A History of Assam c23.17

c23.17

In 1860 the general Codes of Civil and Criminal Procedure were extended to the Brahmaputra valley, and in 1862 the Indian Penal Code came into force *proprio vigore*. These enactments superseded the special Assam Code, which had been drafted in 1837 and revised ten years later, but there was still great uncertainty as to the operation of the other laws in force in Bengal. These laws, as a rule, contained no local extent clause, and the general opinion of Assam officers seems to have been that they were not actually in force, and needed only to be followed in the spirit "as far as applicable." A very similar state of affairs prevailed in Cachar, but not in Sylhet, which at this time was regarded as an integral part of Bengal and, as such, was subject to all its laws and regulations.