Question

Ilbert Bill was introduced in ____
A. 1883
B. 1885
C. 1889
D. 1891

Answer 1

Hint: The Ilbert Bill suggested that all the senior Indian magistrates in the court could preside over cases including those which involved even the European nationals.

Complete answer:
The Ilbert Bill was a rather controversial affair back in the day when it was first formally introduced on 8th February, 1883.It was a bill drafted by Courtenay Ilbert and it was stated to be a "Bill to amend the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1882, so far as it relates to the exercise of jurisdiction over European British subjects". The Bill faced immense opposition from the Europeans, especially the British who argued that the Indian judges will be meeting out unfair verdicts for the accused Europeans. The bill was severely weakened by compromise and finally got enacted by the Indian Legislative Council on Jan. 25, 1884.British women were the prime opposers of the Bill because they felt they would be humiliated by Indian judges and would receive no justice when fighting against rape cases in the court. Also, they argued that Bengali women in particular were mistreated and neglected by their husbands and hence those men could not be trusted to be fair towards women.
The bitter controversy surrounding the Ilbert bill deepened animosity between the British and Indians and served as a prelude to the formation of the Indian National Congress the following year.

Note: Lord Ripon’s Ilbert Bill was passed only after the removal of the controversial provision to allow Indian judges the same rights as European judges regarding handling of cases of European defendants. Lord Ripon resigned in 1884.