9. In cases made over for trial by the Courts of a Native State under rules 5 and 7, the Political Agent shall satisfy himself that the accused receives a fair trial, and that the punishment inflicted in the case of his conviction is not excessive or barbarous; and if he is not so satisfied, he shall demand the restoration of the prisoner to his custody, pending the orders of Government.

Number.

10. A return of all persons made over for trial by the Courts of a Native State under rules 5 and 7 shall be submitted half-yearly by the Political Agent to the Government of India or the Government of Madras or Bombay, as the case may be, in the following form:Half-yearly return, under rule 9 of the rules under the Extradition Act (XI) of 1872, of persons made over by the Political Agent at for trial by the Courts of Native States under rules 5 and 7, for the period ending

11.

Persons arrested in British territory on a warrant issued by a Political Agent de Section 11, and persons arrested on a warrant issued under Section 14, shall be treated. as fa as possible, in the same way as persons under trial for a similar offence would be treated unde the Code of Criminal Procedure, or under the procedure in force in the Presidency towns, if the arrest take place within a y Presidency town.

12. Persons sentenced to imprisonment by the Political Agent shall, if British subjects, be conveyed to the most convenient jail in British territory, there to be dealt with as though the conviction had taken place in a Court of British India; provided always that no appes! shall thereby be given other than is allowed by any rules for regulating appeals from the decisions of the Political Agent.

13. Nothing in rules 5 to 10 inclusive, which refer to cases under Section 13 of the said Act, shall be deemed to apply to Political Agents immediately under the authority of the Governor in Council of the Presidency of Fort St. George or the Governor in Council of the Presidency of Bombay.

By Foreign Department Notification No. 149.J., dated 8th October 1875, the Government of India have directed that the above rules shall not apply to Native territory under the dirert administration of the British Government, in which the Code of Criminal Procedure is in force.

The following extracts, which were forwarded to all Commissioners in the Punjab for information with Punjab Government, Political Department, Circular No. 41-789, dated 7th July 1870, indicate under what circumstances the Court of Vakils of each Agency will be considered the Court of the Political Agent.

Extract from a letter from the Agent to the Governor-General in Rajputana, No. 49J., dated the

12th April 1870.

Para, S. There is another subject connected with the Code which I submit for censideration. In Article II of the treaties which have been lately negotiated with the States of Rajputana for the extradition of offenders, it is stated that, as a general rule, such cases will be tried by the Court of the Political Agent. in whom the political supervision of the State may be invested." A case has arisen in which a Political Agent desired the rendition of an offender under this article of the treaty for trial before the Court of Vakils over which he preside The Magistrate objected that this Court was nowhere alluded to by Government, or acknow· 1dged in the treaties.

9. It is obviously good policy to encourage and promote the action of these Courts. Their extension indeed, in my opinion, is the one hope that ex sts that the Native States will be able to maintain their separate jurisdiction in the midst of our empire. A perusal of the Code now submitted will, I think. convince His Excellency in Council that the measure of supervision exercised by British Officers is sufficient to secure a rude justice adapted to the state of the country, and I believe it might safely be ruled that the Court of Vakils of each agency should be considered the Court of the Political Agent, as regards the extradition treaties in all cases where he presides personally.

Extract from a letter to the Agent to the Governor-General in Rajputana No. 87J., under date the 6th June 1870.

Courts of Vakils, when the Political Officer presides in person, may, in the opinion of the Governor-General in Council in this department, be considered to be Courts of the Political Officer referred to in Article III of the extradition treaties concluded with various States in Rajputana. The papers will be communicated to the Home Department of the Government of India, with a view to the necessary communications on the subject being made to the Local Administrations, on whose officers it is to be anticipated that demands for the surrender of offenders may be made under those treaties.

The annexed copy of a letter (No. 2682 (1), dated 13th August 1885), from the Govern ment of India, appointing certain Officers to be Political Agents for the purposes of Chapters IV and V, Act XXI of 1879, is circulated for the information and guidance of all Criminal Courts. Copy of a letter No. 2682 (I), dated Simla, the 13th August 1885, from the Junior Under Serretary to Government of India, Foreign Department, to the Secretary to the Government of the Punjab.

I AM directed to acknowledge the receipt of your letter No. 218 of the 25th April 1885, forwarding a list of the Officers whom His Honor the Lieutenant-Governor desires to appoint as Political Agents for certain Native States in the Punjab.

2. In reply, I am to say that the Governor-General in Council is pleased, in accordance with His Honor's recommendation, to appoint, under the provisions of Section 3 of Act XXI of 1879 (The Foreign Jurisdiction and Extradition Act), and for the purposes of Chapters IV and V of the Act, the Officers named in the first column of the accompanying list to be Political Agents for the Native States specified in the second column of that list.

Officer.

3. With reference to the provisions of Section 13 of the Act, the Governor-General in Council is further pleased to direct that for offences committed in any of these States the persons accused shall be handed over by the Political Agent concernel to the Courts of the State for trial. But this direction is, I am to add, subject to the instructions contained in the notifications published in the Gazette of India, No. 87J., dated the 16th August 1876, and to the further condition that, should there be, in any particular instance, special reasons for his so doing, the Political Agent may dispose of the case himself.

List referred to in the letter from Government, Punjab, to Government of India, Foreign De partment, No. 218, dated 25th April 1885.

Political Agent for

Bahawalpur.

Chamba.

Faridkot.

Mandi.
Suket.

(Sirmúr (Náhan).

Kahlúr (Bilaspur).

Bashahr.

Nálágrah.
Keonthal.
Bághal.
Baghat.

Directors of 1836.

Kunhiár.
Mangal.
Bija.
Darkuti.
Taroch.
Sángri.

66

2. In the sanads granted by the Viceroy and Governor-Gene ral of India, on the 5th May 1860, to the Maharaja of Patiala, and to the Rajas of Jhini Despatch of the Court of and Nabha, and on the 21st April 1863, to the Raja of Faridkot, it was prescribed that, with regard to British subjects committing crime and apprehended in" their respective territories, they should be guided "by the rules contained in the despatch of the Honorable the Court of Directors to the Madras Government, No. 3, dated 1st June 1836." The rules thus laid down for their guidance are the 2nd and 4th of those contained in the despatch printed below (b).

3. The vernacular proceeding of the Chief Commissioner, dated 23th May 1856, of which a translation is printed below (c), lays down more detailed rules Orders of Chief Commison the same subject with special reference to the State of Jamsioner of 1856. mu. The rules themselves appear to have been intended merely to embody the spirit of Act I of 1849 and Act VII of 1854.-Vide Barkley's Non-Regulation Law of the Punjab, page 69). Both of these Acts were repealed by Act XI of 1872, which provides" for the trial of offences committed in places beyond British India, and for the extradition of offenders," and in future the procedure in such cases must be in accordance with the provisions of the Act now in force. Section 14 of Act XI of 1872, however, contained a saving clause that it "shall not affect the provisions of any law or treaty for the time being in force, as to the extradition of offenders, but the procedure provided by any such be followed in every case to which it applies." It has, therefore, law or treaty shall been deemed advisable to republish the rules with this explanation, as Criminal Courts may have occasionally to refer to some of them. The rules have not been embodied in the sanads printed in Aitchison's Treaties at pp. 294, 301, 306, and Appendix 438, Vol. II.*

Regulations, &c. collected.

(b).-Rules for the

4. Under (d) and (e) are collected certain Regulations anl Notifications regarding the exercise of powers by British officers in Kashmir and other territories.

extradition of criminals issued by the Hon'ble the Court of Directors in a despatch No. 3 of 1st June 1836, to the Government of Madras.

62. The views which you adopted upon the question of international law referred by the 19. Application to the Toudinian Government for the delivery to the Magistrate of Trichinopoly of a native subject of the British Government, to take his trial under the provisions of Regulation II, 1829, charged with the commission of crime within that territory.

20. Amenability of the subjects of foreign native States to the British Courts for crimes &c., committed within the British territories.

local officers for your instructions, and by you for the decision of the Government of India, are entirely conformable, not only to the provisions of Regulation II of 1829, but also to expediency and the ends of justice. The several rules on the subject may be classed under the following heads, viz :—

1st.-British subjects apprehended in the British territory on any charge of offences com mitted within the possession of any native Prince are amenable only to British tribunals.

*Since the above was printed the legality of these orders of the Chief Commissioner has been challenged in a judicial proceeding before the Chief Court, and Government has decided that the procedure under them must be abandoned in favour of the provisions of the Extradition Act (see Appendix No. V1I).

2nd.-British subjects apprehended in the territory within which the offence is alleged to have been committed are amenable to the jurisdiction of the tribunals established there.

3rd. The subjects of Native States, wherever apprehended, are always amenable to the British Courts for crimes and heinous offences committed within the British territory. 4th.-British subjects charged with heinous crimes committed within the British territory, who may have taken refuge within the territory of a Native State, are to be delivered up to justice ; and vice versâ, with respect to the subjects of a Native State.

63. The want of reciprocity exhibited in the 1st and 3rd of these rules is justifiable not less according to your expression as " a proper prerogative of the paramount power," than on the ground of the inequality in the state of civilization and of jurisprudence under the British Government and that of Native States. The 2nd rule, under which British subjects, apprehended in the territory within which the alleged offence was committed, are amenable to the tribunals established there, seems necessary, with a view of guarding against the plea of being a British subject, which every person accused might otherwise set up. Indeed, the opposite rule would not admit of being enforced in favor of British subjects. We observe that the Government of India did not advert to this rule in their reply to your reference.

(c).—Translation of a vernacular proceeding of the Chief Commissioner, dated 28th May 1856, regarding the surrender of offenders accused of heinous crimes, being subjects of a foreign State apprehended in British territory, and vice versi, published for general information in the PUNJAB GAZETTE of the 25th December 1858, page 387.*

"Read a petition of Diwan Joala Sahai, Prime Minister to Maharaja Gulab Singh, Bahadur, Ruler of Jammu, dated 8th April last, relative to the demand and surrender, on both sides (British and Jammu Governments), of persons accused of crimes as before, detailing the character of crimes, and soliciting suitable orders.

"It is desirable that the same rules which are in force in accordance with the orders of Government in respect to the demand and surrender of offenders accused of heinous crimes between the British Government and the foreign States, should be made applicable to this State (Jaminu), so that the rule in this respect with regard to all the foreign States may be uniform.

"After examination of the office record a list of heinous crimes, for which parties committing them may be demanded or surrendered by either State in accordance with the undermentioned rules, is given below :

1. Abduction of a female, whether married or unmarried, without her consent, attended with tumult.

4.

Assault, attended with violence and wounding or the shedding of blood.

11. Convicts (under sentence for any of the crimes included in this category) escaped from prison.

"Except the 20 classes of crimes above enumerated, persons accused of petty theft under 50 rupees value, or fornication, or petty assault, or defaulters of revenue, or debtors in a civil

See foot note to page 1367.

case, and the like, will not be liable to be demanded or surrendered on the part of either Government. In such cases the plaintiff, being a resident of Jammu territory, will have the option of prosecuting his claim either in British Courts or in the Courts of the Jammu Government. In the latter case, on the original proceedings of enquiry being forwarded by the Chief to the British Court, the claim of the prosecutor will be satisfied on its being substantiated in accordance with the established usage of the Court.

"Rules for the apprehension, demand and surrender of persons charged with heinous crimes as enumerated above.

"Firstly. Any person being a British subject, having committed any crime of the class above enumerated in Jammu territory, if apprehended in that territory, will be punishable by the Government of the country. And in like manner any subject of the Jammı Government, if apprehended in British territory for a crime committed in that territory, will be punishable by British Courts.

"But the Maharaja may (if he so choose) forward a subject of the British Government so circumstanced to a British Court for trial and punishment.

"Secondly. If a subject of the Jammu State should commit any crime of the classes enumerated above within British territory, or a subject of the British Government commit a crime in Jammu territory, and if the party after commiting such a crime should escape to his home, then the British subject having committed crime in the Jammu territory, if found in British territory, will not be liable to be demanded by the Jammu Government. Maharaja will, however, be at liberty so prosecute the party through his servants in a British Court, which will award due punishment if the charge shall be proved after enquiry.

The

"But the Jammu subject, who shall have escaped to that territory, and be traced there, after having committed crime in British territory, will be liable to be sent to British Courts on being demanded by the British authorities.

"Thirdly.-Subjects of either State who should escape into foreign territory, after having committed any of the crimes above classified in their own territory, will be liable to be surrendered on being demanded by either Government. Provided, however, that on demand being made upon the British Government for the surrender of an offender of this class by the Maharaja, if the party accused shall have been residing in British territory for a period of less than six months, the officer presiding in the local British Court, shall, before giving up the party, insti tute a summary inquiry to ascertain whether the accused be really guilty of the charge brought against him, to any extent; and should the guilt be imputable to the prisoner, he will then be made over to the Jammu authorities. But if the party so demanded by the Jammu Government shall have resided in British territory for more than six months, he will not be liable to he surrendered to the Jammu authorities, but will be liable to be prosecuted in a British Court and punished on the charge being proved against him.

"Fourthly. If on the occurrence of any crime in the Jammu territory, tracks of the offender should be followed into British territory, it will be the duty of the servants of the Maharaja to inform the local police officers and to take steps through their medium for the apprehension of the delinquent. The Maharaja's servants ought not to act independently of the British police. The police officers of the British Government should not, however. surrender to the Maharaja's officers any party who may be thus traced and apprehended without the permission of their District Court, whether he be a resident of foreign or British territory. But it will be the duty of the police to report immediately the circumstances to the District Court, and then act as they may be directed.

"Fifthly.-In like manner, if the track of any heinous crime committed within British territory, should be pursued into the Jammu territory by officers of the British police, they ought to inform the local Kardar, or Thanadar, an take steps for the apprehension of the delinquent through the Maharaja's police. But British police officers ought not to act inde pendently of the local officers of the Jammu State.

"Diwan Joála Sahái has detailed in his petition eight classes of criminals, each separately. Although his enquiries have been answered as above as a whole, yet to avoid any future doubt, a reply to each is recorded below, item by item :-