Adoption of ‘sunset law’ by the English East India Company meant:

The correct answer is Option (2) → If there was default in revenue payments by sunset of the specified date, the zamindari was liable to be auctioned.

Option (1) High revenue collection. — Incorrect. The revenue demand under the Permanent Settlement was indeed high, but the Sunset Law was about when it had to be paid, not how much: the revenue was invariable and had to be paid punctually.

Option (2) If there was default in revenue payments by sunset of the specified date, the zamindari was liable to be auctioned. — Correct. According to the Sunset Law, if payment did not come in by sunset of the specified date, the zamindari was liable to be auctioned.

Option (3) Rise of a class of Jotedars. — Incorrect. The rise of the jotedars, rich peasants of the villages, happened in the same period, and they were often amongst the purchasers at the auctions. But it was a result of changes in the countryside, not what the Sunset Law said.

Option (4) Emergence of collectorate. — Incorrect. The collectorate emerged as an alternative centre of authority when the zamindars’ courts were brought under the supervision of a Collector. It was a separate measure to restrict the zamindars, not the meaning of the Sunset Law.