In 1861, the British Parliament passed this Act, reorganizing the general and local Indian government systems. It describes how authority is relegated in “her Majesty’s dominions,” through a Council of the Governor-General of India, and the Councils of the Governors of the constituent states, along with their salaries, provisional appointments, and other procedural measures, where they should assemble, procedures for additional members, the rules of conduct, business to be transacted, and so forth. It demonstrates the precision and control of the English bureaucracy then governing India, the extent of their power, and the few events where their actions required royal approval by Queen Victoria. The subsequent history of the Act, with its amendments and emendations, charts the constant reevaluation of the instituted governing structures.
Source
Great Britain. The Indian Councils Acts, 1861 And 1892, And Rules And Regulations for the Council of the Governor General At Meetings for the Purpose of Making Laws And Regulations. Calcutta: Supt. of govt. printing, India, 1898. https://hdl.handle.net/2027/uc2.ark:/13960/t9b56gg7t.
An additional point of interest is the source for this entry: a volume, printed in Madras (now Chennai) in 1893, priced at one rupee, containing a wide selection of information on the Legislative Councils of India, beginning with this 1861 Act.