IOR/R/15/2/1191

The file concerns the grant of civil and criminal powers to the Assistant Political Agent, Bahrain ['A.P.A. Bahrain' in the file title] for the area covered by the Bahrain Order in Council, 1913 (which included Qatar and the Trucial Coast). The initials 'I.A.' (standing for Indian Assistant, Bahrain), which originally appeared in the title below the reference to the Assistant Political Agent, have been crossed out.

The extension of civil powers (of a subordinate judge of the first class) and criminal powers (of a first class magistrate) to the Assistant Political Agent, Bahrain was originally designed to ease the burden of judicial work on the Political Agent, Bahrain. In some cases, Assistant Political Agents were granted preliminary civil and criminal powers at a lower level in order for them to acquire judicial experience. The papers consist of official notifications, and related correspondence between the Political Agency Bahrain, the Government of India, the India Office, and the Political Residency in the Persian Gulf concerning the grant of civil and criminal powers to individual Assistant Political Agents.

The covering dates in the date range are supplied by entries at the beginning and end of the file's notes; the covering dates of the correspondence are 7 April 1934 - 20 November 1950.