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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 :
Explanation
The first Law Commission, established in 1834 under the Charter Act of 1833 and chaired by Lord Macaulay, was specifically tasked with the codification of Indian laws [1]. Its primary objective was to clarify and consolidate various branches of law, which eventually led to the drafting of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) in 1837 and subsequent codes for civil and criminal procedure [1][2][5]. Regarding the second statement, the Commission was not opposed to a uniform system of courts; rather, its work aimed at judicial unification [1]. Macaulay intended for the code to apply throughout the Indian empire to handle all contingencies with clear legal principles [5]. The resulting legal framework ensured that the same laws prevailed across the country, enforced by a uniform system of courts, thereby unifying India judicially [1]. Therefore, only the first statement is correct.
Sources
- [1] Modern India ,Bipin Chandra, History class XII (NCERT 1982 ed.)[Old NCERT] > Chapter 6: Administrative Organisation and Social and Cultural Policy > Judicial Organisation > p. 112
- [2] https://lawcommissionofindia.nic.in/about-department/early-begginnings/
- [5] https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/ipc-is-history-in-1837-how-macaulay-cracked-the-code-8889911/