The Britishers came to India as a traders in 1600. They formed the East India Company and secured a Charter from Queen Elizabeth authorising the Company to organise and send trading expedition to the East Indies. The Charter was initially granted for a period of 15 years and could be terminated earlier on two years' of notice. If the interests of the Crown and the people were not affected, prejudicial, the Charter could be renewed. After obtaining the Charter, the Company set up factories or trading centers at several places after obtaining land and other concession from local rulers. For the governance of the Company, it was given powers to make laws, constitutions, orders and ordinances. The Company obtained extensions of lease through the Charters of 1609 and 1661. Till the second half of the 18th century, the Company continued to be primarily a trading concern. However, after the disintegration of the Mughal Empire, the Company took full advantage of the chaotic conditions and established itself as the universal master of the subcontinent. The victory of the Company in the battle of Plassey in 1757 put the British rule in India on firm grounds. It acquired Diwani of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa from Shah Alam in 1765 and gained the right to collect revenue and administer civil justice. This marked the beginning of the territorial sovereignty of the Company. In the meanwhile, the British Crown passed a number of charters and acts to regulate the conduct of the Company. Some of the notable enactments made by the Crown include the Regulating Act of 1773, the Amending act of 1781, Pitt's India Act of 1784, the Act of 1786, and the Charter Acts of 1793, 1813, 1833, and 1853. After the revolt of 1857, the constitutional system underwent great transformation insofar as the Company was obliged to transfer its powers to the British Crown which assumed direct control over the administration under Government of India Act 1858.
After 1858, the British Government enacted several acts for the governance of India, but most of these failed to satisfy the aspiration of the Indians and they continued to agitate for grater share in the administration. Some of the important enactments made by the British Government include the Indian Council Acts of 1861, 1892 and 1909; and Government of India Act, 1919. Various concessions were made through the enactments, but the Indian people remained dissatisfied. The India leadership insisted that India's political destiny should be determined by the Indians themselves.
In 1935, the Indian National Congress made a demand that the people should have the right to frame their own constitution without outside interference. In 1938, Jawaharlal Nehru demanded a Constituent Assembly elected on the basis of adult franchise. This demand did not find favor with the British Government who continued to oppose it till the outbreak of the Second World War. Compelled by the practical constraints, the British for the first time in 1940 accepted that the Indians should themselves frame a new constitution for autonomous India. To secure cooperation of the Indians during the war in 1942, Sir Stafford Cripps came to India with a declaration which the British were to adopt at the end of the war. But the proposals were not acceptable to the two parties-the Congress and the Muslim League. Further efforts to resole the constitutional tangle in India were made in 1944. (C R Formula) and 1945 (Wavell Plan) but they proved futile. Some success in this regard was achieved under the Cabinet Mission Plan of 1946 which suggested the setting up of a Constituent Assembly to draw the future constitution of the country. Till the constitution was ready, a Provisional Government consisting of representatives of the main political parties was to be set up at the centre.
In the meantime in July 1947, the British Parliament passed the Indian Independence Act, 1947, which provided for the transfer of power from the British Government to the Indian hands on 15 august 1947. The Indian Independence act envisaged the establishment of two dominions of India and Pakistan. the legislatures of these dominions were empowered to pass any law.
On the midnight of 14-15 August 1947, a special session of the Constituent Assembly was held to effect formal transfer of power. After the transfer of power to Indian hands, the Constituent Assembly assumed two functions, viz. that of formulation of constitution and that of a law making body. Thus Constituent Assembly became the first parliament of India and continued to work in that capacity till general elections to Parliament were held in 1952.
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