In July 1857, an English indigo planter in a North Indian district seizes a villager he suspects of joining the rebels. Under the laws then in force, what could happen?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → The planter could himself try and punish him
Option (1) The planter had to hand him over to a regular civil court for trial — Incorrect. Regular trials no longer applied. The ordinary processes of law and trial were suspended under the new laws.
Option (2) The planter could himself try and punish him — Correct. The laws in force were the Acts of May and June 1857. They gave military officers and even ordinary Britons the power to try and punish Indians suspected of rebellion, so a planter could act himself.
Option (3) The planter could hold him until a military officer arrived to try him — Incorrect. Military officers did get this power, but it was not theirs alone. An ordinary Briton did not need to wait for an officer.
Option (4) The planter could fine him, but a death sentence needed a judge — Incorrect. No judge was needed, and fines were not the penalty. Rebellion was to carry only one punishment, death.
NCERT (2026-27): “4. Repression … |