| Act of Parliament | |
 | |
| Long title | An Act for the better Government of India. |
|---|---|
| Citation | 21 & 22 Vict. c. 106 |
| Territorial extent | British India |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 2 August 1858 |
| Commencement | 1 November 1858[b] |
| Repealed | 1 July 1937 |
| Other legislation | |
| Amended by | |
| Repealed by | Ministers of the Crown Act 1937 |
| Relates to | |
Status: Repealed | |
| Text of statute as originally enacted | |
| Text of the Government of India Act 1858 as in force today (including any amendments) within the United Kingdom, fromlegislation.gov.uk. | |
TheGovernment of India Act 1858[a] (21 & 22 Vict. c. 106) was anact of theParliament of the United Kingdom passed on August 2 1858. Its provisions called for theliquidation of theEast India Company (who had up to this point been rulingBritish India under the auspices of Parliament) and the transferral of its functions to theBritish Crown.[1]
Lord Palmerston, then-Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, introduced a bill in 1858 for the transfer of control of the government of India from the East India Company to the Crown, referring to the grave defects in the existing system of the government of India.[2] However, before this bill was to be passed, Palmerston was forced to resign on another issue.
Edward Stanley, 15th Earl of Derby (who would later become the firstSecretary of State for India), subsequently introduced another bill which was titled "An Act for the Better Governance of India" and it was passed on 2 August 1858. This act provided that India was to be governed directly and in the name of the Crown.[citation needed]
TheIndian Rebellion of 1857 compelled the British government to pass the act.[citation needed] The act was followed a few months later by Queen Victoria's proclamation to the "Princes, Chiefs, and People of India", which, among other things, stated, "We hold ourselves bound to the natives of our Indian territories by the same obligation of duty which bind us to all our other subjects" (p. 2)
The act ushered in a new period of Indian history, bringing about the end ofCompany rule in India. The era of the newBritish Raj would last until thePartition of India in August 1947, when the territory of India was granteddominion status as theDominion of Pakistan and theDominion of India.[3]
