Examiner's Department remained until 1858, with the Chief Examiner in overall charge of four main branches: Political, Revenue, Public, and Judicial (including Legislative). Following the establishment of the India Office as a Department of State in 1858, the Judicial Department and Public, Educational and Ecclesiastical Department were set up. The Judicial and Public Departments were amalgamated under one Secretary in April 1867. In January 1872, the Revenue Department was combined with the Judicial and Public Department, but separated again in June-July 1879 to form the Revenue, Statistics and Commerce Department, leaving the Judicial and Public Department as a separate department with its own Secretary. In April 1924, the Department was renamed the Public and Judicial Department and its civil service work was transferred to the newly created Services and General Department. The Reforms Department was established in May 1932, linked to the Public and Judicial Department, to deal with constitutional change in India and Burma. The Information Department was separated from the Public and Judicial Department in March 1941, and in May 1941 the Public and Judicial Department combined with the Political (Internal) and Reforms Departments to form a new Political Department, which was divided in December 1944 into two branches: Political (British India) and Political (States). In February-March 1947, the work of the Political Department was divided into two main branches: Constitutional and General.