Ilbert Bill controversy over European trial in India

Background. The bill originated as a revision to the Criminal Procedure Code, which previously forbade non-white magistrates from trying cases involving white people. Sir Courtenay Ilbert, legal advisor to the Council of India, drafted the measure. The bill, introduced by Lord Ripon, was intended to reduce restrictions placed on Indian civil servants by previous British administrations; Ripon's support was influenced by Prime Minister William Ewart Gladstone, who instructed him to eliminate restrictive legislation aimed at Indian judges. Ripon was George Frederick Samuel Robinson, 1st Marquess of Ripon, Viceroy and Governor General of India.

European Opposition. The bill sparked massive controversy, with the European community in India, known as Anglo-Indians, largely denouncing it. The European and Anglo-Indian Defence Association formed to campaign against the bill, drawing membership from plantation owners in the Bengal Presidency. Sir Henry Bartle Frere argued the bill would incite race hatred by suggesting justice for natives was sufficient for Europeans.

Legislative Outcome. Opposition throughout 1883 forced Lord Ripon to offer a compromise version. The bill was ultimately enacted in 1884, but in a severely compromised state, passed on 25 January 1884 as the Criminal Procedure Code Amendment Act 1884 and coming into force on 1 May of that year. The partial reversal of the measure, which had proposed putting Indian judges in the Bengal Presidency on equal footing with British ones, transformed the discontent into political action.