Hindustan Times Contempt Case

HINDUSTAN TIMES (OHTEMOT CASE

HINDUSTAN TlfflES (ONTEPT CASE

( August-November, 1941 *

Hecord of Hearings and documents of one of the 'most
sensational Contempt Cases in India of recent times

HINDUSTAN TIMES, NEIil DELHI.

Printed and Published by Devi Prasad Sharma, at the Hindustan
Times Press, New Delhi

CONTENTS

PREFACE VVII

PART I

REPORT OF PROCEEDINGS

FIRST HEARING

PAGE

GOVERNMENT ADVOCATE STATES CASE 1

SIR T. B. SAFRU'S OPENING ARGUMENTS 2

POUND GUILTY-^JUDGMENT RESERVED 10

DOCUMENTS

EDITOR'S AFFIDAVIT 11

PRINTER AND PUBLISHER'S AFFIDAVIT 16

THE NEWS ITEM IN THE "HINDUSTAN TIMES" 17

THE NEWS ITEM IN THE "LEADER" 18

PRESS REPORTS OF NOTICE OF CONTEMPT 20

MOHD. YUNU3 KHAN'S LETTER 21

TEXT OF HIGH COURT'S NOTICE 22

SECOND HEARING

ANNOUNCEMENT BY COURT TO EXAMINE MR. VIDYARTHI AND

WITNESSES ON BOTH SIDES 24

THIRD HEARING

MR. VIDYARTHI EXAMINED 26

DISTRICT JUDGE'S EVIDENCE 39

WITNESSES SUMMONED 44

FOURTH HEARING

NOTICE SERVED ON MR. SINGHAL 45

MR. SINGHAL'S EVIDENCE 47

MR. GAURI SHANKAB'S EVIDENCE 53

MR. DEVADAS GANDHI'S EVIDENCE 55

FIFTH HEARING

MR. BHARADWAJA*9 EVIDENCE 67

PROF. DUBEY'S EVIDENCE 76

MR. ATTAR SINGH'S EVIDENCE 81

MR. SURAJBAL 8WAMTS EVIDENCE 82

ii
SIXTH HEARING PAGE

ORDER PASSED CORRECTING DEFECT IN NOTICE TO MR. BINOHAL 92

MR. K. N. BANERJEETS EVIDENCE 98

MR. SURAJBAL riKSHTTS EVIDENCE 99

SEVENTH HEARING

MR. VIDYAKTHI RE-CROSS-EXAMINED 109

TEXT OP LETTERS EXCHANGED BETWEEN "HINDUSTAN TIMES 1 '

AWD MR. SINGHAL 116

ARGUMENTS

SIR TEJ BAHADUR SAPRU'S ARGUMENTS 118

SIR WAZIR HASAN'S ARGUMENTS .. * 136

GOVT. ADVOCATE'S ARGUMENTS 140

SIR TEJ BAHADUR'S REPLY 142

COURTS ORDERS

RESPONDENTS CONVICTED 147

EDITOR SENT TO JAIL 149

BAIL APPLICATION MOVED 151

BAIL APPLICATION REJECTED 152

REGISTRAR'S CIRCULAR ISSUED AFTER CASE TO SUBORDINATE

COURTS 156

TEXT OP NOTICE TO MR. SINGHAL 158

PART II

JUDGMENT AND CERTIFIED EVIDENCE

JUDGMENT PAGE

PULL TEXT 161

CERTIFIED EVIDENCE

MR. HARI 8HANKAR VIDYARTHI 196

MR. AKBAR HUESAIN 209

MR. R. L. SINGHAL 214

MR. GAURT SH/NKAR 224

MR. DEVADAS GANDHI 226

MR. D. D. BHARADWAJA 241

DR 1 . D. L. DUBEY 253

MR. ATTAR SINGH 263

MR. SURAJBAL SWAMI 266

MR. KRISHNA SWARTTP 274

MR. K. N. BANEEMEE 276

MR. SURAJBAL DIKSHIT 281

RE-EXAMTNATTON OP MR. VIDYARTHI 287

iii

PART III

APPENDICES

NEWSPAPER COMMENTS PAGE

"INDIAN EXPRESS". MADRAS 203

"NATIONAL HERALD", LUCKNOW 296

"BOMBAY CHROMOLE", BOMBAY .. ..'.. 301

"HINDUSrrHAN STANDARD", CALCUTTA '. .. .. 303

"SIND OBSERVER", KARACHI ' .. 306

"NATIONAL CALL", DELHI 306

"NAGPUR TIMfeSS", NAQPUR 307

"SEARCHLIGHT" PATNA 306

"INDIAN NATION", PATNA 310

"AMRITA BAZAR PATRIKA", CALCUTTA -..311

"LIGHT HOUSE", MEERUT 312

"HINDU". MADRAS 319

"STATES' PEOPLE", BOMBAY 315

"HINDUSTAN TIMES", NEW DELHI 316

"SOCIAL WELFARE", BOMBAY 339

"STATESMAN", CALCUTTA-DELHI 343

RESOLUTIONS OP STANDING COMMITTEE OP EDITORS'

CONFERENCE 344

CONTEMPT OF COURTS ACT 345

CHRONOLOGY 347

INDEX 351

PREFACE

On the 3rd of August, 1941, \he -Hindustan Times published
a news-item from its correspondent in Meerut to the effect
that under instructions of his Lordship the Chief Justice, judicial
officers in the U.P. were to participate actively in war fund collec-
tions. The source of the correspondent's information was not disclosed,
but the report was accompanied by the usual formula "I reliably
learn**. On the 5th of August, the Hindustan Times cortfmenting
editorially on the matter criticized the Chief Justice and in so doing
also drew the inference frpm the news that the supposed instructions
might have been issued through a circular, since the instructions were
said to have been conveyed to judicial officers all over the province,
although the correspondent in his report had made no mention of a
circular but merely referred to instructions. Thereupon the High
Court through a bench consisting of the Hon*ble Sir Iqbal Ahmad,
Chief Justice, and the Hon'ble Mr. H. J. Collister issued notice to the
Editor and the Printer and Publisher of the Hindustan Times to
appear in their court and show cause why they should not be
punished for contempt oT court for the comment which appeared in
the Hindustan Times. The respondents filed affidavits in which
they stated that the comment arose from the news item from Meerut
which in its turn had been based on certain remarks made by the
Second Additional Sessions Judge of Meerut in open court in the
course of delivering judgment in a criminal case.- It was contended
on behalf of the Editor and the Printer and Publisher, who were
defended by Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru, that the comment did not
constitute contempt of court since it had been based on information
gathered by the correspondent from the remarks of a person occupying
the position of a Sessions Judge. But the respondents had shown
their readiness to express regret in the event of the court holding that
contempt had been committed. Evidence was adduced in support
of the statement made in the affidavit to the effect that the Second
Additional Sessions Judge, while calling upon accused persons

VI

'to subscribe to the war fund, had referred to the Hon'ble the Chief
Justice and his Excellency the Governor. Mr. Hari Shankar
Vidyarthi, the judge in question, however, while admitting that he
had collected subscriptions for the war fund in court from the parti-
cular accused referred to, totally denied having made any reference
to the Chief Justice or the Governor. After several hearings, in
the course of vyhich the correspondent was also made a parly to the
notice, >t/ie court held that Mr. Vidyarthi had not referred to the
Chief Justice or the Governor, that the correspondent had either
drawn on his imagination or procee*ded on hearsay, that the Editor
had manufactured evidence in support of his case, that all the three
respondents were guilty of contempt of court and passed sentence on
them. The expression of regret was rejected, the court holding the use
of the word "apology" essential. The case, lasting over a period of
nearly four months, has drawn widespread attention and comments,
ranging from a criticism of the sentences as unduly severe to regarding
the judgment as constituting a grave miscarriage of justice, have
appeared in nearly every important newspaper in tRe counlry, the
concensus of opinion being that the existing law of contempt requires
modification especially in respect of the powers exercisable by courts
leading to the anomaly of the same person virtually functioning as
prosecutor as well as judge, even in cases where an alternative pro-
cedure may be patently desirable, a view to which authoritative
weight has been added by a resolution passed by leading Editors at
a meeting of the Standing Committee of the AH- India Newspaper
Editors* Conference.

The following pages contain a complete report of the case with
all relevant documents and a selection of Press comments. It must
be understood that the extracts from Press comments are confined
to newspapers published in the English language and therefore
include nothing of the comments that have appeared in the far more
numerous newspapers published in the Indian languages. This was
inevitable if the size of the book was to be confined to reasonable

Vll

limits. The lay reader and the lawyer interested in the case will
find practically all they want in the book. Part I consists of the
day-to-day proceedings of the case and is largely a reprint of reports
as they appeared in the Press, with slight Alteration in form. These
include, besides the arguments, the depositil^^or witnesses. The Press
reports are exceedingly full, but the certified text of the-whole volume
of evidence has also been reproduced in Part II at the end of ffie text
of the judgment. While the general reader will doubtless want the
detailed account of proceedings as recorded from the expert
professional newspaper reporter's angle, value will be set on Part II
from the legal point of view. This has necessarily entailed a
repetition of nearly 100 pages of matter which, we trust, the busy
reader will condone.

In Part I will also be found the text of a circular which the
High Court eventually issued to all its subordinate judicial officers
defining its policy regarding the participation of judicial officers in
the collection of subscriptions to the war fund. This has been
discussed in some of the Press comments appearing in Part III.

January 1, 19}2. PUBLISHERS

ii)inttustnn (Times Contempt

At the Allahabad High Court on Tuesday, the 9th of
.ptember, 1941 , their lordships the Chief Justice Sir Iqbal Ahmed
d Mr. Justice Collister found Mr. Devadas Gandhi, Edfro^ and
r. Devi Prasad Sharma, Printer and Publisher, of the Hindustan
mes, guilty of contempt of court.

Dr. M. Waliullah, Government Advocate, opened the case

d he was followed by Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru, who appeared

the Editor and Printer and Publisher of the paper both

whom were present in court in response to notices served upon

>m by the High Court. Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru was assisted by

essrs. K. D. Malaviya and Gopalji Mehrotra, Advocates. The

urt room was crowded to its utmost capacity.

GOVERNMENT ADVOCATE'S CASE

The Government Advocate opening the case said that notice
is issued to the Editor, and Printer and Publisher of the Hindustan
imes on the basis of the following passage which appeared in the
ue dated August 6, and which was reproduced in the affidavit of
s Registrar :

"If it is true that the new Chief Justice of the Allahabad
High Court, Sir Iqbal Ahmed, in his administrative capacity, has
issued a circular to the judicial officers under his jurisdiction,
enjoining on them to raise contributions to the war funds, then
it must be said that he has done a thing which would lower the
prestige of the courts in the eyes of the people. The presiding
officer of a court, while asking for funds, may say that the
contribution is voluntary, but he cannot remove the idea from the
mind of a person, particularly a litigant, that the request is being
made by one whom it may not be safe to displease. To be
absolutely voluntary, war contributions ought to be raised only by
non-official committees or individuals. It was bad enough that

2 THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

First Hearing (Contd.)

the services of the members of the executive were utilized for
the purpose, but to make judicial officers do this work is some-
thing far worse."

The Government Advocate said this passage appeared on page 4
of the paper wtych contained the leading article and editorial
comments. The passage in question was editorial comment and not
a con^utrflication by anybody. Furthermore, it would appear from
the face of it that there was absolutely no reference to any com-
munication of any sort or kind received by the Editor on which
he might have based this comment. s There was absolutely no
reference to any source of information or anything of the sort. On
reading the article in the Hindustan Times, which was very widely
circulated, readers would undoubtedly come to the conclusion that
the Allahabad High Court, under its new Chief Justice, had issued
a circular which would in effect lower the prestige of the courts.

Chief Justice : This means that I am unworthy of the
high office that I am holding and, what is more, that I am not
maintaining the dignity of the courts subordinate to my court.

The Government Advocate said that on the face of it the

article was serious contempt of court. He added he had been given

that morning copies of sworn affidavits by the Editor and the Printer

and he had not been able, in the short time at his disposal, to go

through the bigger one by the Editor.

SIR T. B. SAPRU'S OPENING ARGUMENTS

Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru, appearing for Messrs. Devadas
Gandhi and Devi Prasad Sharma, said they were submitting to their
lordships' jurisdiction. Their affidavits disclosed a story the like
of which had probably never been heard' in this court and it would
be his attempt to state facts in the strict order of the dates.

"Before I proceed further your lordship will take the assurance
from me which I am going to substantiate later on that it wa s no
part of the intention of Mr. Devadas Gandhi or the Printer and
Publisher to cast any reflection upon your lordship or upon
any member of this court or to question your capacity to be Chief
Justice or to hold the scales of justice even or your capacity to steer

THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE 3

Hvarmg (Contd.)

Jear of anything unworthy of the dignity of the Chief Justice or
tnworthy of the dignity of any judge of the High Court. Your
ttdship may take this assurance from the start."

Chief Justice : Intention in these matters <Joes not count.

Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru : I fully realize that. * I am putting
tiat Before your lordship and I ask your lordship to sus^erfd j&4fcment
ntil I have stated the facts.

Sir Tej Bahadur said he ha*d been at pains to discover a case
arallel to this case. [There was no case parallel to this case to be
ound in English reports- Luckily for him there was a case parallel
3 this case decided by Sir Barnes Peacock in 1869. In that case
he Editor of the Englishman, Fenwick, and the Printer, Banks,
vere asked to appear before the Calcutta High Court to explain
tieir conduct and they explained their conduct at length. So far
s his clients were concerned, they were doing nothing less than what
Captain Fenwick did in that case and he would very respectfully ask
is lordship to accept the line adopted by Sir Barnes Peacock, who,
fter satisfying himself upon the affidavits produced before him that
le intention was pure and that everything had been explained before
im, discharged the notice.

SIR B. PEACOCK'S DECISION IN PARALLEL CASE

Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru then quoted the following passage from
le judgment of Sir Barnes Peacock reported in 26 Calcutta Law
ournal :

*'The court would have been prepared to decide that these
articles are a contempt, but under all the circumstances, and all
imputations of motives having been disclaimed, and Capt. Fenwick
having submitted to the court when the rule was issued, the rule
will not be carried any further but will be discharged.

"I may say that in my opinion Captain Fenwick has adopted
a very honourable and proper course in this matter by avowing
himself to be responsible for the articles which have appeared,
and thus taking the responsibility off the shoulders of the printer
and publisher, who had nothing to do with it. It would have

2 THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

First Hearing (Contd.)

the services of the members of the executive were utilized for
the purpose, but to make judicial officers do this work is some-
thing far worse."

The Government Advocate said this passage appeared on page 4
of the paper wtych contained the leading article and editorial
comments. The passage in question was editorial comment and not
a conjflKtfiication by anybody. Furthermore, it would appear from
the face of it that there was absolutely no reference to any com-
munication of any sort or kind received by the Editor on which
he might have based this comment. * There was absolutely no
reference to any source of information or anything of the sort. On
reading the article in the Hindustan Times, which was very widely
circulated, readers would undoubtedly come to the conclusion that
the Allahabad High Court, under its new Chief Justice, had issued
a circular which would in effect lower the prestige of the courts.

Chief Justice : This means that I am unworthy of the
high office that I am holding and, what is more, that I am not
maintaining the dignity of the courts subordinate to my court.

The Government Advocate said that on the face of it the
article was serious contempt of court He added he had been given
>that morning copies of sworn affidavits by the Editor and the Printer
and he had not been able, in the short time at his disposal, to go
through the bigger one by the Editor.

SIR T. B. SAPRU'S OPENING ARGUMENTS

Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru, appearing for Messrs. Devadas
Gandhi and Devi Prasad Sharma, said they were submitting to their
lordships' jurisdiction. Their affidavits disclosed a story the like
of which had probably never been heard in this court and it would
be his attempt to state facts in the strict order of the dates.

* "Before I proceed further your lordship will take the assurance
from me which I am going to substantiate later on that it was no
part of the intention of Mr. Devadas Gandhi or the Printer and
Publisher to cast any reflection upon your lordship or upon
any member of this court or to question your capacity to be Chief
Justice or to hold the scales of justice even or your capacity to steer

THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE 3

First Hearing (Contd.)

clear of anything unworthy of the dignity of the Chief Justice or
unworthy of the dignity of any judge of the High Court. Your
lordship may take this assurance from the start."

Chief Justice : Intention in these matters ^oes not count.

Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru : I fully realize that. 1 I am putting
that before your lordship and I ask your lordship to susperfd judgment
until I have stated the facts.

Sir Tej Bahadur said ,he had been at pains to discover a case
parallel to this case. [There was no case parallel to this case to be
found in English reports* Luckily for him there was a case parallel
to this case decided by Sir Barnes Peacock in 1869. In that case
the Editor of the Englishman, Fenwick, and the Printer, Banks,
were asked to appear before the Calcutta High Court to explain
their conduct and they explained their conduct at length. So far
as his clients were concerned, they were doing nothing less than what
Captain Fenwick did in that case and he would very respectfully ask
his lordship to accept the line adopted by Sir Barnes Peacock, who,
after satisfying himself upon the affidavits produced before him that
the intention was pure and that everything had been explained before
him, discharged the notice.

SIR B. PEACOCK'S DECISION IN PARALLEL CASE

Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru then quoted the following passage from
the judgment of Sir Barnes Peacock reported in 26 Calcutta Law
Journal :

* 'The court would have been prepared to decide that these
articles are a contempt, but under all the circumstances, and all
imputations of motives having been disclaimed, and Capt. Fenwick
having submitted to the court when the rule was issued, the rule
will not be carried any further but will be discharged.

"I may say that in my opinion Captain Fenwick has adopted
a very honourable and proper course in this matter by avowing
himself to be responsible for the articles which have appeared,
and thus taking the responsibility off the shoulders of the printer
and publisher, who had nothing to do with it. It would have

4 ttt HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

Fir tit Hearing (Contd.)

given me much pain if I had been obliged to proceed against the
printer and publisher. I also think that Captain Fenwick has
adopted a very proper course in having through Mr. Paul with-
drawn all imputations of improper motives on the part of the
Chief Justice, kfl<} in having explained that the word 'cruelty'
was norjnt|nded in any bad sense, but merely as meaning severity.
Captain Fenwick not having any such intention, although the
word was susceptible of bearing such a meaning, has done
himself honour by expressing that he had no such intention."

Sir Tej explained the circumstances in which the comment
in question appeared and said that the editor had done no more than
what an editor who was accustomed to deal with a reporter whom
he trusted would have done.

MEERUT COURT INCIDENT

Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru next dealt with the points raised in
the Editor's affidavit and said that the Hindustan Times, New Delhi,
like other important papers, had a local correspondent at Meerut.
He was a correspondent both of the Hindustan Times and the
Leader. He sent the item of news from Meerut with regard to the
incident which was now the subject of inquiry. Counsel referred to
what was said to have happened in the court of Mr. Harishankar
Vidyarthi, Second Additional Sessions Judge, Meerut, and how
money collected in court for the war fund was placed on the table
of the Judge. A sum of Rs. 200 was paid on the spot and
a further Rs. 150 promised to be paid the next day.
The reporter, having heard this story, sent the item of
news which appeared on August 3, and the same thing appeared in
the Leader. After passing the sentence of transportation on four
accused in the Dhakoli Murder Case, this money was collected and
placed on the Judge's table. Sir Tej Bahadur said that the
significance of it was that the Judge was going to discharge the rest
and his suggestion was that justice was being sold, and as a matter
of fact, after the money was paid, they were discharged-

Chief Justice : The whole judgment must have been read.
Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru : According to the affidavit before me

' THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE 5

First Hearing (Contd.)

four men were transported, and at this stage the Judge decided to
make these observations, and when the money was handed over the
rest of the judgment was either read out or the substance given out.

Chief Justice : I find it very difficult to accept this story.
When the Judge was delivering the judgment irt a case in which there
were 20 accused he would, in the same breath, say so many are
convicted and so many acquitted, and I cannot believe" that* after
saying that four persons are transported for life he would not say

anything more with regard to the rest.

*

Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru then said that when the news appeared
in the Hindustan Times, the Judge sent for the correspondent, who
did not see him on the same day but when repeated requests were
made he eventually met him on August 13. The Judge told him
that the news as sent out was correct but he would like that his name
should not be mentioned if any inquiry was made. Nothing happened
between August 13 and 25 which was the date of the service of
notice-

Chief Justice : Did the Judge on the 1 3th mention to Singhal
the fact that notice for contempt was issued? Did Singhal know
on that day that notice was issued ?

Sr'r Tej Bahadur Sapru : I do not know.

Chief Justice : Surely Singhal must have known. It appear-
ed in all the papers.

Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru: My suggestion is not going to be
that the Judge did not know or Singhal did not know. Very
probably they knew because the news had appeared in the papers.

Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru then related the facts mentioned in the
affidavit regarding the visit paid to Meerut by Messrs. Gandhi and
Bharadwaja and what transpired during their visit. He then read
to the court the text of Mr. Gandhi's affidavit-

The Chief Justice asked whether paragraph 8 containing the
assurance given to the Court by the respondent amounted to an
expression of regret and a submission of apology.

Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru said he wished to deal with the

ft THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

First Hearing (Contd.)

question later. Whatever legal view his lordship might take of that
paragraph or whatever view he might take of the law,* his client
stated on oath that he was not actuated by any malicious motive.

Referring to sub-clause (P) of Para 11, the Chief Justice
observed that he Was'surprised at the District Judge allowing people
to come to his residence and to talk about a matter that was judicially
engajjrftg his lordship's attention and that it was most improper on
the part of the District Judge. . -

CHIEF JUSTICE'S STATEMENT

His lordship told Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru that the information
contained in the editorial paragraph in question was based on untrue
facts and that no circular was issued by him aqd that he would like,
further discussion to proceed on that basis. .

Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru : I am very grateful to your lordship
for making that statement.

Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru said the Editor had to carry on his
duties from day to day and he had to depend upon hi& correspondents.
If a correspondent supplied news without any basis or out of malicious
motive, the Editor must take the responsibility for publishing that
news.

Continuing, counsel said that his client in submitting to the
Court's jurisdiction and asking their lordships' verdict had been
perfectly 'honourable, frank and courageous because he had taken
the responsibility on his own shoulders by making this statement on
oath.

Chief Justice : What do you mean by saying "by submitting
to the jurisdiction of this Court"? Can he avoid the jurisdiction of
this Court?

Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru : I am using the words found in the
judgment of Sir Barnes Peacock.

Chef Justice : Is it your contention that if he had not
submitted to the jurisdiction of this Court, this Court would "have h*cf
no jurisdicton?

THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE *7

Fnst Heating (Contd )

Sir T. B. Sapru : The sense in which these words were used
by Sir Barnes Peacock is this. The editor concerned said to the
Court, I practically put myself in your hands.

Chief Justice : That is quite different. If you say I throw
myself before the Court, but put myself in yodr 'hands, that is quite
different.

REGRET OR APOLOGY?

Sir Tej Bahadur Sapr>u said that if his lordship held that the
comment made amounted in law to a contempt of court as apart from
the intention, then Mr. Devadas Gandhi as a responsible editor was
prepared to give the assurance and express regret that it was no part
of his intention to bring the Court into disrepute.

Chief Justice : Again, Sir Tej, I would like to be clear.
You have used the words assurance and expression of regret. Will
that be tantamount to an apology?

Sir T. B. Sapru : It is for your lordship to decide.

Chief Justice : The question is this. Suppose we came
to the conclusion that the editor is guilty of contempt. In that case^
will an apology be forthcoming?

Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru : The answer to that is that the editor
is prepared to express his regret.

Chief Justice : Not apology?

Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru : The word apology in law means
nothing. It may mean anything, I would show this to your lordship
from case law. There would be an expression of regret if your
ordship would come to the conclusion that it is contempt.

Chief Justice : If we do not come to that conclusion, theA
he matter ends.

Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru then referred to the case ^decided by
Sir Barnes Peacock in which the then Chief Justice of the Calcutta*
High Court had regarded the explanation given as satisfactory and
lischarged the rule- Sir Tej explained the circumstances in which

8 THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

First Hearing (Contd.)

the comment in question appeared and said that the editor had done
no more than what an editor would have done who was accustomed
to deal with a reporter whom he trusted.

The Chief Justice observed that neither the Chief Justice nor
any other Judge was* free from public criticism about the acts done
by him, provided that the criticism did not degenerate into contempt
of court. * *

Secondly, what Mr. Vidyarthi was supposed to have said in
court was untrue and was a piece of deliberate He. For that, what
action against Mr. Vidyarthi should be taken they would decide
later.

Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru : I pray that your lordship will take
notice of those facts.

Chief Justice : We are not going to drop the matter.
But what steps against Mr. Vidyarthi will be taken and how he
shall be dealt with is totally foreign to the scope of the present
inquiry. Here there has been a repetition of falsehood by a paper
that is widely circulated throughout India.

Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru : With regard to that aspect, I would
like to make some submission.

Justice Collister : No one has yet had a chance to rebut the
allegations.

Chief Justice : If the allegations contained in the affidavit
are true, they constitute a mitigation of the offence. The offence
nevertheless remains.

The Chief Justice asked Sir Tej Bahadur if he conceded that it
was contempt.

Sir Tej said he did not concede that it was contempt but for
purposes of argument he would proceed on the assumption that the
comment amounted to contempt- The circumstances preceding the
publication of the comment could not be overlooked by his lordship.

Chief Justice : You may rest assured that appropriate
action will be taken if the facts alleged are true,

THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE 9

First Hearing (Contd.)

"REFORMER OF HIGH COURT"

Counsel, proceeding, said that the editor in his comment did not
affirm anything about his lordship.

Chief Justice : Insinuation is at times worse than assertion of

* j r* ,.

fact.

Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru said that there were tvfa partrf in his
argument, one of which dealt with the matter on the assumption that
it amounted to contempt and the* other was that if his lordship took
a broad view of the article 1 it did not amount to contempt.

Chief Justice : Sir Tej, what would be the effect on
the man in the street of a statement of that kind?

Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru: My lord, we are concerned with
reasonable men, not the man in the street.

Chief Justice : The editor has adopted the role of a reformer
of the court.

Sir Tej Bahadur : My lord, there is nothing illegal in the
role of a reformer even of the High Court.

Chief Justice : It is one thing to invite the attention of
the Chief Justice or of any judge to some practice and say that it
required modification in some respects and it was quite another thing
to say that the new Chief Justice or any judge should reform himself
in this respect. The latter amounted to contempt. The former
did not.

Sir Tej Bahadur quoted the first sentence of the comment,
"If it is true that the new Chief Justice of the Allahabad High
Court, Sir Iqbal Ahmad, in his administrative capacity has issued a
circular, etc." and stressed that the Editor, in spite of the informa-
tion on which he relied, ^had taken the precaution to qualify his
comment with the word "if", because there can be no absolute
guarantee of the truth of one's information.

Chief Justice : Supposing it was said, "If it is true that
the Judges of the High Court decide cases without applying their
minds to the material before them, etc." would it not be contempt?

'16 THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

First Hvarvng (Contd.)

Sir Tef Bahadur: My lord, the observation might very well
mean that the judges do not take an intelligent view of the case,
and that need not necessarily amount to contempt. But I do not
desire to take shelter under the word "if." . . .

Counsel then kfgued that the editor had not criticized the
Chief Justice's ability or action as a Judge, but .had referred to
something done in the Chief Justice's administrative capacity .

Chief Justice : That argunjent cannot hold hie for a
minute. It is well known that the judicial and administrative
capacities of the Chief Justice are one and the same and no distinc-
tion can be drawn between them.

The Chief Justice then quoted the last sentence of the
comment : "It was bad enough that the services of the members of
the Executive were utilized for the purpose, but to make judicial
officers do this work is something worae," and said : "This means
that I make judicial officers do the work."

FOUND "GUILTY' JUDGMENT RESERVED

Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru in his further arguments submitted that
if the Court came to the conclusion that it was an offence within
the meaning of the law, then their lordships had the assurance given
in the affidavit in more paragraphs than one, that it was no part of
the intention of his client to cast any reflection on the Chief Justice
and he had expressed in one paragraph his unfeigned regret.

Chief Justice : The matter is such that it cannot be
allowed to rest where it is on mere assurance in the absence of an
apology. [We are going to reserve judgment. Having given due
weight to what you have said, we have arrived at the conclusion
that your clients are guilty of contempt of court, and in the absence
of an apology, for which we give time till the day after tomorrow,
it shall be our duty to pass sentence according to law.

It was also announced that judgment would be delivered on
Monday, September ' 1 5.

THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE U

WHAT HAPPENED AT MEERUT

MR. DEVADAS GANDHI'S AFFIDAVIT*

The Jollounng is the text of the affidavit submitted by Mr.
Dwadas Gandhi, Editor of the "Hindustan Times."

I solemnly affirm and state that I am the Editor of the
Hindustan Times and I have received the notice issued by this

Hon'ble Court in the above proceeding.

- ' -^

(2) I sol&nnly affirm and state that the comments which form
the subject of the present proceedings appeared in the issue of the
Hindustan Times, dated August *6, 1941, and as the Editor of the
newspaper concerned, I take full responsibility therefor.

(3) I solemnly affirm and state that the said comments, which
Appeared in the issue of the Hindustan Times, dated August 6,
jUMl, were preceded by the publication of a news item in the issue
o! August 3, 1941, a cutting of which I attach hereto.

(4) I solemnly affirm and state that the same news appeared
in the dak eJiticn of the Leader of Allahabad dated August 6,
1941.

(5) I solemnly affirm and state that the correspondent of the
Hindustan Times at Meerut who furnished the news is one Mr.
R L. Singhal who has been connected as a correspondent with the
Hindustan Times for more than 7 years, during which period
neither have I nor has any member of my Editorial Staff at any
time had occasion to doubt his honesty or efficiency, and that when
tho news in question was furnished by him I assumed, having
regard to my experience of him, that he must have taken care to
ascertain its accuracy.

(6) I solemnly affirm and state that the same Mr. Singhal is
also the Meerut correspondent of the Leader of Allahabad and I
Jiave personally ascertained from Mr. Krishna Ram Mehta, the
Editor of the Leader that he shares my views of Mr. Singhal's
veracity and efficiency.

(7) I solemnly affirm and state that I am most anxious to
place all the facts before this Hon'ble Court and that since the
notice was issued to me I have made personal inquiries at Meerut
anJ the facts, as ascertained by me, are stated below.

NO REFLECTION

(8) I solemnly affirm and state that before relating those facts
I c'tesire to assure this Hon'ble Court that it was no part of my
intention to cast any reflection upon the conduct of his lordship the

12 THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

Mr. Gandhi's Affidavit (Contd.)

Hon'ble Chief Justice or to bring this Hon'ble Court into disrepute
or contempt, and I should be sorry indeed if my conduct in publish-
ing these comments, which I did publish as an Editor, relying on
the accuracy of my informant, were interpreted as implying any mali-
cious intention on my part or intended to bring this Hon'ble Court or
any member cl it irito A disrepute.

(9) I solemnly affirm and state that on the other hand, my
intention was to maintain the reputation of the High Court and
the puP*7* of administration of justice and to protect the same from
being brought into disrepute by the sort of things to which my
attention was drawn by my correspondent.

(10) I solemnly affirm and state that in the light of the facts
which I am going to narrate below, this Hon'ble Court may be
pleased to form its own opinion as to the circumstances in which
tho news and the comments thereon came to be published in my
newspaper and ako as to my intention in publishing the same.

ADDITIONAL SESSIONS JUDGE'S STATEMENT IN COURT

(11) I solemnly affirm and state the true facts which are as
follows:

(A) My correspondent, Mr. R. L. Singhal, was present in the
court of Mr. Hari Shankar Vidyarthi, Second Additional Sessions
Judge of Mee-ut, on July 31, 1941, when the latter pronounced his
judgment in tne Dhakoli Murder Case.

' (B) After passing a sentence of transportation for life on four
out of twenty accused in the case, the learned Judge made the
following statement in open court, in the presence of lawyers and
litigants and my said correspondent, Mr. Singhal:

"Chunke Chief Justice Saheb ne, jinse ke his Excellency the
Governor ne war efforts men madad dene ki request ki hai, ham
logon se larai ka chanda ekattha karne ke liye kaha hai is liye
hamara yeh iarz hai ke ham bhi chanda ekattha karen aur is men ap
log bhi madati karen."

The translation of the above statement in English is as follows:

"Since the Chief Justice, who has been requested by his
Excellency tho Governor to help in the war efforts, has asked us to
raise subscriptions for the war fund, it is incumbent on us to raise
subscriptions and you should help me in this work."

(C) Mr. Finghal having heard the above statement with his
own ears in open court sent the news referred to in Para 3 above,
to the Hindustan Times which appeared in its issue of August 3
1941.

THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE 13 .

Mr. Gandhi's Affidavit (Contd.)*

(D) After the above statement was made by the Judge, lawyers
and litigants present in court held hurried consultations between
themselves and Rs. 200 was actually collected on the spot and
placed on the table of the Judge.

(E) At the same time, according to the information supplied
to me by Mr. Singhal, Mr. Surajbal Swami, a legal practitioner,
who appeared for some of the accused in that case.rtold 1 the* court
that he had collected Rs. 150 from his clients as requested by the
Jucfge, and that he would present that money the next morning.

(F) The Judge then declared the rest of the accused in the
Dnakoli Murder Case discharged.

(G) Among those present in the court-room at the time that
the incidents mentioned above happened, were Mr. Surajbal Swami
and Mr. K. N. Banerji, lawyers.

VISIT TO MEERUT

(H) After the receipt of the notice of this Hon'ble Court on
August 25, at Delhi, I visited Meerut along with Mr. D. D. Bharadwaja,
Assistant Editor of ^he Hindustan Times, on August 31 to ascertain
the facts. There Mr. K. N. Banerji referred to in Para 11 (G) met me
at ;he residence of Prof. D. L. Dubey and confirmed, in the presence
of others, to me the above-mentioned facts and also that the Judge
Jiad made the statement ascribed to him, and Mr. Banerji expressed
his readiness to state these facts before the High Court, if he should
be summoned.

(I) I further learnt from Mr. K. N. Banerji that, on the evening
of the day of the occurrence, namely July 31, he had met at the
club, Mr. N. B. Bonarji, I.C.S., the then District Magistrate of
Meerut, and now Officiating Commissioner, Meerut Division, and
brought the matter to his notice, and that Mr. Bonarji had expressed
surprise that a judicial officer should have acted in the way Mr.
VUyarthi was rei resented to have done.

(J) On September 1, 1941, the day following my visit to Meerut,
Me. K. N. Banerji told Mr. Bharadwaja, my Assistant Editor, at
the residence and in the presence of Prof. D. L. Dubey of the
Meerut College, that he (Mr. Banerji) had apprised Mr. Akbar
Husnin, I.C.S., the District and Sessions Judge, of the facts.

(K) Mr. K. N. Banerji further told Mr. Bharadwaja that upon
Mr Akbar Husain making inquiries from the Second Additional
Sessions Judg* the latter admitted, in the presence of Mr. K. N.
Banerji, having made the statement ascribed to him and collected
cortributions to the War Fund.

t4 THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

Mr. Gandhi's Affidavit (Coi\td.)

(L) While Mr. K. N. Banerji was still talking to Mr.
Bharadwaja, Mr. Surajbal Swami and Mr. Radhe Behari, Vakils,
reached there.

(M) Mr. Surajbal Swami said that Mr. Vidyarthi, the Judge, had
sent for him (Mr. Suaajbal Swami) earlier in the day, but that he
could not go to see him.

(NflT thereafter, according to Mr. Surajbal Swami, Mr.
Vidyarthi called to his Chamber, Mr. Surajbal Swami's son-in-law,
Mr. Krishna Swarup Sharma, a junior lawyer of a few months'
standing, and cot from him a signed state/nent to the effect that Mr.
Vid.'.arthi had not made any statement in court such as was being
attributed to him.

(O) Mr. Surajbal Swami was very indignant and said that it
wrs most improper for a Judge to exercise pressure on a young man
Jike his son-in-law, Mr. Krishna Swarup Sharma, and obtain an
inoorrect statement just to save himself.

(P) On til* following day, September 2, 1941, Mr. Bharadwaja
had an interview with Mr. Akbar Husain, I.C.S., the District and
Sessions Judge, when Mr. Bharadwaja brought to his notice Mr.
Suiajbal Swami s statement that Mr. Krishna Swarup Sharma had
been called by Mr. Vidyarthi and that Mr. Vidyarthi had taken from
him a stateme.it by exercising pressure.

(Q) The comment in question which appeared in the issue of
the Hindustan Times which reached Allahabad on August 6, 1941,
appeared in i\\z morning edition of August 5, at Delhi and reached
Meeiut the same morning.

CORRESPONDENT SEES JUDGE

(R) On the same evening Mr. Vidyarthi sent his stenographer,
Mohammad Y'jnus Khan, to see Mr. Singhal, but as Mr. Singhal
was not present at his house, the said Mohammad Yunus Khan
left a note with his signature thereon, bearing date August 5, 1941,
asking Mr. Singhal to see the Judge in his Chamber (the word used
In the note is "parlcur") as the Judge wanted to "consult him in a
particular matter." I attach the note which has been given to me
by Mr. Singhal.

(S) Mr. Smgnal did not go to see the Judge for some time, but
was pestered with requests by various persons on behalf of the
Judge. One of these was Mr. Gauri Shankar, resident of Budhana
Gate, and eventually Mr. Singhal went to see him in company with
Mr. Gauri Shankar on August 13, 1941, when Mr. Vidyarthi, while
admitting that the news in the Hindustan Times of August 3, 1941,

THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE 15

Mr. Qandhi's Affidavit (Contd.) *

was a faithful reproduction of what had happened in court, asked
Mr. Singhal not to mention his name in the course of any inquiry
which might be made.

(12) I solemnly affirm and state that my correspondent, Mr.
R. L. Singhal, atfed in the performance of his* duty as a corres-
pondent in seeding the news referred to in Para 3 for publication,
wLen he found that the presiding Judge of the court* male a^ state-
ment to the effect given above in his presence and the presence of
the lawyers and litigants.

WAR FUND COLLECTIONS

(13) I solemnly affirm and state that as Editor of the
Hindustan Times I had been receiving complaints from different
quarters that some pressure had been exercised by some officials on
pe>ple in the matter of raising subscriptions for the war and thai
I had also noticed that these complaints had been referred to by
soire public men in their speeches or statements and found
expression in some newspapers also and that at the time I received
the news in qaestion from my correspondent, I had no reason to
believe or suspect that his report was inaccurate, and since then I
have as a result of my inquiries, come to know that it was actually
based upon wnat the Second Additional Sessions Judge referred to
had publicly and openly stated in court and that in publishing the
comments in question my sole motive was to emphasize that the
High Court should have nothing to do with regard to the controversy
that had sprung up in the country as to the war subscriptions.

(14) I solemnly affirm and state that I am willing to give every
assistance to this Hon'ble Court in sifting the facts stated by me, if
necessary, and I again repeat my assurance that at no stage was it
my intention to harm the reputation of this Hon'ble Court or to
bring it into disrepute.

(15) I so'emnly affirm and state that the facts stated in para-
graphs 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9; 11 sub-clauses (H), (Q); 12; 13 and 14 are
true to my psrsonal knowledge, and the statements made in para-
graph 11 sub-clauses (A), (B), (C), (D), (E), (F), (G), (R), (S), are
verified on the information supplied by Mr. Singhal and statements
in paragraph 11 sub-clauses (J), (K), (L), (M), (N), (O), (P),
are verified on information supplied by Mr. Bharadwaja, which I
believe to be true that it conceals nothing and that no part of it
is talse.

16 THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

Printer And Publisher's Affidavit

The following is the text of the affidavit filed on September
by Pandit Devi Prasad Sharma, Printer and Publisher of the
"Hindustan Times":

I solemnly affirm .and state that I am the Printer and Publisher
of the Hindustan Times and I have received the notice issued by
this Hon'bje Court in the above proceeding.

(2) I* solemnly affirm and state that the comments which form
the subject of the present proceedings, appeared in the issue of the
Hindustan Times, dated August 6/ 1941, and as the Printer and
Publisher I take full responsibility therefor.

(3) I solemnly affirm and state that the said comment, which
appeared in the issue of the Hindustan Times, dated August 6,
1911, was preceded by the publication of a news item in the issue
of the Hindustan Times, dated August 3, 1941, a cutting of which
is attached to the affidavit of Mr. Devadas Gandhi, the Editor.

(4) I solemnly affirm and state that Mr. Devadas Gandhi, the
Editor, and Mr. D. D. Bharadwaja, Assistant Editor, had been to
Moerut to investigate into the correctness or otherwise of the news
on which the comment was based and the information that came to
their knowledge is embodied in the affidavit of Mr. Devadas Gandhi,
the Editor of Ihe Hindustan Times.

(5) I solemnly assure this Hon'ble Court that at no stage was
it my intention to print or publish anything that would harm the
reputation of this Court or bring it into disrepute.

THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE 17

THE NEWS ITEM

The following is the news item alluded to in the case, a cutting
of which was filed with Mr. Devadas Gandhi's Affidavit:

JUDICIAL OFFICERS FOR WAR WORK

RAISING SUBSCRIPTIONS -
NEW CHIEF JUSTICE'S CIRCULAR?
(From Our Correspondent)

MEERUT, Aug. 1.

With the judicial officers also now co-operating actively in the
war efforts, the "efforts" are bound to receive a heavy push forward.
The judicial officers all over the province have been, I reliably learn,
asked by the new Chief Justice of the Allahabad Figh Court who,
it is understood, has been requested by his Excellency the Governor,
for co-operation in war efforts, to raise subscriptions for the war
funds.

The judicial officers raising money make it quite clear to the
persons whom they ask to contribute that the donations were
voluntary and they were not exercising any compulsion in asking for
funds. They could donate as much or as little as they pleased.

MURDER CASE JUDGMENT

Judgment was delivered by the Second Additional Sessions
Juc'ge, Meerut, in the sensational "Dhakoli Murder" case in which
20 persons of village Dhakoli were committed to the court of sessions
to stand their trial for murder, rioting, etc.

Four of the accused, viz., Durga (32), Puran (20), Badri (36),
anJ Manglu (25), were found guilty of the various offences charged
against them and convicted of the same and sentenced each to trans-
portation for life under Section 302-149 and to six months under
Section 323-143. and another six months under Section 147. All the
sentences are TO run concurrently. The learned Judge did not find
sufficient evidence for the conviction of the rest and accordingly
acquitted then:.

The case arose out of the brutal murder of two prrson^ at
dawn on a Purnamashi day last winterr, when they were going to
have a dip in the Ganges.

A week before the murder Ram Charan, accused, gave out that
Makhan, deceased, was carrying liaison with Murli's wife. Things

J8 THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

The News Item (Contd.)

developed further and Ram Chetran was alleged to have remarked
thai: he would mase short work of Makhan in a week.

On January 13, 1941, Nathoo, Daya Chand, Makhan and Ram
Saroop set out in a tonga at dawn for a dip in the Ganges. As
they neared a grove, come 30 to 40 persons emerged from the grove
armed with lathis, ballams, etc., and fell upon the four persons.
Nathcjp and Daya Chand were surrounded by their assailants and
beaten to % death, while Ram Saroop escaped with minor injuries.

All the abused persons stoo^ on the spot ready to deal with
the sympathiz2rs of Makhan if they ventured to come to his rescue.
They, however, did not molest the ladies who came to remove Daya
Chand, who was still breathing, and allowed them to remove his
body in a tonga. He, however, died on reaching the Mowana
dispensary.

The same news appeared in the "Leader" of Allahabad in the
following form:

MURDERED WHILE GOING FOR A DIP

4 ACCUSED SENTENCED: 16 ACQUITTED

(From Our Correspondent)

MEERUT, Aug. 1.

Judgment has been delivered by the Second Additional Sessions
Judge, Meerut, in the sensational "Dhakoli murder" case in which
20 persons of village Dhakoli were committed to the court of sessions
to stand their trial for murder and rioting, etc.

Four of the accused, viz., Durga (32), Puran (20), Badri (36)
and Manglu (25), were found guilty of the v various offences charged
against and convicted of the same and sentenced each to transport-
ation for life under Section 302/149 and to six months under
Section 323/149 and to another six months under Section 147. All
the sentences are to run concurrently. The learned judge did not
find sufficient evidence for the conviction of the rest and accordingly
acquitted them.

The case arose out of the brutal murder of two persons in the
dawn of one Purnamashi in last winter when they were going to
have a dip in the Ganges.

The prosecution story was that there were two factions in the
village, which were at daggers drawn with each other. A week

THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CAfifi 19

Tlie News Item in the "Leader**' (Contd:)

before the murder Ram Charan, accused, gave out that Makkhan,
deceased, was carrying liaison with Murli's wife. Things developed
further and Ram Charan was alleged to have remarked that he
would make short work of Makkhan in a week.

On January 13, 1941, Nathoo, Daya Chand, iMakkhan and Ram
Saroop set out in a tonga at dawn for a dip in the Ganges. As they
neared Har Dutt's grove some 30/40 persons emerged from the^' grove
armed with lathis, ballams, etc., and fell upon the -four persons.
Nathoo and Daya Chand were sjurrounded by their assailants and
beaten to death, while Ram Saroop escaped with minor injuries.

The accused pleaded not guilty to the charges.

JUDICIAL OFFICERS' CO-OPERATION

With the judicial officers also co-operating actively now in the
war efforts the efforts are bound to receive a heavy push forward.
The judicial officers all over the province have been, I reliably learn,
asked by the Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court, who, it is
understood, has been requested by his Excellency the Governor for
co -operation in war efforts, to raise subscriptions for the war funds.

The judicial officers raising money make it quite clear to the
persons whom they ask to contribute that the donations were
voluntary and they were not exercising any compulsion in asking for
funds. They could give as much and as little as they pleased.

The "Leader" Wednesday, August 6,

' 20 T^ HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

ALLAHABAD HIGH COURT

ISSUE OF WRIT OF CONTEMPT
[REPORT IN "LEADER" (ALLAHABAD), AUG. 9,
(Before the Chief Justice and Mr. Justice Collister)

ALLAHABAD, Aug. 8.

Having read the report of the Registrar of the High Court and
th-? affidavit filed in support ol the same, their lordships today
directed that notice should issuo to the Editor, and the Printer and
Publisher of the Hindustan Times, New Delhi, to show cause why
they should not be dealt with for contempt of court for printing and
publishing in the issue of the Hindustan Times dated August 6, 1941,
the passage mentioned in the affidavit of the Registrar. The Editor
and the Printer and Publisher were directed to appear in person on
Tuesday, September 9, at 10 a.m. Notice of these proceedings was
also directed to be given to the Government Advocate.

CONTEMPT OF COURT ALLEGED

NOTICE ISSUED TO "HINDUSTAN TIMES"

LREPORT IN "HINDUSTAN TIMES," AUG. 14,

ALLAHABAD, Aug. 12.

Their lordships, the Chief Justice and Mr. Justice Collister,
having read the report of the Registrar of the High Court and the
affidavit filed in support of the same, directed on August 8 that
notice should be issued to the Editor and the Printer and Publisher
of the Hindustan Times, New Delhi, to show cause why they should
not be dealt with for contempt of court for printing and publishing
in the issue of the Hindustan Times dated August 6, 1941, the passage
mentioned in the affidavit of the Registrar. The affidavit referred
to a matter in the editorial columns under "Current Comments."
The Editor and the Printer and Publisher were directed to appear in
person on Tuesday, September 9, at 10 a.m. Notice of these
proceedings was also directed to be given to the Government
Advocate.

THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CA 21

MUHAMMAD YUNAS KHAN'S LETTER
Singhal Requested To See Judge

Please see the Second Additional Sessions Judge, Mr. Hari
Shankar Vidyarthi, at his parlour, this evening, as he wants to
consult you in a particular matter.

Yours respectfully,
(Sd.) Md. Yunas Khan.

22 TOPBi HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

HltH COURTS NOTICE

CIVIL SIDE

Quasi-Criminal Jurisdiction, dated Allahabad, 8th of August, 1941.
PRESENT

The Hon'ole Sir Iqbal Ahmad, Kt., Chief Justice, and the Hon'ble
H. J. Collister, Jurtge.

In the* matter of Misc. Case No. 8|41 (Contempt of Court). K.-E.
Applicant vs. Devi Prasad Sharma and another Opposite parties.

Devadas Gandhi, Managing Editor, Hindustan Times, New Delhi.

Upon reading the report of the Registrar of the High Court of
Judicature at Allahabad, along with an affidavit, copies whereof are
enclosed herewith, it is

ORDERED

Take notice that, you are hereby warned to appear in person in
this Court on Tuesday, the 9th of September, 1941, punctually at
10 a.m. to show cause why you should not be punished for contempt
of Court for publishing the comment in the issue of the Hindustan
Times, New Delhi, dated 6th of August, 1941, as mentioned in the
accompanying affidavit.

Given under my hand and the seal of the Court this 12th day of
August, 1941.

Sd|- (Illegible),

Assistant Registrar, High Court, Allahabad.
REPORT OF REGISTRAR

Whereas it has become known to me, Norman Storr, Registrar
of the High Court of Judicature, at Allahabad, that there appeared
in the Hindustan Times of Wednesday, August the 6th, 1941, the
passage mentioned in the accompanying affidavit) and whereas it
appears that this amounts to and is a contempt of the High Court of
Judicature at Allahabad, I bring this to your Lordships' notice so that
suitable action may be taken.

Sd|- N. STORR, Registrar.
Dated August 8, 1941.

THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CA5* 23

High Court's Notice (Contd.)

REGISTRAR'S AFFIDAVIT.
In Misc. Contempt of Court Case No. 8 of 1941.

K.-E. through Norman Storr, Esq., I.C.S., Registrar, High Court
of Judicature at Allahabad, Applicant, vs. The, Editor, Hindustan
Times, opposite-party.

I, Norman Storr, Registrar, High Court of Juclicat&re at
AllrJiabad, do solemnly swear that I have this day refcd in the
Hindustan Times, dated Wednesday, August the 6th, 1941, the
passage quoted below:

"If it is time that the new Chief Justice of the Allahabad High
Court, Sir Iqbal Ahmad, in his administrative capacity, has issued a
circular to the judicial officers under his jurisdiction, enjoining on
them to raise contributions to the war funds, then it must be said
that he has done a thing which would lower the prestige of the courts
in the eyes of the people. The presiding officer of a court, while
asking for funds, may say that the contribution is voluntary, but he
cannot remov3 the idea from the mind of a person, particularly a
litigant, that the request is being made by one whom it may not be
sale to displease. To be absolutely voluntary, war contributions
ought to be raised only by non-official committees or individuals. It
was bad enough that the services of the members of the executive
were utilized Jor 1he purpose, but to Jnake judicial officers do this
work is something far worse."

I solemnly affirm and state that no part of it is untrue and that
nothing has been concealed.

Sd. N. STORR,

Registrar.

24 1EE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

JlUGMENT POSTPONED
Alteration In Procedure

ALLAHABAD, Sept. 11-

Judgment in the Hindustan Times contempt of court case will
not b* delivered on 'Monday, September 1 5.

Mr. Harishankar Vidyarthi, Additional Sessions Judge, and Mr-
Akbar Hussain, Sessions Judge, Meerut, to whom references were
made in the affidavit filed by Mr- Devadas Gandhi, Editor of the
Hindustan Times, will be examined by the court on Monday. The
editor will also be allowed to cross-examine them and if the editor
desires to introduce any evidence, another date will be fixed for it.

The Chief Justice made this announcement in court today.
Addressing the Rt- Hon. Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru who had appeared
for the Editor, and Printer and Publisher in the contempt case, the
Chief Justice said : "Mr. Justice Collister and I have summoned Mr.
Vidyarthi from Meerut. We asked for his explanation with
reference to the allegations contained in the affidavit of Mr. Devadas
Gandhi. Mr. Vidyarthi positively asserts that most of the allega-
tions are untrue. We have therefore directed Mr. Vidyarthi and
Mr- Akbar Husain to be present here in court on Monday, Septem-
ber 1 5 on which date we propose to examine them in court. I
have brought this to your notice so that you may be prepared for
their cross-examination and such evidence as you may desire to
produce you may bring and we shall fix a future date to suit your
convenience.**

Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru : Have I your Lordship's permis-
sion to send a telegram informing my clients of what your Lordship
has said?

Chief Justice : And inform your clients that both Mr.
Vidyarthi and Mr. Akbar Husain will be examined by us as
witnesses on September 15 and you may be ready for cross-
examination. We are in no hurry. If it would not suit your
clients to bring their witnesses on that date they may bring them

THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE 25

Second Hearing (Coritd.)

on such other date as would suit their convenience; and similarly it
Mr. Vidyarthi suggests any evidence we shall t<fce it.

Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru : I think it will J|p necessary on my
part to examine some of the pleaders mentioned in Mr. Devadas
Gandhi's affidavit. It may be necessary to &$amine Mr. Banerji
and Mr. Swami.

Chief Justice : It will be.

Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru : I do not know whethS my clients
will be ready by Monday.

The Chief Justice : Your convenience' and the convenience
of your clients will be consulted in fixing the date.

Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru : I shall have my clients here on
Monday. Then I take it that your Lordship will not deliver your
judgment in the contempt case on Monday.

Chief Justice : No ; we will not, before we arrive it a
finding. Much will depend upon the evidence. If your affidavit
is true, as I observed on the last date, it constitutes a mitigation of
the offence.

Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru : I don't mind telling your LtydtfSto
that only about two or three hours ago I sent a telegram In
the morning to my client inquiring whether he wants me to move
your Lordship for an adjournment in regard to the judgment, because
I had a discussion with him after your Lordship had heard the case.

Chief Justice : He will be here on Monday.

Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru : I am going to send a fresh
telegram, I have sent one telegram already in the morning. After
your Lordship has made this statement I shall send a telegram that
he must be here. Perhaps your Lordship will reserve to me the
liberty of asking for another date.

Chief Justice : Of course. Any date that will suit you will
be fixed.

Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru : My clients, my Lord, are very
anxious that the matter should be sifted to the bottom-

26 IME HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

EXAMINATION OF JUDGE

Admissions Regarding Collections
In Court

ALLAHABAD, Sept. 15.

In the contempt of court case instituted by the
Allahabad High Court against the Hindustan Times, as
announced earlier, the original plan of the court to pronounce judg-
ment on Monday, the 15th, was altered and instead the second
Additional Sessions Judge of Meerut and the District Judge
were examined at length in respect of the categorical statements
contained in the affidavit of Mr. Devadas Gandhi, the Editor of
the Hindustan Times.

MR. VIDYARTHI EXAMINED

Mr. Harishankar Vidyarthi examined by the Chief Justice
said that a copy of Mr. Devadas Gandhi's affidavit had been
supplied to him and he had read it from beginning to end. He
denied having used the words ascribed to him in Para 2 (B) that the
Chief Justice had been requested by his Excellency the Governor
to help in the war efforts, etc., nor had he used words to that effect.
He had, however, asked for subscriptions to the war fund
without making any reference to the Chief Justice or the
Governor. He asked pleaders to speak to their clients
and collect money by way of charity to help wounded soldiers.
By clients he meant accused persons in the case in which he had
pronounced judgment and he had asked for subscriptions after he
had pronounced judgment. He did not pronounce judgment

THE HINDUSTAN TIMES C^fiE 27

Third Hearing (Contd.)

piecemeal. He pronounced the judgment all at once, convicting
some of the accused and acquitting the rest.

On that day Rs. 200 were subscribed.
Mr. Justice Collisteri In court?
Mr. Vidyarthi : Yes, my lord.

Proceeding, witness said that the amount was not, as alleged
in the affidavit, placed on his table- The money was kept with
the pleader Mr. S. C. Gupta. Mr. Surajbal Swami did not say
that he had collected Rs. 150 from his clients and that he would
present the money next morning.

The allegation contained in Para 1 1 (F) that he then declared
the rest of the accused in the murder case discharged was untrue.
Mr. K N. Banerji was not one of the lawyers appearing in the
murder case and the judge did not remember if he was present in
court at the time. Mr. Surajbal Siwami was appearing for some
of the accused and he was present in the court.

SIGNED STATEMENTS DESTROYED

Witness admitted taking signed statements from Mr. Krishna
Sarup Sharma and from some other pleaders engaged in the criminal
case. This he did on September 1 . Witness did not retain those
statements but had destroyed them. He realized that perhaps it
was not very nice on his part to take signed statements from pleaders.
He asked his stenographer, Mahomed Yunus Khan, to tell Mr.
Singhal to come to see him in his chamber, if Yunus Khan found Mr.
Singhal in the court. Yunus Khan went to Mr. Singhal's residence
on August 5 to call him. Mr. Singhal did not come to see him.
Yunus Khan forgot to ask Mr. Singhal in court and therefore he
went to his house. Yunus Khan said Mr- Singhal was not at his
residence and therefore he had left a slip asking him to come and
see him in his chamber. Mr. Singhal did not see witness on August
13. After the slip was not repiled, no attempt was made by
witness directly or indirectly to interview Mr. Singhal. Mr. Singhal
met Yunus Khan that evening in the bazar and told him that he had
no time to see witness. Witness never told Mr. Singhal that the

2ft TWtf HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

Third Hearing (Co

report in the Hindustan Times of August 3 was a faithful reproduc-
tion of what happened in court. He never had any conversation
with Mr- Singhal.

Concerning the news, he had'never told Mr. Akbar Husain,
the District Judge, in the presence of Mr. K. N. Banerji, that he
had rraSde the statement ascribed to him by the news in the
Hindustan Times- In fact, Mr. K. N. Banerji himself denied
that witness had ever made such, a statement in his presence.
Witness told the District Judge that he had collected subscriptions
for war funds and that he afterwards realized that it was improper
on his part to have done so and he expressed his regret to the District
Judge for having raised subscriptions in court.

CROSS-EXAMINATION

Cross-examined by Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru, Mr. Hari-
shankar Vidyarthi stated that he was trying a criminal case known
as the Dhikoli murder case. He did not remember what date was
fixed originally for judgment, but judgment was delivered on July
31. Altogether there were 20 accused in that case. At the
time of delivery of judgment, all the accused were present. They
were represented by several pleaders and one of them wa s Mr.
Surajbal Swami. Witness read the operative part of the judg-
ment in open court and sentenced four of the accused to transporta-
tion for life and he passed order acquitting the rest.

Chief Justice : You acquitted the rest in the same breath?
Witness : Yes, in the same breath.

Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru: At what precise moment did this
conversation with regard to subscriptions take place?

Witness : After the operative part of the judgment had been
pronounced, I told the pleaders for the accused to raise subscrip-
tions for the war fund.

Sir T. B. Sapru : After you pronounced sentence, I take
it that the accused on whom you passed the sentence for transporta-
tion were taken out by the police?

THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CjfcffE 29

Third Hearing (Contd.)

Witness : All the 20 accused were present in the court
when I asked the pleaders to raise subscriptions .

Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru : And the four persons on whom you
passed the sentence of transportation had not been by that time
removed ?

Witness : Out of the 20 accused, 1 5 were in custody and
five were on bail. All the 20 accused were present in the court.

When the witness said that the best form of charity was to
help wounded soldiers and their relations, no comment was made
by any of the accused persons. The pleaders consulted the
pairofyars of the accused in the court-room. Having consulted
them, the pleaders said that some of the accused 'had given Rs. 200
willingly.

Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru : I take it that by the expression some
of the accused you mean those accused whom you had acquitted, or
do you include the four whom you had sentenced?

Witness : Those who were transported to life did not offer
to pay anything, nor did I expect them to contribute any amount.

EARLIER COLLECTIONS

Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru : Was it the first experiment you tried
or had you tried that experiment in any other case?

Witness : Before July 31,1 had also asked for subscriptions
from pleaders in another criminal case and Rs. 50 was subscribed
and paid to the Secretary of the War Fund on the same day when
this sum of Rs. 200 was paid-
Witness did not remember the name of the pleader who said
on July 31 that Rs. 200 were being paid, had been paid or would
be paid. He did not remember whether it was Mr. Swami who
said this.

So far as witness remembered, Mr. Swami did not tell him
in court on July 31 that he collected Rs. 1 50 and would present the
amount to him the next day. A sum of Rs. 450 in all was collected
from the accused in the Dhakoli case, in between July 31 and
August 2.

30 TWE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

Third Hearing (Contd.)

Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru : Was Mr. S. C. Gupta one of the
pleaders for the accused?

Witness : Yes, Mr. Gupta was pleader for the same accused
for whom Mr* Swarm was appearing.

vS/r Tej Bahadur Sapru : So that on July 3 1 there was nothing
more than* the promise to pay Rs. 200 made in your presence?

Witness : On July 3 1 , Rs. 200 were actually collected and
the matter had passed from the region of promise.

Witness, proceeding, stated that he saw this money with his
own eyes in the court-room and he did not remember Mr. Banerji
coming into the coilrt-room at that time. The money was collected
in currency notes and he did not see any pleader counting those notes.

Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru : I suggest to you that it was Mr. K. N.
Banerji who counted those notes.

Witness : I do not remember if Mr. K. N. Banerji counted the
notes.

Witness added that the money was probably put into the hands
of Mr. Gupta by pairokars who had made the collection. He told
Mr. Gupta that he should pay the money to the War Fund Secretary.
Mr. Gupta told witness the next day that he had paid the money
to the War Fund Secreary. He did not tell witness that he had
taken a receipt from the Secretary.

Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru : Do you know, in point of fact, when
the receipt was given?

Witness : I do not know when the receipt was given or whether
any receipt was given.

Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru : Do you know if the receipt was given
or intended to be given on or after September 14?

Witness : I do not know whether the receipt was given on or
after September 1 4.

Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru told the Chief Justice that the receipt
was intended to be given after the contempt proceedings were over.

THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE 31

Third Hearing (Contd.)

Chief Justice : Is it a fact that the receipt was intended
to be given after the contempt case was over in the High Court?

Witness : I do not know anything about the receipt.
Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru : All this happened on July 31 ?
Witness : Yes.

Chief Justice : Was it your idea to collect funds, or did
somebody ask you to raise subscriptions for the war fund?

Witness : I have been doing it as a private citizen out of court
myself. The war fund secretary told me a week before that I must
also do something and accelerate my efforts.

WHY CORRESPONDENT WAS CALLED

Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru : I suppose you are in the habit of
reading the Hindustan Times?

Witness : No, I am not in the habit of reading the Hindu-
stan Times.

Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru : Which is your favourite paper?
Witness : 1 read the Leader.

Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru : Was your attention drawn to any
news or comments either in the Hindustan Times or in the Leader,
which is now part of the record?

Chief Justice : Is it in the Leader also?

Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru : I mentioned it in my affidavit.

Chief Justice : The correspondent being the same, the same
news appeared in the Leader?

Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru : Yes. We can't say in which other
newspaper it appeared.

Witness stated that his attention was drawn on the evening of
August 3 to the news which had appeared in the Hindustan
Times of that date. He noticed that that news was from a corres-
pondent in Meerut. He read that item of news on August 4.

34 THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

Thud Hearing (ContdJ

Sir Tcj Bahadur Sapru : And you therefore considered it
necessary to call Mr. Singhal to your chamber?

Witness : Yes.

Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru : When you read these comments in the
Hindustan Times did you suggest to any practising advocate in
yoai*court that he might issue a contradiction of the fact alleged in it?

Witness : No.

Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru : I suggest to you that having realised
that Mr. Singhal -had been unfair to the Chief Justice you never said
a word tc any pleader in your court to convey the message to him
that he had been unfair to the Chief Justice and that he must make a
correction ?

Witness : I did not say anything to anybody.

Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru: Do you think that you would have
been guilty of any impropriety consistently with your anxiety to be
fair to the Chief Justice in telling the pleaders who attend your court
to convey the message to Mr. Singhal that he had been unfair to the
Chief Justice?

Witness : No.

Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru : It you did not tell the pleaders, could
you kindly tell us if you ever brought the matter to the notice of
Mr. Akbar Husain?

Witness : I did not bring the matter to the notice of Mr. Akbar
Husain-

Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru : You did not consider it necessary in
the interests of the reputation of the Allahabad High Court and the
Chief Justice of the High Court that you should officially bring this
matter to the notice of the Chief Justice through the Registrar that
the reporter had sent an item of news which was wholly unfair to
the Chief Justice?

Witness : No, I did not, because I knew that the Chief Justice
and the Registrar must themselves have read it-

In reply to further questions witness said that the copy of the

THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE 35

Third Hearing (Contd.)

affidavit filed by Mr. Devadas Gandhi was given to him on Sept.
1 and he did not know all the allegations that would be in that
affidavit up to that day.

Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru : Had you any reason to know of any
allegation which might be there in the affidavit?

Witness : I had reason to know of some of the allegations to
be made in the affidavit.

STENOGRAPHER'S NOTE TO SINGHAL

Witness was shown the slip left by his stenographer for Mr.
Singhal and he said that he could not recognize his handwriting.
He added that he never told Mr. Yunus Khan that he wanted to see
Mr. Singhal because he wanted to consult him about any "particular
matter." As a judge he was not in the habit of consulting reporters
of newspapers. Mr. Yunus Khan had no authority on his behalf to
say that he wanted to consult Mr. Singhal about any "particular
matter." Witness did not remember to have seen Mr. Singhal in
his court-room between August 5 and 13. On the 5th he asked
Yunus Khan to ask Mr. Singhal to see him in his chamber.

Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru : I put it to you, Mr. Vidyarthi, that you
actually met Mr. Singhal and Gauri Shankar on August 13?

Witness: No.

Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru : I suggest to you that Mr. Singhal was
taken to your house by Gauri Shankar on August 1 3 ?

Witness : It is not a fact.

Witness admitted that there was a distant relation of his in Meerut
called Ganga Prasad but denied that he tried through him to ap-
proach Mr. Singhal and for that reason asked him to persuade Gauri
Shankar to see Mr. Singhal and take him to the house of witness-

Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru : Can you suggest any reason why Mr.
Singhal sent a false report against you as to what happened in court
en July 31 during the trial of the Dhakoli murder case?

Witness : It may be due to some misunderstanding based cm

36 THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

Third Hearing (Contd.)

some conjectures and surmises and once they took up that position,

they adhere to the same.

Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru : What do you mean by misunder-
standing? Do you suggest that he might have misunderstood what
you sajd or do you suggest that there was some ill-will between you
and

Witness : There is no ill-will between him and me. My im-
pression is that he was not present in court, but depended upon hear-
say to make a report.

Witness proceeding said that once before Mr. Singhal has made
an incorrect report. It was a criminal appeal. Two persons were
sentenced to six months by the lower court and witness had converted
their sentence of imprisonment into one of fine- One of the appel-
lants wanted time to pay the fine. As the judge was doing other
work the reader said that he could not bring the matter to the notice
of the judge at that time. The appellant then shouted out loudly
and disturbed the judge in his work. It was reported in the
Hindustan Times that the judge took him into custody. As a
matter of fact he did not take him into custody. The judge did not
consider the matter so important as to take any notice of it. If Mr.
Singhal had met the judge when he called him he would have drawn
his attention to this fact also.

Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru : When you read the comments in the
issue of August 5, did you realise the gravity of the situation? Did
you realise that it might lead to some inquiry about yourself?

Witness : When I read the comments in the Hindustan
Times, I did not realise that it would lead to an inquiry about
myself.

Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru : And even then you did not talk about
this matter to Mr. Akbar Husain?

Witness : I did not talk about this matter to Mr. Akbar
Husain. I did not meet him until September 1 .

Witness stated that on September 1 Mr. Akbar Husain had

THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE 37

Tfiird Hearing (Contd.)

called him to his chamber and said to him that Mr. Banerji had told
him en the previous day that Mr. Devadas Gandhi had come to Meerut
and was asking him to give an affidavit of the fact that witness had
raised subscriptions in court. On September 1 , witness told Mr.
Akbar Husain that he had raised subscriptions in court and he realized
afterwards that it was not proper for him to have done so. He
denied having made the statement which was attributed to him. ' Mr.
Banerji was present when the conversation between witness and Mr.
Akbar Husain took place.

Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru : And you denied to Mr. Akbar Husain,
in the presence of Mr. Banerji, the statement attributed to you,
namely, that you had in court mentioned the name of the Chief
Justice and His Excellency the Governor in connection with the
war subscriptions

Witness : Yes.

Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru : Did you suggest to Mr. Akbar Husain
that he might kindly communicate to the High Court what you had
stated to him in his chamber?

Witness : No, I did not.

JUDGE'S VISIT TO ALLAHABAD

Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru : After having had that conversation
with Mr. Akbar Husain in his chamber, "did it occur to you that in
your interest he might communicate the whole matter to the Regis-
trar of the High Court or to the Chief Justice?'*

Witness : On September 1 , Mr. Akbar Husain asked me to
see the Chief Justice and to tell him the facts. At his suggestion I,
came to Allahabad, but a gentleman told me that it would be very
improper to see the Chief Justice and say anything about the case
which was pending before him. So I did not see him.

The Chief Justice : All that I can say is that you did the right
thing.

Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru : Did Mr. Akbar Husain tell you that

38 THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

Tnird Hearing (Contd.)

Mr. Bharadwaja, Assistant Editor of the Hindustan Times, had
seen him?

Witness : On September 2, Mr. Akbar Husain told me that
Mr. Bharadwaja had seen him.

,$/> Tej Bahadur Sapru : Did Mr. Akbar Husain tell you what
compraint Mr. Bharadwaja had made to him?

Witness : Yes, Mr. Akbar Husain said that Mr. Bharadwaja
had told him that the statement of a pleader had been taken by
pressure.

Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru : I take it that you, of course, deny that
you exercised any pressure?

Witness : I never exercised pressure on any pleader for taking
any written statement. The pleaders gave their statements
to me of their free will and accord. As a matter of fact one of
them sent his written statement from his house and did not write in
my chamber.

Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru : You said that you destroyed these state-
ments because it occurred to you that they were improper. If you
had preserved those statements, would it have been more improper?

Witness : It was only to correct my impropriety that I destroyed
those statements.

Witness only learnt from the affidavit of Mr. Devadas Gandhi
that Mr. Swami resented his having called his son-in-law to the cham-
ber of witness. As a matter of fact witness had also called Mr.
Swami to his chamber, but as he was busy he could not come. Wit-
ness would have attached the same importance to the written state-
ment of Mr. Swami as he did to the written statement of his son-in-
law.

Witness stated that Mr. Krishna Sarup was a very junior plead-
er and he had also called the seniormost pleader, Mr. Gopi Nath
Sinha, on September 1. He also took the statements of Mr. Baljit
Singh and one other gentleman,

THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE 39

Third Hearing (Contd.)

Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru : When did you realize after taking the
statements that it was improper for you to have taken those statements
in writing?.

Witness : A few days after, I realized it.

Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru: Did you bring this matter to the notice
of Mr. Akbar Husain?

Witness : I did bring this matter to his notice.

Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru: Did he point out to you the impropriety
of it?

W if ness : I showed the written statements to Mr. Akbar Husain,
but he did not say one word.

DISTRICT JUDGE'S EVIDENCE

Mr. Akbar Husain, the District Judge, was next examined by
the court. He said he had read the copy of the affidavit of
Mr. Devadas Gandhi. Mr. K- N. Banerji met him at a tea party.
He said that he wanted to see witness at his house. Witness told
him that if he had anything of importance to tell him he should do
so in his chamber, and it was then that Mr. Banerji came to his
chamber. Mr. Banerji said that he was worried about the collections
of war funds by Mr. Vidyarthi. He said that he had been asked
to give evidence about certain matters by Mr. Devadas Gandhi. The
fact was that he had no personal knowledge about the matter . Wit-
ness told him that he need not worry if he had no personal know-
ledge about the matter, and he went away.

Continuing, Mr. Akbar Husain deposed that Mr. Vidyarthi
also saw him in connection with this matter- So far as he remembered,
while Mr. Banerji was still in the chamber Mr. Vidyarthi came to
him. He believed that he sent for Mr. Vidyarthi and asked him
about the matter. Mr. Vidyarthi said that he wanted to hide
nothing. He said that he had made a mistake which he very much
regretted and that all that he could say in his defence was that he
had acted in absolute good faith. He said that in murder or
similar cases after he had pronounced judgment he suggested to the
pleaders to call the accused persons who had been acquitted that

40 THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

Third Hearing (Contd.)

they might, as a token of their thankfulness, contribute something
to the war fund and that as a result of this suggestion a sum of
about Rs. 500 had been paid by the persons who were acquitted.
He said that he felt afterwards that he had acted improperly in
attempting to realize subscriptions in that manner and that he was
very sorry for it. He said the allegation that he stated that the
Hign* Court or the Government had issued instructions to judicial
officers that they should assist in the collection of subscriptions was
an absolute falsehood.

Chief Justice : Was Mr. Banerji present at the time when
Mr. Vidyarthi made this statement?

Witness : I do not remember. Mr. Banerji had probably left.

Witness said that Mr. Bharadwaja, Assistant Editor of the
Hindustan Times, had an interview with him. He came and said
that he had come to see the judge, because he had been informed
on the telephone by his local correspondent that Mr. Vidyarthi had
been using undue influence to get lawyers practising in his court to
make a statement to the effect that he had not made the statement
ascribed to him. Witness told Mr. Bharadwaja that he could not
believe it, because Mr. Vidyarthi had already seen him and made
what witness considered to be a very frank and straightforward
statement about what had happened and witness thought that the
local correspondent had been sending him false and mischievous
information. Then Mr. Bharadwaja went away.

Cross-examined by Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru, Mr. Akbar Husain
said that Mr. Banerji was present when he called Mr. Vidyarthi and
he stayed on up to a certain point of the conversation and then went
away. It was difficult for him to say what it was that Mr, Vidyarthi
said while Mr. Banerji was there.

Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru : But perhaps you will agree that part
of the conversation between you and Mr. Vidyarthi took place during
the presence of Mr. Banerji?

Witness: Yes.

Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru; When Mr. Vidyarthi told you that

THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE 41 ^

Third Hearmg (Contd.)

he had made a mistake, did he mean by that that he had mentioned
the name of the Governor and the Chief Justice or did he mean
that he had been raising war subscriptions in court?

Witness: What he actually said was that the error on his
part lay in the fact that he had used the occasion of the acquittal
of certain accused persons in a criminal case for realizing subscriptions
to the war fund- f

Chief Justice : Did he admit that the mistake lay in the
fact that he had mentioned the name of the Governor and the Chief
Justice ?

Witness : There was no occasion for him to say that he had
had instructions from the Governor and the High Court to assist
in the collection of subscriptions to the war fund.

Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru : Did he himself say that the allegation
that he had been asked by the Governor or by the Chief Justice to
raise subscription was untrue or did you ask him anything about the
allegation?

Witness : It is difficult for me to say. I have no precise
recollection whether it was one way or the other.

Witness said that he never read the comments, and his
information was very vague. He believed that Mr. K. N. Banerji
told him at the tea party that he was being asked by or at the
instance of Mr. Devadas Gandhi to say that he heard Mr. Vidyarthi
saying that he had instructions from the Governor and the High
Court to assist in the collection of subscriptions to the war fund.

Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru : And I suppose Mr. Banerji probably
conveyed the impression on your mind that he was not present at
the time when Mr. Vidyarthi was reported to have referred to the
Chief Justice and the Governor?

Witness : Mr. Banerji told me definitely that he was not present
when Mr. Vidyarthi was alleged to have made the statement about
the alleged instructions from the Governor and the High Court.

Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru : Did he tell you about Rs. 200 being

. 42 THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

Third Hearing (Contd.)

collected in the court-room on the day that judgment was pronounced?

Witness : He said that a sum of money had been collected
when he went to Mr. Vidyarthi's court-room.

Witness was not told by Mr. Banerji that he had himself counted
the notes, nor that he had himself placed the money on the table
of the judge.

-V

It was from Mr. Bharadwaja that he first learnt that Mr.
Vidyarthi had taken down the statements in writing of Mr. Krishna
Sarup or some other pleaders.

Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru : After hearing from Mr. Bharadwaja
did you refer the matter to Mr. Vidyarthi?

Witness: I did not consider it necessary to do so, because
I was quite convinced that the allegation was wholly without any
foundation or truth. Mr. Vidyarthi had already made a frank and,
what I thought, an honest admission of his error to me and he said
that he was prepared to admit it before the highest authority. There
remained thus no occasion for him to attempt to get anyone to make
any particular statement in writing beforehand.

Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru : Do you know that as a matter of
fact Mr. Vidyarthi took down some statements from pleaders?

Witness : He told me that he had taken some written statements
from some pleaders. He said that he had to safeguard his interest
against what he considered a campaign of vilification which was
afoot.

Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru : Against whom ?
Witness : Against everybody.

Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru : You never took any further interest
in the matter after that ?

Witness: It is difficult for me to say that I had no further
interest in the matter.

Witness proceeded to state that Mr. Banerji had seen him
again very recently, and he had only come to repeat that he had no

THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE 43

Third Hearing (Contd.)

personal knowledge of the alleged statement which was attributed
to Mr. Vidyarthi. He did not ask Mr- Banerji why he should
worry.

Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru : Did his conversation leave the
impression upon your mind that he was being pressed by Mr. Devadas
Gandhi or his people to make a certain kind of statement? t

Witness : The impression that I had from what he told me
was that he was being pressed by Mr. Devadas Gandhi to make
a particular kind of statement.

Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru : And that is why he felt worried ?
Witness : I suppose so.

Witness would have called Mr. Surajbal Swami and examined
him, if it were not for the fact that Mr. K. N. Banerji told him
that none had told him that he had actually heard Mr. Vidyarthi
making the statement attributed to him.

The case was then adjourned till the 25th instant.
JUDGE ON TRIAL "IN A WAY"

Shortly after the hearing of the case, the Chief Justice sent for
Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru and the respondents and in their presence,
addressing Mr. Vidyarthi, said that in a way he (Mr. Vidyarthi)
was also on trial and that he would, therefore, be allowed to produce
witnesses, if he liked.

Mr. Vidyarthi said he would submit the names of his witnesses.

44 THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

SUMMONS FOR WITNESSES
Both Sides Apply

ALLAHABAD, Sept. 17.

An application was made before his lordship the Chief
Justice yesterday by Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru (with Messrs. K. D.
Malaviya and Gopalji Mehrotra), on behalf of Messrs. Devadas
Gandhi and Devi Prasad Sharma, the Editor and the Printer and
Publisher of the Hindustan Times, praying that in the contempt
case the following witnesses be summoned for September 25 :
Mr. K. N. Banerji and Mr. Surajbal Swami, Advocates of Meerut;
Dr. D. L. Dubey, Professor of Economics, Meerut College; Mr.
Gauri Shankar; Mr. R. L. Singhal, Press Correspondent of Meerut;
Pandit Krishna Swarup Sharma, Advocate of Meerut; and Mr.
D. D. Bharadwaja, Assistant Editor of the Hindustan Times, New
Delhi. Two or three more witnesses whose addresses were not
known would be produced on the date, if necessary.

His lordship granted the prayer.

ADDITIONAL JUDGE'S WITNESSES

Today an application was made before the Chief Justice by
Mr. S. A- Rafique, on behalf of Mr. Harishankar Vidyarthi,
Additional Sessions Judge of Meerut, in which it was stated : "That
in the abovementioned case, in pursuance of the direction of the
Hon'ble High Court, it is humbly prayed that the following witnesses
be summoned on behalf of the petitioner to appear and depose on
September 25 and 26 in this Hon'ble Court : (1) Mr. S. C. Gupta,
Bar-at-Law, Kutchehry, Meerut; (2) Rai Saheb Motilal, Govern-
ment Pleader, Kutchehry Road, Meerut; (3) Pandit Brahmajit
Sharma, B.A., LL.B., Advocate, Meerut, and (4) Mr. Gajraj
Singh, Mukhtar, Collectorate, Meerut. One or two witnesses may
be further produced, if found necessary."

His lordship ordered as prayed.

THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE 45

EVIDENCE OF DEFENCE
WITNESSES

Meerut Correspondent Also
To Stand Trial

ALLAHABAD, S^t. 25.

The Chief Justice and Mr. Justice Col lister resumed the
hearing of the Hindustan Times contempt case today. Sir Tej
Bahadur Sapru assisted by Messrs. K. D. Malaviya, Gopalji
Mehrotra, Kripa Narain (Delhi), and Gopinath Sinha (Meerut)
appeared for the respondents.

POSITIVE CASE

His lordship the Chief Justice inquired from the Rt. Hon. Sir
Tej Bahadur Sapru, whose witnesses should be examined first by the
court as both Mr. Gandhi and Mr. Vidyarthi had summoned their
evidence. His lordship pointed out that the question was a bit
difficult. In one sense contempt proceedings were quasi-criminal
proceedings and the position of Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru's client was
that of an accused and he was entitled to insist that the prosecution
evidence should be finished before he was called upon to enter his
defence. The other view was this, that Mr. Vidyarthi had denied
having said something in court. In these circumstances should a
party putting forward a positive case be called upon to give evidence
first?

Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru : I have myself considered this matter
and personally I am inclined to produce my witnesses first for the
very reason mentioned by your lordship, namely, that my case is a
positive case.

NOTICE SERVED ON SINGHAL

Chief Justice : There is one other matter that is creating some
difficulty. The essential part of your case is that whatever comment

46 THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

Fourth Hearing (Contd.)

you made was based on certain information supplied to you by your
correspondent at Meerut, Mr. Singhal. If your case is proved, the
matter ends. Suppose on a consideration of the entire evidence in
the case we come to the conclusion that your case is unproved in the
sense that Mr. Vidyarthi had never uttered those words which he
is alleged to have done, Mr. Singhal in that case will primarily be
guilty of -contempt of court and he being the person who sent the
information will have to be called upon to show cause why he should
not be dealt with for contempt. That would mean a multiplicity of
proceedings. After this proceeding is finished then a fresh notice
to Mr* Singhal will have to be issued. Is it not desirable that if
Mr. Singhal is present in court he may accept notice which we may
issue just now and the whole proceeding may continue and come to
an end and the decision may be arrived at on the evidence?

FIRST WITNESS

Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru said that his very first witness would
be Mr. Singhal and he was prepared to advise Mr. Singhal to accept
notice now. If Mr. Singhal was prepared to instruct him, Sir Tej
Bahadur said, he would represent him. A few minutes later Sir Tej
Bahadur told the Chief Justice that Mr. Singhal was prepared to
accept notice and Mr. Singhal wanted him to appear for him.

Thereupon their lordships issued notice to Mr. Singhal, the
correspondent of the Hindustan Times at Meerut, to show cause
why he should not be dealt with for contempt of the High Court
with respect to the news published in the Hindustan Times of Sunday,
August 3, 1941, on information supplied by him. Mr. Singhal,
who was present in court, accepted notice.

EVIDENCE TO BE COMMON

Sir Tej Bahadur stated that Mr. Singhal's case might be heard
along with the case of Mr. Devadas Gandhi and that the evidence
which would be produced by him would be the evidence on behalf
of Mr. Devadas Gandhi as well as on behalf of Mr- Singhal. Sir
Tej Bahadur further stated that even though the evidence of

THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE 47

Fourth Hearing (Contd.)

Mr. Vidyarthi and Mr. Akbar Husain was recorded at a time when
notice was not issued to Mr. Singhal he had no objection to that
evidence being treated as evidence also against Mr. Singhal, provided
he was allowed to put a few supplementary questions in cross-
examination to Mr. Vidyarthi. Mr. Singhal was then examined as
a witness.

MR. SINGHAL'S EVIDENCE r '
Mr. R. L. Singhal, examined by the Rt. Hon. Sir Tej
Bahadur Sapru, said that he was the local correspondent at Meerut
of the Hindustan Times, the Leader, the Pioneer, the National
Herald, the Hindusthan Standard and some vernacular papers. He
sent news items, sometimes by telegram and sometimes by letters. In
his capacity as correspondent he sometimes attended the courts at
Meerut. He was present in the court of Mr. Vidyarthi when the
judge delivered judgment in the Dhikoli murder case. The judge
did not read out the whole of the judgmnt. He only pronounced
sentence on four of the accused and then kept silent for a minute
or two. He then sent for the accused against whom complaints
were filed. Those accused then moved forward and then there
were some side talks between the judge and those accused who had
moved forward. He was not able to understand the conversation,
ncr did he hear it. The judge then said : * 'Since the Chief Justice
who has been requested by his Excllency the Governor to help in
the war effort has asked us to raise subscriptions for the war fund,
it is incumbent on us to raise subscriptions and you should help me
in this work.*' The judge further said: "I am not using any
pressure." He made these observations facing the lawyers and the
accused who had moved forward and some others. Then
consultations followed among the lawyers and some of the persons
who had come forward and other persons and then currency notes
of the value cf Rs. 200 were produced in the court-room. He did
not see anybody counting the currency notes. He had, however,
heard Mr. Banerji, Advocate, saying that he had verified the
numbers of the notes. The notes were put on the judge's table* He
did not remember who put those notes on the table of the judge.

Proceeding, Mr. Singhal said that he had asked the judge to
let him have the judgment in the murder case to copy out some of

n

48 THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

Fourth Hearing (Contd.)

his observations. He made this request to Mr. Vidyarthi after he
had pronounced judgment as regards the remaining 16 accused as
well- The judge said that the judgment was not ready. The
judge inquired from him as to who he was. Before he could answer,
Mr. Banerji told the judge that he was the correspondent of the
Hindustan Times and some other papers. After this conversation
witness left the court.

Witness said that he had sent the news to the Hindustan Times
on the next day (August 1 ) and the news appeared in the issue dated
August 3. He read the comment which appeared in the Hindustan
Times of August 5 based upon his news. Witness went on to say
that Mr. Yunus Khan, stenographer to Mr. Vidyarthi, left a chit
at his house asking him to meet the judge at his parlour. A man
of the name of Gauri Shankar came to 'him on August 9 or 10 and
he wanted witness to go and meet Mr. Vidyarthi at his residence.
He did not agree, but when pressed by Mr. Gauri Shankar he agreed
to go. On August 13 he met Mr. Vidyarthi at his house. Mr.
Ganga Prasad came to him four or five days after he had been
to Mr. Vidyarthi 's house. He asked witness whether he had
mentioned the name of Mr. Vidyarthi to the Hindustan Times and
witness told him that he had mentioned.

At Mr. Vidyarthi's house they first talked on general topics.
Mr. Vidyarthi then referred to the news which had appeared in the
issue of August 3 . The judge said that it had been very nicely and
correctly written. He then referred to the comment which appeared
in the issue of August 5 and said it too was well written. He then
requested witness not to disclose his name or mention his court in
case any inquiry was made. Witness said he would not do so.
(To court : Actually I had done so). He had written a letter to
the Editor of the Hindustan Times on August 1 1 or 1 2 disclosing
the name of Mr. Vidyarthi. Witness had told Mr. Vidyarthi on
August 13 that he would not disclose his name in order to avoid
discussion with him. He did not see Mr. Vidyarthi again after
August 13- He was in the habit of reporting cases from
Mr. Vidyarthi's court in the Hindustan Times. Mr. Vidyarthi had
never called him on any previous occasion to tell him that there was
anything wrong with any report of his. The comments based on his

THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE 49

Fourth Hearing (Contd.)

news were written in the office of the Hindustan Times at New
Delhi and wintess had nothing to do with any comment. There
were never any complaints from the Editor of the Hindustan Times
or of any other paper of which he was the Meerut correspondent,
that the reports sent by him were untrue. He had been working
as a correspondent for about eight years and he had been correspondent
of the Hindustan Times during this period. He was a member
of the civic guard at Meerut.

Witness, in reply to another question put by Sir Tej Bahadur
Sapru, stated that the judgment against the remaining 16 accused
was pronounced by Mr. Vidyarthi after the collection of Rs. 200
to the war fund.

CROSS-EXAMINATION

Cross-examined by Sir Wazir Hasan on behalf of Mr. Hari
Shankar Vidyarthi, Additional Sessions Judge of Meerut, Mr.
Singhal said that his work as a correspondent was not confined to
courts at Meerut. He did not remember whether he had reported
any other item of news from Meerut on July 31 and he did not
remember whether he had visited other places that day for the
purpose of getting news- He could not say anything about the
policy of the Hindustan Times in regard to the war effort. Comments
were made in that paper now and then with respect to the war
effort. He had often read such comments but he could not definitely
remember anyone of them, which might show that the policy of
the paper was opposed to the war effort. His statement that he
went to Mr. Vidyarthi's residence on August 13 would be corro-
borated by Mr. Gauri Shankar. Witness wrote a letter on August 1 1
or 1 2 to the Editor of the Hindustan Times.

Question : When you told the judge that you would not
disclose the judge's name you told a lie?

Answer : When I told the judge that I would not disclose his
name I told an untruth*

He said that he had also attended other courts at Meerut
besides the court of Mr. Vidyarthi. When Mr. Vidyarthi

50 THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

Fourth Hearing (Contd.)

pronounced the sentence on four of the accused persons and
deferred delivering judgment as regards the rest, there were present
in the court-room Mr. K. N. Banerji, Mr. Surajbal Swami and
others whose names he did not know- The judgment was delivered
at about 3-30 p-m. and 15 minutes later he delivered the judgment
as regards the remaining 16 accused. He had got no idea as to
how die sum of Rs. 200 was raised, that is, he could not say how
much was > contributed by individual persons. The four persons who
were convicted were then still in the court-room. No lawyer present
in court protested against the manner in which subscriptions had been
raised by the judge. x

Witness stated that he did not help Mr- Devadas Gandhi in
making his inquiry when he came to Meerut. He could not say
definitely whether Mr. Devadas Gandhi had made any inquiry before
receiving notice from the High Court- He did consider the news
about the Chief Justice being requested by his Excellency the
Governor to assist in war fund collection as a news of great
significance as it was calculated to give a fillip to the war effort. He
had no opinion of his own as to whether a fillip to the war effort
should or should not be given.

Witness said that he had known Mr. Gauri Shankar for a long
time. He was a public worker in Meerut and was not a friend of
witness* The man was associated with several organizations with
which witness was not associated. Witness had talked with Mr.
Banerji on several occasions after he had reported the incident in
court.

5/r Wazir Hasan : I suggest to you that in fact no part of the
judgment was read piecemeal and that the whole of it was delivered
or pronounced after 4 o'clock.

Witness : It was delivered piecemeal . The suggestion is
incorrect.

Witness added that he saw with his own eyes that the currency
notes were put on the judge's table, but he could not say who did
that.

THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE 5t

Fourth Hearing (Contd.)

BY THE COURT

Examined by the Chief Justice, witness stated that barring the
headlines and the word "new" before the words "Chief Justice"
the whole of the news published in the Hindustan Times of August 3
was exactly the same as supplied by him* Asked why he put the
word "efforts" in inverted commaq in the first paragraph of the news
witness stated that it was because by "efforts" he meant war efforts.
The Chief Justice drew the attention of witness that the words "war
efforts" had immediately preceded the word "efforts" and asked
why, then, inverted commas became necessary. Witness replied
that the whole stress was on war efforts.

The Chief Justice : Is it or is it not a fact that it has been the
confirmed policy of the Hindustan Times to oppose war efforts?

Witness : I think it has not been its confirmed policy to oppose
war efforts.

The Chief Justice : Is il a fact that the word "efforts" was put
in inverted commas in order to emphasize its policy?

Witness: No.

He said that he had supplied the same item of news to the
other papers of which he was a correspondent and as far as he
remembered the Leader published the first two paragraphs. The
Pioneer published the judgment and he was not sure whether that
paper had also published the first two paragraphs.

The Chief Justice : Why did you in the first paragraph use the
guarded words "I reliably learn," "it is understood"

Witness : Because I was not mentioning the source of my news.

Asked when Mr- Devadas Gandhi had correspondence about
the case for the first time with witness, he replied that he had
received a letter from the Editor either on August 1 or 11 asking
him to mention the source of the information on which the news item
referred to above was based. He did not till then know that notice
had been issued by the High Court to the Editor and Printer. He
came to know about it on August 13 from Mr. Vidyarthi. He sent

52 THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

Fourth Hearing (ContdJ

a reply to that letter forthwith. He mentioned in his reply that
Mr. Vidyarthi had used the words attributed to him in open court.
He had despatched that reply before he met Mr. Vidyarthi on
August 1 3- Probably he did not receive any letter from the Editor
after his reply. After that Mr. Gandhi came to Meerut on
Augst 3 1 . There was no correspondence between witness and
the Editor between August 13 and 31- He met Mr. Gandhi at
Meerut on August 31 at Prof. Dubey's house. He told him that
he had come to make inquiries about the matter.

Had he reason to suspect the veracity of the information con-
tained in the reply sent by you? 1 cannot say anything about it.

Then why did he need verification of the information supplied
by you? This question too I cannot answer.

Witness stated that probably Mr. Gandhi left Meerut on the
evening of August 31 and it was not within his knowledge if he
revisited Meerut. Mr. Bauer ji told witness that he had met Mr.
Gandhi at Prof. Dubey's house and that was how he came to know
about it. Mr. Gandhi did not tell him anything about the steps he
was taking to verify the information given by witness.

The sole object of Mr. Gandhi was to verify the truth of the
information given by you? He told me so.

Did you then ask him why he attempted to get veracity of
your statement? 1 did not put any question to him.

Did Mr. Gandhi on August 31 inquire from you as to what
evidence will be available to support your statement? He did not
inquire from me on that date. But on August 1 1 or 1 2 when I wrote
a reply to him I had mentioned the names of the lawyers present in
the court.

Was any attempt made by you or any person connected with
the Hindustan Times from August 10 till today to get in touch with
persons who may possibly appear as witnesses in these proceedings?
No attempt was made by me, nor do I know of any attempt by any
other person.

Witness said that he had received the slip of Mr. Yunus Khan

THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE 53

Fourth Hearing (Contd.)

on August 5. He did not comply with the request contained in the
slip firstly, because he was busy with the civic guard and the
A.R.-P. in Meerut and, secondly, because he wanted to avoid
the judge. Asked why he wanted to avoid meeting Mr. Vidyarthi,
witness said it was for no particular reason.

Can you suggest any reason whatsoever? I cannot suggest
any reason for avoiding to meet the judge except that I -was very
busy during those days.

Is it a fact that the avoidance was due to a guilty conscience?
No, my lord.

Witness said that when he visited Mr. Vidyarthi on August 1 3
he was accompanied by Mr. Gauri Shankar. He went to him at
7-30 a.m. The judge told him not to disclose his name. Mr
Vidyarthi informed him about the issue of the notice by the High
Court after he had assured him that he would not disclose his name.

Did you not then think it prudent to tell him that as the matter
had reached that stage it was impossible for you to hold out the pro--
mise that you would not disclose his name? As I had already dis-
closed his name to the Hindustan Times I did not say anything to
him.

MR. GAURI SHANKAR'S EVIDENCE

When the oath was being administered to Mr. Gauri Shankar,
the next witness, by the bench reader of the court, he said that he had
no faith in God. The witness was then put on solemn affirmation
without the mention of God.

Examined by Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru, witness stated that on
being told by Babu Ganga Prasad that he should ask Mr. Singhal to
go and meet the judge, he met Mr. Singhal. Mr. Singhal then told
him that as the function of civic guards was to take place he could
not meet the judge the next day. Witness was asked to inform Babu
Ganga Prasad that Mr. Singhal would meet the judge the day after.
On the third day both Mr. Singhal and witness went to the^judge's
house on bicycles. Mr. Vidyarthi then told Mr. Singhal that the
news that he had supplied to the Hindustan Times was very

54 THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

Fourth Hearing (ContdJ

good and perfectly correct and Mr- Singhal had great control over
the English language. He also said on the occasion that nobody
liked to raise subscription, but circumstances compelled one to do
so. He further told Mr. Singhal that if the editor made any
inquiries from Mr. Singhal, Mr. Singhal should show them to Mr.
Vidyarthi. Mr. Vidyarthi further asked Mr- Singhal not to mention
his dr his court's name. Mr. Singhal said that no inquiry had till
then been made and if an inquiry was made in future he would show
it to him. Thereafter, when they were about to leave Mr.
Vidyarthi's house, the judge told them that the High Court had
issued notice for contempt against the Hindustan Times.

CROSS-EXAMINATION

Cross-examined by Sir Wazir Hasan on behalf of Mr.
Vidyarthi, witness said thai he could not say why Babu Ganga
Prasad took him to the judge's house. He had never met Mr.
Vidyarthi before that. Witness was one of the accused in the
Meerut conspiracy case. He was sentenced to three years, but had
been acquitted by the High Court. He was recently convicted
under the Defence of India Rules and sentenced to six months. He
had no particular conversation with Mr. Vidyarthi concerning the
present case. Mr- Singhal was not associated with witness in his
public work. At the time he met the judge witness was opposed
to the war effort, but he had become neutral since Germany had
commenced the war against Russia. Before the outbreak of these
hostilities between Germany and Russia the whole of the Congress
was opposed to war efforts of any nature. He had read the news
in the Hindustan Times that was the subject of inquiry. He
did not read the editorial note on the date when it appeared.

BY THE COURT

Did you tell Mr. Ganga Prasad that he could himself talk to
Mr. Singhal and your intervention was wholly unnecessary I did
not say so- He said that Mr. Vidyarthi had asked him to request
me to persuade Mr. Singhal to see Mr. Vidyarthi.

At the time of your departure Mr. Vidyarthi told you
that notice was issued by the High Court. Did you or Mr, Singhal

THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE 6

Fourth Hearing (Contd.)

tell him that in view of what had happened it was impossible for
Mr. Singhal to withhold the name of Mr. Vidyarthi, or to make
no reference to his court? Neither I nor Mr- Singhal told Mr.
Vidyarthi that in the circumstances it was impossible not to disclose
his name.

Witness stated that after August 13 he never had any talk
with Mr. Singhal about the notice. He had never met Mr^ Devadas
Gandhi. He knew Prof. Dubey. Prof. Dubey once told him
that he and Mr. Bharadwaja had gone to the house of witness, but
they did not find him.

Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru elicited in re-examination from the
witness that he was a believer in the Russian system and that war
with Russia had begun two months ago.

Chief Justice : Are you a Communist ?
Witness: Yes.

MR. DEVADAS GANDHI'S EVIDENCE

Examined by Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru, Mr. Devadas Gandhi
said that the Hindustan Times was a daily newspaper published
in Delhi and it was owned by a registered company. He was its
editor* Mr. Bharadwaja was one of the assistant editors, and
Mr. Subramanyan was the joint editor. They maintained
a certain number of correspondents in different parts
of the country. Their correspondent at Meerut was
Mr. Singhal. He had been their correspondent for the
last seven or eight years. His staff was quite big, and there was a
particular department in the editorial staff which dealt with the news
sent in by correspondents. It was invariably edited before it was
printed. Asked to explain what exactly he meant by the word
editing, witness said that the person concerned would normally first
decide whether he was going to publish the news. He would then
examine the language and put it right both in respect of its English
as well as in respect of the policy of the paper. He would then
give suitable headlines. The news in this case went as a matter of
fact to the editorial staff and in the usual manner it was edited by

56 THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

Fourth Hearing (Contd.)

some one. The news having appeared on August 3, somebody
wrote the comment which appeared in the issue of the 5th.

When this news arrived in your office, had you any reason to
suspect the honesty or veracity of your Meerut correspondent?
None whatever.

Counsel then drew attention of witness to paragraph 13 of his
affidavit in which he had slated that he received complaints from
some quarters that pressure had been exercised in regard to war
fund colleclions and asked him if he had printed those complaints
in his paper. Witness replied that he could not remember on the
spur of the moment if they had printed any such complaints, but
they had, off and on, drawn attention to such complaints in their
editorial comments. They drew the attention of the public and of
the Government, mainly of the Government. It was the policy of
the Hindustan Times to uphold voluntary war effort, but they
criticized and, if possible, exposed such war effort as might be carried
on under pressure.

Do I take it that you in your paper have not hesitated to criticize
any war effort which you had reason to believe was stimulated,
or was brought about under official pressure? Quite so-

Your paper generally represents the policy of the Indian
National Congress? My paper is not regarded in the country as
officially or directly connected with the Congress but it has obvious
Congress leanings.

And Congress sympathy? And a good deal of sympathy
for the Congress.

What exactly is the general policy of the Congress towards
the war effort? As I can see it, it is to oppose such war effort
which might be carried on under pressure and to advocate a policy
of allowing such men and women as do not see eye to eye with
the British Government's policy in this country to exercise freedom
of expression and function virtually as neutrals. I, however, have
no official capacity entitling me to epitomize the policy of the 1
Congress,

THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE 57

Fourth Hearing (Contd.)

Am I to take it that at present the policy of the Congress is
dictated by your father, Mahatma Gandhi? Largely.

Can you tell us exactly, or as nearly exactly as you possibly
can, what advice he has given to the Congress qua the war effort?
1 believe that his advice to Congressmen at present is that they
should hold aloof from war effort. <

Has he advised Congress to interfere with war effort of the
Government? On the contrary, he has expressed himself, I believe,
more than once to the effect that Congressmen should take no active
part this way or that in relation to the war but should exercise freedom
cf expression.

Am I to understand that that policy is really based on his
belief in the doctrine of non-violence or on some other grounds?

Chief Justice : Is it necessary in this case to have an exposition
of the Congress policy in detail?

Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru : 1 am not going to press beyond this
question, but I consider it necessary because the editing of that
news has been supposed to reflect the Congress policy.

Mr. Devadas Gandhi : He has based his advice to the
Congress largely on his belief in non-violence.

Answering further questions put by Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru,
witness said that as a newspaper they were in a peculiarly favourable
position for receiving communications from members of the public and
a good part of the communications they had been receiving since
the commencement of the war related to pressure supposed to have
been exerted on people in the matter of the war effort.

Do you recollect any statement issued about this either by the
Government of India or by the provincial Government? I do
recollect speeches made by very responsible members of Government
repudiating all suggestion that any compulsion was exercised in this
country in regard to war effort.

When did you for the first time hear the news that this court
had issued a writ of contempt against you? I believe the writ was

58

THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

Fourth Hearing (Contdj

issued on August 8 and my correspondent in Allahabad sent me a

telegram that same day.

But the news of the writ actually appeared in the issue of the
Hindustan Times of the 14th? Yes, it was not published
before, because 1 preferred to await the writ of the court which, I
was t?ld, was on its way. I, however, published it on the 14th
although Uiad not received the writ, because it had already appeared
in the Leader of the 9th.

When was the notice issued by this court actually served on
you? I believe it was on August 25.

You said just now that your Allahabad correspondent sent a
telegram that same day when notice was issued. After the receipt
of that telegram from your Allahabad correspondent, did you make
any inquiry -from Mr- Singhal? Some one from my office wrote a
letter to Mr. Singhal.

Witness had in his possession the office copy of that letter
dated August 9 and the reply of Mr. Singhal dated August 10
which were filed in court. The only serious inquiries witness made
were after the receipt of the court's notice. On August 31 he
went to Meerut, accompanied by Mr. Bharadwaja, assistant editor.
They reached Meerut at 9 a.m. and proceeded to the residence of
Prof. Dubey. Witness had not met him before but he happened to
be known to Mr. Bharadwaja. His information was that Prof.
Dubey was not and had never been a Congressman.

Am I right iq saying that he is a public critic of the Congress?
I have not inquired into that aspect of his views.

Prof. Dubey was going to appear as a witness in the case.
His first inquiry was whether Prof. Dubey knew Mr. R. L. Singhal
and whether he could tell something about him from his personal
knowledge. Mr. Dubey asked him what was the mission that had
brought him to Meerut and witness told him what it was. Mr.
Dubey informed him that Mr. Singhal was an upright and active
young journalist known to and popular among all circles. He then
requested Mr. Dubey to give him what help he could in connection
with this case and in particular to satisfy himself that Mr- R, L,

THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE 5i)

Fourth Hearing (Contd.)

Singhal in sending this news was acting properly and truthfully. He
mentioned to Prof. Dubey his information that Mr. Banerji and
Mr. Surajbal Swami were present in court when this particular
incident took place and witness asked Prof. Dubey if he could
facilitate his meeting those gentlemen in order that he might be able
to make further verification of the information supplied by Mr.
Singhal. Mr. Dubey then went to see Mr. Banerji and returned a
short while after and told him that Mr. Banerji corroborated every
detail of the information he had received from Mr. Singhal in the
letter that had been produced, but added that he had requested Mr.
Banerji to meet Mr. Gandhi personally that afternoon and relate the
facts to him himself. Mr. Banerji met him at tea time at 4 p.m. Wit-
ness asked Mr. Banerji if it was a fact that he was present in the court
of Mr. Vidyarthi on July 31 when he pronounced the judgment in the
Dhikoli murder case. Mr. Banerji told him that he was present
and witness requested him with reference to the case that was pend-
ing, if he would be good enough to relate the facts to him in order
to enable him to check Mr. Singhal's information. Mr. Banerji
then said that he was not only present but that the whole of the
incident that had taken place was the talk of the town in Meerut.
But witness wished to be specific and requested him to give a first-
hand account. Mr. Banerji then went on to tell him that he was
present in court and while delivering judgment in the case Mr.
Vidyarthi made precisely the statement that he had been informed
he had made. He then requested Mr- Banerji to be good enough
to repeat the language used by Mr. Vidyarthi as he was very
anxious that there should be no misunderstanding. Mr. Banerji
then repeated word for word the language which witness had put in
his affidavit. He told him that it would help him in the case
if he could file an affidavit along with witness'. Mr. Banerji said
he did not think that an affidavit was necessary. Witness then
asked him if he would relate those facts to him in a letter in order
to help him in his defence. His reply was that if he wanted that he
should write a letter starting with the words "Apropos your inquiry"
the following are the facts etc. he would consider his request, but
that he would give him his final answer later on. But Mr. Banerji
added that in any event witness could rely on his help to speak the

00 THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

Fourth Hearing (ContdJ

whole of the truth if summoned by the High Court. Witness pointed
out that all this happened in the presence of Prof. Dubey and Mr.
Bharadwaja, assistant editor. Mr. Swami was not present at the
interview. Witness had not yet seen Mr. Swami. Mr. Bharadwaja
had seen Mr. Swami. This conversation was over at 4-30 p.m.
Leaving Mr. Bharadwaja behind, witness left Meerut for Delhi at
night. ^Between 4-30 and 8 o'clock he carried on no further inquiry
beyond his conversation with Prof. Dubey. He believed Mr-
Bharadwaja reached Delhi next evening (September 1), Mr.
Bharadwaja gave him a lengthy report of his inquiries, which includ-
ed the conversation he had had with Mr. Swami and Mr. Banerji.
Witness added that his next visit to Meerut was three or four days
ago. He went to Meerut in connection with preparations of the
case and, in particular, to meet Mr. Gopinath Sinha, advocate, in
connection with the case. Mr. Sinha was now in Allahabad and
was assisting the leading counsel in the case.

Chief Justice : What help did you want Mr. Gopinath Sinha
to give you? I knew Mr. Gopinath Sinha by name and fame as a
leading lawyer and I expected that I would have to answer inquiries
cither from counsel or from the court, in which the advice and help
of IVIr. Gopinath Sinha might be of assistance to me.

Chief Justice : Did you ask for the collection of any
evidence? I do not think so.

About the time you received this news had you from any
quarter received complaints that judicial officers were taking undue
interest in the matter of collection of subscriptions? I had heard
numerous complaints of subordinate judicial officers making
efforts to collect subscriptions to the war fund in a manner which
I would not consider appropriate-

Chief Justice : In the Punjab ?

Witness : Both in the Punjab and the U.P.

Witness stated that the headlines for the item of news sent by
Mr. Singhal were given by the sub-editor, but the legal responsi-
bility was of witness.

Sir Tej Bahadur referred to the headlines given Judicial

THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE 6i

Fourth Hearing (Contd.)

officers for war work Raising subscriptions New Chief Justice's
circular? and asked why a mark of interrogation was put after the
word circular.

Chief Justice : Does a mark of interrogation make any
difference in law?

Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru: Yes, my lord. The mark oH interro-
gation shows that the man who wrote this thing had some element
of doubt, and therefore he put this mark-

Chief Justice: Is it going to be your case, Sir Tej, that if there
had been no mark of interrogation it would have been contempt?

Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru : No, my lord.

Witness : The news as it appears, purely from the point of
view of a sub-editor, lends itself to the possible interpretation that
it may be based on the existence of a circular.

Asked if 'efforts' was put in inverted commas by the corres-
pondent himself Mr. Gandhi said it was not possible for him to
answer the question without making further inquiries as to how the
inverted commas came to appear*

CROSS-EXAMINATION

Cross-examined by Sir Wazir Hasan, on behalf of Mr.
Vidyarthi, witness said that the news was published without any
further inquiry.

You have stated that a possible interpretation of the news
item may amount to a statement of fact that the Chief Justice had is-
sued such a circular. You did not consider it prudent and indeed
necessary that before that was allowed to go into print you should
make some inquiry about its truth or otherwise? Work in a news-
paper office, more particularly in the office of a daily newspaper, is
carried on under conditions of great stress and strain- Nevertheless
my newspaper office, as I believe other newspaper offices, do
maintain a list of correspondents on which the fullest reliance can
be placed and another of those whose news must be checked. Mr.
Singhal belongs to the first list in my office and had it not come from
him it would not have been published.

. 62 THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

Fourth Hearing (Conld.)

If no notice had been issued, you would have accepted it as a
true statement of fact and would have made no inquiry. In the
preparation of your defence you started an inquiry? It was only
because of the issue of the notice that I started an inquiry into
the matter, otherwise I would not have launched an inquiry imme-
diately. ^

You were of the view that you will not be guilty of the offence!
of contempt of court if you were able to establish that the judge
uttered those words which were attributed to him? In the first
place I was anxious to convice myself that the judge had uttered
those words and it was only when 1 was morally convinced to the
bottom of my heart that he had uttered those words that I felt, subject
to legal advice, that it was my public duty to bring those facts to
the attention of this hon. court regardless of their bearing on the case
against me. As a layman I did take the view that if the facts could
be established, that would be complete justification for my conduct
and that I would be absolved of the charge of contempt.

Mr. Gandhi proceeding said he was in consultation with law-
yers but took no serious action until 1 he had received the writ from'
the court on August 25. He went to Meerut on August 31 and
he was certainly in touch with lawyers by then.

Sir Wazir Hasan : Do you say that the item of news and your
comment was not serious enough to make an inquiry before you
published them, or they became serious because you had to meet
this charge?

Mr. Gandhi : The news was published very reluctantly, but
in the background of the complaints which we had been receiving
and in view of the fact that the news came from a reliable corres-
pondent it was not possible to disbelieve it and serious though it was,
it was published as it was the function of a newspaper to give
publicity to all kinds of news including serious news, if necessary.

Asked why the expression 'if it is true' was used in the
comment, Mr. Gandhi said : As a matter of fact we were convinced
of the truth of the news, but it was not our desire that the vast
reading public of our paper should at the same time regard it as

THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE 63

Fourth. Hearing (Contd.)

gospel truth since it obviously was a serious matter and hence the use
of the word 'if.

Sir Wazir Hasan: Whatever may be your confidence in Mr.
Singhal you made the public understand that this was still a matter
of doubt?

Mr. Gandhi : The paragraph was written in that particular
form from a desire to be fair to the hon. Chief Justice. I did not
desire that the public should take it as gospel truth.

Sir Wazir Hasan : And you wanted to convey the impression
to the public that it was still a matter of doubt?

Witness : I would not go so far.

Sir Wazir Hasan : If that was not so, thnn so far as you are
concerned you were definitely of the opinion that such a circular
had been issued?

Mr. Gandhi : I was definitely led to believe that a circular
or instructions in some other form did exist. I entertained this belief
on the basis of the news that I received from Meerut.

Sir Wazir Hasan : So far as the news item itself is concerned
it makes no reference to any circular?

Mr. Gandhi : That is true*

Sir Wazir Hasan : What was the basis for the belief that
a circular or written instructions had been issued?

Mr. Gandhi : I believe that has been answered.
Chief Justice: That is a matter for argument.

Sir Wazir Hasan: Why did you not reach Mr. Vidyarthi
himself in making these inquiries?

Mr. Gandhi: My name, my dress and my profession are such
that I am regarded as a red rag in certain quarters and it is very
unwillingly that I would approach such quarters for a personal
interview.

Witness added that he was not quite sure that it would be
legally appropriate for him to approach Mr. Vidyarthi.

64 THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

Fourth Hearing (Contd.)

BY THE COURT

Chief Justice : Are you now satisfied that the imputation cast
on the Chief Justice by the news published in the issue of August 3
was wholly unjustified.

Mr. Gandhi : 1 was so satisfied on the very first day of the
hearing of the case in this court.

Chief Justice : Are you now satisfied that what was attributed
by the news item to his Excellency the Governor was wholly untrue?

Mr. Gandhi : Nothing has been said on that point, but I am
prepared to accept as your lordship puts it.

Chief Justice : You admit that by the news item a grievous
wrong has been done to his Excellency the Governor and the Chief
Justice of the province?

Mr. Gandhi : I can only say that I regard the whole affair
as most unfortunate.

Chief Justice : You consider your paper a responsible paper?

Mr. Gandhi: I do.

Chief Justice : And yourself a responsible editor?

Mr. Gandhi : Yes.

Chief Justice : You now appreciate that a grievous wrong was
done by publishing the news item and the paragraph in the editorial
comment ?

Mr. Gandhi : I think in the circumstances it was unfortunate
that it was published, But I do not see how, again in the circumstances,
it could have been avoided.

Chief Justice : Did it ever strike you that the exalted office
of the Governor and of the Chief Justice demanded extreme caution
on your part?

Mr. Gandhi : My lord, if it had reference to anything but
war effort I would have exercised 10 times the caution that I
actually did in this case. My paper has no animus against your

THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE 65

Fourth Hearing (Contd.)

lordship and although it strongly criticizes his Excellency the
Governor, it would have no interest in starting a canard against him-
But it is the belief of my paper that many things are unfortunately
taking place in this country under the stress of the war which would
not otherwise happen and it was my frank belief that in view of
the extraordinary circumstances of the war even his Excellency the
Governor and even your lordship might conceivably be drawii into
action which according to one scetion of opinion might be considered
appropriate, but entirely inappropriate according to another section
of opinion.

CYh'e/ Justice : Did the belief that the Governor or the Chief
Justice might have resorted to a certain course of conduct, in your
opinion, furnish a justification for giving publicity to the news of
the description that you did publish on August 3?

Mr. Gandhi : The question of might would arise in that sense
if I had been concocting a piece of news. But what I am trying
to state is that when the news came to me in the manner it did, I
shrugged my shoulders and said perhaps war had made it possible.

Chief Justice : Do you now realize that the mention about a
circular in the headlines was wholly unjustified?

Mr. Gandhi : 1 am prepared to agree.

Chief Justice : Did you appreciate this fact on the first day
of hearing in this court?

Mr. Gandhi: I did.

Chief Justice : Do you consider it proper then to make amends
for the wrong done by you?

Mr. Gandhi : The question of personal amends to your
lordship has been engaging the attention of myself and my
distinguished counsel*

Chief Justice: It is not a question of making amends to the
Chief Justice personally but it is a question of making amends to
the exalted office of Chief Justice. Has that engaged your attention
so far?

06 THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

Fwirtk Hearing (Contd.)
Mr. Gandhi : It has.

Chief Justice : But the weeks that have intervened have not
enabled you to arrive at a decision in the matter?

Mr. Gandhi : My lord, if anything short of the evidence placed
before this court had come to my attention I would have made the
fullest amends long ago.

Chief Justice : You realized from the very outset that the
existence of a circular was a matter of cardinal importance in the
case?

Mr. Gandhi : I did not lake that view.

Chief Justice : Then why did you in the letter, dated
August 9, addressed to Mr. Singhal exhibit extreme anxiety about
the production of a circular, or a copy thereof?

Mr. Gandhi: This letter is dated August 9. As I have
already stated I could not make out all the details of the charge
against me until I received the wril which arrived on August 25
and I think it would be granted that at that stage it was natural
on my part to proceed in the case, legally as well as morally
speaking, as though a circular did exist.

Chief Justice : You have talked about your "public duty"
in the course of your evidence. Does it occur to you that it was
equally your public duty not to show disrespect to the office of
Chief Justice?

Mr. Gandhi : Entirely.

Chief Justice : Do you realize it now that disrespect has been
shown to that office?

Mr. Gandhi-' I realize that I have been an unwitting
instrument of showing disrespect for which I am extremely sorry.

Chief Justice : And the cause of the whole trouble is
Mr. Singhal?

Mr. Gandhi : My lord, that is a point on which I will strive
to establish his innocence to the end of my existence.

THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE 67

AUTHOR OF COMMENT
Editor's Refusal To Disclose Name

ALLAHABAD, Sept. 26.

Five more witnesses were examined before their lordships the
Chief Justice and Mr. Justice Collister today in the Hincfastan
Times 9 contempt case on behalf of Mr. Devadas Gandhi and
further hearing was adjourned till October 27.

EVIDENCE OF MR. BHARADWAJA

Mr. D. D. Bharadwaja, Assistant Editor of the Hindustan
Times, whose examination-in-chief by the Rt. Hon. Sir Tej
Bahadur Sapru commenced yesterday shortly before the court rose
for the day, stated that he had been connected with the Hindustan
Times for the last three years- As Assistant Editor, he dealt with
news received from mofussil correspondents and also wrote editorial
articles. He remembered that the news which was the subject of
inquiry before their lordships had appeared in the issue, dated
August 3. That news passed through his hands and he gave the
headlines. Because the word "circular" was not mentioned in the
news item he put a mark of interrogation after the word. It was
merely an inference. Afterwards the comment in question appeared
in the issue, dated August 5. A telegram had been received on
the 8th informing them that some steps had been taken by the
Allahabad High Court in respect of that comment. After August 8
an inquiry was made by the Hindustan Times office from Mr.
Singhal, their Meerut correspondent. They got a reply from Mr.
Singhal. The letter of Mr. Singhal dated August 10 must have
reached them on the 1 1th. The news of the issue of a writ of
contempt by their lordships was published in the issue dated August
14. After the reply of Mr. Singhal they did not carry on any
correspondence with their correspondent. They wrote to their
legal correspondent in Allahabad asking him to send them copies
of the Registrar's application and affidavit as early as possible.

The writ was served on the editor and the printer and
publisher on August 25. The editor and witness went to Meerut

68 THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

Fifth Hearing (Contd.)

on August 31 and arrived there at about 10 o'clock in the
morning. They went to Prof. Dubey's place. He had known
Prof. Dubey for about 20 years since they were contemporaries at
the Agra College. Because their correspondent had told them
that certain lawyers were present in the judge's court when the
incident had occurred, they asked Prof. Dubey if he could take
them^o the lawyers, or arrange a meeting with them. Dr. Dubey
went to Mr. Banerji's house and after coming from there told them
that Mr. Banerji had narrated the events of July 31 to him. They
subsequently met Mr. Banerji at Dr. Dubey's place where he had
been invited for tea. Mr. Banerji admitted to them in the presence
of Dr. Dubey that he was present in court when the incident
occurred. Mr. Devadas Gandhi afterwards left for Delhi by the
evening train.

Witness said that they did not meet Mr. Surajbal Swami,
advocate, on that day. Witness stayed on in Meerut, after Mr.
Devadas had left, for another day and a half, and left for Delhi on
September 2. On the 1st he met Mr. K, N. Banerji in the after-
noon and had some talk with him about the incident in court. Mr.
Swami arrived when Mr. K- N. Banerji was still with them at Mr.
Dubey's house. Mr. Swami complained that Mr. Vidyarthi sent
for his son-in-law to his chamber, had a talk with him for about
45 minutes and obtained from him a written statement to the effect
that the judge had not made the statement attributed to him.
Witness saw the District Judge, Mr. Akbar Husain, on the morn-
ing of September 2 at about 8-45 at his residence in order to
bring to his notice that Mr. Vidyarthi was taking statements from
lawyers under pressure. Mr. Akbar Husain said that he had no
knowledge of the matter and that Mr. Vidyarthi was the best
person either to contradict or confirm it. During the course of
further conversation Mr. Akbar Husain remarked ^hat matters had
taken a very unfortunate turn and some one was likely to get it in
the neck and that it was Mr. Vidyarthi who was likely to get it in
the neck. Witness said that they had no grudge against Mr.
Vidyarthi and he was informed by Mr. Akbar Husain that he had
advised Mr. Vidvarthi to go and meet the Chief Justice at
Allahabad and make a clean breast of the whole matter to him.

THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE 69

Fifth Hearing (Contd.)

Witness again went to Meerut on September 3. He was
called by Mr- Surajbal Dikshit to meet him and he went to meet
him. Mr. Dikshit was anxious that there should be some
compromise so that Mr. Vidyarthi might be saved. Witness told
Mr, Dikshit that it was a matter between the High Court and the
Hindustan Times and no compromise with Mr. Vidyarthi co^ld be
of any avail.

Witness went to Meerut again a few days back in order to
engage Mr. Gopinath Sinha, a local advocate, as their counsel.
Mr. Sinha was now present here.

According to the practice prevailing in their office it was
entirely within the discretion of the editorial staff to reject a news
item and not to publish it. The enlire responsibility was of the
editor or of the staff regarding publication. They generally did
not change the substance but they improved the language of any
communication received by them. Witness next explained in
detail how he had edited the copy received from Mr. Singhal.
During the three years that witness had been on the staff of the
Hindustan Times he had been dealing with news items received
from Mr. Singhal and he had no occasion to doubt his reliability or
honesty. Before the publication of this message they had received
in their office numerous complaints of judicial officers raising
subscriptions for the war fund from all over India. They
published a few complaints and in regard to several others they
made editorial comments bringing the matter to the notice of the
Government.

CROSS-EXAMINATION

Cross-examined by Sir Syed Wazir Hasan, on behalf of
Mr. VidyartL, witness said that he inferred that a circular was
issued by the Chief Justice from the language used by the Meerut
correspondent in his message to the paper.

When Mr. Singhal wrote in his message "1 reliably learn",
etc., witness understood that the matter must be within his personal
knowledge based upon authoritative sources.

Sir Wazir Hasan : Did Mr. Dikshit tell you during the

70 THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

Fifth Hearing (Contd.)

interview that there was no circular issued by the Chief Justice and
that your only way of escaping the consequences was to apologise?

Witness : Mr. Dikshit had no discussion about the circular
but only wanted that we should come to some compromise with

Mr. Vidyarthi.

>

Sir Wazir Hasan : What did you understand by compromise
in a case of this nature?

Witness: 1 thought that he wanted that somehow we should
not mention the name of Mr. Vidyarthi because he also said that a
Hindu judge would be sacrificed. These are his words.

Sir Wazir Hasan : Did you ask Mr. Dikshit to get the
photograph of the circular and did he in reply say that there was
no circular?

Wilness : His reply was that that was not practicable.

Sir Wazir Hasan : From the conversation that you had with
Mr. Dikshit you carried the impression that there was such a
circular?

Witness replied in the affirmative and added that now it was not
so since his lordship the Chief Justice had denied it. At the time of
his interview with Mr. Dikshit he was aware of the issue of the
contempt notice. The interview was on September 3. He did
not ask Mr. Surajbal Swami to give Him in writing what he said,
because he said that he would not take any initiative but if called
by the High Court he would depose.

Is it a fact that during the interview Mr. Dikshit told you
that you should act in a manner so as not to make your paper
suffer? He also told you that, independently of the fact what Mr.
Vidyarthi said or not, your offence of contempt was complete and
that you should apologise?

Wiineis : He did not say anything about the paper. He
only said that a way should be found to save Mr. Vidyarthi.

Did you in answer to what he had said tell him then and
there that you would not apologise and you were persons who would

THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE 71

Fifth Hearing (Contd.)

be prepared to go to jail? No. I did not say anything of the
kind- 1 only said that we shall place all the (acts before the
High Court without caring for legalities and ask them to judge us
on the basis of those facts.

Can you add anything to the account of your interview with
Mr. Akbar Husain? I also enquired from Mr. Akbar Wusain
whether Mr. Vidyarthi was going to accept his advice to see the
Chief Justice and to make a clean breast of the whole matter to
his lordship. In reply to this Mr. Akbar Husain said that Mr.
Vidyarthi had also written to the Registrar for an early appointment
with his lordship the Chief Justice and as soon as he received a
reply he would go to Allahabad and make a clean breast of the
whole matter. He also said that our correspondent was somewhat
indiscreet in passing all kinds of information to us. In reply I told
him that it was his duty to send us all important facts which came to
his knowledge and it was for us to judge what to publish and what
not to publish- The words used by him about the correspondent
were that he had been sending indiscreet reports. I distinctly
remember the word " indiscreet."

BY THE COURT

In reply to the Chief Justice witness said that he was present
in court when Messrs. Vidyarthi and Akbar Husain had been
examined.

Have you been taking an active part in instructing your
counsel in this case? I have been helping Mr. Devadas Gandhi
with the information in my possession.

Did you instruct your counsel to put to Mr. Akbar Husain in
cross-examination the fact that he had told you at the interview
that Mr. Vidyarthi had admitted his mistake to him (Mr, Akbar
Husain)? No, I did not instruct him.

Can you assign any reason for this conspicuous omission?
We put all the salient facts before our counsel leaving it to him to
put any question he liked. It may be that this fact was not
described to him in detail.

Do you or do you not consider the statement of Mr, Akbar

72 THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

Fifth Hearing (Contd.)

Husain that Mr. Vidyarthi had admitted his mistake a salient fact
in this case? I did consider that it was an important enough fact
but the line adopted by Mr. Vidyarthi of admitting collection of
war funds in court gave it a different interpretation.

It may be that all that Mr. Vidyarthi had admitted
lo Mr> Akbar Husain was his mistake in raising subscription for the
war fund in the court room? I did not specifically enquire from
Mr. Akbar Husain as to what the admission of mistake amounted
to- At that time my impression was that it amounted to his
making a statement implicating the Chief Justice and the Governor
in the collection of war funds in court.

You cannot say positively that Mr. Vidyarthi admitted to
Mr. Akbar Husain that he had implicated His Excellency the
Governor and the Chief Justice? I cannot say it either way.

On how many days in all between August 10 and this day
did you visit Meerut in connection with this case? I visited
Meerut three or four times.

And during ycur visits you were engaged in the task of
marshalling evidence? No- In the first visit we went to
ascertain the correctness or otherwise of the information supplied to
us by our correspondent about people who were stated to have been
present in court. The second time I went because Mr. Dikshit
wanted to see me. The third time we went to engage Mr.
Gopinath Sinha, advocate.

Do the first paragraph in the news item of August 3 and the
editorial comment in the issue of the 5th have a political flavour in
them? No. They have no political flavour. It is all factual.

Are both the first paragraph and the editorial comment
completely divorced from politics? If the raising of subscriptions
to the war fund is politics, then the first paragraph and the editorial
comment are associated with politics, otherwise not.

If the raising cf the war fund is a branch of political activity,
then the first paragraph and the editorial comment have a political
flavour in them? No. I suppose "association" and "flavour" arc

THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE 73

Fifth Hearing (Contd.)

two different things. These are facts about the raising of the war
fund which are mentioned there.

Asked if he now realized that it was highly improper on his
part to associate the Chief Justice with the impure atmosphere of
politics taking him out from the pure atmosphere of the administra-
tion of justice, witness stated that at the time he gave the* news
he did not consider it as improbable that some such instructions
might have been issued, because the Chief Justice of the Lahore
High Court had himself been going about raising the war fund and
speaking on the subject of war effort. Asked if he now realized
his mistake in associating the Chief Justice of Allahabad with
politics, witness stated that after his lordship's denial of the issue
of any kind of instructions by him to judicial officers in connection
with the war fund he did think that the Chief Justice was not
associating himself with controversial politics. "I do think that the
Chief Justice of Allahabad does not take part in any controversial
politics, but at that time the question of raising war fund was not
considered by me as highly improbable because of the Chief Justice
of the Punjab raising the war fund/'

At this moment do you realize your mistake or not? Yes,
now we do feel that an injustice has been done to the Chief Justice
by associating him with the collection of the war fund.

And even then the course that would have appealed to a
gentleman did not appeal to your editorial staff, viz., the
course of submitting an abject and unqualified apology? We
have been thinking of making amends to his lordship the Chief
Justice, but at the same time we wanted to place before you all
the facts which have come to our knowledge.

Is it appreciated by you and the other members of the staff
connected with this case that it is now too late to tender an
apology? No, that is not my impression.

You stated yesterday that you put a note of interrogation after
the word 'circular' as no circular was mentioned by your corres-
pondent and it was merely your inference that a circular had been
issued, Now state whether it wa$ consistent with your

74 THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

Fifth Hearing (Contd.)

responsibility as a journalist to make such a serious allegation against
the Chief Justice on a mere surmise or inference on your part? I
did not want the public to infer that it was absolute truth that a
circular had been issued and I wanted to guard myself against the
public drawing any hasty conclusion and having any decided
opinicp about his lordship the Chief Justice in this matter.

Were the headlines in the news-item calculated to lead the
reader of the paper to conclude that what was alleged against the
Chief Justice may probably be true? The public could torm their
own conclusion. Some people would think that there was a circular,
some might think that there was not a circular.

Do you consider such a publication consistent with your
responsibility as a journalist? I do feel that if based on reliable
information such a thing could be published in public interest.

Do you realize that you are sailing dangerously near the
wind? (No answer).

Are you now conscious that you have abused your position
as a journalist in putting those headlines? 1 do not think I hav
abused my position as a journalist in putting those headlines,
because I believed that the Punjab Chief Justice having interested
himself in war efforts this thing might not be improbable.

So you considered it consistent with journalistic propriety to
attribute improper conduct to the Chief Justice of the Allahabad
High Court on the analogy of information drawn from some other
province? I thought that if it was not improper for the Chief
Justice of the Lahore High Court, it may not be improper also for
the Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court to take interest in
war effort.

Do you mean to say that you now hold the view that it
was not at all improper for the Chief Justice of the Allahabad
High Court to interest himself in the raising of war fund?
Our paper had criticized the Chief Justice of the Lahore High
Court for taking interest in raising war funds and we do consider
it improper for a Chief Justice to take interest in thi 5 kind of
effort.

THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE 75

Fifth Hewing (Contd.)

Did it occur to you before putting these headlines that you
should verify that a circular had been issued by the Chief
Justice? Work in a newspaper office has to be done under great
pressure and we have to carry on a race with time and sometimes
we cannot realize all the implications and interpretations that may
be put on a thing. ^

In other words, that pressure and race justify recklessness on
the part of the editorial staff? No, it is no justification for
recklessness but we depend upon our experience and intuition to
decide whether a thing is proper to be published or not.

Does that experience and intuition justify the indiscriminate
throwing of mud? No, we did not regard it as any throwing of
mud.

Sir Wazir Hasan requested the court to ascertain from
witness as to who was responsible for the paragraph under Current
Comments in respect of which the present proceedings were taken,
and Mr. Bharadwaja, replying to the question put by the Chief
Justice, said that it was a matter which should be put to Mr.
Devadas Gandhi, the Editor.

Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru said that no responsible editor would
disclose the name of the author of a comment and would rather
go to jail. He added that it was not a question which could be
put to a member of the staff.

The Chief Justice said there was no occasion for heat and
he merely wanted to enquire of Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru whether his
client was prepared to disclose who the author of the paragraph
was.

Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru said that it was a question which
should be put to Mr. Devadas Gandhi, the editor of the Hindustan
Times, with whom he had not had any consultation about this
matter.

The Chief Justice then recalled Mr. Devadas Gandhi to the
witness-box and asked him whether he had any objection to
disclosing the name of the author, as the counsel for Mr. Vidyarthi
desired to know the name,

76 THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

Fifth Hearing (Contd.)

Mr. Devadas Gandhi : I would like to answer the question
at some length with your lordship's permission.

Chief Justice : Can you not tell us whether you have any
objection or not to disclosing the name?

Mr. Devadas Gandhi : I can only answer it in a few
sen. ^ces.

Chief Justice : Very well.

Mr. Devadas Gandhi : I was privileged to be present here
during your lordship's cross-examination of Mr. Bharadwaja. My
attitude in this case has been one of placing every card on the
table. But if I may be permitted to say so, certain words fell
from your lordship a few minutes ago which struck me as constitut-
ing a threat of action against other members of my staff in addition
to myself and Mr. Singhal. Under the circumstances I desire to
state that, unless compelled under the law, I shall not disclose
any further names of members of my staff, and I desire further to
declare that I invite on my head the cumulative punishment that this
court may wish to inflict on members of my staff.

PROF. DUBEY'S EVIDENCE

Examined by the Rt. Hon. Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru, Dr.
D. L. Dubey said that he had been a professor in the Meerut
College for over 18 years and he took his Ph.D. from the London
University during this period. He knew Mr. Bharadwaja for over
20 years. He came to know Mr. Devadas Gandhi after August
31 and not before- He was neither a Congressman nor a socialist
but a student of politics and he had written a number of articles
criticizing the Congress Ministry in the U.P. On August 31 Mr.
Bharadwaja and Mr. Gandhi saw him at Meerut. They gave
him the impression that they had come to Meerut on a fact-finding
mission in connection with the case against the Hindustan Times.
The first question which they put to him was with regard to Mr.
R. L. Singhal who was the Meerut correspondent of the Hindustan
Times. They asked him about Mr. Singhal 's position and
reputation. He replied that Mr. Singhal was quite an independ-
ent man and at least on one occasion he had shown himself

THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

77

Fifth Hearing (Contd.)

above temptation. Mr. Gandhi gave him the

wanted to ascertain from some eye-witnesses

Singhal had written was or was not true.

the names of Messrs, Banerji, Surajbal

knew Messrs. Banerji and Swami but he

them* He saw Mr. Banerji and he had a

incident under enquiry. He told witness 1

day in the court-room and Mr. Vidyarthi utte

to him and money was collected for the war

on his table. Witness then asked him to come

he wanted that Mr. Banerji himself should

information to Messrs. Gandhi and Bharadwaja. Mr. Banerji

accordingly came to his house in the afternoon. Then there was

conversation among Messrs* Gandhi, Bharadwaja, Banerji and

witness.

Witness stated that Mr. Gandhi asked Mr. Banerji whether
he would be prepared to give an affidavit on the lines of the
statement made by him. Mr. Banerji said that he would not like
to volunteer himself but he was prepared to come to the High
Court if necessity arose and if he was called. He said that he
would state at the High Court what he had stated at that time.
After Mr. Devadas Gandhi left for Delhi in the evening Mr.
Bharadwaja stayed on with him- Witness met Mr. Surajbal
Swami next day. Mr. Bharadwaja was not with him- He met
Mr. Swami in his chamber at 3 p.m. on September 1 . He did
not exactly remember what talk he had with Mr. Swami, except
that he told him that Mr. Gandhi and Mr. Bharadwaja wanted to
see him the previous day. Mr. Bharadwaja visited witness on
several occasions. A respectable lawyer sent for witness and told
him that he wanted to have a conversation with Mr. Gandhi or Mr.
Bharadwaja about the controversial affair and see if any way could
be found to save Mr. Vidyarthi. Mr. Bharadwaja arrived at
about 3 p-m. on September 3 and witness then sent a 'message to
the lawyer about the arrival of Mr. Bharadwaja. Witness went to
the lawyer's residence along with Mr. Bharadwaja. At that time
two of his colleagues also happened to be present there . The
lawyer said, "Can you somehow or other save Mr. Vidyarthi? He

70 THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

Filth Hearing (Contd.)

Mr. Deoadas Gandhi : I would like to answer the question
at some length with your lordship's permission*

Chief Justice : Can you not tell us whether you have any
objection or not to disclosing the name?

Mf. Devadas Gandhi : I can only answer it in a few
sen. ^ces.

Chief Justice : Very well.

Mr. Devadas Gandhi : I was privileged to be present here
during your lordship's cross-examination of Mr. Bharadwaja. My
attitude in this case has been one of placing every card on the
table. But if I may be permitted to say so, certain words fell
from your lordship a few minutes ago which struck me as constitute
ing a threat of action against other members of my staff in addition
to myself and Mr. Singhal. Under the circumstances I desire to
state that, unless compelled under the law, I shall not disclose
any further names of members of my staff, and I desire further to
declare that I invite on my head the cumulative punishment that this
court may wish to inflict on members of my staff.

PROF. DUBEY'S EVIDENCE

Examined by the Rt. Hon. Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru, Dr.
D. L. Dubey said that he had been a professor in the Meerut
College for over 18 years and he took his Ph.D. from the London
University during this period. He knew Mr. Bharadwaja for over
20 years. He came to know Mr. Devadas Gandhi after August
31 and not before. He was neither a Congressman nor a socialist
but a student of politics and he had written a number of articles
criticizing the Congress Ministry in the U.P. On August 31 Mr.
Bharadwaja and Mr. Gandhi saw him at Meerut. They gave
him the impression that they had come to Meerut on a fact-finding
mission in connection with the case against the Hindustan T/mes.
The first question which they put to him was with regard to Mr.
R. L. Singhal who was the Meerut correspondent of the Hindustan
Times. They asked him about Mr. Singhal' s position and
reputation. He replied that Mr. Singhal was quite an independ-
ent man and at least on one occasion he had shown himself

THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE 77

Fifth Hearing (Contd.)

above temptation. Mr. Gandhi gave him the ig

wanted to ascertain from some eye- witnesses J

Singhal had written was or was not true.

the names of Messrs. Banerji, Surajbal S^

knew Messrs. Banerji and Swami but he

them* He saw Mr. Banerji and he had a

incident under enquiry. He told witness 1

day in the court-room and Mr. Vidyarlhi uttS

to him and money was collected for the war f2 - ^

on his table. Witness then asked him to come t^^lh6useA^C

he wanted that Mr. Banerji himself should jffiF^fifSt^and

information to Messrs. Gandhi and Bharadwaja. Mr, Banerji

accordingly came to his house in the afternoon. Then there was

conversation among Messrs. Gandhi, Bharadwaja, Banerji and

witness.

Witness stated that Mr. Gandhi asked Mr. Banerji whether
he would be prepared to give an affidavit on the lines of the
statement made by him. Mr. Banerji said that he would not like
to volunteer himself but he was prepared to come to the High
Court if necessity arose and if he was called. He said that he
would state at the High Court what he had stated at that time.
After Mr. Devadas Gandhi left for Delhi in the evening Mr.
Bharadwaja stayed on with him- Witness met Mr. Surajbal
Swami next day. Mr. Bharadwaja was not with him- He met
Mr. Swami in his chamber at 3 p.m. on September 1 . He did
not exactly remember what talk he had with Mr. Swami, except
that he told him that Mr. Gandhi and Mr. Bharadwaja wanted to
see him the previous day. Mr. Bharadwaja visited witness on
several occasions. A respectable lawyer sent for witness and told
him that he wanted to have a conversation with Mr. Gandhi or Mr.
Bharadwaja about the controversial affair and see if any way could
be found to save Mr. Vidyarthi. Mr. Bharadwaja arrived at
about 3 p.m. on September 3 and witness then sent a 'message to
the lawyer about the arrival of Mr. Bharadwaja. Witness went to
the lawyer's residence along with Mr. Bharadwaja. At that time
two of his colleagues also happened to be present there. The
lawyer said, "Can you somehow or other save Mr. Vidyarthi? He

78 THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

Fifth, Hearing (Contd.)

is a man with family and children." Mr. Bharadwaja said it was
a matter between the Hindustan Times and the High Court and they
had no grudge against Mr. Vidyarthi.

Did that respectable lawyer tell Mr- Bharadwaja to go to the
High Court and tender an apology for what the Hindustan Times
had published? He did not suggest to Mr. Bharadwaja that the
Hindustan Times should apologize.

Witness stated that the respectable lawyer was Rai Bahadur
Surajbal Dikshit, who was a leading criminal lawyer at Meerut
and a man of considerable influence both in the bar and the
judiciary. There was some argument and ultimately Mr. Dikshit
came round to the view that Mr. Vidyarthi should see the Chief
Justice. Two of his colleagues in the college, Prof. Madan
Mohan and Professor Khare, were also present on the occasion.
Some other persons were also there. After that they left
Mr. Dikshit 's place. On September 10 witness met Mr. Gandhi
at Delhi where he had gone to give a radio talk. After that Mr.
Gandhi and Mr- Bharadwaja came to Meerut five days ago and
they told him that they had come to engage Mr. Sinha. Mr.
Surajbal Swami came to his house on September 1 and told him
that Mr. Vidyarthi was taking statements from lawyers. Mr.
Bharadwaja was present there. Mr. Swami said that Mr. Vidyarthi
had taken a statement from his son-in-law and that he was very
indignant with his son-in-law.

Did Mr. Swami tell you that he had heard the judge making
the statement in court which was attributed to him? I think he
did. He always said that he would speak the truth whatever
happened.

CROSS-EXAMINATION

Sir Wazir Hasan then cross-examined witness on behalf of
Mr. Vidyartjii.

May I take it that you played the role of an agent to Mr.
Gandhi and Mr. Bharadwaja for the purpose of collecting evidence
for them? It is a wholly unwarranted assumption.

What interest had you in helping them by going to Mr.

THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE 79

Fifth Hearing (Contd.)

Banerji and Mr. Swami? Mr. Gandhi wanted to ascertain the
truth from eye-witnesses and as he had come to me it was my
duty to help him. Whatever I have stated about the conversation
at the interview with Mr. Dikshit is all that I remember.

Did you or Mr. Bharadwaja ask for a photographic copy of
the alleged circular? We said that if we could have a
photographic copy of the circular that would absolve Mr.
Vidyarthi of all responsibility. At the interview Mr. Dikshit said
positively that there was no such circular and therefore no photo-
graphic copy could be had.

Did Mr. Dikshit tell Mr. Bharadwaja that the only way to
get out of the contempt case was to tender apology to the High
Court? I do not think that he advised him in that way.

In what way did he advise him? I do not remember the
exact conversation, but I have already given the gist of it. Mr.
Bharadwaja had suggested to Mr. Dikshit that it was for Mr.
Dikshit to find some way out of the difficulty.

Did Mr. Bharadwaja tell Mr. Dikshit that he would not
accept Mr. Dikshit's advice and that he was not afraid of going to
jail? Mr. Bharadwaja said: "Well we are not afraid of the
consequences, we should be able to establish the position of the
Hindustan Times." Probably Mr. Dikshit had held out a sugges-
tion that it would be difficult for him to bring lawyers to depose in
his support and he should seek some way out of the difficulty.

BY THE COURT

Answering questions put by the Chief Justice, witness said
that he and Mr. Bharadwaja were friends but not intimate friends.
Mr^ Singhal always sent faithful reports to the Press. He had
seen certain reports of his concerning the Meerut College affairs
and he found that they were a faithful picture of what had
happened.

Did you enquire from Mr. Bharadwaja or Mr. Gandhi as to
what was the necessity of taking a counsel from Meerut when
eminent counsel were appearing for them in the High Court?

80 THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

Fifth Hearing (Contd.)

The feeling at Meerut was that the cross-examination of Mr,
Vidyarthi had not taken place in as satisfactory a manner as it
should have been done ; otherwise the whole truth would have
been out in the High Court that day. It was specially due to the
fact that no lawyer with the background of the incident was present
at the High Court at the cross-examination.

Witness said that he did not exactly interest himself in this
matter from August 31 and he simply wanted to give facilities to
Messrs. GandKi and Bharadwaja to meet the eye-witnesses. Witness
said that Mr. Banerji began wavering from September 1 after he had
seen some people. He had seen Mr. Akbar Husain and Mr.
Dikshit.

Do ycu mean to suggest that Mr. Akbar Husain was trying to
win over witnesses in the interest of Mr. Vidyarthi? That is for
you to judge.

Is it your suggestion that Mr. Dikshit was trying to suborn
evidence with a view to help Mr. Vidyarthi? That is for you to
judge* I do not want to make any insinuation about any
individual.

Can you suggest any substantial reason for Mr. Banerji
beginning to waver within 24 hours of the conversation that he
had with you? Probably it must have been brought home to him
that the matter was more serious than he had taken it to be.

Is it true to say that from and after August 31 there was a
tug-of-war for the preparation and concoction of evidence? There
was only one parly to the tug-of-war and that was Mr.
Vidyarthi 's party that had begun taking statements from lawyers.

But Mr. Gandhi also wanted to get an affidavit in writing
from Mr. Banerji? Mr. Gandhi had simply made a request to
Mr. Banerji if he could give in writing a statement of what had
actually happened.

Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru, in re- examination, asked: From your
experience of Mr. Singhal as a reporter of the Hindustan Times
dfd you have any occasion to feel or to know that any report sent

THE. HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE 81

Fifth Hearing (Contd.)

by him from Meerut with regard to Meerut affairs was lacking in
truth or in precision?

Witness : None.

MR. ATTAR SINGH

Examined by Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru, Mr. Altar Singly, the
next witness, said that he remembered the Dhikoli case which
was tried by Mr. Vidyarthi. He was a pa/rofczr in that case on
behalf of the prosecution. The judgment was pronounced on July
31. He was present in the court-room at the time when the
judge pronounced his order. The judge sentenced four accused to
transportation for life and six months' rigorous imprisonment and
he did not pronounce any orders at that time as regards the remain-
ing 16 accused- After one or two minutes the four persons
against whom complaints had been filed were asked to come
forward. When these four came before him the judge asked
them to give subscriptions for the war fund. One of them kept
quiet for some lime and then he said, "We have been sufficiently
looted." He also added that he had nothing left with him. The
accused meant that he had incurred heavy expenses in defending
himself. The judge then said that he had the order of the
Governor and the Chief Justice and therefore they would have to
contribute to the war fund. There were some consultations between
the pairofyars and their vakils and then some subscription was
raised. A sum of Rs. 200 was collected on the spot from the
four accused. Mr. K. N. Banerji counted thr notes. Thereafter
Mr. Surajbal Swami said that a sum of Rs. 150 had been
contributed by his clients and he would deposit the sum the next
day. Thereafter the judge said that the remaining 16 accused
were acquitted. There was an interval of 15 minutes in between
the order convicting the four accused and the order acquitting the
16 accused*

Cross-examined on behalf of Mr. Vidyarthi by Mr. Raj
Bahadur Jaini, witness stated that he was a clerk of a vakil named
Lala Chhattarpal. He knew both Mr. Singhal and Mr. Gauri
Shankar and from July 31 till this date he had had no conversation
with either of them. He saw them only yesterday. He had had

8 2 THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

Fifth Hearing (Contd.)

no talks about matters deposed to by him with anybody. He saw
Mr. Banerji at the time he had counted the notes in the court
of Mr. Vidyarthi. He did not know whether Mr. Banerji was
present when the judge pronounced the order convicting some of
the accused. No counsel for the prosecution was present on

the occasion.

<

Replying to questions put by the Chief Justice, witness said
that his master was not appearing for either side in the case. The
two men who were murdered were related to him and therefore he
acted as one of the pairo^ars for the prosecution. He was not at
all sorry because of the acquittal of the 16 persons. He and the
other pairokars were neither pleased nor displeased. The judge did
not ask the pairo^ars for the prosecution to contribute to the war
fund, nor did he recollect whether the judge asked for subscriptions
from the 12 accused who were being prosecuted by the police and
whom the judge had acquitted. In his presence the judge asked
for subscription only from the four accused who had been
prosecuted on complaint.

MR. SURAJBAL SW AMI'S EVIDENCE

Lxamined by Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru, Mr. Surajbal Swami,
pleader, Meerut, the next witness, said :

I have been practising in Meerut for about the last 13 years.
I practise specially in the criminal courts- I frequency appear in
sessions cases. 1 very vividly remember the Dhakoli case. I ap-
peared as delence counsel for three of the accused in that case.
Those accused were acquitted. The judgment was delivered on
the 31st of July, 1941. The judgment was delivered between 3
and 4 p.m. He delivered first the judgment with regard to the four
accused persons who were sentenced to transportation for life. He
did not deliver the judgment as regards the rest of the accused when
I was there, but the lawyers present there knew that they stood
acquitted.

Money for war fund was collected that day in the court-room,
Rs. 200 were collected in notes and a promise for Rs. 200 was
made on behalf of probably two persons who were represented by
an advocate from Bijnor.

THE: HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE 83

Fifth Hearing (Contd.)

Question : Did you make any offer on behalf of your clients?

Witness : It was no question of an offer. I discussed the
matter with the judge and another lawyer present there. The dis-
cussion was that the lawyer told me that my three clients had to give;
Rs. 300 i.e. Rs. 100 each and I said that we were not engaged
to have them hanged. Thereafter he said that the judge 1 also
wanted it and I said: "The judge may want a thousand rupees,
but you are their counsel." Fsaid so because he was appearing in
the case with me. Thereafter I said that as Rs. 200 had been
paid by four accused persons, my clients should pay at the rate of
Rs. 50 each, i.e. Rs. I 50. Then I said that I was ready to pay
Rs. 1 1 50, but I had no money ready with me a* that time. The
question of raising money in court rdse at the instance of the judge.

Question : Will you kindly relate to their lordships the langu-
age or the substance of the language which the judge used in mak-
ing an appeal for the raising of the fund?

7 he Chief Justice (note for the court record).

At this stage when the witness was not prompt in answering the
question, Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru suggested to the witness that he
might answer the question in Urdu if he so desired. The witness then
stated : "No. It is a question of recollection because I have not
talked over the matter to many persons."

Witness : The judge said addressing; to Mr. S. C. Gupta so
lar as I remember I cannot vouchsafe the guarantee of my state-
ment in this connection being verbatim true, but the substance of
the words was:

"Ham kya karen His Excellency the Governor Saheb Chief
Justice Saheb se mile the. Vnhon ne ham se kaha aur ham ko aisa
kama hota hai," or seme such things.

Question : Are you quite positive that you heard the judge
refer to his Excellency the Governor and to his lordship the Chief
Justice?

Witness : Certainly. I am very positive and it is true. I
was asked on numerous occasions to see the judge personally, but I

8 4 THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

Fifth Hearing (Contd.)

persistently refused to see him. I eventually saw the judge in his
chamber on the 10th of September when one of my criminal ap-
peals was on.

Question : Will you tell us what passed between you and the
judge in the chamber?

Witness : The substance of it was that the judge suggested
that either I should take his resignation or I should not give evidence
against him to the effect that he had mentioned the Governor or
the Chief Justice in connection with the raising of subscription and
then he showed me a copy of the affidavit that was probably sent
to him that morning.

That was the affidavit o Mr. Gandhi. That was on the
10th of September and the judge was to proceed that day to
Allahabad in pursuance of the orders of the High Court. I saw that
affidavit. He showed the affidavit to me. He asked me to suggest
answers to some of the paragraphs in the affidavit. He never
read the paragraphs over to me nor did I read the paragraphs. He
handed over the affidavit to me and he said he was unhinged. I
tr.ld him, "Sir, I am not going to tell a lie and I cannot tolerate
your face any longer and probably you may also be wishing the
same." Thereafter I left his chamber abruptly. I came to know
that the judge had called my son-in-law Krishna Swarup. Exactly
he was not called. I sent him because the judge repeatedly sent
his men, his peons, to me, asking me to see him. I asked my
son-in-law Krishna Swarup to go and find out what the judge
wanted to say to me. This happened on the 1st of September.
Then my son-in-law did go to the judge and remained with him
in his chamber for 45 minutes. I then sent Mr. D. P. Mittal, a
junior advocate, to find out what was happening to my son-in-law.
He reported to me that Mr. Krishna Swarup was in the judge's
chamber. Thereafter Krishna Swarup came and told me that the
judge pressed him and had obtained a writing from him. I lost
mv temper and I left the place at once for my home. I did not
rebuke my son-in-law then. 1 discovered only three or four days
ago what my son-in-law had written. He had written something
like that he was present on the date of the delivery of judgment

THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE 85

Fifth Hearing (Contd.)

and the judge did not use the name of "His Excellency" and "My
Lord the Chief Justice*' in raising subscriptions. But my son-in-
law on his return had reported to my clerk what had happened. I
gathered the contents from my son-in-law only four days ago. The
fact is that after the day that he had an interview with the judge
on the 1st of September, he left practice at Meerut and went, away
to practise at Bijnor.

Question : Why did your son-in-law leave Meerut and go and
settle at Bijnor?

Witness : My son-in-law knew my habit that for the last
two years I have not told a conscious lie and because I had turned
out my son who used to tell any amount of lies ; therefore, my son-
in-law left Meerut.

Question : Anyhow, this incident has led to very unpleasant
consequences in your family?

Witness : Yes, it has- He had dragged my daughter also
away from me and went with bag and baggage from Meerut to
Bijnor.

In reply to further questions witness said : For the first time
I met Devadas Gandhi about half an hour ago. I did not talk to
him. I know Mr. Dubey by face. I do not remember ,any
occasion on which I may have met Mr. K. N- Banerji at the resi-
dence of Mr. Dubey. There was a conversation between me and
Prof. Dubey about this incident. It was on the 1st of September
between 12 noon and 1 p.m. Prof. Dubey met me in my cham-
ber in Court. He told me that one Mr. Bharadwaja and Mr.
Devadas Gandhi had come on the 31st of August to meet me, but
as I was away, they could not meet me and either I should go to
see Mr. Gandhi or he should bring Mr. Gandhi to me. I answer-
ed that I did not want to pick up Mr. Gandhi's acquaintance.

Question : Have you any objection to the name * "Gandhi?"
Witness: No.

Question: Then what was passing in your mind when you told
him that you did not want to meet Mr, Gandhi?

8G THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

Fifth Hearing (ContdJ

Witness : I thought 1 did not know what statement they
would like me to make and, therefore, I said I did not want to
meet Mr. Gandhi and besides, I do not go to see anybody in
Meerut, nor do I invite anybody at my place without business.
My interests are confined to my professional work and to a study
of all the religions of the world.

Question : And, therefore, you do not mix in society?
Witness : No.

I have had no conversation with Mr. Gandhi upto
this moment concerning this incident. But Mr. Bharadwaja and
Mr. Dubey appear to me to be old chums, because I saw a photo-
graph when 1 went to Mr. Dubey 's place once, in which Dubey
and Bharadwaja were photographed together and he said to me that
he was Mr. Bharadwaja and they were students at Agra. On
various occasions Mr. Bharadwaja and Mr. Dubey met me and
wanted to make certain statements.

Question : Then should I take it that your position was that
you would not like to commit yourself to anyone but would, if
necessary, come to court and make your statement to their lordships
according to your conscience.

Witness : No, Sir, this is also not correct. I did not want to
give evidence in this case.

Question : Will you please tell us why you did not want to
give evidence?

( Witness : Is it cross-examination ?)
Court : Answer the question.

Witness : In Meerut there have come to be two distinct parties
because or this unfortunate incident. One is composed of DuBey,
Bharadwaja and certain leading Congressmen, one of them being
a premier zamindar of U.P. and the other party is of the judge.

Question : Who are the members of the other party?
Witness: Certainly, I know that the judge had the support

THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE 87

Fifth Hearing (Contd.)

of President of our Bar Association, Rai Bahadur Pandit Surajbal
Dixit, Rai Shahib Moti Lai, S. C. Gupta, Barrister, and several
other persons, and that was the reason that I did not like to drag
myself into the mud.

Question : Did you ever go to Mr. Akbar Husain to complain
that the judge had taken a written statement from your son-in-Jaw ?
Witness : No.

CROSS-EXAMINATION

Sir Syed Wazir Hasan then cross-examined the witness.

Question : You said that within the last two years you have
not uttered a conscious lie. Are we to infer that you did utter
conscious lies previous to that?

Witness : Certainly not, never. By the words "conscious
lie** I mean that which is palpable lie lo me.

Question : Did you offer protest at the time when the sub-
scription was being raised?

Witness : Why should 1? It is not a lawyer's duty. 1 did
not consider it an improper act on the part of the judge because
the name of his lordship the Chief Justice was there.

Question : You did not consider it improper because the name
of the Lord Chief Justice was associated with that?

Witness : Because the statement was made in the name of
his lordship the Chief Justice by a man who occupied a very im-
portant chair in the district- I thought, as other lawyers began
to think, then, that some how or other this thing may have happened.

Question : If it had not been associated with the name of the
Chief Justice, it would have been an improper act?

Witness : I do not know anything about it.

In reply to further cross- examination witness said: The con-
tents of the writing that the judge had taken from my son-in-law
were communicated to me by my clerk on the 1st of September.
I believed my clerk*s statement, because writings had been obtained
from other persons,

S8 THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

Fifth Hearing (Contd.)

Question : You expressed no indignation to your son-in-law ?

Witness : The indignation was apparent from my eyes. I
had not spoken a word to him.

Question : Did you ever by words or in some other direct
way express your indignation to your son-in-law?

Witness : I never expressed my indignation in words.

Question : Is it right to suggest that he left Meerut because
of your anger with him over what he had done?

Witness : Yes, because he had reasons to infer that I hate
a man who lies as 1 submitted, I turned out my son and I must feel
angry over his act. Three or four days ago, he told me the con-
tents of his writing and he did not tell me this before, in details.

Question : Your statement is that you never repeated what
had happened in court that day either to Mr. Dubey or to Mr.
Bharadwaja or to Mr. Gandhi?

Witness : I never repeated to Mr. Dube or to Mr.
Gandhi or to Mr. Bharadwaja what had happened in court on the
31st of August except on the morning of the 12th September when
all three of us (Dubey, Bharadwaja and myself) went to see Mr.
K. N. Banerji.

BY COURT

The Chief Justice : May I take it that the decision of the judge
as regards all the twenty accused was known to the lawyers at one
and the same time, i.e. that four accused had been convicted and
the rest acquitted?

Witness : My Lord, this is the position. The lawyers pre-
sent knew it.

The Chief Justice : Then the accusation against the judge
that he delivered judgment piecemeal is untrue?

Witness : Certainly. 1 may add that we knew that this is
the state of affairs. But if by the word "delivered" it is under-

THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE 89

Fifth Hearing (Contd.)

stood that some portion of it was read loudly to the accused and
some portion was not, then it is not correct-

The Chief Justice : Will you kindly elucidate the statement
that you made about the delivery of judgment in the first para-
graph of your examination-in-chief which has just been read over
to you?

Witness : My lord, the position is that some of the lawyers
may have been present before me when the warrants for the commit-
ment of the accused, who were convicted, to jail were being writ-
ten and it may have been then that they somehow or other inferred
and also knew that my clients also stood acquitted.

The Chief Justice : How did you know that your client?
stood acquitted?

Witness : The entire court was chockfull and for some time
I stood in the gallery. Then Harish Chandra probably informed me
that papers were being written to send some of the accused to jail
and we did not know what will happen to our men, and he asked
me to go in and find out. I told him that Mr. Gupta was there,
but then he insisted on my going and I went there and from the talk
which had been going on previously between the judge and some
of the lawyers present before the judgment was pronounced, I
gathered that the rest of the accused were to be acquitted.

The Chief Justice : So it is a fact that all at once it was known
to everybody concerned that four of the accused had been convict-
ed and the rest acquitted?

Witness : Yes, even to the persons acquitted and convicted.

In reply to further questions witness said :I lead a very se-
cluded 'life and I am not on visiting terms with anyone in Meerut.
The relations between my son and me are strained and so are
the relations between me and my son-in-law now.

The Chief Justice : Do the people harbour the feeling that yo' 1
have got an uncontrollable temper?

Witness: Yes, some of them. I myself am conscious of this
fact,

90 THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

Fifth Hearing (ContdJ

The Chief Justice : What is the nature of the relations between
you and Mr. Surajbal Dixit?

Witness, : He is a distant relation of mine. He is a thorough
gentleman. He loves me very much and is a man of very high
position, such as Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru's.

MR. KRISHNA SWARUP'S EVIDENCE

Examined by Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru, Mr. Krishna Swarup
said that he was the son-in-law of Mr. Surajbal Swami. He had
been practising as a "vakil for about eight or nine months. He had
now left Meerut and he proposed to set up practice at Bijnor. On
September 1 Mr. Surajbal Swami asked witness to meet Mr. Hari
Shankar Vidyarthi to enquire why he was calling him. He then
went to Mr. Vidyarthi and Mr. Vidyarthi gave him four or five
statements and he asked witness to write down one of those state-
ments, viz., that of Mr. S. C. Gupta and to copy it and sign his
name. Witness told the judge that he did not want to make
any incorrect statement that he was present in court at the time of
the delivery of the judgment- He pressed him again and again
to write the same statement. The judge told witness that if he
gave such a statement it would help him very much if there was an
inquiry. The judge told him that Mr. Gupta who was
appearing tor the same clients as Mr. Surajbal Swami had written
the statement and there would be no harm if he made a similar
statement in writing. Witness resisted again and again for about 30
to 40 minutes and then he submitted to the judge's request.

After he left the judge's chamber witness went to his father-
in-law and told him of what he had done. Mr. Surajbal Swami
was then very angry with him. When he found his father-in-law
displeased he went back to the judge's chamber and demanded that
his statement should be returned. The judge said that he would
soeak to Mr. Swami and did not return his statement to him. Twd
days afterwards he decided to leave Meerut for Bijnor. Next day
again he went to Mr. Vidyarthi and asked him to return his state-
ment. He, however, did not return the same to the witness.

Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru : Why did you leave Meerut because

THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE 91

you incurred

Fifth Hearing (Contd.)

you were afraid of the judge, or because you thought
the displeasure of your father-in-law?

Witness : Because my father-in-law got angry.

Sir Wazir Hasan, in cross-examination, asked witness if he
could give them the substance of the writing which he had ^given
to the judge. Witness stated that it was to the effect that he was
present in court at the time of the delivery of the judgment in the
Dhakoli case and the judge did not use the words that he had re-
ceived instructions from the Chief Justice and that the money was
collected for the benefit of the wounded soldiers, which was the
best form of charity. On a separate slip also the judge made him
write that his father-in-law was not present at the time of the de-
livery of the judgment.

The statement signed by you was incorrect? As a matter of
fact, I was not present at the time that the incident happened.
The court then rose for the day.

90 THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

NOTICE TO SINGHAL DEFECTIVE
Court Passes Order To Cure Defect

ALLAHABAD, Oct. 27.

Their lordships the Chief Justice and Mr. Justice Col lister
resumed the hearing of the Hindustan Times Contempt Case.

'At the outset, the Court pointed out that the notice for con-
tempt of court which had been issued against Mr. R. L. Singhal,
the Meerut correspondent of the Hindustan Times , was defective.
It sriouui have been made clear in the notice that it related to the
news item which had appeared in the Hindustan Times of August 3 .
Sir Tej Bahadur said that he had no objection to this defect being
cured by suitably amending the notice which was issued against
Mr. Singhal.

The following order was passed by the court :

"Sir 1 ej Bahadur Sapru says that he fully understands that
the notice lor contempt of court of which he has accepted service
in respect of Mr. R. L. Singhal applies to the news item which
he sent in his letter of August 1 and which was published in the
issue of the Hindustan Times dated August 3 , 1 94 1 . "

Two witnesses were examined, Mr. K. N. Banerji, advocate,
of Meerut, and Rai Bahadur Pandit Surajbal Dikshit,
President of the Meerut Bar Association. The latter was
examined on behalf of the Additional Sessions Judge, Mr. Hari
Shankar Vidyarthi, and the former on behalf of Mr. Devadas
Gandhi and others.

A telegram was received from one Mr. Brahma jit Singh, by
the court, to the effect that he was unable to attend the court
owing to the serious illness of his wife. The Chief Justice
inquired which side had summoned him and Sir Wazir Hasan, on
behalf of Mr. Vidyarthi, stated that he proposed to drop him.

An application was made to the court by Mr. D. D.
Bharadwaja, Assistant Editor of the Hindustan Times, for some
omissions being made good in the official transcript of his evidence
at the last hearipg. He said that a question put to him by Sir
Wazir Hasan and his reply thereto as well as the remarks

THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE 93

Sixth Hearing (Contd.)

made by Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru (which were reported in
the Leader) had not been included in the official transcript of his
evidence and that he had signed the court's record of his evidence
subject to a separate note on the omissions. The Chief Justice said
that if witness had wanted to make any statements during his
examination it was open to him to do so and the remarks of cqunsel
were not part of evidence and they could not take note of what
the Leader or any other newspaper had reported. The application
was ordered to be filed.

MR. VIDYARTHl'S REQUEST

Sir Wazir Hasan said that Mr. Dikshit appeared in this case
as counsel on behalf of Mr. Vidyarthi and he proposed to examine
Mr. Dikshit as a witness. Sir Wazir Hasan requested their
lordships to permit Mr. Dikshit to retire from the position of
counsel. Mr. Dikshit had brought a message from Mr. Vidyarthi
to Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru asking whether it would be convenient
lor him to examine him on commission because of a certain calamity
in his family. He had lost a son on October 10 or 11.

Their lordships permitted Mr. Dikshit to retire as counsel and
to be examined as a witness on behalf of Mr. Vidyarthi. It was
agreed that Mr. Vidyarthi should be telegraphically informed to
be present in court tomorrow for cross-examination by Sir Tej
Bahadur Sapru.

Sir Wazir Hasan : Shall I go on with my witnesses before
h<? is cross-examined?

Chief Justice: We cannot break this bench now and this
case must finish. For the time being we consider that sufficient
time has been devoted to this case and we shall go on sitting till
this case is over.

MR. K. N. BANERJI'S EVIDENCE

Examined by Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru, Mr. K. N. Banerji

said that he was practising in Meerut and that his practice was

mostly in criminal courts. He fully remembered the case known

as the Dhikoli murder case though he had nothing to do with it.

U4 THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE '

tiwth Hearing (Contd.)

He was not a counsel of either party in the case. He was
present in the court-room of Mr. Vidyarthi on July 31, the date
on which the judgment in the Dhikoli murder case was pronounced.
He was, however, not present at the time of the delivery of the
judgment. He was to appear in a criminal appeal that was fixed
for hearing before Mr. Vidyarthi that day, but that appeal was not
heard that day. He went into the court-room at the fag end of
the day to inquire whether his case would be taken up.

Mr. Justice Collister : What do you mean by 'fag end of
the day'?

Witness : 1 mean by the fag end of the day that I went into
the court-room of Mr. Vidyarthi after 4 p.m.

In reply to questions put by Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru, witness
stated that when he went into the court-room he found money
being collected from certain people. The persons from whom
money was collected appeared to be the accused who had perhaps
been acquitted. The money was being collected for war
purposes. Witness was told that the judge had asked for the
collection of money. Money was collected, counted and placed
on the table of the judge. It was counted by witness. He had
no talk about this matter personally with the District Magistrate,
Mr. Bonarjee, nor did he send any message to him. Thereafter
be met Mr. Devadas Gandhi and Mr. Bharadwaja at Prof.
Dubey's house on August 31, so far as he remembered. Sitting
at tea together they had long talks about this matter and other
matters. The talk related to the collection of money in the
Judge s Court and other things. He again met Mr. Bharadwaja at

Y. . , ey s place the next da y> but the y *d not then talk about
this incident. Witness, after seeing Mr. Gandhi off at quarter-
past six, met Mr. Akbar Husain, District Judge, on August 31. He
met the judge at a tea party arranged that afternoon in honour of
Mr. Marsh-Smith, Inspector-General of A.-R.R and Civic
Guards He spoke to Mr. Akbar Husain about this incident. He

j L iV r ' Akbar Husain about Mr - Gandhi's visit to Meerut
and that Mr. Gandhi wanted an affidavit from him. He did not
seek the advice of Mr. Akbar Husain in the matter. He narrated

THE HINDUSTAN TIMKS CASK 05

Sivth Hearing (Contd.)

the facts to Mr. Akbar Husain in pursuance of the advice given to
him by Pandit Surajbal Dikshit, who was the President of the
Meerut Bar Association.

Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru : Did you in any way complain
against Mr. Devadas Gandhi and Mr. Bharadwaja.

Witness : I did not complain against them.
CROSS-EXAMINATION

Cross-examined by Sir Wazir Hasan, witness deposed that
Dr. Dubey had just invited him for tea at his place and had not
mentioned the object of the invitation. He did not discover the
cbject of his being called to tea even when he was at the tea
party. The topic was mentioned just as so many other incidents
end he never believed that it was the main purpose of the invitation
to tea.

Question : Are you quite definite that the judgment as a
whole had been pronounced in your absence?

Answer: I cannot say anything about the judgment as 1
was not present in court.

Question : Can you tell us the nature of the affidavit which
was required of you?

Answer : I was not asked to give an affidavit about any
particular matter. After the party was over Mr. Gandhi asked
if I could give an affidavit about the incident in court in regard
to the collection of money. He did not say specifically what he
wanted the affidavit to contain.

When witness met Mr. Akbar Husain at the tea party he
told the judge about the realization of money in Mr. Vidyarthi's
court and also that Mr. Devadas Gandhi had come and made
inquiries from him concerning the incident. Mr. Akbar Husain
called him next day into his chamber in the presence of Mr.
Vidyarthi when witness was in court and witness told him what
he had seen in court himself.

Question : Since that interview between you and Mr. Gandhi
and Mr. Bharadwaja, had you any other interview?

96 THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

Sivth Hearing (Contd.)

Answer: I think Mr. Bharadwaja came to me on or about
September 12. 1 did not meet Mr. Gandhi after August 3 1 .
Mr. Bharadwaja came to my house that day. He just wanted to
tell me that I would be summoned as a witness.

Question : You had no talk in this behalf with Mr. Vidyarthi?
Answer: No.

Question : Or about your interviews with Mr. Gandhi and
Mr. Bharadwaja?

Answer: Whatever talk 1 had with Mr. Vidyarthi was in
the presence of Mr. Akbar Husain, and I never met him alone.

BY THE COURT

Chief Justice : Did you hear Mr. Vidyarthi mentioning the
Governor and the Chief Justice on July 3 1 ?

Witness : No, I did not.

Chief Justice : Did it come to your knowledge on July 3 1
that a reference to the Governor and the Chief Justice had been
made by Mr. Vidyarthi?

Witness: Yes.

Chief Justice: Who told you?

Witness : I don't remember the person who told me, but I
learnt it in the court-room when I went there.

Chief Justice: Do you know Mr. Surajbal Swami?
Witness ; Yes, I know.
Chief Justice: : Is he a respectable pleader?
Witness: Yes.

Chief Justice : Has he any reason to depose falsely against
Mr. Vidyarthi?

Witness : Absolutely none.

Asked to give a gist of the conversation that witness had with
Mr. Gandhi and Mr. Bharadwaja at the tea party in Mr. Dubey's

THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE 97

KLuih Hearing (Contd.)

house, witness said that Mr. Gandhi asked him if he considered
Mr. Singhal to be a respectable correspondent and he replied in the
affirmative. He then asked witness if the reported incident was
correct and he said yes. After that he asked witness whether the
money was collected in his presence and he said yes. Afterwards
they talked about so many other things not concerned with this, case.

Chief Justice : Did either Mr. Gandhi or Mr. Bharadwaja
inquire from you whether Mr. Vidyarthi had made a reference lo
the Governor or the Chief Justice on July 3 1 ?

Witness : That question was never pointedly put to me.
Mr Justice Collister : What do you mean by 'pointedly'?

Witness : I mean that question in that form was never put to
me by either of them.

Chief justice : Was that question put to you in any other form?

Witness : What they wanted to know was whether this was
the talk there. They asked me whether there was a talk about *lv
circular from the Chief Justice and I said yes.

Chief Justice: Were you told on July 31 that Mr. Vidyarthi
had stated in court that there was a circular from the Chief Justice?

Witness : Yes.

Chief Justice : Who told you ?

Witness : I don't remember the gentleman who told me about
this.

Chief Jmtice : Are you aware that even Mr. Singhal does
not say that Mr. Vidyarthi made a mention of any circular issued by
the Chief Justice?

Witness: I know it now after reading the evidence of Mr.
Singhal .

Chief Justice : When did you read the evidence of Mr.
Singhal ?

Witness ; I read the evidence of Mr. Singhal when it came
out in papers.

tjg THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

Swtk Hear my (Contd.)

MONEY PAID IN COURT

Replying to Mr. Justice Collister, witness stated that four

persons paid money in court. One man was taking out Rs. 25,

another Rs. 40, and so on, and whea the whole amount was
collected witness counted the money.

Mr. Justice Collister : You happened to be present there and
were just helping?

Witness: Yes, my lord.

Chief Justice: Were the counsel of the accused there?

Witness : I do not know whether the counsel of the accused
were there. There were only four accused whose money I counted.
I do not know if their counsel were there.

Chief Justice : Do you realize that it was strange conduct on
your part to meddle in this affair?

Witness : I did nol consider it strange .

Chief Justice : Are you a friend of Dr. Dubey ?

Witness : I am an acquaintance.

Chiej Justice : To what date does your acquaintance go back?

Witness : My acquaintance with Dr. Dubcy goes back to about
live or six years.

Chief Justice : Has that acquaintance developed into
friendship ?

Witness: No, it has not.

Chief Justice : When Dr. Dubey came to invite you to tea
did he tell you that he wanted you to meet Mr. Devadas Gandhi
and Mr. Bharadwaja.

Witness : No, he did not.

Chief Justice : Did you inquire from him as to what was the
particular occasion for that tea party?

Witness : I did not inquire as to why the tea party was being
held.

THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE 90

tiixlli Hcariny (Conld.)

Chief Justice : Was any other person present at the tea party ?

Witness: There were only four persons, viz., Mr. Devadas
Gandhi, Mr. Bharadwaja, Dr. Dubey and myself. Immediately
after the tea party Mr. Gandhi left.

Re-examined by Sir Tej Bahadur 'Sapru, witness stated < thai
on the day when this incident had happened in the court of Mr.
Vidyarthi "we had a tea party in our club where amongst others
Mr. Bonarjea was present. There, of course, we talked about
this incident that money was realized in court."

Witness told their lordships that they had a tea party in
honour of Mr. Marsh-Smith immediately aft^r the tea party al
Dr. Dubey's place and it was there thai he had met Mr. Akbar
Husain.

MR. SURAJBAL DIKSHIT'S EVIDENCE

Rai Bahadur Pandit Surajbal Dikshit next gave evidence on
behalf of Mr. Hari Shankar Vidyarthi, Additional Sessions Judge,
Meerut. His evidence was not quite audible at the Press table.

Examined by Sir Wazir Hasan, witness said that he was an
advocate practising in Meerut since 1898 or 1899. He held the
title of Rai Bahadur. He was the President of the Meerut Bar
Association. On September 2 he had asked Dr. Dubey to call
Mr. Devadas Gandhi "if he would be kind enough to come." Dr.
Dubey told witness that perhaps Mr. Gandhi might not be able to
come as he was a busy gentleman, but he could send for Mr.
Bharadwaja who was Mr. Gandhi's "righthand -man." Next
day, Dr. Dubey informed witness that Mr. Bharadwaja had come
and would go to his place at any time that would suit him.
Witness met Mr. Bharadwaja in the afternoon of September 3 at
his place and he was accompanied by certain gentlemen including
Prof. Dubey and some other professors.

Witness said that the occasion for calling Mr. Gandhi and
Mr. Bharadwaja was that on September 1 there was a rumour in
thf Bar Association that Mr. Vidyarthi had confessed everything
to Mr. Akbar Husain and witness thought that if that was so then

100 TH HINDUSTAN TIMES CASK

Suth Hearing (ContdJ

the whole thing must be confessed before the High Court. As
there were conflicting rumours in the Bar as to the words uttered
by Mr. Vidyarthi, witness approached Mr. Vidyarthi himself and
asked him what he had stated before the District Judge* and Mr.
Vidyarthi told him that he had admitted his mistake in collecting
war i funds in open court. He definitely asked him if he had
admitted anything about the circular, the Governor or the Chief
Justice and Mr. Vidyarthi said it was all false. Ha believed that
this happened on September 2. Then he asked Mr. Vidyarthi
whether there was any truth in the rumour that a circular had been
issued by the Chief Justice or there were any instructions by the
High Court. Mr. Vidyarthi said it was utterly false. Considering
that possibly they might have heard a rumour that Mr. Vidyarthi
had admitted making a reference to his Excellency the Governor
and the Chief Justice, he at once drove to Prof. Dubey's place and
there he learnt that Mr. Gandhi and Mr. Bharadwaja had left
Meerut. Therefore, he asked Dr. Dubey to call Mr. Gandhi so
that he might inform him about the real truth.

VISIT BY MR. BHARADWAJA

Witness said that on September 3 when Mr. Bharadwaja
and a number of friends came to his .place he at once realized thai
those gentlemen had been brought in with a view tr figure as
witnesses as regards the meeting at his place. Witness told
Mr. Bharadwaja that even though Mr. Vidyarthr was a Hindu he
was not connected with him in any manner and was not even his
caste-fellow. He also told Mr. Bharadwaia that the Hindustan
Time was a prominent paper, if not of U.P. at least of an
adjoining province. He now understood that Mr. Vidyarthi was a
Vaish and that Mr. Gandhi was also a Vaish. He told
Mr. Bharadwaja that he had particularly called him because he did
not want these preceding? to be protracted before the High Court,
and to inform him that Mr. Vidyarthi was perfectly definite that
no such circular had ever been issued by the High Court.
Mr. Bharadwaia thereupon told him and he was supported bv
Mr. Dubey that they were convinced that there was a circular or
a letter from the High Court and he would be very grateful if a

THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE loi

Sh://? Hearing (Contd.)

copy or a photograph of that letter could be obtained. Witness
lold Mr. Bharadwaja that he was giving him first-hand information,
the thing never existed and was not in existence and no copy or
photograph could be had. Witness had told him definitely that
no such letter or circular existed. He definitely told Mr.
Bharadwaja that Mr. Vidyarthi like a gentleman had gone and
admitted his mistake about collecting money before Mr. Akbar
Husain. He told Mr. Bharadwaja that as no instructions had been
issued to judicial officers by the High Court the right thing was to
go and offer an apology for the statement. Mr. Bharadwaja said
that the Hindustan Times would not submit an apology. Witness
'then told Mr. Bharadwaja that the matter was at an end if he was
not going to submit an apology, so far as witness was concerned.
Whfn those gentlemen were leaving his place, as a parting thrust
Mr. Bharadwaja told him that if witness reconsidered his attitude
they would stay over for the night. Witness understood by that
if he would supply a copy of the circular then he would stay at
Meerut for the night and told Mr. Bhar?dwaja that their staying
would be useless.

Question : Did you say to Mr. Bharadwaja or Prof, Dubey
that something should be done to save Mr. Vidyarthi?

Answer : Most certainly not. Mr. Vidyarthi was not on his
trial, as no notice had been issued to him.

Question : Did you advise Mr. Vidyarthi to do something in
the matter?

Answer : 1 did not advise Mr. Vidyarthi to do anything
about the matter. I was told that he intended to go and see the
Chief Justice and I told him that he should consult lawyers before
he saw the Chief Justice.

Question : Did you tell Mr. Dubey and Mr. Bharadwaja that
it would be difficult for them to bring lawyers as their witnesses in
support of the case?

Answer : I told Mr. Bharadwaja and Mr. Dubey that it
would be impossible for them to get lawyers to depose to their version
of the facts for the simple reason that till then no lawyer had ever

102 THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

Sixth Hearing (Contd.)

told him that Mr. Vidyarthi had made a reference to a circular or
his Excellency the Governor or the Chief Justice, or to any letter or
instruction.

CROSS-EXAMINATION

Cross-examined by Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru, witness said
that on the last occasion when this case was heard before this
court he had appeared as counsel for Mr. Vidyarthi.

Note (by court) : Before Mr. Surajbal Dikshit entered the
witness-t>ox, Sir Syed Wazir Hasan, who is the leading counsel
on behalf of Mr. Vidyarthi, asked permission of the court to allow
Mr. Dikshit to retire from the case and the permission was
granted.

Question : When were you actually engaged as counsel in
this case by Mr. Vidyarthi at Meerut?

Answer: I believe it was three or four days before the last
hearing of the case.

Question : I suppose what you were expected to do amongst
other things was that you should have consultation with your High
Court counsel?

Answer : Mr. Vidyarthi expected me to conduct the case
in the High Court. But when I found that Sir Syed Wazir Hasan
was engaged as senior counsel I watched the case and gave him
instructions when necessary.

Question : Will you please tell us whether you at any time
before coming to Allahabad en the last occasion told Mr. Vidyarthi
everything that had passed between you and Mr. Bharadwaja on
the date of the interview?

Amwer: I think I did tell Mr. Vidyarthi what had passed
between me and Mr. Bharadwaja.

Question : And it was after that that you were offered the
brief and brought here?

Answer : Yes,

THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE 103

S : ,xth Hearinfj (Contd.)

Question : Did you at that time realize that you might be a
very important witness?

Answer : I did not at that time realize that I might be an
important witness in the case. I expected that the gentleman who
would figure as witnesses would speak the truth,

Question : For the first time when did you realize that your
evidence might be necessary in the case?

Answer : At the last hearing when Mr. Bharadwaja was
examined in this court, for the first time I realized that I would
have to figure as a witness. In fact, Sir Syed Wazir Hasan then
informed the court that he would have to produce me as a witness.

Note (by court): It is a fact that during the progress of the
statement of Mr. Bharadwaja Sir Syed Wazir Hasan informed the
court that Mr. Dikshit will have to be examined by him as a witness.

Question : You were present here sitting in this court, when
Mr. Bharadwaja and Prof. Dubey were examined?

Answer : When Mr. Bharadwaja started his evidence about
me I was asked by Sir Syed Wazir Hasan, with the permission of
the court, to retire and then I walked out of the court-room, even
though Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru then said that he did not mind my
presence in the court-room.

Question : Will you tell us whether you told your counsel
before the case was taken up on the last occasion everything that
-passed between you and Mr. Bharadwaja?

Amwer : I had not told Sir Syed Wazir Hasan before the
case was taken up on the last date of hearing all that had passed
betwen ms and Mr. Bharadwaja, because I had thought that
neither Mr. Dubey nor Mr. Bharadwaja would make reference to
the interview with me.

Question : Can you tell us any reason why some of the
statements you have made today were not put to Mr. Bharadwaja
and Prcf. Dubey when they were in the witness-box?

/Insider : Indeed, I hurriedly noted questions and passed them

104 THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

Sixrh Hearing (Contd.)

on to Sir Syed Wazir Hasan while he was cross-examining them.
The statements that are made today were put to Mr. Bharadwaja
and Mr. Dubey.

Quesiion : Are you quite sure that any question was put to
Mr. Bharadwaja and Prof. Dubey about the circular? You have
said that when Mr. Bharadwaja was leaving you he expected that
you might give him either a copy or a photograph of the circular.
Why was not this question put to Mr. Dubey and Mr. Bharadwaja?

Answer : As far as I remember the questions were put to
them.

Question : Will you tell us when did you for the first time
see Mr. Vidyarthi after these incidents?

Answer: I believe it was on September 1 that I saw
Mr. Vidyarthi in his chamber.

Question : On the 2nd you knew what Mr. Vidyarthi had
said?

Answer : Yes.

Question : Did Mr. Vidyarthi request you to call these men
from Delhi?

Answer : Mr. Vidyarthi never asked me to call Mr. Gandhi
or Mr. Bharadwaja from Delhi.

Question : When did you for the first time advise
Mr. Vidyarthi, if at all, that he must go and see the Chief
Justice ?

Answer : 1 did not. He himself told me that he was advised
to go to Allahabad and see the Chief Justice.

Question : There is a Hindu Sabha at Meerut ?
Answer : I believe there is a Hindu Sabha.
Question : Are you connected with it ?

Answer : I am the Secretary of the Sanatan Dharm
Aushadhalaya. ,

THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE 105

S f'.vf h Hearing ( Contd . )

Question: I put it to you again, are you connected with the
Hindu Sabha or not, either as an official or as a member?

Answer : Not that I know of. In fact, there are so many
institutions of which 1 am either member or Secretary or President

and there is barely any with which 1 am not connected.

Question : I put it to you that the Hindu Sabha is a very

powerful organization and that if you are connected wilh it you

ought to remember it, and if you are not connected with it you
ought similarly to remember it?

/Insider : 1 am definite that I am not connected with the
Hindu Sabha.

Question : Did you at any time think that if the allegations
which were made against Mr. Vidyarthi in that newspaper
comment could be proved it might be a serious thing for
Mr. Vidyarthi?

Answer : 1 realized that if the allegations made in the news
item were proved to be true it would be serious from the point of
view of Mr. Vidyarthi.

Question : When you told Mr. Bharadwaja that you were
positive or you were satisfied that there was no such circular and he*
said that there was a circular, did you ask him how he said thai
there was a circular?

Answer : I did not ask Mr. Bharadwaja as to why he said
that there was a circular issued by the High Court.

Question : When you were convinced that there was no such
circular did you take any step to tell the correspondent of the
Hindustan Times that you were convinced that there was no
circular?

Answer : Where was the necessity for me to tell him about
it? 1 spoke to Dr. Dubey and Mr. Bharadwaja in my capacity as
President of the Bar Association at Meerut and, secondly, because
as a member of the Provincial War Committee I thought that if
these proceedings were protracted they would be detrimental to the
waf effort,

106 THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

Sixth Hearing (Contd.)

Question : When you advised Mr. Bharadwaja to apologize
unconditionally to the High Court did you at the same time suggest
to Mr. Dubey that he might similarly advise him?

Answer: I never asked Prof. Dubey to persuade
Mr. JBharadwaja to apologize.

Question : Did you have any talk about this matter with
any other judicial officer in Meerut?

Answer : No.

Question : When Mr. Vidyarthi said that he had spoken to
Mr. Akbar Husain, will you please tell us as nearly as possible
what he told you?

Answer : Mr. Vidyarthi told me that he had admitted before
ihe District Judge that he was sorry for what had taken place. He
asked for money as charity for the wounded soldiers and some
money was collected in court after the judgment had been
pronounced. Then on my question he said that there was no truth
about his having spoken about a circular, His Excellency the
Governor or the Chief Justice.

Question : Did you in your conversation with
Mr. Bharadwaja offer to call Mr. Vidyarthi?

A n? wcr : 1 did in the course of the conversation that 1 had
with Mr. Bharadwaja make a suggestion about calling
Mr. Vidyarthi, but I at once realized my mistake as Mr. Bharadwaja
was not prepared to believe me and he might not even believe;
Mr. Vidyarthi and this would put Mr. Vidyarthi in an awkward
position.

Question : Did Mr. Vidyarthi at any time go to your house
before you met Mr. Bharadwaja?

Answer: Perhaps Mr. Vidyarthi saw me on the morning of
September 3 at my house. He lives practically opposite to my
house. I told him that I had sent for Mr. Bharadwaja and would
inform him of the real facts.

Question: When Mr, Bharadwaja left you and said that

THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE 107

Sixth Hearing (Conld.)

they would be prepared to stay overnight if you reconsidered the
position, you said that you understood that they wanted you
to give a copy of the circular. What reason in your opinion had
Mr. Bharadwaja to believe that you would be in a position to
deliver the copy of the circular to him, or the photograph of the
circular?

Answer : My idea is that they were thoroughly convinced
that there was a circular and 1 may be induced to go to the judge,
Mr. Vidyarthi, and tell him that Mr. Bharadwaja says that thare
is such a circular.

EXAMINATION BY COURT

Question: Is it a fact that you told Mr. Bharadwaja or Dr.
Dubey that a Hindu Judge was being sacrificed?

Mr. Dikshii : If I may be permitted to say so it is a big lie.
There was no question of a judge being sacrificed. The matter
was only between the Hindustan Times and the High Court.

Witness said that he knew Mr. Surajbal Swami and he had
heard his evidence in court.

Chief Justice : Can you suggest any reason why Mr. Surajbal
Swami gave false evidence?

Witness : Personally, I know of no reason, but subsequent to
the statement I have been told of certain things which may be
hearsay.

Chief Justice : Will you please tell us of those things?

Witness : I have now understood that several years ago
Mr. Surajbal Swami was a very enthusiastic Congress worker I
do not know how far that information is correct, but somebody told
me that he (Mr. Surajbal Swami) was perhaps tried and convicted,
I am very sorry to say so after Mr. Surajbal Swami in his evidence
had given me a good certificate. As far as I understood he is a
gentleman of very strong likes and dislikes and a judge in his
capacity as a judge may not be able to please everybody.

10S THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

Rictti Hearing (Contd.)

Chief Justice : Are you aware of any misunderstanding
between Mr. Vidyarthi and Mr. Surajbal Swami?

Witness : Not to my knowledge. Mr. Vidyarthi may be
able to throw light on this matter.

, The evidence was then concluded,

WITNESSES DROPPED

Sir Syed Wazir Hasan told the court that he had intended to
call three witnesses. One of them had sent a telegram to their
lordships expressing his inability to come. Another gentleman was
Mr. Motilal, Government pleader at Meerut, who had not come.
He was not present and even for his sake counsel would not ask for
an adjournment. Then there was Mr. Gupta, a barrister.
Counsel said he did not want to produce him as his witness.

THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE 1<JU

MR. V1DYARTH1 RECALLED

Lawyers' Statements Obtained After Talk
With Dist. Judge

ALLAHABAD, Oct. 28.

Mr. Hari Shankar Vidyarthi, Additional Sessions Judge at
Meerut, was cross-examined by the Rt. Hon. Sir Tej Bahadur
Sapru in the Hindustan Times Contempt Case. Al the outset his
lordship the Chief Justice expressed his sympathy with Mr.
Vidyarthi in his recent bereavement and said that he would not
have been sent for but for the fact that his presence was needed.

Cross-examined by the Rt. Hon. Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru, Mr-
Vidyarthi denied that either Mr. Singhal or Mr. Gauri Shankar
had seen him on August 13 or on any other day. As he had
stated before, Mr. Vidyarthi said that he had taken down the
written statements of some of the lawyers including that of Mr.
Gupta, but he destroyed those statements. Asked if Mr. Gupta
was one of the gentlemen summoned on his behalf, witness replied
in the affirmative and said that Mr. Gupta had told him at Meerut
that a number of people were harassing him and insisting that he
should not give evidence against the Congress and Mr. Devadas
Gandhi. Mr. Gupta told witness that a number of his friends and
possibly also some of his relations had com^ from Delhi and were
bringing pressure to bear upon him.

Chief Justice : Whose son is Mr. Devadas Gandhi ?
Witness : He is Mahatma Gandhi's son.

Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru : I suppose these facts you did not
know when you summoned Mr a Gupta?

Proceeding, witness stated that Mr. Gupta in his written
statement (given to witness) had made a positive statement that
witness had made no reference to his Excellency the Governor or
the Chief Justice. When he wrote the statement, Mr. Gupta also
told witness that Mr. Banerji had asked him not to give evidence
against Mr. Gandhi as it would result in some consequences to
Mr. Gandhi, but he said that he would not give false evidence.

UO THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

Mr. Vidyarthi's Statement (Contd.)

Question : When he said that pressure was being brought to
bear upon him, did Mr. Gupta tell you that if he was produced he
would make a false statement against you?

Answer : No.

Witness was aware that Rai Saheb Motilal, Government
Pleader, was served with notice to appear as a witness in the
High Court on his behalf. Mr- Motilal was Government Pleader
at Meerut appearing in the Dhakoli murder case on behalf of the
Crown.

GOVT. PLEADER'S REFUSAL TO GIVE EVIDENCE

Witness added that Mr. Motilal was a very respectable
lawyer and a man of position in Meerut. He did not remember
whether Rai Saheb Motilal's statement was taken down in writing by
him. Witness volunteered that Mr. Motilal also came to him on
the evening of October 24 and stated that there had been great
propaganda against him (Mr. Motilal) and that complaints had been
made against him (Mr. Motilal) to the Commissioner or
Collector and that if he gave evidence against the Congress, those
complaints would be pressed, otherwise not.

Asked by the court who had made those complaints, Mr.
Vidyarthi said that the complaints were made at the instance of
seme Congress people and probably Mr. Motilal also said that his
explanation had been called for.

Chief Justice : Who was the Commissioner to whom the
complaints were made?

Witness : The complaints were made to Mr. Bonarjea.

, Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru : Is it for that reason that you did not
insist upon Rai Saheb Motilal coming into the witness-box?

Witness: I was not present yesterday, but I was told by Rai
Bahadur Pandit Stirajbal Dikshit this morning that Rai Saheb
Motilal had refused to give evidence against the Congress.

Question : Did it strike you after seeing Rai Saheb Motilal

THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE 111

Mr Vidyarthi's Statement (Contd.)

and Mr. Gupta that it was a very serious thing for any parly to
tamper with your evidence?

Witness : I was in great domestic trouble owing to the death
oi my son on October 9.

Question : Did you bring all these facts relating to
Mr. Gupta and Rai Saheb Motilal, which you have just stated, to
the notice of your local counsel?

Answer : I did bring all these facts concerning Mr- Motilal
and Mr. Gupta to the notice of my local counsel, Mr. Surajbal
Dikshit.

Question : I suppose your intention w?s that some slcps
should be taken to prevent tampering with your witnesses?

Answer : No. I was all alone and the ether side were working
in hundreds and thousands.

Question : Can you suggest any reason why this matter was
not brought to the notice of their lordships?

Answer : I was not here yesterday and they came to me at
Meerut with the promise that they would give evidence.

Question : Am I to take it that notwithstanding the pressure
which had been brought to bear on them they gave you the
assurance that they would support your case?

Answer : Notwithstanding the pressure, they held out the
assurance that they would support my case.

Question : You know Mr. Surajbal Swami ?

Answer: Yes, I know him.

Question : He does frequently appear befor^you?

Answer : So far as I remember, he appeared only in two or
three cases before me.

Question : Was there any unpleasantness on those occasions
between you and him?

Answer : He used to ask irrelevant questions and create

J12 THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

Mr. Vidyarthi's Statement (Contd.)

scenes in court. I prevented him from doing so and he generally
lost his temper.

Question : You knew that Mr. Swami was going to be
produced by the opposite party?

Answer : Yes. I was not present in court that day when
Mr. Swami was examined.

Question : Had you brought to the notice o[ your counsel
that Mr. Swami had created scenes in court?

Answer : As a matter of fact 1 never expected that he would
give the evidence that he actually gave.

Question : From the manner in which he conducted himself
in your court on those days had you any reason to believe that he
had conceived a great dislike for you, or that he was hostile to
you?

Amwer : No, 1 did not. But 1 never thought that he would
go to the extent to which he did.

LAWYERS' STATEMENTS WHEN TAKEN

Question : You saw Mr. Akbar Husain, District Judge, on
September 1 ?

Answer : I saw Mr. Akbar Husain on September 1 . He
called me into his chamber.

Ques^on: Did you take the statements of the lawyers before
feeing him or after seeing him?

Answer : I did not take written statements before seeing
Mr. Akbar Husain as I never knew till th^n that it was attributed
to me that I had made a reference to his Excellency the Governor
and the Chief Justice.

Question : During the conversation between you and Mr.
Akbar Husain was Mr. Banerji present there right through, or
only during part of the conversation?

Answer : Mr. Banerji was present during part of the conver-
sation that I had with Mr. Akbar Husain.

THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE 113

Mr. Vidyarthi's Statement (Contd.)

Question : Mr. Akbar Husain did not know when you saw
him that the charge against you was that you had mentioned the
names of the Chief Justice and his Excellency the Governor in
court ?

Answer : At the time that 1 saw Mr. Akbar Husain he knew
that the charge was being levelled that I had made a reference to
his Excellency the Governor and the Chief Justice in the court-
room.

Question : Did this part of the conversation relating to the
charge take place between you and Mr. Akbar Husain in the
presence of Mr. Banerji or after he had left?

Answer : Two or three minutes after our conversation in the
chamber of Mr. Akbar Husain Mr. Banerji was there. I do not
remember what part of the conversation took place in the presence
of Mr. Banerji and what part after he left.

VISIT TO MR. DIKSHIT

Question : You saw Rai Bahadur Pandit Surajbal Dikshit on
September 3?

Answer : I saw him, but I do not remember the date.

Question : Supposing I tell you that Mr. Diksfiit fixes that
date on September 3, would you dispute the correctness of that
date?

Answer : If Mr. Dikshit says that I saw him on September 3,
I must have seen him on that date.

Question : With what object did you go to Mr. Dikshit *s
house?

Answer: As far as I remember Mr. Dikshit came to me
either on the 1st or 2nd of September and he asked me what the
matter was and I told him about the conversation that I had with
Mr. Akbar Husain.

Question : If you had told him everything that had passed
between you and Mr. Akbar Husain, why did you go to see him
on the 3rd?

114 THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

Mr. Vidyarthi's Statement (Contd.)

Answer : He said to me that either Mr. Gandhi or Mr.
Bharadwaja had given the impression to him that I had made a
confession to the District Judge that I had made a reference to his
Excellency the Governor and the Chief Justice. 1 told him that
the fact that I had collected money for the war fund in court was
correct and the rest of the allegations were a tissue of lies.

Question : Why did you go to see him on the 3rd ?

Answer : He told me that he was calling either Mr.
Gandhi or Mr. Bharadwaja to correct their impression and, there-
fore, either he called me, or 1 myself went to his place.

Question : You knew that they would be coming on the 3rd?

Answer : 1 do not remember the date on which either Mr.
Gandhi or Mr. Bharadwaja came. Mr. Dikshit told me that they
had been sent for, or would be sent for.

Question : May 1 ask you why you were anxious to remove
that impression from their mind when the case was already before
the court?

Answer : 1 was not anxious, but Rai Bahadur Surajbal
Dikshil was anxious to remove that impression from their mind,
because he said that he was very much interested in the collection
of the war fund and he did not want any fuss to be created.

Question : On what date precisely did you engage Mr. Dikshit
as your counsel?

Answer: 1 engaged Mr. Dikshit about September 20-
EXAMINATION BY SIR WAZIR HASAN

Witness, in reply to questions put by Sir Wazir Hasan, said
that he knew about the political leanings of Mr. Surajbal Swami. He
was a staunch supporter of the Congress and in the last election to
the Legislative Assembly of the United Provinces he supported
Pandit Pearey Lai Sharma, the Congress candidate, against Sir Sita
Ram.

At this stage Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru stated that he had made

THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE U5

Mr. Vidyarthi's Statement (Contd.)

inquiries from his clients and he was told that Mr. Surajbal Swami
had no connection with the Congress and that he was tried for an
offence under Section 124-A, I.P.C., about the year 1921 and
was acquitted.

Sir Wazir Hasan drew the attention of witness to the asser-
tions made by Mr. Singhal in his letter in reply to the letter from
the Hindustan Times office dated August 10, 1941, and
witness stated that those assertions were wholly untrue

116 THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

LETTER FROM "HINDUSTAN TIMES"
TO MR. SINGHAL

New Delhi, 9th August, 1941.
Dear Mr. Singhal,

A message sent by you regarding a circular, said to have been
issued by the Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court to the
Judicial Officers, appeared in our paper the other day. You wrote
that your information was obtained from a "reliable source". Will
you please let us know full details about your source? If you can
manage to get the circular in question, it may be sent to us by
registered post. Otherwise, in any case a copy should be secured and
despatched.

The matter is of immense importance and your efforts should
proceed in a manner so as to ensure success in getting the things
required.

Yours sincerely,
(Sd.) M. Subrahmanyam.

R. L. Singhal, Esq.,
4, Baidwara,
Meerut City.

MR. SINGHAL'S REPLY

4, Baidwara,
Meerut, 10th Aug., 1941.

M. Subrahmanyam, Esq.,
The Hindustan Times,
New Delhi.

Dear Sir,

In reply to your letter of the 9th instant regarding the Circular
of the Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court to the judicial
officers I have to state that my news was based on the verbal saying
of Mr. Hari Shankar, the Second Additional District and Sessions
Juage, Meerut, in the open court and to the lawyers concerned, not
only once but several times, in the course of his delivering judgment,
which had probably not been completely written by then (for when
I requested the Judge to give me the judgment for taking extracts for
the Press he told me that it was not ready and I could send a
bare message, in the Dhakoli murder case), that as the judicial
oTicers had been asked by the Chief Justice, who had been requested
by H.E. the Governor to co-operate in war efforts, to raise subscriptions
for war funds it was incumbent upon him that he should also
contribute his share.

THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE 117

Singhal's Letter to "H.T." (Contd.)

A sum of Rs. 200/- was immediately realized in the court, while
one of the legal practitioners told the court that he would pay
Rs. ISO/- by the next morning positively as the money had been
realized from his clients by him as suggested by the Judge. This
money was raised from and on behalf of some of the 16 accused who
were acquitted in the case.

I may, however, tell you that the Judge seems to have become
angry with me since your comments in the paper on 5th instant.
So the reports to me state. Knowing as I do his temper I have also
given up going to his court lest I might be insulted. He sent for
me to his house through his stenographer on the evening of the
5th instant. I, however, told him that I could meet him only if I
received a letter from him and that too only in the court and not
at his house. I have also heard it say that attempts are being made
or have been made to grant the receipts for these sums in the name
of some other persons and not of the accused from whom the money
was actually realized.

1 don't think if I shall be able to lay my hands on a copy of
the circular in question.

Yours obediently,

(Sd.) R. L. Singhal.

[NOTE The round brackets in para 1 do not appear in the
original, but as explained by counsel (see page 124) the
Involved sentence would read all right if it were to be
read as if the brackets existed. J

118 THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

ANALYSIS OF EVIDENCE
Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru's Arguments

ALLAHABAD, Oct. 28.

Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru, in the course of his arguments, said
that the documentary evidence in the case was very limited- It
consisted of about four or five documents and the rest of the evi-
dence was of oral character. Between August 3 and October 28
so many incidents were crowded that he thought it would be best
il he were to give their lordships the incidents and discuss the evi-
dence with reference to each date. He had, therefore, arranged
his arguments in strict chronological order.

On August 3 appeared the news item in the Hindustan
Times, which was sent by the Meerut correspondent, Mr. Singhal.
Then on the 5th or 6th appeared certain comments based on that
news item. The paper reached Meerut on the 5th. There were
two incidents connected with the 5th. The paper reached Meerut on
the morning of the 5th and Mr. Vidyarthi *s attention was drawn to
what appeared in the paper. The fact was that it was on the
evening of the 5th that Mr. Yunus Khan, the stenographer of Mr.
Vidyarthi, went and left a slip at the residence of Mr. Singhal,
which was before their lordships. The slip of paper, which he
had read out on the last occasion to the court, was in the hand-
writing of Mr. Yunus Khan- It was not denied that it bore the
signature of Mr. Yunus Khan. The whole of the slip was admitted
though Mr. Vidyarthi said that he was not in a position to identity the
writing of Mr. Yunus Khan. In that slip Mr. Yunus Khan said
that the judge wanted to consult Mr. Singhal in connection with a
particular matter. Counsel had put that question to Mr. Vidyarthi.
Mr. Vidyarthi had admitted that he had asked Mr. Yunus Khan to
call Mr. Singhal and he wanted to speak to him. Mr. Yunus had
mt Mr. Singhal somewhere on the road and asked him to come to
the judge, but Mr. Singhal would not come. The fact was proved
beyond all doubt that a slip, exactly the one before their lordships,
was taken over to Mr. Singhal' s house and left there. When Mr.
Yunus Khan visited Mr. Singhal's house he did not find him there
end, therefore, he considered it necessary to leave that slip there.

THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE U9

Si* T. B. Sapru's Arguments (Contd.)

From August 5 to August 9 was a blank. On August 9 the
Hindustan Times writes a letter to Mr. Singhal. The letter
which was signed by Mr. M. Subrahmanyan, Joint Editor, was
read out by the counsel and it was as follows :

"A message sent by you regarding a circular, said to have
been issued by the Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court to
the judicial officers, appeared in our paper the other day. You wrote
that your information was obtained from a * reliable source/ Will
you please let us know lull details about your source? If you can
manage to get the circular in question, it may be sent to Us by
registered post. Otherwise, in any case a copy should be secured
and despatched.

"The matter is of immense importance and your efforts should
proceed in a manner so as to ensure success in getting the things
lequired-"

Sir Tej Bahadur suggested that the occasion for this letter
arose by reason of the fact that their lordships had issued a notice
on August 8 and that fact had appeared in the Leader and other
papers too. Therefore, an occasion arose for them to make an
inquiry. They had also received a wire from their correspondent
at Allahabad. On August 10, probably the very date on which Mr.
Singhal received the above letter at Meerut, he replied. Counsel
read out the following reply of Mr. Singhal (marked confidential)
to Mr. Subrahmanyan :

"In reply to your letter of the 9th instant regarding the
circular of the Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court to the
(judicial officers I have to state that my news was based on the
verbal saying of Mr. Hari Shankar, the Second Additional
District and Sessions Judge, Meerut, in the open court and to the
lawyers concerned, not only once but several times, in the course
of his delivering judgment, which had probably not been completely
written by then (for, when I requested the judge to give me the
judgment for taking extracts for the Press, he told me that it was
not ready and I could send a bare message, in the Dhakoli murder
case), that as the judicial officers had been asked by the Chief

120 THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

Sir T.- B. Sapru's Arguments (Contd.)

Justice, who had been requested by HE. the Governor to
co-operate in war efforts, to raise subscriptions for war funds, it was
incumbent upon him that he should also contribute his share.

A sum of Rs. 200 was immediately realized in the court,
while one cf the legal practitioners told the court that he would
pay Rs. 150 by the next mcrning positively and the money had
been realized from his clients by him as suggested by the judge.
This money was raised from and on behalf of some of the 16
accused who were acquitted in the case.

"I may, however, tell you that the judge seems to have
become angry with me since your comments in the paper on the
5th instant. So the reports to me state. Knowing as I do his
temper, I have also given up going to his court lest I might be
insulted- He sent for me to his house through his stenographer on
the evening of the 5th instant. I, however, tolcT him that I could
meet him only if I received a letter from him and that too only
in the court and not at his house. I have also heard
it say that attempts are being made, or have been made, to grant
the receipts for these sums in the names of some other persons and
not of the accused from whom the money was actually realized.

"I don't think I shall be able to lay my hands on a copy of
the circular in question."

Sir Tej Bahadur said that the substance of the above letter
was based on what Mr. Singhal had heard from Mr. Vidyarthi in
open court. Assuming that Mr. Singhal had heard anything like
that from Mr. Vidyarthi in open court, then in the exercise of his
duty as a Press correspondent he passed on that news to his paper,
and if he passed on that news to his paper, it was within the
competence of the editorial staff to write any fair comments that
they thought arose from this news. Whether those comments were
fair or not was not a question that he was going to argue at the
present moment; he would reserve it till the end.

Chief Justice : Is it your contention that on receipt of
information from the correspondent it is within the competence of the
editorial staff of the paper to make comments irrespective of the

THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE 121

Sir T. B. Sapra's Arguments (Contd.)

fact whether those comments might or might not amount to contempt
of court?

Sif Tej Bahadur Sapru : I am not saying anything of the
kind. I said that I would reserve my argument on the question
whether they would amount to contempt or not till the last stage.
I am only saying they can write fair comments.

Chief Justice : What I was asking was this: Is it your
contention that even though the information supplied by the
correspondence is not correct an editor who makes fair comment on
false information is protected from proceedings under the Contempt
of Courts Act?

Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru : That is not my contention. I am
going to deal with this question of the character of the comments
later on. But what I say is this, that if it be the fact that the
incidents mentioned in this letter happened in Mr. Vidyarthfs
court, then the correspondent did nothing extraordinary in sending
that news. The main question that your lordships have got to
decide in the case is whether in a case like this, assuming that
the incidents are correct and were believed, if Mr. Singhal passed
on the news to his editor, he was doing anything more than what
any other correspondent would have done.

The second point was that when this news was received in
the office cf the Hindustan Times they had no reason to distrust
the correspondent with whom they had dealt for the last seven or
eight years and with whom they were satisfied. They wrote
certain comments based upon that item of news. Whether those
'comments were justified or unjustified, whether those comments
amounted to contempt or did not amount to contempt were questions
with which he would deal thoroughly after he had dealt with the
evidence in the whole case- But his point was that immediately
on the date on which these comments appeared in the Hindustan
Times (August 5) Mr. Vidyarthi sent his stenographer to the house
of Mr. Singhal. If the matter was not of any consequence, if Mr.
Vidyarthi asked their lordships to treat him as a judicial officer of
experience, if he did not realize that it might have some reaction

122 THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

Sir T. B. Saprn's Arguments (Contd.)

on him if an inquiry was made, why should he have sent Yunus
Khan to ivlr. Singhal's house?

Chief Justice : Was it not a very reasonable conduct on the
part of Mr. Vidyarthi to send for Mr. Singhal after having read
that news item in the Hindustan Times of August 3? That news
item was in connection with the Dhakoli murder case. If Mr.
Vidyarthi' s evidence is true, the moment he read that news item it
struck him that this correspondent had supplied some news which
was utterly untrue and therefore he tried to inquire from him as to
how he supplied that news.

Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru : There are two possibilities.

Chief Justice : He would clo so either with a guilty
conscience or a clear conscience.

Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru : My position is that he did so with a
guilty conscience, notwithstanding the fact that I am very sorry for
him because of his recent bereavement. It is part of my duty to
deal with him as I would deal with any other witness irrespective
cf his official position. There are two possibilities. He thought
that the correspondent had supplied false news, and, therefore, he
sent for Mr. Singhal. That was a reasonable conduct, as your
lordship suggests. I would also suggest the possibility that Mr.
Vidyarthi might have felt that he had overstepped his discretion in
court. So far as Mr. Vidyarthi was concerned, he decided for
himself from the very first that it would not matter very much for
him if he admitted the fact that he had collected money in open
court. At the best he would receive a rebuke for indiscretion.
But if he admitted that he had instructions given by the Chief-
Justice or his Excellency the Governor, that might involve him in
serious consequences- These were the two kinds of arguments
which would present themselves to any man in the position of Mr.
Vidyarthi, any man who had experience of dealing with witnesses
and daily tried cases in a court of law.

Therefore, Mr. Vidyarthi said to himself the fact that he
had collected money was so well known that he dared not deny it
and he must go and tell Mr. Akbar Husain that he had teen

THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE 123

Sir T. B. Sapru's Arguments (Contd.)

guilty of this indiscretion and considering that that indiscretion was
not in his personal interest but for the purpose of the war fund he
thought that it would not involve him in serious consequences. At
best there would be a criticism of his judicial conduct or a rebuke
for indiscretion. % But if he did say in open court that he had been
asked either by the Chief Justice or by the Governor of the
province to raise funds from persons in the position of accused, that
might mean a very serious thing in his case and, therefore, from
that moment right up to this moment, he had stuck to the position
that he admitted the collection of funds to Mr. Akbar Husain.

Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru said that if there was one witness in
this case whom he was not going to criticize and whose evidence he
accepted so far as these matters were concerned it was Mr. Akbar
Husain. He received a visit from a judicial officer of the same
standing as himself and that judicial officer went to him and said
that he had been guilty of indiscretion and that he had been
collecting money in open court. Naturally Mr. Akbar Husain
would think that the Additional Judge made an honest confession
and spoke in an honest and straightforward manner. Mr, Vidyarthi
was taking care not to mention anything with regard to the charge
that had been levelled against him, that he had menliDned the name
of the Chief Justice and of the Governor- Mr. Akbar Husain had
no reason at that time to believe that the name of Iri2 Chief Justice
or the Governor had been mentioned. He could not have saicl
that his statement was a straightforward and honest one if he had
known it. His evidence was thoroughly understandable en the
footing that Mr. Vidyarthi went to him with the ingenious defence
that he had been guilty of this indiscretion.

Chief Justice : Can you suggest any reason why Mr.
Vidyarthi in open court en July 31 should have made a false
statement to the effect that the Chief fustic* had issued instructions
and that he had been asked by his Excellency the Governor to
collect subscriptions?

Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru : Everyone knows that if the name
of the Governor or the Chief Justice is brought in in connection with
a fund like this it would go very much farther than a mere invitation

124 THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

Sir T. B. Sapru's Arguments (Contd.)

on the part of the District Judge. In that way he would be able
to raise money.

4 'EXCESSIVE ZEAL"

Mr. Justice Collider : It is just excessive zeal on his part.
Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru : Excessive zeal in raising money by
making a false statement.

Mr. Justice Collister: Why this excessive zeal?

Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru : Because if he raised more funds
he would get credit Irom the local authorities and from the
Government. That is my suggestion and it is for that reason he
dragged in the name of his lordship the Chief Justice and of the
Gcvernor, whereas the entire evidence shows that the Chief
Justice and his Excellency the Governor had nothing to do with a
request of this character. My position is that Mr. Vidyarthi did
overstep the limits of discretion and dragged in the name of the
Chief Justice and of the Governor in collecting funds in court and
he had himself admitted that he had done so on a previous
occasion. He brought in the names of the Chief Justice and the
Governor so as to influence those people who were before him and
whom he acquitted.

"Is not there one thing very significant in connection with
Singhal's letter?" asked the Chief Justice. According to that
letter Mr. Vidyarthi, after mentioning to the accused persons who
had been acquitted and their counsel, repeated the same thing to
Mr. Singhal and asked him to publish it.

Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru pointed out that the first sentence in
that letter was a very involved sentence. He said that it would
read all right if the following portion was enclosed within brackets :
(for when I requested the judge to give me the judgment for taking
extracts for the Press, he told me that it was not ready and I could
send a bare message, in the Dhakoli murder case).

The next important date, said Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru, was
August 13. According to Singhal's version he went to Mr.
Vidyarthi's place on that day, accompanied by Mr- Gaud

THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE 125

Sir T. B. Sapru's Arguments (Contd.)

Shankar, and had a personal conversation with him. Singhal in
this matter was supported by Mr. Gauri Shankar. He said that at
first the judge complimented him for writing English so well. That
might be with a view to win him over. Mr. Vidyarthi then said
that if an inquiry was made his name should not be mentioned.
Mr. Singhal had admitted before their lordships that he wanted to
get rid of the judge, because pressure was being brought upon him.
He did go to the judge accompanied by Mr. Gauri Shankar, but
Mr. Vidyarthi had again today said that he and Mr. Gauri Shankar
never did go to him.

MR. VIDYARTHI'S ANXIETY

Chief Justice: There is conflict of testimony. Let us examine
the probabilities of the story told by Mr. Singhal. Mr. Singhal
in his letter dated August 10 had told the office of the Hindustan
Times that Mr. Vidyarthi was very angry. '*! am avoiding to see
him. 1 did not go to see him at his residence in pursuance of
his slip." Three days after Mr. Singhal goes to the judge and
the judge's indiscretion knows no bounds. There he compliments
him and then he tells him, "Please don't mention my name." Is it
probable that after all this and after the letter of August 10 which
Mr. Singhal had written Mr. Singhal would ever go to the judge's
residence?

Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru asked his lordship to take all the
circumstances into consideration. The anxiety of Mr. Vidyarthi
to see Mr. Singhal up to the 5th was apparent. That did not
require any further comment. So far as the judge was concerned,
he could not have known what had passed between the Hindustan
Times and Mr. Singhal. Therefore, if he was anxious up to the
5tru he would have been anxious to see him later on, particularly
when a few days later he must have read in the newspapers that a
writ of contempt had been issued by the High Court on Mr.
Devadas Gandhi. The writ was issued on August 8 and the news
appeared in the Leader on August 9, reaching the Meerut public
on the 10th. Therefore, the anxiety of Mr. Vidyarthi would
have bec6me still greater, and where was the occasion for surprise
if, after having read in the newspapers that the Editor and the

I2tj THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

Sir T. B. Sapru's Arguments (Contd.)

Printer had been called upon to explain their conduct for publishing
that paragraph, Mr- Vidyarthi should have felt still more anxious
and should have realized that if an inquiry was made there would
be an unpleasant situation for him? Mr. Vidyarthi was, therefore,
anxious that Mr. Singhal should go and see him. He sent Mr.
Ganga Prasad, a relative of the judge, to approach Gauri Shankar
to persuade Mr. Singhal to see the judge. This was quite
consistent with Mr. Vidyarthi 's anxiety on the 5lh, which would
have increased still more as soon as the news appeared that their
lordships had issued a writ of contempt to the Editor and the
Printer of the Hindustan Times.

Chief Justice : If Gauri Shankar 's evidence is worth
believing.

Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru said that Gauri Shankar had nothing
to gain by giving false evidence* Their suggestion was that
Gauri Shankar was the man who had really been asked by a
relative or friend of the judge, Ganga Prasad, to persuade Singhal
to go and meet the judge at his house, so that Singhal might be
asked not to disclose the name of the judge. The fact that Singhal
would not go to the judge voluntarily and willingly and readily
appeared from his letter of the 10th. The visit of Singhal was
quite consistent with the anxiety which was agitating the mind of
the judge. There was nothing surprising about this visit.

The period from the 13th to the 25th was a blank- On the
25th the notice issued by the court was served on the Editor and
the Printer. The period between August 25 and August 31 was
again blank. Mr. Devadas Gandhi was in touch with his
lawyers, which was perfectly natural. Counsel next referred to
the visit to Meerut paid by Mr. Gandhi and Mr. Bharadwaja on
August 31 and narrated the incidents which took place there-

Chief Justice : If Mr. Devadas Gandhi's affidavit is true,
then according to that affidavit Mr. K. N. Banerji told Mr.
Bharadwaja that Mr. Vidyarthi had made a confession to Mr-
Akbar Husain. Now Mr. Akbar Husain denies that. Therefore
either what Mr. Banerji told Mr. Bharadwaja was untrue, or
the affidavit was untrue-

THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE 127

Sir T. B. Sapru' 8 Arguments (Contd.)

Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru : Mr. Banerji may have told Mr.
Bharadwaja and yet may not be willing to say that now in view of
the statement of Mr. Akbar Husain.

Chief Justice : If Mr. Banerji told this to Mr. Bharadwaja,
he told a lie if Mr- Akbar Husain is true.

Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru pointed out that Mr. Banerji was not
prepared to support it because Mr. Akbar Husain had made a
statement to the contrary and he would find it very difficult to go
against a judge.

On August 31 Messrs. Gandhi and Bharadwaja met Mr.
Banerji at Prof. Dubey's place and the second important incident
was that Mr* Banerji himself met Mr. Akbar Husain at a tea party
at the instance of Rai Bahadur Pandit Surajbal Dikshit and they
had some talk about the matter. On the 31st Mr. Akbar Husain
had come to know something of the incidents. His mind was
agitated by certain incidents which had taken place in the court of
Mr. Vidyarthi in connection with the judgment in the Dhakoli
murder case.

On September 1 several incidents happened. Mr. Vidyarthi
saw Mr. Akbar Husain in his chamber. Mr. Banerji came there
two or three minutes later, according to the evidence of Mr.
Vidyarthi. The important thing to note about this conversation
was that Mr. Vidyarthi made a confession to Mr. Akbar Husain
saying that he had been guilty of indiscretion in collecting money
in court. Mr. Vidyarthi admitted indiscretion, but it was limited
to the appeal for money and did not include a reference to the
Chief Justice and the Governor. Having seen Mr. Akbar Husain,
Mr. Vidyarthi comes back and takes down the statements of
some lawyers. It became necessary for him to take down the
statements of lawyers, because he had a guilty conscience. The
fact that he recorded the statements of lawyers was a very
significant fact*

Chief Justice : On August 31, Mr. Gandhi and Mr.
Bharadwaja had gone to Meerut. You say, why should Mr.
Vidyarthi take the written statements of certain lawyers? The

128 THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

Sir T. B. Sapru's Arguments (Contd.)

answer is, because Mr. Devadas Gandhi and Mr. Bharadwaja had
gone to Meerut on August 31 and had seen Mr. Banerji. He had
in his turn seen Mr. Akbar Husain and according to the evidence
of Mr. Akbar Husain, Mr. Banerji told him that he was being
asked to give evidence on certain matters by Mr. Devadas Gandhi.

Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru said that the fact that Mr. Vidyarthi
took down the statements of some lawyers was a very significant fact.
His suggestion was that it was due to a guilty conscience. The
suggestion of the other side might be that these two gentlemen, Mr.
Gandhi and Mr. Bharadwaja, were in Meerut and were trying to
gather evidence. If Mr. Devadas Gandhi and Mr. Bharadwaja
were unscrupulous enough to tamper with evidence, what step did
Mr. Vidyarthi take to prevent it? The first impulse of a person
in the position of Mr. Vidyarthi would be, after coming to know
that evidence was being cooked up, to tell Mr. Akbar Husain that
an attempt was being made to prepare a case against him and he
hoped that Mr. Akbar Husain would kindly bring that matter to
the notice of the High Court. Mr. Vidyarthi would instruct his
counsel to bring that matter to the notice of the High Court. That
was never done. I suggest that this story that evidence is being
cooked up is an after-thought intended to throw mud on these
people and to prejudice your lordships' minds. Mr. Vidyarthi
took down the statements of certain lawyers so as to bind them down
to those statements, because he knew that an inquiry was going to
be made, evidence would have to be tendered and these lawyers
could not go against those statements. I cannot say whether after
taking down those statements he consulted some lawyer, or whether
he applied his own mind independently to the situation, but he
thought that the best thing to do was to destroy them.

There was one thing more important than that and that was
that he had taken down the statement of Mr. Krishna Swarup, who
was a junior advocate of a few months' standing, living with his
father-in-law, Mr. Surajbal Swami. Mr. Swami declined to go
to the judge and then Mr. Krishna Swarup was sent for. He was
almost in tears when he gave evidence. Counsel said that for a
District Judge in the position of Mr. Vidyarthi to call a young man

THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE 129

Sir T. B. Sapru's Arguments (Contd.)

of four or five months' standing and to get him, after 30 or 40
minutes, to sign a statement was not a creditable thing.

Sir Tej Bahadur said that Mr. Surajbal Swami was one of
the most remarkable witneses that ever attended a court of law. He
was a man practising in Meerut before the Sessions Judge and be-
fore the criminal courts. There were not many men who would
be prepared to take risk by making statements against courts before
whom they appeared from day to day. Mr- Swami' s evidence
was given in a perfectly straightforward manner and in a very im-
pressive manner.

NON-PRODUCTION OF WITNESSES

Why did Mr. Vidyarthi destroy the statements he took from
the lawyers? He destroyed them because he thought it was
indiscretion No. 2 or No. 3 in his case. Having got those state-
ments from lawyers, among them being a barrister-at-law, he had
not the courage to produce them, although he summoned them.
Now he stated that pressure was being brought to bear upon Mr-
Gupta by Congressmen. Counsel had nothing to do in this case
with the Congress as political body. Every presumption was made
against the Congress, because Mr. Devadas Gandhi was the son
of Mahatma Gandhi and, therefore, the theory was that the Con-
gress people were working in his interest. It was not fair either
to the Congress or to those men who were being kept back that an
element of prejudice should be introduced like this. If Mr.
Gupta and Rai Saheb Motilal had given such statements to Mr.
Vidyarthi, they should have been produced before them and the
other side should have been given a chance of putting questions
about them. At any rate, evidence should have been brought
before their lordships that Rai Saheb Motilal, a very respectable
and a very honourable member of the profession, and Mr. Gupta,
a member of the English Bar, were being pressed by so and so.

Sir Tej said it was unjustifiable on the part of Mr. Vidyarthi
to drag in the Congress like this. It was like giving the dog a
bad name and hanging it. It appeared that because Mr. Devadas
Gandhi was the son of Mahatma Gandhi and because he was a

J30 THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

Sir T. B. Sayru's Arguments (Contd.)

Congressman's son any presumption would be good enough against
the Congress.

Chief Justice : You are out to prove a positive case that Mr.
Vidyarthi had made the statements attributed to him. Their case
was a negative case. Mr. Gupta and Rai Saheb Motilal were
present in court. Why did you not summon them as your wit-
nesses? Why did you rest content with the solitary statement of
Mr. Surajbal Swami?

Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru : I have produced Mr. Surajbal
Swami, Mr. Krishna Swarup and some olher witnesses- If Rai
Saheb Motilal and Mr. Gupta were the men who have given their
statements to him, it was for him to produce them. I submit that
they were dropped because certain inconvenient questions might be
put by us and because they realized that they would not be prepar-
ed, now that they were on oath, to support the theory of Mr.
Vidyarthi.

Chief Juitice : Cut of the three witnesses summoned by him,
the wife of one of them falls seriously ill. The second man who
is the Government Pleader does not come to the High Court. Why,
because, as Mr. Vidyarthi says, influences are at work and these
people have not the courage to give evidence.

Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru : That is Mr. Vidyarthi 's evidence
unsupported by any corroborative evidence. My information, on
the other hand, is that they have kept away, because at the last
moment they thought that they must not support the statement which
they had given under pressure in the judge's chamber. It is one
thing for these men to be called in chamber and to give statements
like that and quite another thing to come before your lordships and
make statfments in public on oath. I do submit that they have
told Mr. Vidyarthi that they are not prepared to take that step.
We were all under the impression that these witnesses would be
forthcoming and al the last moment they are thrown out.

Chief Justice : I suppose it is admitted on your side that Mr.
Bharadwaja wanted a copy or photograph of the circular?

THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE 131

Sir T. B. Sapru's Arguments (Contd.)

Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru : Mr. Bharadwaja admitted that they
were honestly under the impression that there was a circular,

Chief Justice : If there was a circular, nobody could conceal
it. Why did they want a photograph to put it in the Press
again, or what (or?

Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru: Probably if there was a circular
they might have done so. It was during examination by your
lordship the Chief Justice that both Mr. Bharadwaja and Mr.
Gandhi said that they were satisfied that there was none now. The
real reason why Mr. Vidyarthi saw Rai Bahadur Surajbal Dikshit
was that he knew that he was a man of importance and he might do
something to keep back the name of Mr. Vidyarthi.

ANXIETY TO AVOID INQUIRY

Chief justice : Mr. Dikshit says that the purpose of the
interview was to impress upon Mr. Bharadwaja the desirability of
tendering an apology, because there was no circular in existence.

Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru : That question was put to Mr.
Bharadwaja and that was denied by him.

Chief Justice : It is for us to decide whose evidence we arc
going to believe on that point.

Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru : Why should Mr. Dikshit take it
upon himself to advise these people to go to the High Court to
lender an apology when he knew that they were in the hands of
their lawyers. I can quite understand his intervening as a com-
mon friend, or as a person who wanted to bring about peace or who
wanted to prevent litigation^

Chief Justice : His evidence is this. He says he was con-
vinced that there was no such circular, and he was assured by Mr.
Vidyarthi that he had never made any reference to the Chief Justice
and the Governor. He said, why make a mountain of a mole-
hill, you are wrong in publishing in your paper that a circular was
issued by the Chief Justice and so the only way is to apologize to
the High Court.

132 THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

Sir T. B. Sairru's Arguments (Contd.)

Sir Te; Bahadur Sapru : My suggestion is that the idea was
at the back of the minds of Mr. Vidyarthi and Mr. Dikshit that if
these people apologized to the High Court, there would be no
inquiry into the conduct of Mr. Vidyarthi.

On an exhaustive review of the whole of the incidents be-
tween August 3 and new Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru said that, so far
as Mr. Singhal was concerned, his evidence, if they believed him,
was that he heard the judge actually using certain words. If they
disbelieved him, there was an end of the matter. But he said that
he heard those words and there he was supported by Mr. Swami
and Mr. Atlar Singh. So far as the inference is concerned he
drew the inference that probably the instructions were of a general
character. The sub-editor who was responsible for giving head-
lines used the word 'circular.* The word 'circular' did not occur
in what Mr. Singhal said. It occurred in the headline and that
was followed by a query. The correspondent thought it better
to omit reference to the particular judge and, therefore, he said,
*I reliably learn.'

That by itself would not amount to contempt, submitted
counsel. They might find other reasons for holding Mr. Devadas
Gandhi guilty of contempt. But a statement like this could not
amount to contempt, so far as Mr. Singhal was concerned. If
anything, the omission to refer to the District Judge would strengthen
hi? argument that it did not amount to contempt. It must be
contempt of court, but no court was refered to here. Therefore,
so far as the news message was concerned, whatever fault they
might find with it, whether they said Mr. Singhal was accurate
or inaccurate, or that the inference drawn by him was incorrect
or hasty, that by itself could not amount to contempt in law parti-
cularly as no court was mentioned there. Contempt must be
contempt of court and nobody else. Contempt might be of the
High Court or of the subordinate court. So far as Mr. Singhal
was concerned, he made no reference to the judicial officer con-
cerned. He made a general statement and drew an inference
from the statement made by Mr. Vidyarthi in court in the presence
of Mr. Singhal and other lawyers present there. Therefore, the

THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE J33

Sir T. B. Sapru's Arguments (Contd.)

omission to refer to the judge, so far from worsening his case,
improved Mr. Singhal's case from a legal point of view, because
he committed no contempt of court.

Chief Justice : He has committed contempt of the High
Court. Publication of a report which in any way is
calculated to lower the prestige or reputation of the court amounts
tc contempt. That is the law, so far as I understand it. He
says : **The Chief Justice, I reliably learn, issued a circular."

Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru : He says : "I learn from a reliable
source that the Chief Justice has issued instructions." The basis
of information may be wrong. His own evidence shows that the
basis of information was the statement of Mr. Vidyarthi.

Chief Justice: The question whether Mr. Vidyarthi made
this statement or not is relevant only so far as the question of
sentence is concerned. The contempt is there. If Mr. Vidyarthi
made this statement in open court, then it would constitute a great
mitigation of the offence, and then of course a lenient sentence
will have to be passed. But if he did not say so, then the con.
tempt assumes a flagrant character.

Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru : The evidence in the case shows
that Mr. Vidyarthi did use those words and he is fighting shy of
them.

Chief Justice: This is a cardinal issue so far as the ques-
tion of sentence is concerned.

EXPRESSION OF REGRET

Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru : So far as Mr. Devadas Gandhi is
concerned, he answered your lordship's questions very fairly. He
said, and Mr. Bharadwaja also said, that they were honestly under
that impression at one time, but they are convinced now that there
was no such circular. He further said that the real reason why
they came to that conclusion was that complaints of undue pressure
had reached their ears and unfortunately they had also heard that
a certain Chief Justice had interested himself ip the matter of war
fund collections,

134 THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

Sir T. B. Sapru's Arguments (Contd.)

Chief Justice : Was it consistent with the responsibility of the
editor of a responsible paper to jump to the conclusion from the
mere fact that at a certain place pressure was exercised over the
collection of war fund that this was being done at the instance of
the Chief Justice?

Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru : I will not put it as a matter of law
but as a matter of common experience. If a thing which is con-
demned by your lordship on a strictly legal view is good enough
for a ceitain Chief Justice, an ordinary layman might say it might
be possibly followed by another Chief Justice.

Chief Justice : Is it not a grave injustice to the Chief Justice
of the Allahabad High Court?

Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru : I am asking you to see the mental-
ity of the man-

Chief Justice : These are two passages from the statement
of Mr. Bharadwaja : "At this moment do you realize your mistake
or not?" His answer : "Now we see that injustice has been done
to the Chief Justice by associating him with the collection of war
fund. We have been thinking of making amends to his lordship
the Chief Justice but we at the same time wanted to place before
him all the facts which have come to our knowledge."

Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru : Mr. Devadas Gandhi has used even
more emphatic language. He said: "I am deeply sorry for hav-
ing been the unwitting instrument of publishing news which has
been unjust to the Chief Justice, and I express my regret."

The Chief Justice inquired why expression of regret had not
been forthcoming on a separate paper.

Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru : My lord I am prepared to get it
typed on half-a-dozen papers.

Chief Justice : An expression of regret in contempt cases is
to say that "we express regret and throw ourselves on the mercy
cf the court."

Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru : His expression of regret

THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE 135

Sk T. B. Sapru's Arguments (Contd.)

to this : "I am deeply sorry that I should have been the source
either of doing an injustice to the court, or to the Chief Justice."
May I ask your lordship's attention to Mr. Devadas Gandhi's
statement ?

Mr. Justice Collister : He has expressed regret but fights
shy of apology.

Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru : He has not used the word
'apology,' but short of that he has expressed regret.

Chief Justice : The dignity of the court can be vindicated
only if the word 'apology* is used- Let it be distinctly understood
that Law is no respecter of personalities. Is it your contention in
the present case that it is not contempt of court?

NO CONTEMPT

Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru: I said on the last occasion that it
doej not amount to contempt, but if it does amount to contempt,
here are the circumstances. First cf all, Mr. Devadas Gandhi
has made the clearest possible admission that he has been very
sorry.

Chief Justice : As my learned brother has observed, while
admitting his mistake he fights shy of the word 'apology.*

Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru referred their lordships to the Privy
Council judgment in 1936 Appeal Cases, p. 322 in which it was
laid down that where the authority and position of an individual
judge or the due administration of justice was concerned no wrong
was committed by any member of the public who exercised the
ordinary right to criticize in good faith, in private or public.
Counsel said thai he cited the case to show that the consideration
of the question of malice or bona fides was not wholly irrelevant.
It they found upon the evidence that Mr. Vidyarthi made a
reference to the Chief Justice and the Governor and he had
established by evidence that Mr. Vidyarthi had used those words,
then it was perfectly justifiable for Mr. Singhal to communicate
the news. If it was a fact that the judge made use of the name
of the Chief Justice and the Governor, then it was open to the

136 THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

Sir T. B. Sapru's Arguments (Contd.)

Editor to say that he protested against the Chief Justice and the
Governor being brought in so as to influence the decision of people
with regard to payment of subscriptions.

Chief Justice : Then it would be fair comment if in the
article the Editor said that such and such judge said so and so in
open court.

So far as the word 'circular' was concerned, counsel said
that might be an inference from the fact that a certain thing
happened in court and Mr. Vidyarthi used language from which
it appeared that the subordinate judiciary had been asked to raise
subscriptions.

Chief Justice : It is not permissible for the editor of any
paper to draw inferences against the Chief Justice or any judge.

Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru said that the circular came in because
it was said that the Chief Justice and the Governor had asked the
judicial officers to act in a particular manner. It could very well
be assumed that they asked them by issuing a circular, although
in point of fact a circular might not be issued. If it was otherwise
not an offence, it would not become an offence by the mere
fact that the word 'circular* had been used. So far as the
question of the circular was concerned, it was really not of the
essence of the matter. So far as the correspondent was concerned,
he could not take the responsibility for the publication.
Publication was the responsibility of the editor. The responsibility
for supplying the news was his- From a legal point of view, so
far as contempt was concerned, the facts established that there was
some justification for his writing to that effect and that the offence
was mitigated, so that it would become merely a technical offence.
Coniempt was mitigated by the facts and by the expression of
unfeigned regret.

SIR WAZIR HASAN'S ARGUMENTS

Sir Wazir Hasan, arguing on behalf of Mr. Vidyarthi, asked
their lordships to judge the evidence with reference to the
admittedly proved facts, by which he meant the interpretation of
certain documents. It was quite clear that Mr. Singhal intended

THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE 13?

Sir Wazir Hasan's Arguments (Contd.)

to convey the impression that there was a circular. There was no
doubt that he wanted to inform the Hindustan Times office and
the public that there was such a circular. Having discovered the
futility of persisting in a written circular, he invented this lie and
put it in the mouth of the judge to support his report.

Chief Justice : What was the foundation for this invention
on his part?

Sir Wazir Hasan : His own imagination. He had seen that
the Second Additional Sessions Judge at Meerut had collected
funds in court. Thereupon he invented this story.

Chief Justice : Supposing that you are right in saying that
Mr. Vidyarthi did not utter these words, then the whole blame
rests on Mr. Singhal. The offence of Mr. Gandhi and of the
Publisher is very much minimized, because they had no reason at
the time they published the news or made the editorial comment,
to believe that Mr. Singhal was supplying them some incorrect
news. Relying upon the news supplied by Mr. Singhal, they
commented. I know that it is our duty to uphold the prestige of
the courts. At the same time I consider that strict sentences in
cases of this character do not redound to the prestige of the courts.
In considering the question of sentence we have to take into
account all the factors that may be in favour of the persons
concerned. Here is Mr. Devadas Gandhi, or whoever the sub-
editor was. He had this piece of information from Mr. Singhal.
Possibly what Mr. Singhal said was incorrect : we don't express
an opinion. Having got that information, they came out with
comment. Whatever their policy may be, it is net the concern
of this court. It is a great mitigation.

Sir Wazir Hasan : But in all cases of this nature your
lordships must be equally aware that the conduct of the accused
during the day-to-day proceedings is also taken into considei ation .

Chief Justice : If we come to the conclusion that there was
a concerted attempt to suborn evidence, then it is an
aggravation.

138 THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

Sir Wazir Hasan's Arguments (Contd.)

The news item, counsel argued, when considered with
relerence to its language, was wholly incompatible with the fact
if it was a fact that Mr- Vidyarthi used that language in open
court .

*'l reliably learn," "I understand" with reference to these
expressions used by Mr. Singhal, counsel pointed out that the
language was entirely consistent with the suggestion that he was
making that, having found himself absolutely unable to procure
any copy of any circular, because it did not exist at all, Mr.
Singhal had to support his statement by putting those words in
the mouth of Mr. Vidyarthi. An interrogation mark in the heading
was immaterial. Unless Mr- Vidyarthi was an insane person,
there could be no reason for him to invent a he when there was no
circular. Having convicted four out of 20 accused, he was said
to have made a pause

Chief Justice : That part of the story is absolutely untrue.
But come to the crux of the situation.

Sir Wazir Hasan said that they had to read it with the rest
of the case presented before their lordships.

The Chief Justice remarked that the position of the opposite
parties was analogous to that of the accused. Supposing their
lordships came to the conclusion that it was not proved that Mr.
Vidyarthi said these words, but at the same time they were not
prepared to record a finding that it was disproved, then the benefit
of that doubt must go to them- As he said technically it was
contempt. Even iT Mr. Vidyarthi said so, he said what was an
utter lie. Repetition of a lie was equally contempt, but it was
so technically. What would Sir Wazir Hasan say with regard
to this aspect of the case? Suppose their evidence fell short of
proving that Mr. Vidyarthi said these words, unless their lordships
were prepared to go to the length of holding that their assertion
was disproved they could not convict Mr. Singhal holding that he
supplied utterly false news. If the matter regarding the words
used by Mr. Vidyarthi remained in the region of doubt, then the
benefit cf doubt went to the opposite party.

THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE 139

Sir Wazir Hasan's Arguments (Contd.)

Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru said that the notice issued to his
clients showed that it was under quasi-criminal jurisdiction.

As regards the evidence of Mr. Surajbal Swami, Sir Wazir
Hasan said that he was hill of anger and there was marked
contradiction between his evidence and the evidence of his son-in-
law He expressed his indignation with the conduct of the judge
immediately after his son-in-law had seen him.

Chief /u&/ice : Your argument will be that the very fact that
he lost control of himself over that episode of the written statement
being taken horn his son-in-law shows his bent of mind?

Sir Wazir Hasan : Further, he raised no protest at all to
whatever the judge was doing then.

Chief Justice : Speaking for myself, I don't like the frequent
visits of Mr. Devadas Gandhi and Mr. Bharadwaja to Meerut.
To me it appears that they were out to fabricate evidence by their
repeated visits to Meerut.

Asked why he did not produce his witnesses, Sir Wazir
Hasan told the Chief Justice that it was difficult to answer that
question except by saying that he had exercised his discretion. The
reasons had been supplied by his client. There was a great force
working against his witnesses and persons approached them very
near the time when their evidence was to be recorded. Mr.
Motilal was not really of importance as he was not said to have
been present at the time. He was only talking of Mr m Gupta.
It was very difficult to take risk in a case of this nature. So far
as direct evidence was concerned, there was no reason to disbelieve
the statement of Mr. Vidyarthi on this point. He made a similar
statement even at his interview with Mr. Akbar Husain-

Chief Justice : Your argument is that, faced with an ugly
situation, the only way out of the difficulty for Mr. Singhal and
the Hindustan Times was to attribute these words to the judge?

Sir Wazir Hasan : Yes, my lord. You are convinced that
at least one material part of the letter he writes is improbable. Mr.
Vidyarthi praises the paragraph written by Mr. Singhal and yet

UO THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

Sir Wazir Hasan's Arguments (Contd.)

asks him to absolve him and not to mention his name. This is the
act of an insane man* The fact of reading the judgment in two
parts is a very material fact. It gives them the occasion for putting
those words in the mouth of Mr. Vidyarthi. In view of the
proved facts and probabilities, counsel asked the court to hold that
Mr. Vidyarthi did not utter those words. For surrounding circum-
stances he strongly relied on the evidence of Mr. Dikshit.

GOVERNMENT ADVOCATE'S ARGUMENTS

The Crown case, said Dr. Wali Ullah, Government
Advocate, was that the Editor and the Printer were responsible for
the publication of the comment on August 6. As against Mr.
Singhal the case was that he was responsible for his communication
of August 1 which appeared in the paper dated August 3. His
submission was that so far as Mr. Singhal was concerned the news
which he sent on August 1 in substance made the same allegations
which were proved to have been unfounded, namely, that the
judicial officers all over the province had been asked by the Chief
Justice to collect subscriptions to the war funds.

Chief Justice : Your argument is that even if Mr. Vidyarthi
said so, that was a lie and the publication of a lie will itself amount
to contempt.

The Government Advocate said that the inference was
drawn by the sub-editor that there was a circular and Mr.
Singhal' s position was in no way different from the position of
those who were responsible for the comment. Their lordships had
considered the comment to amount to gross contempt of court

Chief Justice: A grave reflection on the Chief Justice.

The Government Advocate, proceeding, said that the
implications were much more serious indeed. The implications
were that the Allahabad High Court had in effect allied itself,
by means of the issue of this circular, with the executive authorities
in the matter of the collection of the war fund. He referred to
the Amrita Bazar Patrika case (/935, Calcutta p. 419) in which
the editor and the printer were convicted for saying in an article

THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE Ul

Govt. Advocate's Arguments (Contd.)

that the Chief Justice and the Judges of the Calcutta High Court
were "hobnobbing with the executive." Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru
had said that Singhal's message did not mention the word 'court'
and consequently it might be looked upon as a fair report sent up by
the reporter. The Government Advocate submitted that this
could not be any protection to the reporter if the reporter was
found to offend against the law of contempt.

Chief Justice : It is impossible in this case to argue that there
is no contempt.

The Government Advocate, continuing, said a lie had got
to be invented about a so-called circular and on the supposed
existence of that circular was based the comment. There was
absolutely no suggestion even on behalf of the editor or the printer
that there was even a pretence of inquiry or attempt at verification
as to the contents of Mr. Singhal's report.

Chief Justice : Mr. Bharadwaja in effect had to take shelter
under this plea, that because a Chief Justice of a certain High
Court did take interest in such matters, therefore he believed that
the Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court might also do the
same.

At Meerut, one of the first questions put by Mr. Gandhi and
Mr. Bharadwaja was about the reliability of Mr. Singhal, which
did not show that they had abundance of confidence in him, said
the Government Advocate.

Chief Justice : If there was so much confidence, why this
inquiry ?

The Government Advocate, concluding, said that the
comments were made most recklessly, and this report came in very
handy considering the general policy of the paper. It suggested
that some sort of undue pressure was being exercised in regard to
the war fund. Mr. Gandhi and Mr. Bharadwaja had said that
they considered that the allegation was a very serious one involving
the prestige of the High Court and yet they immediately published
it. That was a wilful and culpable act and undoubtedly showed

142 THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

Govt. Advocate's Arguments (Contd.)

gross negligence. There had been no question of any apology so
far and there had been no question of any regret till a late stage.

When the court remarked that there had been no spontaneous
regret expressed by them, the Government Advocate said that on
the contrary there had been false evidence and so there had been
really aggravation.

SIR TEJ BAHADUR SAPRU'S REPLY

Replying, Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru said that the case might
be divided into two parts, the first part regarding those matters
which happened in the court- room and the second part about
those matters which took place subsequently.

So far as the matters relating to July 31 were concerned, they
could be proved only by the evidence of those persons who were
present at that time. Barring the Judge, there was the reporter
examined in the case. Mr. Swami, who was a counsel for some
ol the accused, and Mr. Banerji were also examined. Mr. Gupta
was another witness who might have been produced by the other
side. He had not been produced and the explanation given was
that a great deal of influence was brought to bear on Mr. Gupta.
Then there was Rai Saheb Motilal and it was conceded that he
was not present in the court.

The real question was whether Mr. Vidyarthi made use of
those words or not. If he did not make use of those words, then
the whole story was an invention. But if he did make use of those
words, the fact remained that those words were used by him.

Chief Justice : Then the offence is very much minimized.
But, if he did not use those words, the offence is very much
aggravated, because of the persistent attempt to give false evidence.

Counsel said that his friends had not given any reason why
Mr. Swami should be disbelieved. It was not enough to say
that he was angry. What had temper to do with regard to the
recollection of events which happened on that day? The question
of temper had got no connection with the question of memory.
Therefore, Mr. Swami's evidence stood unrebutted except by the

THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE U3

Sir T. B. Sapru's Reply (Contd.)

evidence of Mr. Vidyarthi who was an interested witness, because
it was a very unpleasant position for a District Judge to appear in
court and to give an explanation of his conduct. Mr. Vidyarthi 's
evidence was that of an interested person and merely because he
occupied the position of a District Judge it was not entitled to be
accepted. He was collecting money for the war. In doing a
right thing he adopted wrong means by mentioning the names of
the Chief Justice and the Governor assuming that such mention
would have great influence with those who were called upon to
pay. Even a District Judge, however well intentioned he might
be in regard to the war fund, could not be held as a matter of law
above the temptation.

Chief Justice : Mr. Vidyarthi said that he had raised
subscriptions previously. How is it that on previous occasions his
zeal did not lead him to invent this lie?

Sir Tej Bahadur said that the previous appeal got only
Rs. 50 and the Judge thought that if he introduced the names of
the Chief Justice and the Governor he might meet with better
success. He did a good thing by adopting wrong means and
was able to secure more money.

NO EVIDENCE FOR INVENTION STORY

The story that Mr. Singhal invented these words rested
merely on suspicion and was not supported by any evidence in the
case. Between August 3 and September 9 after the news-
paper published the news and the comment, no one from Meerut
wrote to the Press saying that there was no element of truth in it.
His learned friends did not at all refer to the incident of August 5
as to why Mr- Yunus Khan was sent to Mr. Singhal. His
lordship the Chief Justice had some sort of suspicion about the
visits to Mserut of his clients. For the first time they went on
August 3 1 . Mr. Gandhi returned to Delhi on the evening of the
same day, while Mr. Bharadwaja returned on September 2. At
the instance of Mr. Dikshit, Mr. Bharadwaja again went to
Meerut. Counsel said that these could not be said to be repeated
visits.

144 THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

Sir T. B. Sapru's Reply (Contd.)

Chief Justice : By August 10, it was known that notice for
contempt was issued by this court. They had realized the fact
that they would have to enter on their defence. Can you persuade
us to believe that between August 10 and August 31 they were
doing absolutely nothing?

Sir Tcj Bahadur Sapru : Mr. Devadas Gandhi has admitted
that he was in touch with his lawyers at Delhi. But so far as
visits to Meerut are concerned, there is a total absence of evidence.

Chief Justice : Can anyone believe that between August 10
and August 31 Devadas Gandhi and the printer and publisher
would not have been at pains to discover what evidence would be
available to support their story?

Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru : Mr. Devadas Gandhi gave a very
reasonable answer. He said that after writing this letter to Mr.
Singhal he did not take any action so far as Meerut was concerned,
because he was waiting for the orders of the High Court The
contempt writ reached them on August 25; therefore why should
he conceal the earlier visits? It is mere presumption that one
must have gone there before August 31. The more repeated the
visits to Meerut the greater the chance for Mr. Vidyarthi to know
what they were doing. There is no evidence to show that anyone
from Delhi on behalf of my clients visited Meerut during this
period and we have no right to assume that they must have been
fabricating evidence as we have no right to assume that the judge
was doing something wrong during that period. Their very first
visit was on August 3 1 .

Chief Justice: All that we can say is that Meerut became
the scene of considerable activity.

Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru : That is what Mr. Swami says, that
the atmosphere at Meerut became saturated with feelings on one
side or the other. If you attribute feelings to my side, I have a
right to attribute feelings to their side. It is not that all my swans
are geese and all their geese are swans. There is no justification
for the suggestion that any attempt was being made to fabricate
evidence by my clients-

THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE 145

Sir T. B. Sapru's Reply (Contd.)

"MOST UNWORTHY STORY"

Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru, proceeding, said that no motive had
been assigned as to why Mr. Swami should make a false statement.
In fairness the question of his conviction should have been put to
him and after inquiry he had denied that fact. It was a long
distance from a prosecution for sedition to an attempt to lie. There
were many people who had gone to jail for political offences and
yet their evidence could not be distrusted. The late Bal Gangadhar
Tilak had been convicted for sedition and a subordinate court
argued that his evidence could not be believed on that account.
He went to the Privy Council and his evidence with regard to
adoption had been accepted by the Privy Council.

Chief Justice : But the converse of that proposition is also not
true that a man who goes to jail is necessarily a truthful witness.

Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru : I am interested in denying the
tactics adopted in throwing dirt on Mr. Swami after his evidence
is over.

Rai Saheb Motilal arid Mr. Gupta, whose statements were
recorded by Mr. Vidyarthi, were summoned and not produced
yesterday. It was a most unworthy story. There was no evidence
that some designing persons of the Congress or any political party had
tampered with these persons. That is a circumstance absolutely
within the region of suspicion not within the region of established
facts.

Proceeding, Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru said that his learned
friend had described Mr. Banerji as an untruthful witness. They
were also in this difficulty, that he told one thing to Mr. Aktar
Husain and another thing to them. Mr. Banerji found it
inconvenient to deny the fact that money was collected in court.
If they rejected that part of the evidence, they must be first
prepared to reject the evidence of Mr r Swami and Mr. Attar
Singh. He was not as frank as he might have been, but the
whole situation must be borne in mind in judging his evidence- The
position of a district court lawyer should be borne in mind. He
had considerable experience of them. He narrated a certain case

U6 THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

Sir T. B. Sapru' s Reply (Contd.)

in which an affidavit was to be filed against a judge and the district
court lawyer concerned had not the courage to state those facts,
although they were absolutely true. He told Sir Tej Bahadur :
* *Pani men rahna aur magar se bair ! ' ' (One who lives in a river
cannot afford to provoke the hostility of a crocodile.)

Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru said that he had appeared in the Amrita
Bazar Patrika case for the Editor and the Printer and there was no
expression of regret at any stage in that case.

Chief Justice : Was there any expression of regret in the
sense of an apology so far in this case?

Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru : There is a very sincere expression
of regret in the affidavit of Mr. Devadas Gandhi and he has
repeatedly said that he is sorry that he has been the unwitting
instrument of bringing the Chief Justice into disrepute.

Chief Justice : There is no apology in this case.

Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru : The word 'apology' is not used,
but 1 say that the expression of regret has been there from the
very beginning and it has been made in abundance in the state-
ments of Mr. Devadas Gandhi and Mr. Bharadwaja, even though
tiie latter is not an accused.

Chief Judice : We shall take note of it.

Mr. Justice Ccllister pointed out that there was a dissenting
judgment in the Amrita Bazar Patrika case by one judge.

Sir Tej Bahadur : Yes, my lord.

Judgment was then reserved till Friday, November 14, and
the three opposite parties were asked to be present in court on that
day.

The Rt. Hon. Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru (with Messrs. K. D.
Malaviya and Gopalji Mehrotra) appeared for Messrs. Devadas
Gandhi, Devi Prasad Sharma and Singhal, Sir Syed Wazir Hasan
(with Messrs. S. A. Rafique, C. S. Saran, Raj Bahadur Jaini and
Rai Bahadur Suraj Bal Dikshit) for Mr. Vidyarthi and the
Government Advocate, Dr. M. Wali Ullah, for the Crown

THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE 14?

ALL THREE RESPONDENTS
CONVICTED

Sentences Of Imprisonment And Fine

ALLAHABAD, Nov. 14.

In the Hindustan Times contempt of court case judgment was
delivered today by the Chief Justice and Mr. Justice Collister
of the Allahabad High Court, finding Mr. Devadas Gandhi, the
Editor, Mr. Devi Prasad Sharma, the Printer, and Mr. R. L.
Singhal, the Meerut correspondent, of the Hindustan Times, guilty
of contempt.

Mr. Devadas Gandhi was sentenced to pay a fine of
Rs. 1 ,000 or in default to undergo one month's simple imprison-
ment. Mr. Devi Prasad Sharma was fined Rs- 500 or in default
one month's simple imprisonment. Two weeks' time was allowed
by their lordships for the payment of fine.

Mr. R. L. Singhal was sentenced to two months* simple
imprisonment .

Mr. Devadas Gandhi, however, told their lordships that he
would prefer to go to jail, because Mr. R. L. Singhal was sentenced to
imprisonment without any option of paying fine.

The respondents were also directed to pay costs to the
Government Advocate at the rate of Rs. 80 per day.

The judgment covered fifty-two typed pages and their lordships
took turns in reading out the whole of it in Court.

MR. GANDHI'S STATEMENT

As soon as the judgment was read out Mr. Devadas Gandhi
rose in his seat and said: "With the permission of your lord-
ships I would like to say a few words. It is a matter of sorrow
and pain to me that I have failed to convince this hon. court of
the truth of the evidence of my eyes and ears and such other
evidence which I have produced and in which I have the same belief
as I would have in the evidence of my eyes and ears/'

148 THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

Mr Gandhi's Statement (Contd.)

The Chief Justice : We don't allow from a convicted
person an address to the court. Please come to the point.

Mr. Gandhi: The point I wish to make is that in view of
the sentence passed on my correspondent, Mr. Singhal, who has
riot been allowed the option of fine, I choose to avail myself of the
sentence of imprisonment awarded to me in default of payment of
fine and not to pay the fine.

The Chief Justice said that Mr. Gandhi could consult his
counsel, Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru, if he desired .

Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru said that he had not discussed the
matter with his client.

Mr. Gandhi said that he had arrived at his decision indepen-
dently of his counsel, and he preferred to go to jail.

The Chief Justice : The judgment has been delivered and
the sentence is there. If you do not pay the fine, the alternative
sentence is one of imprisonment and the law will have its course.

Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru requested their lordships to give two
weeks' time for the payment of fine. The court, thereupon,
passed orders allowing two weeks' time for the fine to be paid. The
court then rose and Mr. Singhal, who was sentenced to two months'
simple imprisonment, was taken into custody.

THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE 149

MR. DEVADAS GANDHI SENT TO JAIL
Fine Not To Be Realized

ALLAHABAD, Nov. 28.

Having elected to go to jail instead of paying the fine, as
Mr. R. L. Singhal, his Meerut correspondent, was sentenced to
undergo imprisonment without the option of paying a fine, Mr.
Devadas Gandhi, Managing Editor of the Hindustan Times, Delhi,
presented himself before the High Court to receive his sentence.
The court-room was packed with members of the Bar and the public.

Their Lordships the Chief Justice and Mr. Justice Collister
referred to a letter from Mr. Gandhi to the Registrar of the High
Court, stating that he had elected to go to jail instead of paying the
fine.

The Chief Justice, addressing Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru, said :
"We may take it that he is not going to pay the fine. Then, in the
alternative, the sentence of imprisonment would be given ^effect to.
We desire to make it clear that in the ordinary course under the law
the fine may be realized even if he goes to jail. In this case it is not
our intention to penalize him, but uphold the dignity and honour of
the court. Therefore, the fine shall not be realized."

At this stage, Sir Tej Bahadur brought it to the notice of the
court that Mr. Singhal had been placed in "C" class, which was
not right. This was not an ordinary case, and he was their Lordships'
prisoner. He further pointed out that in similar other cases prisoners
had been provided with all amenities of life.

The Chief Justice said : "There is nothing farther from our
mind than that Mr. Singhal and Mr. Devadas Gandhi be treated as
ordinary prisoners. I am sorry the matter had not been brought to
our notice earlier, and Mr. Singhal had been in jail for 1 5 days.
If we have any powers, we shall direct that all amenities of life be
provided to Mr. Gandhi and Mr. Singhal."

150 THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

Mr. Gandhi Sent to Jail (Contd.)

SAME CLASS FOR MR. SINGHAL
Their Lordships passed the following *order :

"Mr. Devadas Gandhi having elected to go to jail in lieu of
paying the fine, we accordingly direct that he be taken forthwith to
Naini Central Jail. We also recommend that he be placed in the
highest class permissible under the rules and that he be allowed such
amenities as are provided under the rules. We also recommend that
Mr. R. L. Singhal, who, we understand, has been placed in "C"
class, be treated in the same manner as Mr. Devadas Gandhi.

"Since it was our intention that Mr. Devadas Gandhi should
either elect to pay the fine or go to jail and he should not have to
pay the fine if he chose the latter alternative, we direct that the fine
shall not be realized from him. When he has served out the full
term of imprisonment which we have awarded to him, he shall be
deemed to have purged his contempt. The Registrar will send a copy
of this order immediately to the Superintendent of the Naini Central
jail and to the Superintendent of the District Jail at Allahabad and
also to the District Magistrate of Allahabad."

Mr. Gandhi was then taken to jail escorted by the police. He
was seen off by friends and some members of the Bar.

The fine (Rs. 500) imposed on the printer, Mr. Devi
Prasad Sharma, and the cost of the Government Advocate
(Rs. 480) were deposited a few days after the judgment.

THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE 151

HIGH COURT MOVED FOR BAIL
Pending Appeal To Privy Council

ALLAHABAD, Dec. 8.

An application that Mr. R. L. Singhal, the Meerut
correspondent of the Hindustan Times, New Delhi, be admitted to
proper bail pending the disposal of the application for special leave
to appeal to the Privy Council was made this afternoon by Mr.
Gopalji Mehrotra, Advocate, before Mr. Justice Allsop, who
ordered that the application be laid before the bench concerned, the
Chief Justice and Mr. 'Justice Collister.

The application was supported by an affidavit filed by
Mr. D. D. Bharadwaja, Assistant Editor of the Hindustan Times.

It was stated in the affidavit that the Directors of the
Hindustan Times, Ltd., had decided to find the necessary funds for
an appeal to their Lordships of the Privy Council on behalf of
Mr. Singhal and that on December 4 a cable had been sent from
New Delhi to Messrs. Douglas Grant and Dold, Privy Council
solicitors in London, instructing them to apply to their Lordships of
the Privy Council for special leave to appeal against the conviction
and sentence of Mr. Singhal.

It was stated that necessary papers were being sent by air mail,
but there was considerable delay owing to war conditions and the
term of imprisonment of Mr. Singhal would expire on January 13,

1942.

152 THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

BAIL APPLICATION REJECTED
No Release Pending Appeal To Privy
Council

ALLAHABAD, Dec. 10.

Their Lordships the Chief Justice and Justice Collister today
rejected the application for bail made, on the ground of appealing
to the Privy Council, on behalf of Mr. R. L. Singhal, Meerut
correspondent of the Hindustan Times, New Delhi, after hearing
Mr. Gopalji Mehrotra, Advocate, wno appeared for the applicant.

Mr. Gopalji Mehrotra submitted that the application was made
on the ground that they had instructed solicitors in England to file an
application for special leave to appeal against the order of the High
Court. Their Lordships would see that in this unsettled state it
would not be possible for the appeal to come up for hearing before
the term of imprisonment of Mr. Singhal was over. In these
circumstances the request was that their Lordships woujd be pleased
to exercise their jurisdiction under Section 56 1 -A of the Criminal
Procedure Code and release Mr. Singhal on bail. Counsel referred
to the case reported in 49 Allahabad, page 247, in which it was laid
down that their Lordships were clearly of opinion that they had
jurisdiction to entertain the application and that even in the case of
a prospective appeal they had jurisdiction to let off the man on bail.
Counsel said that in view of the fact that their Lordships had got
jurisdiction and in view of the particular circumstances

Chief Justice : What are the particular circumstances ?

Mr. Gopalji Mehrotra submitted that the whole sentence
would expire soon and the appeal could not be filed earlier on account
of unsettled conditions.

Chief Justice : We have to administer the law. Unsettled
condilions cannot ruffle the courts.

Mr. Gopalji Mehrotra : That will be a circumstance to
consider whether your lordships will exercise your jurisdiction under
Section 561 -A,

THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE 163

Bail Petition Hearing (Contd.)

Chief Justice : It is no circumstance. The course of justice
will go on uninterrupted, settled or no settled conditions.

Mr. Gopalji Mehrotra stated that so far as the question of
justice was concerned, it would not be affected at all if the man
was let out on bail.

Chief Justice : We came to the conclusion that the man was
guilty and that the contempt could only be purged if the man
remained in jail for two months.

Mr. Gopalji Mehrotra : I do not ask your Lordships to alter
your decision, but my submission is that if their Lordships of the
Privy Council have got jurisdiction they can interfere with the order
ot this court.

Chief Justice : Then it means that in all cases of contempt
where the accused intimates that he is going to appeal to His
Majesty -in Council the sentence will not be carried out. What are
the special circumstances?

Mr. Gopalji Mehrotra submitted that one special circumstance
was that their Lordships might apply the test laid down in that
criminal appeal referred to by him, if this case came under it. The
other circumstance was that their Lordships of the Privy Council
had jurisdiction to entertain an appeal. In normal circumstances it
would take four months to instruct solicitors, but in this particular
case, the circumstances being abnormal, it would take longer.

Chief Justice: What are the abnormal circumstances? Mr.
Singhal was put in 'C class. We directed that he should be put
in *A' class and that was done. Only one of the convicted per-
sons proposes to appeal ?

Mr. Gopalji Mehrotra : No, my lord, the others have also
filed an appeal but they have not come up for bail.

Chief Justice : Whatever you are saying will hold good in
every case. Is there any special circumstance?

Mr. Gopalji Mehrotra : Your lordships will like to examine

154 THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

Bad Petition Hearing (Contd.)

whether I have got any faintest chance, in view of the special rules
which have been laid down, of getting this appeal admitted.

Chief Justice : Even if we assume for the purpose of argu-
ment that your application for special leave will Be granted, if does
not follow that the decision of this court will not Be upheld. The
mere probability of special leave being granted is no ground for
granting bail. Because in every contempt case there is a remote
possibility of special leave being granted, therefore, according to
your argument, it ought to be laid down as a matter of law that in
every contempt case in which the accused has been convicted, this
court on being intimated that an application for special leave is in
contemplation ought to release that man on bail.

Mr. Gopalji Mehrotra submitted that in every contempt case it
could not be presumed that special leave would be granted and
each case would have to be considered on its merits. If it was pre-
sumed that special leave would be granted, then the question of
sentence would have to be considered. In this case the sentence
was short and would expire in January. If ultimately the appeal
was dismissed, the man would have to undergo his remaining
sentence.

COURT'S ORDER
Their lordships then delivered the following judgment :

"This is an application on behalf of Mr. R. L. Singhal for
bail being granted 'pending the disposal of an application for leave
to appeal* to His Majesty in Council. Mr. Singhal was the Meerut
correspondent of the Hindustan Times and he along with Mr.
Devadas Gandhi, the Editor, and Mr. Devi Prasad Sharma, the
Printer and Publisher of the Hindustan Times, was convicted for
contempt of this court. The order convicting the three persons was
passed on November 14, 1941. Mr. Singhal was sentenced to
two months' simple imprisonment, Mr. Devadas Gandhi was sen-
tenced to a fine of Rs. 1 ,000 and in default of payment of fine
to one month's simple imprisonment, and Mr. Devi Prasad was
sentenced to a fine of Rs. 500 and in default of payment of fine to
one month's simple imprisonment.

THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE 155

Bail Petition Bearing (Contd.)

"Mr. Singhal surrendered the very day on which he was con-
victed and has been undergoing the sentence passed on him since
then. On behalf of Mr. Devadas Gandhi and Mr. Devi Prasad a
request was made by Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru for a fortnight's
time being granted for payment of the fine and the time
prayed for was granted. Mr. Devi Prasad paid the fine within the
time allowed, but Mr. Devadas Gandhi intimated to the
Registrar of this court that he preferred to go to jail
and was not ready to pay the fine, with the result that Mr.
Devadas Gandhi was also sent to jail. On the day on which Mr.
Devadas appeared in this court and surrendered himself it was
^brought to our notice that Mr. Singhal was put in 'C' class and then
on our recommendation both Mr. Devadas Gandhi and Mr.
Singhal were put as 'A' class prisoners.

"The present application for bail was made on December 8,
1941 , i.e., after Mr. Singhal had served about three weeks out of
the sentence passed on him. All that is stated in the affidavit that
has been filed in support of the application is that a solicitor in Eng-
land has been instructed to file an application for special leave to
appeal to His Majesty in Council. It is admitted that the appeal
has not yet been lodged.

"There are no special circumstances to warrant the granting of
bail. The application is accordingly dismissed."

When the judgment had been dictated by the Chief justice,
the Government Advocate got up and said, "What about my
costs?" The Chief Justice then added a sentence ordering the
applicant to pay Rs. 80 as cost of the Government Advocate.

Mr. Gopalji Mehrotra represented that the man was under-
going sentence in jail, and even the law allowed a man in jail to file
application before court without affixing stamp. It would be unjust
if the prisoner was made to pay Rs. 80 as costs to Government,
merely because bis application was rejected.

The Chief Justice then ordered the court stenographer to score
out the sentence about awarding costs.

Mr. Gopalfi Mehrotra appeared for the applicant and Dr.
M. Walliullah, Government Advocate, for the Crown.

156 THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

JUDICIAL OFFICERS & WAR EFFORT
High Court's Circular To Subordinate Courts

ALLAHABAD, Nov. 26.

The following letter dated November 25, 1941, has been
addressed to all District Judges subordinate to the High Court of
Judicature at Allahabad by Mr. N. Storr, I.C.S., Registrar of the
High Court :

* 'Sir, I am desired by the Hon'ble the Chief Justice to address
you concerning the position of judicial officers in relation to the war
effort, with particular reference to the raising of subscriptions.

A case recently before the Court (Miscellaneous Case No. 8
of 1941) familiarly known as "the Hindustan Times contempt
case" has attracted a certain amount of inevitable publicity. In the
course of this judgement, the Court stated :

"Mr. Vidyarthi admits that he was zealous in collecting
subscriptions to the war fund in his capacity as a private citizen, and
he also admits that he did in fact collect money in court from some
of the accused persons on the 31st July after their acquittal. It is
unnecessary to say that Mr. Vidyarthi was, to say the least of it,
highly ill-advised to collect subscriptions in this manner while sitting
in court as a judge."

This judgment and these comments may possibly have given
rise to some misapprehension among judicial officers. I am directed
to inform you that these comments are not in any way to be read as
a direction to judicial officers not to co-operate in any circumstances
in the prosecution of the war effort, or as a direction not to assist the
executive authorities where judicial officers are personally so inclined
and can without impropriety so assist them. There is not the
slightest objection to a judicial officer himself subscribing to the war
purposes funds or to his being associated with members of the
execulive or with members of the public in their endeavours to raise
such funds, provided that such endeavours have no connection
whatsoever with his position as a judge. It is difficult to lay down
a general rule which shall provide for all circumstances, but the
Chief Justice knows that most judicial officers are aware of what is

THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE 157

High Court's Circular (Contd.)

proper and what is not proper in such circumstances. For instance,
it would be manifestly improper for a judge to endeavour to raise
subscriptions or to be associated with the raising of subscriptions from
persons who were in any way parties to judicial proceedings before
him or connected with such parties. But in his ordinary social relations
as distinct from his work, a judge is a member of society with the
same corresponding obligations as any other citizen.

While determined to do all in his power to prevent members of
the public from thinking that the subscription or non-subscription by
the public to war purposes funds will in any way affect the
independence and impartiality of judicial officers, the Chief Justice
is also anxious that this should not be distorted into an implied
direction that it is the duty cf a judge to abstain from any action
himself and from any co-operation with the executive authorities
concerning the prosecution of the war effort."

NOTICE TO CORRESPONDENT

BY THE COURT :

Issue notice to Mr. Singhal, correspondent of the Hindustan Times at
Meerut, to show cause why he should not be dealt with for contempt of
this Court with respect to the news published in the Hindustan Times
of Sunday, August 3, 1941, on information supplied by him.

Mr Singhal is present in Court and on being instructed by him
Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru has accepted notice on his behalf. Sir Tej
Bahadur Sapru does not want time to meet the notice. He states
that Mr. Singnal's case may be heard along with the case of Mr.
Dpvadas Gandhi and others and that the evidence which will be pro-
duced by him will be evidence on behalf of Mr. Devadas Gandhi and
others as well as on behalf of Mr. Singhal. Sir Tej Bahadur fur-
ther states that even though the evidence of Mr. Vidyarthi and Mr.
Akbar Husain was recorded at a time when notice was not issued
to Mr. SinghaJ, he has no objection to that evidence being treated
as evidence also against Mr. Singhal provided he is allowed to put a
few supplementary questions in cross-examination to Mr. Vidyarthi.

Sd. LA.
Sd. H.J.C.

25-9-'41

PART II
Judgment

and

Certified Evidence

JUDGMENT

In the High Court of Judicature at Allahabad.

Criminal Side. Original Jurisdiction.

Allahabad, dated the 14th November, 1941.

Present

The Hon'ble Sir Iqbal Ahmad, Kt, Chief Justice.

And
The Hon'ble H. J. Collister Judge.

Criminal Miscellaneous Case No. 8 of T94I (Connected
with Criminal Miscellaneous Case No. 12 of T94I).

1 . Devi Prasad Sharma
King-Emperor os. And

2. Devadas Gandhi
Division Allahabad.

By the Court. On the 8th August last notice was issued to
I he editor, the publisher and the printer of a newspaper known as
the Hindustan Times to show cause why action should not be taken
against them for contempt of this Court in respect to an editorial
comment which appeared in their mufassil edition of the 6th August.
The paper is published at Delhi and the same comment had appeared
in the local issue of the 5th August.

The editor is Mr. Devadas Gandhi and the publisher and
printer is Mr. Devi Prasad Sharma- They appeared before us on
the 9th September and also filed affidavits. We heard Sir Tej
Bahadur Sapru on their behalf and we reserved orders up to the
1 5th September. Since the above-mentioned affidavits contained
allegations of a serious character against Mr. Vidyarthi, the 2nd
Additional Civil and Sessions Judge at Meerut, we called the
latter and examined him departmentally on the 11th September.
After considering the statement which Mr. Vidyarthi made before
us, we direced him to appear and give evidence on oath in the pro-
ceedings for contempt of court on the 1 5th September and we also
summoned for the aforesaid date Mr. Akbar Husain, the District
Judge or Meerut; and they were both duly examined and cross-

162 THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

examined on oath on that date. Thereafter, we adjourned the
proceedings in order that Mr- Vidyarthi on the one hand and the
editor and the publisher of the Hindustan Times on the other might
each have an opportunity to adduce evidence before the Court ; and
witnesses have now been called and examined on either side.

On the 25th September we directed that notice should also be
served on Mr. R. L- Singhal, the local correspondent of the
Hindustan Times at Meerut. Mr. Singhal was in Court that day
and notice on his behalf was accepted by Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru
who now represents all three respondents.

It is a matter of admission that in the local issue of the
Hindustan Times of the 5th August last and in the mufassil issue
of the 6th August the following editorial comment appeared :

"If it is true that the new Chief Justice of the Allahabad High
Court, Sir Iqbal Ahmad, in his administrative capacity, has issued
a circular to the judicial officers under his jurisdiction, enjoining on
them to raise contributions to the war funds, then it must be
said that he has done a thing which would lower the prestige
of the courts in the eyes of the people. The presiding officer
of a court, while asking for funds, may say that the contribu-
tion is voluntary, but he cannot remove the idea from the mind
of a person, paiticularly a litigant, that the request is being
made by one whom it may not be safe to displease. To be
absolutely voluntary, war contributions ought to be raised only
by non-official committees or individuals. It was bad enough that
the servicos of the members of the executive were utilized for
the purpose, but to make judicial officers do this work is something
far worse."

It is this comment which is the subject-matter of the proceed-
ings for contempt of court. It appears that 20 persons had been
committed for trial to the court of Mr. Vidyarthi on a charge under
Section 302 and other sections of the Indian Penal Code in what
was known as the Dhakoli murder case and judgment was delivered
on the 3 1st July, four of the accused being convicted and sentenced
to transportation for life and the remaining 16 being acquitted. On
the 1st August, Mr. Singhal sent a news item to the Hindustan
Times which, after being edited, was published in the issue of the
3rd August. We reproduce below the first three paragraphs of die
news item as it appeared in the paper :

JUDGMENT 183

"JUDICIAL OFFICERS FOR WAR WORK

RAISING SUBSCRIPTIONS
NEW CHIEF JUSTICE'S CIRCULAR?
(From Our Correspondent)

MEERUT, Aug. 1.

With the judicial officers also now co-operating actively in
the war efforts, the 'efforts' are bound to receive a heavy push
iorward. The judicial officers all over the province have been, I
reliably learn, asked by the new Chief Justice of the Allahabad
High Court, who, it is understood, has been requested by his
Excellency the Governor for co-operation in war efforts, to raise
subscriptions for the war funds.

The judicial officers raising money make it clear to the
persons whom they ask to contribute that the donations were
voluntary and they were not exercising any compulsion in asking
for funds; they could donate as much or as little as they pleased."

The rest of the news item was a summary of the facts of the
case in which judgment had been delivered.

It was in connection with this news item that the editorial
comment was published in the issue of the 6th August. As we have
already said, Mr. Devadas Gandhi swore and filed an affidavit when
the matter first came up before us. He begins his affidavit by taking
full responsibility for the editorial comment- He says that Mr.
Singhal has been their correspondent for more than seven years and
neither He nor any member of his editorial staff had ever had occasion
to doubt either his efficiency or his honesty and Mr. Gandhi, there-
fore, assumed that Mr. Singhal must have taken care to verify the
accuracy of his report. He then goes on to say that it was no part
of his intention to cast any reflection upon the conduct of the Chief
Justice or to bring this Court into contempt and he then adds that
on the contrary his intention was "to maintain the reputation of the
High Court and the purity of administration of justice and to protect
the same from being brought into disrepute by the sort of things to
which my attention was drawn by my correspondent." He says
that Mr. Singhal was in the court of Mr. Vidyarthi on the 31st July
and that the Judge, after passing sentence of transportation for life
on four of the accused, uttered the following words :

164 THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

"Chunke Chief Justice Saheb ne, jinse ke his Excellency the
Governor nc war efforts men madad dene ki request ki hai, ham
logon se larai ka chanda ikattha karne ke liye kaha hai, is liye
hamara ych f arz hai ki ham bhi chanda ikattha karen aur ismen
ap log bhi madad karen."

These words are correctly translated in paragraph 11 (b) of the
affidavit as follows :

"Since the Chief Justice, who has been requested by his
Excellency the Governor to help in the war efforts, has asked us
to raise subscriptions for the war fund, it is incumbent on us to raise
subscriptions and you should help me in this work."

Mr. Gandhi states that Mr. Singhal, having heard this utterance
with his own ears, sent the news item which was published in the
paper on the 3rd August. The affidavit then goes on to say that,
after the Judge had spoken these words, the lawyers and the litigants
in the court held a hurried consultation between themselves and a
sum of Rs. 200 was collected there and then and was placed on the
Judge's table and that Mr. Surajbal Swami, a legal parctitioner,
who was appearing for some of the accused persons, told the court
that he would present a sum of Rs. 1 50 next morning on behalf of
his clients; and then Mr. Vidyarthi pronounced judgment of
acquittal in respect to 16 of the accused persons. The above state-
ment in the affidavit is based on information received from Mr-
Singhal-

Mr. Gandhi then goes on to state in his affidavit that he received
the writ of this Court on the 25th August, and on the 31st August
he went to Meerut, accompanied by Mr. Bharadwaja, the assistant
editor of the paper, with a view to ascertain the facts. At the house
of Dr. Dubey, a professor of the Meerut College, Mr. K. N.
Banerji, one of the advocates who had been present in court on the
31st July, confirmed the facts which Mr- Gandhi had heard from
his correspondent and expressed himself as willing to depose thereto,
it necessary, before the High Court. It is further alleged that on
the 1st September Mr. K. N. Banerji informed the assistant editor
in the presence of Dr. Dubey that he had met Mr. Akbar Husain
and had apprised him of the fact that he had met Mr. Gandhi and
had made a full statement to him; and Mr. Banerji also told the
assistant editor that when Mr- Akbar Husajn inquired about the

JUDGMENT 105

matter in his presence from Mr. Vidyarthi, the latter admitted having
made the statement which had been ascribed to him and having
collected subscriptions for the war fund.

'fhen there is an allegation based on information said to have
been given by Mr. Surajbal Swami to the effect that on the 1st
September Mr. Vidyarthi had called Mr. Krishna Swarup Sharma,
a junior lawyer and a son-in-law of Mr. Surajbal Swami, and had
secured from him a signed statement that Mr. Vidyarthi had not
given utterance to any such words as were being attributed to him ;
and Mr. Surajbal Swami was very indignant about this matter- It is
stated that on the following day, that is to say on the 2nd September,.
Mr. Bharadwaja had an interview with Mr. Akbar Husain and
brought to his notice the facts which he had learnt from Mr.
Surajbal Swami.

It is alleged that on the evening of the 5th September Mr.
Vidyarthi sent his stenographer, a man named Mohammad Yunus
Khan, to fetch Mr- Singhal, but Mr. Singhal was not at home and
Mohammad Yunus Khan, therefore, left a note bearing his signa-
ture in which he asked Mr. Singhal to see the Judge in his
* 'parlour," as the Judge wanted to "consult him in a particular
matter." We may mention here that the note in question has been
filed in court. The affidavit then goes on to say that for some time
Mr. Singhal would not go to see the Judge, but he was so importuned
by various persons on behalf of Mr. Vidyarthi that at length he went
to see the Judge on the 13th August and the latter asked him not
to mention his name in any inquiry that might be made.

Towards the end Mr. Gandhi says in his affidavit that he had
been receiving complaints from various quarters that officials were
exerting pressure for the collection of war subscriptions and refer-
ence had been made to this in the Press and on the platform and so
he had no reason to suppose that the information received from Mr.
Singhal was inaccurate; and since then he has come to know that
Mr- Singhal's report was correctly based upon what the Judge Had
openly and publicly stated in court, and Mr. Gandhi says :

" in publishing the comments in question my sole

motive wa.3 to emphasize that the High Court should have nothing
to do with regard to the controversy that had sprung up !n the
country as to the war subscriptions."

166 THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

Mr- Devi Prasad Sharma also takes full responsibility in his
affidavit tor the publication of the editorial comment and he
identifies himself with the affidavit of Mr. Gandhi.

The headlines of the news item of 1 st August published in the
issue oi the 3rd August were not Mr. Singhal's; they were admit-
tedly supplied by Mr. Bharadwaja. This news item is not the
specific subject of the contempt proceedings against Mr. Gandhi and
Mr Sharma, but it supplied the inspiration for the editorial comment
which appeared a few days later and the two must be read together.
The news item is t'he subject of the contempt proceedings against
Mr. Singhal. Before dealing with the evidence and before discussing
whether a contempt has been committed we will first consider what
impression the ordinary intelligent reader would receive from a perusal
of the editorial comment. It contains a clear insinuation that the
Chief Justice had issued a circular to all judicial officers to raise
contributions from litigants and others to the war fund, that pressure
was thereby being exerted by an authority which "it would not be
sare to displease" and that the prestige of the courts would thus be
impaired. The implication is that the Chief Justice had done some-
thing which was unworthy of a person holding that high office, and
that as the head and representative of this High Court he had com-
mitted the gross impropriety of forcing the judicial officers subordi-
nate to this Court to ask for war contributions from litigants, who,
notwithstanding that the giving of donations was ostensibly voluntary,
were not in a position to refuse. We think there can be no doubt
that any intelligent reader would think, or at least suspect, that orders
to this effect had probably been issued.

A reader of the news item would conclude that the Chief
Justice had acted upon a request from H-E. the Governor.

The above observations will hold good irrespective of the
conclusions of ract to which the evidence may lead.

We may mention at once that the allegation or rather the
suggestion that any such circular was issued is without any
foundation whatsoever.

We will leave this matter here for the present and will proceed
to state the substance of the evidence on the record with a view to

JUDGMENT 167

ascertain whether, and to what extent, the allegations in Mr.
Gandhi's affidavit are true ; and after that we shall consider whether
the tacts proved amount in law to a contempt and, if so, which of
the respondents are liable for such contempt and whether or not there
are any mitigating circumstances-

We will first consider the evidence which has been adduced
on behalf of the respondents.

Mr. Singhal says that he was present in Mr. Vidyarthi's court
on the 31st July when judgment was delivered in the Dhakoli case.
He says that, after convicting and pronouncing sentence on four of
the accused, the Judge directed four other accused persons who had
been prosecuted on complaint to come forward, and this they did.
There was then some talk between the judge and those four persons,
which Mr. Singhal was unable to hear, but after that he clearly
heard the judge give utterance to certain words which witness
repeated before us- It is unnecessary for us to set out that utterance
again, tor we have already quoted it in connection with paragraph
1 1 (b) of Mr. Gandhi's affidavit.

Mr. Singhal goes on to say that a consultation followed between
the accused persons who had been called up and the lawyers and
some other persons, as a result of which Rs. 200 were collected in
currency notes and were counted and verified by a lawyer named
Mr. Banerji and were placed by someone or other on the judge's
table. Witness says that he asked Mr. Vidyarthi to let him see the
judgment, but the latter said that it was not yet ready, and witness
then left the court- Next day he sent the news item to the Hindustan
Times; but he says that the facts about the case which are mentioned
in that news item were obtained not from Mr. Vidyarthi's judgment,
but from the commital order which he had had an opportunity of
reading.

Mr. Singhal says that on the 5th August he found a chit which
had been left at his house, apparently by Mohammad Yunus Khan.
He did not go to Mr. Vidyarthi in response to that chit because hei
wanted to avoid meeting the judge. WKen asked by the Court why
he wanted to avoid meeting Mr. Vidyartfii, witness said :

"lliere was no particular reason for it, I cannot suggest any

168 THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

reason for avoiding to meet the judge except that I was very busy
in those days."

Ultimately, however, witness was induced by a man named
Gauri Shankar to accompany him to Mr. Vidyarthi 's house. This,
he says, was on the 13th August. He states that Mr. Vidyarthi first
complimented him on the news item, which he said had been "nicely
and correctly " written, and he remarked that the editorial comment
was also well written, and then he asked Mr. Singhal not to disclose
his name or his court in case any enquiry might be made. To this
iVir. Singhal agreed, although admittedly he had already mentioned
Mr. Vidyarthi's name to the editorial staff of the paper.

Gauri Shankar corroborates Mr. Singhal in respect to the inter-
view with Mr. Vidyarthi on the 13th August. He has known Mr.
Singhal for many years and he says that at the instance of one B.
Ganga Prasad who had already introduced witness to Mr.
Vidyarthi he went and persuaded Mr. Singhal to go with him to
the^ judge. Witness says that after complimenting Mr. Singhal on
the writing of the news item the judge asked him to let him know if
the Hindustan Times should make any inquiry from him, and he
also asked Mr. Singhal not to name him or his court ; and this Mr.
Singhal agreed to do.

It appears that B. Ganga Prasad and Gauri Shankar *s wife
had both been on the Municipal Board and had resigned together,
and this will explain why the witness was approached by B- Ganga
Prasad. Gauri Shankar described 'himself as a "public worker"
and a Communist. He is the manager of the Free Maternity Home,
which was opened and is managed by his wife, and Re himself gets
Rs. 50 a month from the income of the Home which apparently
consists in voluntary contributions. Witness has no other means of
livelihood. He was one of the accused in the Meerut conspiracy
case and he was recently sent to jail for four months under the
Defence of India Rules.

Attar Singh is a vakil's clerk and he says that he was a
on behalf of the prosecution in the Dhakoli case and was
present when the judgment was delivered. He says that the judge
ponvicted four of the accused and sentenced them to transportation

JUDGMENT 169

for life, but said nothing at that time about the remaining 16 accused.
After a minute or two he called up the four accused who had been
prosecuted on a complaint and asked them to subscribe to the war
fund- These four men kept quiet for a while and then one of them
spoke up and said that they had already incurred very heavy expenses
in their defence. The judge then said that this was an order from
the Governor and the Chief Justice and, therefore, they will have to
contribute; and then there was a consultation among the pairokars
and the counsel and a sum of Rs. 200 was subscribed in currency
notes by these four accused. Mr. K. N. Banerji counted the notes
and after that Mr. Surajbail Swami said that he would deposit
Rs. 150 on behalf of his clients- Mr. Surajjbal Swami then asked
the judge what orders he was going to pass in respect to the remain-
ing 16 accused, to which the judge replied that these men were
acquitted. This was about 1 5 minutes after the order of conviction
in respect to four of the accused persons.

This witness was related to the two men in respect to whose
murder the accused persons had been put on their trial, the result
of which was, as we know, that 16 out of 20 were acquitted.

The last but one ot those witnesses for the respondents who
are^ said to have been present in court on July 31 is Mr. K. N.
Banerji. He is an advocate at Meerut and his name has figured with
some prominence in this matter. Although he is a witness for the
respondents, his evidence only partially supports them. He says
that he went to the court of Mr. Vidyarthi after 4 p.m. on the 31st
July to inquire about an appeal of his which had been fixed for
hearing that day. When he arrived, he saw that money was being
collected from some accused persons who had been acquitted by the
Judge. There were four men from among the accused who were
handing out money and witness assisted them in counting the currency
notes and then put them on the judge's table. Witness denies
having heard Mr. Vidvarthi mention H.E. the Governor or the Chief
Justice, but he says that someone in court told him that the judge
had done so. He is unable to say who his informant was, but the
latter told him that a circular had come from the Chief Justice,

On the 31st August witness met Mr. Gandhi and Mr,
Bharadwaja at tea at the house of Dr- Dubey, Mr. Gandhi asked

170 THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

him whether he considered Mr. Singhal to be a respectable reporter
and he said he did. Mr. Gandhi then asked him whether the
incident reported by Mr. Singhal was correct and witness replied
that it was correct and that money had been collected in his presence.
He says that as Mr. Gandhi was leaving he asked witness for an
affidavit, but he did not say specifically what it was that he desired
witness to deppse to therein.

That same evening, that is to say on the 31st August, witness
met Mr. Akbar Husain at another tea party and he told the latter
about Mr. Gandhi's visit and said that Mr. Gandhi was trying to get
an affidavit from him. He gave this information to Mr. Akbar
Husain on the advice of Rai Bahadur Pt. Surajbal Dikshit, the
President of the Bar Association. Next day, that is to say on the
1st September, Mr- Akbar Husain called witness to his chambers.
Mr. Vidyarthi was there and witness told them both what he knew
about the matter. On being asked by the Court whether he had been
questioned by Mr- Gandhi or Mr. Bharadwaja as to whether the
judge had made any reference to the Governor or to the Chief Justice,
witness replied: "That question was never pointedly put to me.**
When asked what he meant by "pointedly," he replied :

"1 mean that that question was never put to me in that form.
They asked me whether there was a talk about a circular from
the Chief Justice and I said 'yes'

We will now turn to the evidence of Mr. Gandhi. He says
that rn the 8th August he received a wire from his correspondent
at Allahabad informing him that a writ has been issued against him
by this Court. The writ was not actually served upon him until the
25th August; but he did not wait for this. On the 9th August a
letter was sent from his office to Mr- Singhal asking for full details
as to the "reliable source" mentioned in the news item and also
fking Mr. Singhal to procure the circular or a copy of it. This
letter which has been filed in court concludes as follows :

"The matter is of immense importance and your efforts should
proceed in a manner so as to insure success in getting the things
required."

On the 1 Oth August Mr. Sdnghal sent a reply in which he said

JUDGMENT 171

that the news item was based on what the judge had said in court.
The last sentence of this letter reads :

"I do not think if I shall be able to lay my hands on a copy
of the circular in question***

On the 31st August Mr. Gandhi and Mr. Bharadwaja pro-
ceeded to Meerut and went to the house of Dr- Dubey, who is a
friend of Mr. Bharadwaja. Mr. Gandhi first asked Dr. Dubey
what he knew about Mr. Singhal and Dr. Dubey replied that he
knew Mr. Singhal as "a very upright, active and conscientious
journalist known to and popular among all circles." Mr. Gandhi
then placed himself in the hands of Dr. Dubey and asked for his
assistance. He told Dr. Dubey that according to His information
Mr. K. N. Banerji and Mr. Surajbal Swami had been present in
court on the 3 1 st July and he asked Dr- Dubey to facilitate a meet-
ing between himself and these two gentlemen. Thereupon Dr.
Dubey went off and saw Mr. Banerji and he came back and said
that the latter had corroborted in every detail the information which
had been received by Mr. Gandhi and he also said that he had askedf
Mr. Banerji to come round in the afternoon. Mr. Banerji duly
arrived about 4 p-m. and in reply to questions put to him by Mr.
Gandhi he said that at the time of delivering judgment Mr. Vidyarthi
had uttered precisely those words which are reproduced in Mr.
Gandhi's affidavit. Mr. Banerji repeated the statement word for
word; and thereupon Mr. Gandhi asked him if he would be willing
to swear an affidavit, but to this Mr. Banerji replied that he did not
think it was necessary. When asked to give a letter to this same
effect, he said that he would think about it ; but he added that in
any event Mr. Gandhi could rely upon him to speak the whole truth
in court if he was summoned. Mr. Gandhi left Meerut that even-
ing, but Mr. Bharadwaja stayed on.

In reply to questions put to him by the court Mr. Gandhi states
that the news item dated 1st August (which appeared in the issue
of the 3rd August) "definitely led him to believe" that a circular
or instructions in some other form, had been issued by the High
Court directing judicial officers to collect subscriptions to the war
funds and he says that "in the extraordinary conditions of the war"
he thought that the Chief Justice might conceivably have been drawn

172 THE HINDUSTAN TlMtfS CASE

into action " which according to one section of opinion might be
considered appropriate, but entirely inappropriate according to
another section of opinion."

Then comes Mr. Bharadwaja who, as we have already said,
is the assistant editor of the Hindustan Times. He says that it was
he who supplied the headlines of the news item which appeared on
the 3rd August and he says that the reason why he put a question-
mark after the word "circular" was that this was an inference from
the text of the message. He also says that it was he who added
the word "new" before "Chief Justice." Other alterations were
made in the news item as received from Mr. Singhal but they are
immaterial, except a positional alteration which we shall mention.
Mr. Bharadwaja corroborates Mr. Gandhi's statement as regards the
visit to Dr. Dubey on the 31st August. Witness says that he has
known Dr. Dubey for 20 years; they were contemporaries at college.
He states that on the afternoon of the 1 st September he again talked
to Mr. Banerji at Dr. Dubey's house and that in the meanwhile Mr.
Surajbal Swami also arrived and he complained that Mr. Vidyarthi
had called his son-in-law to his chambers and had obtained a state-
ment from him to the effect that the judge had not uttered the words
which were being attributed to him.

Next morning, that is to say on the 2nd September, Mr.
Bharadwaja went and had an interview with the District Judge in
respect to these matters. Mr. Akbar Husain told witness that Mr.
Vidyarthi had admitted his mistake to him and he expressed the
opinion that Mr. Vidyarthi was likely to "get it in the neck" and he
said that he had advised him to go to Allahabad and make a clean
breast of the whole matter. He also said that Mr. Vidyarthi had
written to the Registrar for an early appointment with the Chief
Justice.

Mr. Bharadwaja says that he returned to Delhi that day, but
came to Meerut again on the following day, that is to say on the
3rd September. That day Rai Bahadur Pt. Surajbal Dikshit, the
leading criminal lawyer of Meerut, sent for him and he said to Mr.
Bharadwaja that he was anxious to bring about some sort of com-
promise so as to save Mr. Vidyarthi, to which Mr. Bharadwaja
replied that it was a matter between the High Court and the

JUDGMENT 173

Hindustan Times. He says that from his conversation with Rai
Bahadur Pt. Surajbal Dikshit he received the impression that a
circular as suggested in the headlines of the news item did exist.

At the end of his examination and cross-examination the court
put the following question to Mr. Bharadwaja :

"May it be that all that Mr. Vidyarthi had admitted to Mr.
Akbar Husain was his mistake in raising subscriptions for the war
fund in the court-room?

To this Mr. Bharadwaja replied :

"Yes. 1 did not specifically inquire from Mr. Akbar Husain
as to what that admission of mistake amounted to. At that time
my impression was that it amounted to making the statement impli-
cating the Chief Justice and the Governor in the collection of war
funds in court."

When asked by the Court whether he realized the impropriety
of involving the Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court in
politics and of associating him with the raising of subscriptions for
the war fund, witness replied that because of the experience of the
Punjab he did not think it highly improbable that the Chief Justice*
might have issued the suggested circular. When asked whether the
headlines in the news item were calculated to lead the readers of the
paper to conclude that what was being alleged against the Chief
Justice might probably be true, witness replied :

"The public could form their own conclusion. Some people
would think that there was a circular. Some might think that there
was not a circular/*

Dr. Dubey generally supports Mr. Gandhi and Mr. Bharad-
waja as regards whatever is stated to have taken place in his presence.
He further says that when he went to see Mr. Banerji the latter told
him that Mr. Vidyarthi first delivered a part of the judgment and
then referred to a talk which had taken place between the Governor
and the Chief Justice and after that he said that some instructions
had been received and in response thereto he made an appeal for
funds, and some money was collected there and then and was placed
on the judge's table. Witness says that Mr. Banerji subsequently
repeated these facts to Mr. Gandhi and Mr. Bharadwaja.

174 THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

Witness says that on the evening of the 2nd September after
Mr. Bharadwaja had left Meerut he went to see Rai Bahadur
Surajbal Dikshit at the latter's request. The Rai Bahadur said to
the witness that he wanted to see Mr. Gandhi or Mr. Bharadwaja;
he would like to have a talk with them in order that means might be
devised, if possible, to save Mr. Vidyarthi. Accordingly Dr.
Dubey rang up Mr. Gandhi and that is how Mr. Bharadwaja came
to Meerut again on the following day and had an interview with
the Rai Bahadur.

When asked in cross-examination whether he or Mr.
Bharadwaja had asked the Rai Bahadur for a photographic copy
of the alleged circular, witness replied :

"We did not specifically ask Mr. Dikshit, but we said if we
could have a photograph of the circular, that would absolve
Mr. Vidyarthi of all the responsibility. At the interview Mr. Dikshit
said positively that there was no such circular in existence and,
therefore, no photographic copy could be had of it.'*

This witness met Mr. Gandhi and Mr. Bhardawaja on two
occasions after this, once at Delhi and once at Meerut.

Mr. Surajbal Swami is a pleader at Meerut who, when not
engaged in practising before the criminal courts, apparently devotes
himself to the comparative study of the religions of the world. He
appeared for three of the accused in the Dhakoli case ; and it would
seem from his statement that on the 3 1 st July he was at first in what
he calls the "gallery," the court-room itself being "chock-full."
Someone informed him that warrants were being written and at the
request of that person he made his way inside the court to find out
what orders had been passed in respect to his clients. He says that
inside the court everyone knew that 16 of the accused had been
acquitted ; this was blown -because of some talk which took place
between the Judge and the lawyers. He denies that the judgment
was delivered piecemeal. He says :

"The judgment was delivered between 3 and 4 p.m. He
(i.e., the Judge) delivered first the judgment with respect to the four
accused persons who were sentenced to transportation for life. He
did not deliver the judgment as regards the rest of the accused when

JUDGMENT J75

1 was there, but the lawyers present there knew that they stood ac-
quitted."

Witness goes on to say that at the instance of the Judge
Rs. 200 were collected that day and Rs. 200 more were promised
on behalf of two persons who were represented by an advocate
from Bijnor, and witness himself ultimately agreed to pay Rs. 1 50
on behalf of his clients, but the money was not available at the
lime. When asked in what words the Judge made his appeal,
witness replied that he spoke some such words as the following :

"Ham kya karen. His Excellency the Governor Sahab
Chief Justice Sahab se mile the. Unhon-ne-ham se kaha aur hamko
aisa karna hota hai.**

Witness gave these words in Urdu at the invitation of Sir Tej
Bahadur Sapru. He says he is positive that he heard the Judge
refer to his Excellency the Governor and to his Lordship the Chief
Justice.

Witness goes on to state that on several occasions the Judge
sent for him, but he* declined to go; but eventually he did see Mr.
Vidyarthi on the 1 0th September. Mr. Vidyarthi showed him a
copy of Mr. Gandhi's affidavit and asked witness not to give evidence
to the effect that he had mentioned the Governor or the Chief
Justice in connection with the raising of war subscriptions and he said
that he was "unhinged." To this Mr. Surajbal Swami replied :

4 'Sir, I am not going to tell a lie and I cannot tolerate your face
any longer and probably you may also be wishing the same."

Having said this, witness abruptly went away. The reason why
witness was so angry with Mr. Vidyarthi was that on the 1 st Septem-
ber his son-in-law had been made to sign an untrue statement by the
Judge, and it appears that on account of Mr. Surajbal Swami's indig-
nation his son-in-law, a few days later, left Meerut altogether. He
says that his son-in-law knew that for the last two years witness had
not told a conscious lie and that he had turned his own son out of the
house because of his propensity to lying.

Witness says that on various occasions Mr. Bharadwaja and
Dr. Dubev tried to cret him to malt** certain statements, but he refus-

176 THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

ed. He says that two opposing parties had come into existence at
Meerut, one being composed of Mr. Bharadwaja, Dr. Dubey
and certain leading members of the Congress, and the
other being the party of the Judge, who had the support of
Kai Bahadur Pandit Surajbal Dikshit, Rai Bahadur Moti Lai who
is apparently the Government Pleader a barrister named Mr. S.
C. Gupta and several other persons, and witness says : "I do not
like to drag myself into the mud/*

Mr. Krishna Swarup Sharma has also given evidence. He
says that on the 1st September he went to see Mr. Vidyarthi at the
instance of his father-in-law, whom Mr. Vidyarthi had been sending
for. The Judge showed him four or five statements, including a
statement by Mr. S. C. Gupta, who had appeared for the same
clients as Mr. Surajbal Swami, and he asked witness to copy out Mr-
Gupta's statement and then sign it ; but witness demurred on the
ground that he was not present when judgment was delivered. The
Judge, however, kept on pressing him ; he said that his retention in
service was at stake and that the desired statement would assist him
and would do witness no harm. At last witness submitted to Mr.
Vidyarthi's persistent requests and signed a copy of Mr. Gupta's
statement, which was to the effect that he had been present at the
time of delivery of judgment and that the Judge did not state
that he had received any instructions from the Chief Justice as regards
the collecting of war funds. The Judge made witness write on
a separate chit that his father-in-law had not been present when
judgment was delivered.

Witness says that when he informed his father-in-law of what
had happened the latter became very angry. Witness then went back
to Mr. Vidyarthi and asked for the return of his statement, but Mr.
Vidyarthi put him off by saying that he would speak to his father-
in-law and that the latter would cease to be displeased with him.
Next day witness again went to Mr. Vidyarthi with the same request,
but received the same reply. Then witness left Meerut on account of
his father-in-law's anger and he has taken up his residence at Bijnor.

We will now summarize the evidence which has been adduced
on the other side.

Mr. Vidyarthi categorically denies having made any reference to

JUDGMENT m

his Excellency or to the Chief Justice, but he admits having asked for
subscriptions. He says that he has been in the habit of raising sub-
scriptions as a private citizen out of court and he states that a week
before the incident in question the War Secretary urged him to
greater efforts. He says that on the 31st July he read out the opera-
tive portion of his judgment convicting some of the accused and
acquitting others. He then asked the pleaders who were present to
ask their clients that is to say, those of the accused persons who
had been acquitted to contribute something, if they felt so inclined,
to the war fund, observing that the best form of charity these days was
to fielp the wounded soldiers or the survivors of those who had laid
down their lives. Rs. 200 were collected there and then and a
turther sum of Rs. 250 was collected within the next two or three
days- Mr. Vidyarthi denies that the Rs. 200 which were collected
on the 31st July were placed on his table. He says that the money
was left with Mr. S. C. Gupta, who told him next day that he had
paid the money to the War Secretary.

Mr. Vidyarthi admits having told his stenographer to call Mr.
Singhal to his chambers if he happened to see him in court and he
also admits that in fact the stenographer went to the house of Mr.
Singhal; but Mr. Vidyarthi denies having actually met Mr.
Singhal either on the 1 3th August or on any other date. The
reason why he sent for Mr. Singhal was that he wanted to ask him
what foundation there was for the news that a circular had been
issued by the Chief Justice; but when he received no reply to the
chit which had been left at Mr. Singhal's house, he made no further
attempt, direct or indirect, to get hold of him. The Judge admits
that B. Ganga Prasad is a distant relative of his, but he denies
having asked him to persuade Gauri Shankar to bring Mr. Singhal
to see him.

He says that when he had an interview with the District Judge
on the 1st September, he told the latter that he had collected
subscriptions to the war fund in court and he said to him that he
had afterwards realized that this was improper and he expressed his
regret. He says that Mr. Akbar Husain asked him to go and see
the Chief Justice and tell him all the facts and he actually came
to Allahabad for this purpose, but some gentleman at Allahabad
advised him that it would be very improper on his part to have an

178 THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

interview with the Chief Justice and speak about a matter which
was pending in court before him; and, accordingly, he did not see
the Chief Justice.

Mr- Vidyarthi admits having taken signed statements from Mr.
Krishna Swarup Sharma and other pleaders on the 1st September,
but he says that he afterwards realized that this was not a proper
thing to have done and so he destroyed those statements. He denies
having exerted any pressure and he says that one of the pleaders sent
his statement from his house. He afterwards told Mr. Akbar Husain
about the statements which he had taken. He says that he called
Mr. Surajbal Swami to his chambers, but the latter did not come
and so he had no talk with him.

When asked to suggest a reason why Mr. Singhal should have
sent a false report of what happened in court on the 31st July,
witness replied :

tk l think it might be due to some misunderstanding based on
some conjectures and surmises and once they took up that position
they adhered to the same."

When asked what he meant by "misunderstanding" he said
that his impression was that Mr. Singhal was not present in court at
all that day and that "he acted on some hearsay or rumour."

The next witness is Mr. Akbar Husain, the District Judge of
Meerut. He says that Mr. K, N. Banerji began to say something
to him about this matter at a tea party, but witness suggested to
Mr. Banerji that if he had anything important to say he had better
come and see him in his chambers ; and this Mr. Banerji did. It was
on or about the 1st September, and Mr. Banerji told Mr. Akbar
Husain that he was worried about this matter of collecting subscrip-
tions to the war fund because he was being asked by Mr. Devadas
Gandhi, the Editor of the Hindustan Times, to make a statement
and witness says he thinks that the statement which Mr. Banerji told
him that he was being pressed to make was that he had heard
Mr. Vidyarthi say in court that he had received instructions from
the Government and from the Hon'ble High Court to assist in the
collection of subscriptions to the war fund. He safd to Mr. ABbar
Husain that in point of fact he had no personal knowledge about the

JUDGMENT 179

matter at all ; when he went into the court-room on the day in
question a sum of money was already being collected. Mr. Akbar
Husain told him that if he had no personal knowledge about the
matter he had nothing to worry about, and Mr. Banerji then went
away. Meanwhile, Mr. Akbar Husain had sent for Mr. Vidyarthi
and the latter came while the above conversation was in progress and
he stayed on after Mr. Banerji had left. Mr. Vidyarthi said that
he wanted to hide nothing ; he admitted that he had made a mistake
and he said that he regretted it very much and that all that he would
say in his defence was that he had acted in absolute good faith. He
said that what had actually happened was that after he had
pronounced judgment he had suggested to the pleaders for those of
the accused persons who had been acquitted that they might as a
token of thankfulness contribute something to f he war fund, as a
result of which a sum of Rs. 500 odd was collected ; but he
afterwards felt that he had acted improperly and he was very sorry
about it- He denied having stated in court that the High Court or
the Government had issued instructions to judicial officers to assist in
collecting subscriptions. Mr. Vidyarthi also informed witness about
his having taken statements from some pleaders and he explained
that he had done so "because he had to safeguard his interests
against what he considered a campaign of vilification which was
afoot."

Mr. Akbar Husain further says that Mr. Bharadwaja came
and had an interview with him and said that according to information
which he had received by telephone from the local correspondent
of the Hindustan Times Mr. Vidyarthi had been using undue
influence to extract from lawyers practising in his court a statement
to the effect that he had not said the things which were being ascribed
to him. To this Mr. Akbar Husain replied that he could hardly
believe this because Mr. Vidyarthi had already made what he
thought was a very frank and straightforward statement as to what
took place in court and witness told Mr. Bharadwaja that he thought
his local correspondent had been sending false and mischievous
information to him.

The next witness is Rai Bahadur Pt. Surajbal Dikshit. He
is the leading criminal lawyer at Meerut and, as we have already

180 THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

said, he is the President of the Bar Association. He states that on
the 1 st September he heard a rumour in the Bar Room to the effect
that Mr. Vidyarthi had made a confession to the District Judge.
There were conflicting accounts as regards the nature of the confession
which Mr. Vidyarthi was said to have made and accordingly witness
approached Mr. Vidyarthi on the 2nd September and inquired from
him about the matter. Mr. Vidyarthi told witness that he had been
to the District Judge and had admitted his error in collecting money
for the War Fund in court from persons who had been acquitted and
had expressed his regret. Witness says that he definitely asked
Mr. Vidyarthi whether he had admitted anything about a circular
or about HE. the Governor or his Lordship the Chief Justice, and
Mr. Vidyarthi replied that any such allegation was totally false.
Witness then asked him whether there was any truth in the rumour
that a circular or instructions, as alleged, had been received by the
judicial officers from the High Court and Mr. Vidyarthi replied that
this allegation also was utterly false. In reply to a question put to him
in cross-examination witness says that to the best of his recollection
Mr. Vidyarthi informed him that what he had admitted before the
District Judge was that after judgment had been pronounced in the
Dhakoli case he had asked for subscriptions as charity for the wounded
soldiers and their families and some money was collected.

That same day witness learnt that Mr. Gandhi and Mr. Bharad-
waja were staying with Dr. Dubey and so he went to the latter 's
house because he thought that they might have heard the rumour about
Mr. Vidyarthi having mentioned a circular in court and having made
a reference to the Governor of the Province and the Chief Justice.
Mr. Gandhi and Mr. Bharadwaja, however, had already left, so
witness asked Dr. Dubey to call Mr. Gandhi so that he might be
apprised of the truth. Mr. Gandhi did not come, but Mr. Bhara-
dwaja, however, came. This was on the 3rd September and Mr.
Bharadwaja was accompanied by Dr. Dubey and a number of
professors and other persons. Witness told Mr. Bharadwaja that
the reason why he had called him was that he particularly wanted
to inform him that "it was a definite and positive fact" that no
circular had been issued from the High Court. Also, witness, being
a member of the Provincial War Committee, apprehended that if

JUDGMENT Ifcl

there was a protracted proceeding in court this might be detrimental
to the war efforts, in which he was interested. Notwithstanding die
positive assertion which witness gave to them, neither Mr. Bharad-
waja nor L)r. Dubey was convinced that there was no such circular
and they asked witness to produce a photograph of it. All that
witness could do then was to tell them that he could not procure a
photograph of a thing which did not exist. He said to them that
Mr. Vidyarthi, acting like a gentleman, had admitted his mistake
to the District Judge and witness said to Mr. Bharadwaja :

" You now definitely know that there is no such

circular or instructions issued to judicial officers by the Hon'ble
High Court and, therefore, the right course for you would be to
go like a gentleman and submit an unconditional apology to the
High Courir for having repeated a false statement without
verifying its truth."

To this Mr. Bharadwaja replied that no apology would be
forthcoming because he and Mr. Gandhi were both convinced that
a circular or instructions as alleged had in fact been issued. The
interview then came to an end ; but as Mr. Bharadwaja and his party
were leaving, the former remarked to witness that he would be
staying at Meerut in case witness might care to reconsider the matter
meaning thereby that he would be at hand to receive a copy or
photograph of the circular if witness cared to supply him with it.

Witness emphatically denies having said to Mr. Bharadwaja
and Dr- Dubey that something should be done to save Mr. Vidyarthi
or having said that "a Hindu Judge was being sacrificed," as alleged
by Mr. Bharadwaja in his deposition.

This concludes the evidence. Two of the witnesses who had
been summoned by Mr. Vidyarthi were not put into the witness box-.
These are Mr. S. C. Gupta, a barrister of Meerut, who was
admittedly appearing for some of the accused in the Dhakoli case,
and Rai Sahib Moti Lai, the Government Pleader. Whether the
latter was present in court on the 31th July appears to be open to
doubt and no question was put to Mr. Vidyarthi as regards tKis
gentleman, but Mr. Vidyarthi was cross-examined by Sir Tej
Bahadur Sapru as regards his reasons for not putting Mr. S. C. Guota
jntp the witness-box/ This was when Mr. Vidyarthi was recalled

182 THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

tor cross-examination after notice had been served on Mr. Singhal.
As regards his reason for not producing Mr. S. C. Gupta before the
Court, Mr. Vidyarthi says :

"Mr. Gupta was summoned as a witness on my behalf, but
he told me that a number of friends, and he also possibly told
me that some of his relations who had come from Delhi, were
bringing pressure upon him and were harassing him and insisting
that he should not give evidence against the Congress and
Mr. Gandhi."

As regards Rai Sahib Moti Lai, the Judge volunteered the
following statement :

"Mr. Moti Lai also camo to me on the evening of the 24th
October and said that there had been great propaganda and
complaints had been made against him, probably to the
Commissioner or the Collector, and that if he gave evidence
against the Congress those complaints would be pressed; otherwise
not."

In reply to a further question, Mr. Vidyarthi says :

" I was told by Mr. Surajbal Dikshit this morning

that Rai Sahib Moti Lai refused to give evidence against the
Congress.''

We will now proceed to determine whether or not it is proved
that the Judge uttered the words which are attributed to him. From
the glaring contradictions in the evidence, it is manifest that many
untrue facts have been deposed to in these proceedings on one side
or the other by persons who would ordinarily be expected to have a
high regard for truth. We may say at once that, having had all
the witnesses before us, we are of opinion that there are two among
them whose credibility is unassailable and we feel that we can con-
fidently accept their testimony as true. These are Mr. Akbar
Husain, the District Judge of Meerut, and Rai Bahadur Pandit
Surajbal Dikshit; and their evidence will in many instances serve
as a criterion for testing and appraising the credibility of other
witnsses who have deposed before us.

The positive case set up by the respondents was that Mr.
Vidyarthi first convicted four of the accused persons and sentenced
them ^ to transportation for life and then stated in open court that
the Chief Justice having been requested by H.E. the Governor to

JUDGMENT 183

help in the war efforts had sent instructions to the Judges of the
subordinate courts to raise subscriptions for the War Fund, and that
the Judge went on to say that the persons whom he was addressing
should assist him in this matter. Thereupon a consultation took
place among the lawyers and the remaining accused persons, with
the result that a sum of Rs. 200 was collected and a further sum
of Rs. 150 was promised. After this the remaining 16 accused
were acquitted. The implication is that until this money was
collected the remaining 16 accused were left in ignorance as to
whether they were to be convicted or acquitted. If this is what
occurred, it was an unpardonable act of extortion on the part of
the Judge. The only witnesses, however, who depose in clear
terms to this fact are Mr. Singhal and Attar Singh. The latter,
as we have already said, was related to two men in respect to whose
murder the accused persons had been prosecuted. The evidence
of these two witnesses is not supported by Mr. Surajbal Swami,
another witness for the respondents, who says it is not true that
the judgment was delivered piecemeal. His evidence is to the
effect that when he made his entry into the court-room he heard
the Judge pass sentence on four of the accused, but he is definite
that all the lawyers in court were already aware that the other 16
were acquitted. This they knew by reason of what the judge had
said to them before witness entered the court. The following ques-
tion was put to this witness :

"May I take it that the decision of the Judge as regards all
the 20 accused was known to the lawyers at one and the same
time, i.e.. that four accused had been convicted and the rest
acquitted "

The reply was :

"My lord, this is the position. The lawyers present knew it."
The next question put to witness was :

"Then the accusation against the Judge that he delivered
judgment piecemeal is untrue?"

Witness replied :

"Certainly. I may add that we knew that this is the stat
of affairs."

A further question put to witness was :

184 THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

"So it is a fact that all at once it was known to everybody
concerned that four of the accused had been convicted and the
rest acquitted?"

The reply to this question was :

"Yes, even to the persons acquitted and convicted."

This witness, however, does say that he heard Mr. Vidyarthi
utter some such words as these :

"Whar can I do? His Excellency the Governor has met the
Chief Justice. The latter has given me instructions and I must
act accordingly."

If Mr. Surajbal Swami is a witness of truth, his evidence
shows that Mr. Vidyarthi did claim authority from the Chief Justice,
and this is, we think, the best evidence that the respondents have
been able to adduce. We cannot, however, shut our eyes to the
obvious tact that Mr- Surajbal Swami has a considerable animus
against Mr. Vidyarthi. He admits that he has an ungovernable
temper; and he was very angry when his son-in-law signed a state-
ment at the request of Mr. Vidyarthi, and witness told the latter
that he could not tolerate his face. Mr. Surajbal Swami was in
the habit of asking irrelevant questions and creating scenes in
court and when checked he generally lost his temper. Rai Bahadur
Surajbal Dikshit, when asked about Mr. Surajbal Swami, says :

" as far as I understand he is a gentleman of very

strong likes and dislikes and a Judge in his capacity as a Judge
may not be able to please everybody at every time."

When asked by Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru on behalf of the
respondents to repeat the substance of what the Judge had said,
witness hesitated for a while. Thereupon, Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru
suggested that witness might prefer to answer the question in Urdu.
To this witness gave the following somewhat cryptic reply :

"No, no. It is a question of recollection because I have not
talked over the matter to many persons."

This reply would seem to suggest that he had talked over the
matter with some persons, and that if he had talked it over with
more persons he might have been able to repeat with more accuracy
the words used by the Judge. We hope we are not being unfajr

JUDGMENT 185

to Mr- Surajbal Swami, and in fairness to him we wish to say that
it other circumstances did not exist which satisfy us that Mr.
Vidyarthi did not use the words ascribed to him, the criticism to
which we have subjected the testimony of this witness might not
suffice to discredit him.

Mr. Singhal admits that he was unable to hear the "side-
talk" which took place ^ between Mr. Vidyarthi and the accused,
but he heard the Judge's reference to HE. the Governor and the
Chief Justice so clearly and so attentively that he was afterwards
able to repeat it verbatim. This perhaps is not altogether
impossible, having regard to the startling nature of the utterance;
but what is truly remarkable is that in his news item of the 1st
August, which was published in the issue of the, 3rd August, he
made no mention whatsoever of the Judge having stated that his
authority for collecting war subscriptions was based on instructions
received from the Chief Justice. He contented himself with saying :

"The judicial officers all over the province have been, I reliably
learn, asked by the (new) Chief Justice of the Allahabad High
Court, who, it is understood, has been requested by his Excellency
the Govern jr for co-operation in war efforts, to raise subscriptions
for the Woi Fuid."

The italics are ours and we have put the word "new" in
brackets because this word was admittedly added at the time of
editing the news item.

If Mr. Vidyarthi made in open court the statement which has
been ascribed to him, what conceivable reason would Mr. Singhal
have had for not saying what his "reliable source" was? It is in
our opinion utterly unbelievable that he would not have reported
Mr. Vidyarthi 's utterance to the newspaper which he was serving
in the capacity of a reporter. It may be said that, since he had
not actually verified the receipt of instructions from the Chief
Justice, Mr. Singhal might have refrained from reporting the judge's
words tor the reason that the repetition of an untruth which amounts
to contempt of court is itself a contempt, however mitigated. But
if Mr. Singhal would have committed a contempt by repeating
what the judge said, the contempt was equally contained in what
Mr. Singhal actually did report in his news item ; in fact it may be
said to have been greater since the source of thjs information was nof

186 THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

stated. We are absolutely convinced that if Mr. Vidyarthi had
made in court and in the presence of Mr. Singhal the very remark-
able utterance which has been ascribed to him, Mr. Singhal would
have at once reported it to the Hindustan Times. We have no
doubt that he would have reported it in the news item itself ; but if
not, he would certainly have done so in a separate letter.

Another circumstance which throws considerable doubt on the
truth of what Mr. Singhal has stated in Court is this : The original
news item sent by him is on the record and we find that first
of all he reported the facts of the Dhakoli case and the judgment
and then there is an item of news about an altogether extraneous
matter and last of all comes the offending item, which we have
already reproduced in this judgment. This leaves no doubt in our
mind that Mr. Singhal had not heard the judge make the alleged
statement while delivering judgment in the Dhakoli case. He
knew that money had been collected in court, and he may have
heard it said that instructions, as alleged, had been issued by the
Chief Justice. This information would be based on an inference
from what had happened in court, and possibly the belief may have
been held in good faith by persons who were in Court that such
instructions must have been issued. Mr. Singhal may either him-
self have drawn this erroneous inference from what he saw, if he
was in court, or he may have accepted what he heard from others.

In connection with the news item we may mention that the
original, as sent by Mr. Singhal, was re-arranged by the editorial
staft so that the portion at the end beginning with the words. **With
the Judicial officers now co-operating actively in the war
efforts " appeared in the newspaper at the commence-
ment of the news item, followed immediately by a statement of the
facts of the case and the decision of the Court.

On the 9th August, 1941, the office of the Hindustan Times
wrote to Mr. Singhal and asked for full details as regards his
"reliable source" and in his reply dated 10th August Mr. Singhal
said that he had heard the judge make this statement several times in
court, and he went on to say that, when he asked to see thie
judgment, Mr. Vidyarthi replied that it was not ready but he
authorized Mr. Singhal to "send a bare message in the DhaVoli

JUDGMENT 187

murder case that, as the judicial officers had been asked by the
Chief Justice, who had been requested by H.E. the Governor to
co-operate in war efforts, to raise subscriptions for war funds, it
was incumbent upon him that he should also contribute his share."
This is manifestly false. Even assuming that Mr. Vidyarthi under
the excitement of an impulse of excessive zeal had taken in vain the
names of H.fcl. the Governor sad the Chief Justice, it is quite un-
believable that he would have asked the reporter to have this lie
broadcast through the medium of the Hindustan Times, which we
understand is a journal with a wide circulation.

On his own showing Mr. Singhal has little regard for truth.
He says that at Mr. Vidyarthi's request he assured the latter that
he would not mention his name, but he admits that he had in fact
already done so. Then he says that the reason why he did not at
first go to the judge was that he was very busy, but in his lettes
of 1 Oth August he said that the judge had become very angry with
him since the comment had appeared in ,the issue of 6th August
and that he had sent word to the judge that he would only see
him on receipt of a letter of request, and then only in court.
Obviously he did not want to see the judge, not because he was
busy, but for quite different reasons, and in the circumstances we are
very doubtful as regards the alleged interview of 13th August
which Mr. Vidyarthi emphatically denies. It is true that Mr.
Singhal is corroborated in this matter by Gauri Shanker, but we
were not in any way impressed by this witness. The only fact which
might give some colour of probability to the alleged interview is that
the alleged intermediary, one B. Ganga Prasad, is admittedly a
distant relation of Mr. Vidyarthi; but this fact by itself is too
tenuous to turn the scale in favour of Mr. Singhal, who in other
matters has been proved not to be a witness of truth. The alleged
interview in itself is not of much importance but the evidence in res-
pect to it is of importance for the reason that if we accept the
testimony of Mr. Singhal and Gauri Shanker, it follows that Mr.
Vidyarthi must have lied about the matter. ^But for reasons which
we have given we prefer to accept the latter's own statement in tfie
matter.

Mr. K. N. Banerji is a witness produced by the respondents as

188 THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

having been one of the lawyers present in court when Mr. Vidyarthi
made the alleged utterance. But this witness positively denies having
heard the Judge state what has been ascribed to him. He says that
someone mentioned to him in court that Mr. Vidyarthi had made a
reference to H.E. the Governor and the Chief Justice, but he
cannot say who that person was. He states that when he met Mr.
Akbar Husain he told him that Mr. Gandhi wanted an
affidavit from him ; but he denies having made any complaint against
Mr. Gandhi or Mr. Vidyarthi. He says that he told Mr. Akbar
Husain what he knew, and this he did on the advice of Rai Bahadur
Pt. Surajbal Dikshit. What Mr. Akbar Husain says, however, is
very different. He says that Mr. Banerji met him at a tea party and
stated certain things to him and Mr. Akbar Husain asked him to come
and speak to him about the matter next day in his chambers, and
this Mr. Banerji did. Mr. Banerji said to Mr. Akbar Husain that
he was very worried about the matter of Mr. Vidyarthi having
collected subscriptions for the War Fund and he said that Mr.
Gandhi was pressing him to make a statement, though he had in fact
no personal knowledge of the matter. Mr. Akbar Husain says :

"I believe that what Mr. K. N. Banerji told me^when he met
me at the tea party was that he was being asked by or at the
instance of Mr. Devadas Gandhi to say that he heard Mr. Vidyarthi
say that ho had instructions from the Government and the Hon'ble
High Court to assist in the collection of subscriptions to the War
Fund.

Mr. Akbar Husain also says that in his presence Mr. K. N.
Banerji stated that no one had mentioned to him about having
actually heard Mr. Vidyarthi make the alleged statement. Thus
it is clear that Mr. Banerji has not spoken the truth in court in
respect to this matter.

Nor does Mr. Banerji support Mr. Gandhi and Mr. Bharad-
waja as regards his interview with them on the 31st August at the
house of Dr. Dubey. According to Mr. Banerji, all that he was
asked was whether Mr. Singhal was a "respectable reporter" and
whether the incident reported by him was correct, and witness replied
in the affirmative. His evidence, if true, would show that neither Mr.
Gandhi nor Mr. Bharadwaja asked him whether the Judge had made
a reference to H.tl. the Governor or the Chief justice; all that

JUDGMENT 189

they asked him was whether there had been any talk about a circular
from the Chief Justice. This statement of Mr. Banerji may or
may not be true. We note that, notwithstanding the allegations in
paragraph I I (h) of Mr. Gandhi's affidavit, Mr. Banerji was not
asiced on behalf of the respondents whether he had beared the Judge
iiiafce the alleged statement or whether on the 31 August he had
confirmed having heard it. In paragraph 1 1 (k) of the affidavit there
is the following allegation :

"Mr. K. N. Banerji further told Mr. Bharadwaja that upon
Mr. Akbar Husain making inquiries from the 2nd Additional Ses-
sions Judge the later admitted in the presence of Mr. Banerji having
made the statement ascribed to him. ....

This too was not put to Mr. Banerji on behalf of the respon-
dents. i\or was it put in cross-examination to Mr. AEbar Husain,
but it is clear trom the latter 's evidence that Mr. Vidyarthi made no
such statement. liven Mr. Bharadwaja has not deposed to this fact
in court. 1 he position is that if Mr. Banerji did tell Mr. bhara-
awaja that the Judge had made this admission before Mr. Akbar
ttusain, he lied, it Mr. Banerji did not say this, the affidavit is
untrue.

Then we find serious contradictions between the evidence of
Mr. Akbar Husain and the evidence of Mr. bharadwaja. Accord-
ing to what Mr- Bharadwaja says, Mr. Akbar Husain remarked to
nim that Mr. Vidyarthi was likely to "get it in the neck/" He also
told Mr. Bharadwaja that Mr. Vidyarthi had written to the Registrar
for permission to have an interview wilh the Chief Justice (which,
ure may mention, is not a fact) and that Mr. Vidyarthi proposed to
make a clean breast of the whole matter. Mr. Bharadwaja 's impres-
&ion from this talk with Mr. Akbar Husain was that the mistake
which Mr. Vidyarthi had admitted was the mistake of implicating
tfie Chief Justice and H.E. the Governor in the collection of war
funds in court. Mr. Bharadwaja says that Mr. Akbar Husain also
remarked to him that the reporter was "rather indiscreet*' in passing
on all kinds of information. The evidence of Mr. Bharadwaja does
not correspond with what has been deposed to by Mr. Akbar Husain.
The latter says that Mr. Bharadwaja complained to him that accord-
ing to his information Mr. Vidyarthi had been using undue

190 THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

influence to get lawyers to make a statement to the effect that he had
not uttered the words ascribed to him. Mr. Akbar Husain replied
that he found it difficult to believe this because Mr. Vidyarthi had
already seen him and had made what he thought was a very frank
and straightforward statement as to what had happened in court and
Mr. Akbar Husain observed that in his opinion the local correspond-
ent of the paper had been sending "false and mischievous informa-
tion. " This is all that Mr. Aktar Husain has stated in respect to his
interview with Mr. Bharadwaja and the facts which the latter has de-
posed were not put to Mr. Akbar Husain in cross-examination.
Mr. Akbar Husain says that Mr. Vidyarthi admitted to him having
taken the statements of some pleaders and he explained that his
reason for doing this was "to safeguard his interests against what he
considered a campaign of vilification which was afoot."

Mr. Bharadwaja 's evidence is also in conflict with the
evidence of Kai Bahadur Ft. Surajbal Dikshit. According to Mr.
Bharadwaja 's statement, the Rai Bahadur wanted to bring about a
settlement so as to save Mr. Vidyarthi. Otherwise, said the Rai
Bahadur, "a Hindu Judge will be sacrificed." Mr. Bharadwaja
denies the fact of any suggestion having been made by the Rai
Bahadur that an apology should be tendered by him to the High
Court. He further says that he received an impression from his
conversation with the Rai Bahadur that a circular had in fact been
issued by the Chief Justice instructing judicial officers to collect wai
subscriptions. The Rai Bahadur on the other hand says that he
definitely told Mr. Bharadwaja that no such circular
existed and he said that the right course for him was
to submit an unconditional apology to the High Court. To this
Mr. Bharadwaja replied that no apology would be submitted
because he and Mr. Gandhi were convinced that a circular or
instructions had in fact been issued- The Rai Bahadur emphatically
denies having said that efforts should be made to save Mr.
Vidyarthi. When asked whether he had said that "a Hindu Judge
would be sacrificed," witness replied that the allegation was "a
big lie."

Dr. Dubey has supported the respondents as regards the inter-
views with Mr. K. N. Banerji and with Rai Bahadur Pt. Surajbal

JUDGMENT 101

Dikshit, but we were unfavourably impressed by his demeanour.
He and Mr. Bharadwaja are old friends or "old chums," as des-
cribed by Mr. Surajbal Swami of 20 years standing and there can
be no doubt that Dr. Dubey has been doing his utmost to assist the
respondents. It does not of course necessarily follow from this fact
alone that his efforts were not honest but he like Mr. Bharadwaja is
contradicted on material points by Mr. Akbar Husain and by the
Rai Bahadur. In one respect he does not altogether support Mr.
Bharaclwaja. Mr. Bharadwaja says that when he asked the
Rai Bahadur to procure a photograph of the circular, the latter
replied that this was impracticable which would seem to suggest
an admission that the circular did exist, but that there were insuper-
able difficulties in the way of getting a phonograph. Dr. Dubey on
the other hand says :

"At the interview Mr. Dikshit said positively that there was
no such circular in existence and therefore no photographic copy
could be had-"

In this respect, but in this respect alone, Dr a Dubey supports
the statement of Rai Bahadur Pandit Surajbal Dikshit.
Before leaving Dr. Dubey we may mention, that in
his evidence he has made an insinuation that it is under the influence
of Mr. Akbar Husain and Rai Bahadur Pt. Surajbal Dikshit that
Mr. K. N. Banerji has "wavered" and so has not told the whole
truth in court.

When the evidence of Mr. Bharadwaja and Dr. Dubey is
tested in the light of the evidence given by Mr. Akbar Husain and
Rai Bahadur Pt. Surajbal Dikshit, it fails to carry any conviction to
us. As regards Mr. K. N. Banerji, if he was not in court at the
time when judgment was delivered and was not appearing for any
of the accused, it is not apparent why on his arrival he should have 1
assisted in collecting and counting the currency notes. If he was, in
court either before or after judgment was delivered, then he cer-
tainly told Mr. Akbar Husain that he had no knowledge about the
alleged statement of Mr. Vidyarthi and that no one had told him
anything about it. We think it is safer to discard the testimony of
this witness altogether.

192 THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

Having analysed the evidence, we are of opinion that not only
have the respondents failed to establish the case which they set up,
but that in fact Mr. Vidyarthi did not give utterance to the words
attributed to him. Mr. Vidyarthi admits that he was zealous in
collecting subscriptions to the War Fund in his capacity as a private
citizen, and he also admits that he did in fact collect money in court
horn some of the accused persons on the 31st July after their
acquittal. It is unnecessary to say that Mr. Vidyarthi
was, to say the least of it, highly ill-advised to collect
subscriptions in this manner while sitting in court as a Judge.
The contributions were presumably to the Governor's War Purposes
Fund and the possibility can, therefore, be contemplated that
a Judge, acting as Mr. Vidyarthi did, might perhaps mention the
name of H.E. the Governor. But it is in the highest degree improb-
able apart from all other considerations that Mr. Vidyarthi
would in open court falsely state that the Chief Justice at the request
of H.E. the Governor had instructed judicial officers to raise sub-
scriptions. If the subscriptions were towards the Governor's War
Purposes Fund, it is not difficult to imagine that this might suggest
to the persons who were present in court that his Excellency might
have asked the Chief Justice to issue instructions, as alleged, to
judicial officers. It often happens that a suggestion soon becomes a
"fact" and is repeated as such* But the language of the news item
is, in our opinion, utterly incompatible with the allegation that Mr.
Vidyarthi used the words which have been ascribed to him, and
for reasons which we have already stated we are absolutely satisfied
that the Judge did not say in open court, as alleged, that the Chief
justice at the request of H.E. the Governor had issued instructions
for the collecting of war funds. We think that Mr. Singhal
founded his report on nothing more substantial than a suggestion, or
an easy inference arising from the facts.

So much for our findings of fact, but before we go on to the
question of law we wish to say that Mr. Vidyarthi acted in a very
unwise and misguided manner after seeing the news item in the issue
of the Hindustan Time's dated the 3rd August. Instead of sending
for the reporter, he should have at once written to the High Court
stating the true facts or asking for an interview with the Chief
Justice in order to explain the facts to him. There has also been

JUDGMENT 193

much criticism before us of Mr. Vidyarthi's conduct in taking
statements from pleaders on the 1 st September and we are of
opinion that he would have been better advised not to do so. But
in fairness to him we must bear in mind that to his knowledge the
respondents were collecting evidence against him and we are unable
to accept the bare averment of the young pleader Mr. Krishna
Swarup Sharma, that the statement which he signed was false.

We now come to the question whether a contempt has been
committed by all or any of the respondents- Sir Tej Bahadur
Sapru pleads that there is no contempt or if there is, it is mitigated
by justifying circumstances and by an expression of regret.

In our opinion the charge of contempt is established against
all the three respondents. In an earlier part of this judgment we
have stated what impression an ordinary intelligent reader would
receive from reading the editorial comment of the 6th August. For
the sake of convenience we may re-produce here a passage from
those observations. We have said :

"It (i.e., the comment) contains a clear insinuation that
the Chief Justice had issued a circular to all judicial officers to
raise contributions from litigants and others to the War Fund,
that pressure was thereby being exerted by an authority which
'it would not be safe to displease* and that the prestige of the
courts wo'.ild thus be impaired. The implication is that the Chief
Justice had done something which was unworthy of a person
holding that high office and that as the head and representative
of this High Court he had committed the gross impropriety of
forcing judicial officers subordinate to this court to ask for war
contributions from litigants who, notwithstanding that the giving
of donations was ostensibly voluntary, were not in a position to
refuse."

We then expressed our opinion that any intelligent reader of
the comment would think or would at least suspect that orders to
this effect had probably been issued. We also {aid that a reader of
the news item would conclude that the Chief Justice had issued the
alleged circular at the request of H.E. the Governor.

In this connection Mr. Bharadwaja himself admits that
"some people would think that there was a circular some might
think that there was not a circular/*

19 4 THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

It is a matter of common knowledge that there is a political
controversy in India as to the propriety or otherwise of contributing
to the war effort, and fhe publications in question would necessarily
have the effect of dragging the Chief Justice of this Court, as such,
into that political controversy. They amount to an imputation
against the Chief Justice in his official capacity. In Surendra Narh
Banerjea v. the Chief Justice and Judges of the High Court at Fort
William in Bengal, I.L.R., ID Calcutta, p. 109, it was recognized
by the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in the judgment of
Sir Barnes Peacock at page 1 30 that a contempt might be not only
by a libel against a Judge in his judicial capacity but also by a
libel in reference to his conduct in the discharge of his public duties.
There is an insinuation in the present case that the Chief Justice was
acting under the influence of the Executive, for the comment is
based upon and inspired by the news item which had been published
on the 3rd August. The case of Tushar Kanti Ghosh, Editor.
Amrita Bazar Patrfta, and another, A.I.R., 1935, Calcutta p. 419,
was concerned with proceedings for contempt of court in respect to
the publication of a le&ding article which contained the following
words :

"It is so unfortunate and regrettable that at the present day
the Chief Justice and the Judges find a peculiar delight in hobnobb-
ing with the Executive, with the result that the judiciary is robbed
of its independence which at one time attracted the admiration of
the whole country."

It was held by four out of the five learned Judges composing
the Bench that a contempt had been committed. At page 426
Derbyshire, C.J., observes :

<T lt seems to me to be as much a contempt of court to say that
the judiciary has lost its independence by reason of something it is
alleged to have done out of court, as to say that as a result of a
case it has decided it f is clear that it has no independence or has lost
what it had.

In the King v. Davies (1906), 1 K.B.P. 32 at p. 40,
Wills, J., quoting from an undelivered judgment of Wilmot, C.J.,
in Rex v. Almon (1765), observed:

JUDGMENT 195

"Wnat then is the principle which is the root of and underlies
the cases in which persons have been punished for attacks upon
Courts and interferences with the due execution of their orders? It
will be tound to be, not the purpose of protecting either the court
as a whole or the individual Judges of the court from a repetition of
them, but of protecting the public, and especially those who, either
voluntarily or by compulsion, are subject to its jurisdiction, from the
mischief they will incur if the authority of the tribunal be under-
mined or impaired."

Further on the learned Judge remarked that a considerable
part of the undelivered judgment of Wilmot, C.J., was "devoted
to shewing that the real offence is the wrong done to the public by
weakening the authority and influence of a tribunal which exists for
their good alone."

The suggestion in the editorial comment of the 6th August
read with the news item of the 3rd August was that the Chief
Justice, at the instance of the Head of the Executive, was inter-
fering with the course of justice in the lower courts inasmuch as the
persons asked by the Judge (under orders from the Chief Justice)
to contribute money would have no alternative but to comply ; other-
wise they might incur the disfavour of the Judge to their own
detriment. The probable effect of the news item and the editorial
comment would be to impair the authority of this Court, to lower
its dignity and prestige and seriously to shake public confidence in
the administration of justice. The publication of an editorial com-
ment calculated to have this effect is a clear contempt or court and
it is unnecessary to quote authority. Mr, Gandhi says that his 1
motive was otherwise; it was "to maintain the reputation of the
High Court and the purity of administration of Justice," vide para-
graph 9 of his affidavit. The question of motives is irrelevant,
what the court has to consider is the effect or probable effect
of the publication. In Tek Chand's Law of Contempt of Court
the learned commentator at pages 149 and 1 50 says :

"When the editors forget their duty and commit contempt of
court, their motives, however laudable,, cannot save them from
conviction. It may be that the court, taking a lenient view of their
offence, may discharge them with an admonition or consider justice

196 THE HINDUSTAN TIMES. CASE

vindicated after an unconditional apology has been submitted, but
the stigma of conviction for contempt remains indelible.

Further on the learned commentator says :

* 'Motive of the contemner cannot be considered in determin-
ing his guilt, it may, however, be a proper criterion for awarding
punishment." With these observations we agree.

In the present case the contempt has been committed by all
three respondents. Mr. Singhal sent information which was
probably founded either on his own inference from what took place
in court or on a suggestion from other persons and he has endeavour-
ed to defend his action by giving evidence which we are unable to
accept as true. As regards the editorial staff, we are prepared to
accept the statement of Mr. Gandhi and Mr. Bharadwaja that up
to then they had full confidence in Mr. Singhal and had never had
reason to suspect the truth or accuracy of his reports. We, there-
tore, acquit them of malice towards the Chief Justice. On the
other hand, they erred very grievously in publishing the news item
and the editorial comment without any attempt to verify the truth
01 the remarkable utterance by the judge which had been reported
to them and without inquiring about the source of their correspon-
dent's information. In their letter of the 10th August they said to
Mr. Singhal that they regarded the matter as being of "immense
importance*' and yet, not withstanding the importance which they
attached to the matter, they carelessly published it in their paper
without any thought of verification as to the existence of the alleged
circular. Their case is not so serious as that of Mr. Singhal because-
they confidently believed that what he had reported to them was
true and they inferred therefrom that a circular must have been
issued; and if they had apologized at the outset, we might have
been inclined to take a more lenient view of their offence. But they
have not tendered any apology to the Court. Mr. Gandhi has ih
effect admitted his error, has admitted that there was no justification
in fact for the editorial comment or for the headlines of the news
item and has stated that he is "extremely sorry." This may amount
to an expression of regret, but it is certainly not an apology which'
is the word used in the Contempt of Courts Act. Mr. Bharadwaja
has cited in self-justification the activities of the Chief Justice of

JUDGMENT 197

another High Court who, according to him, "has himself been
going about raising war funds and speaking on the subject of war
efforts,'* but he nowhere suggests that that Chief Justice ever issued
official instructions to the presiding officers of subordinate courts to
collect subscriptions from litigants and others appearing before them
which is the suggestion made in the news item and the editorial com-
ment in the present proceedings. The analogy, assuming that it
would otherwise afford any justification, does not, therefore, in any
way assist the editorial staff of the Hindustan Times.

We are of opinion that Mr. Singhal must be committed to
prison to purge his contempt. We accordingly sentence him to
undergo two months' simple imprisonment. We should also have
been inclined to deal in the same manner with the editor and with
the publisher and printer, but we take into consideration the fact that
they were misled by the confidence which they reposed in their
reporter. On the other hand, we do not feel justified in awarding
a light sentence of fine, for we are satisfied from the evidence that
they have manufactured evidence for the purpose of their defence.
We accordingly sentence Mr. Devadas Gandhi to pay a fine of one
thousand rupees and we sentence Mr. Devi Prasad Sharma to pay
a fine of five hundred rupees. If either of them defaults in payment
of the fine imposed, he shall undergo one month's simple
imprisonment.

The respondents will also have to pay the costs of the Govern-
ment Advocate at the rate of eighty rupees for each date of hearing.

(Sd.) I. A.,
(Sd.) H. J. C.

14-11-1941.

At the request of Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru, we allow two weeks'
time to pay the fines imposed on Devadas Gandhi, the Editor, and
Devi Prasad Sharma, the Printer and Publisher, of the Hindustan
Times.

(Sd.) I A.,
(Sd.) H. J. C.

H-11-1941.

CERTIFIED RECORD OF EVIDENCE

Statement of Mr. Hari Shankar Vidyarthi, Additional Civil
and Sessions Judge, Mterut, on S.A.

TO COURT :

A copy of the affidavit of Mr. Devadas Gandhi was supplied
to me and I road that affidavit from beginning to end. I have
got a copy of the affidavit before me. The allegations contained
in paragraph II (b) of the affidavit are untrue. I did not use the
words that are quoted in that paragraph, nor did I use words to that
effect. I, however, asked for subscription for the war fund. I made
no reference then to his Excellency the Governor or the Hon'ble
the Chief Justice.

Question : In what words did you ask for subscription for the
war fund?

Answer : I asked the pleaders who were present to tell their
clients to give something by way of charity if they so desired saying
that one of the best forms of charity these days was to help the
wounded soldiers or the suivivors of those soldiers who had laid
down their lives for the sake of others.

By clients I mean the accused persons in the case I had pro-
nounced judgment.

I asked for the subscription after 1 had pronounced the judg-
ment. I did not pronounce the judgment piecemeal. I pronounced
judgment all at once convicting some of the accused and acquitting
the rest. On that day R? 200 were subscribed immediately in
court but that amount was not, as alleged in the affidavit, placed on
my table. The money was kept with a pleader Mr. S. C. Gupta.
Mr. Surajbal Swami, Advocate, did not say that day that he had
collected Rs. 150 from his clients and that he would present the
money the next morning. The allegation contained in paragraph
1 1 (f) is untrue. Mr. K. N. Banerji was not appearing in the
criminal case in which I had pronounced 'judgment that day. I do
not remember if Mr. K. N. Banerji was present in court at that time.
Mr. Surajbal Swami was appearing for some of the accussed and
was present in court. Yes, I called Mr. Krishna Swarup Sharma,
Advocate, to my chambers. I did take some signed statements
from Mr. Krishna Swarup and from some other pleaders who were

MR. HARI SHANKAR VIDYARTHI X99

engaged in the criminal case. This I did on the 1st of September
last. I did not retain those statements. I destroyed them* I
thought that perhaps it was not very nice on my part to take signed
statements from the pleaders. 1 told my stenographer, Mohammad
Yunus Khan, to tell Mr. Singhal to come and see me in my
chambers, if Mohammad Yunus Khan found Mr. Singhal in any
court. Mohammad Yunus Khan did go to Mr. Singhal's residence
on the 5th of August to call him. Mr. Singhal did not come to see
me. Mohammad Yunus told me that he forgot to ask Mr. Singhal
in court to come and see me and, therefore, he went to Mr. Singhal's
residence. Mohammad Yunus said that Mr. Singhal was not at
his residence and, therefore, Mohammad Yunus had left a slip ask-
ing him to come and see me in my chambers. Mr. Singhal did
not see me. in my chambers on the 13th of August. He sent no
reply to the slip of Mohammad Yunus Khan* After the slip was
not replied no attempt, direct or indirect, was made by me to have
an interview with Mr. Singhal. Mr. Singhal met Yunus Khan the
same evening in the bazar and Mr. Singhal then told Yunus Khan
that he had no time to see me. I never told Mr. Singhal that the
news in Hindustan Times of the 3rd of August was a faithful
reproduction of what had happened in court. I never had any
conversation with Mr. Singhal concerning the news. I ever told
Mr. Akbar Husain, District Judge, in the presence of Mr. K. N.
Banerji that 1 had made the statements now ascribed to me by the
news in the Hindustan Times. In fact Mr. K. N. Banerji himself
denied that I had ever made such a statement in his presence. I
told the District Judge that I had collected subscription for the war
fund and that I afterwards realized that it was improper on my
part to do so and I expressed regret to the District Judge for having
raised subscription in court.

CROSS-EXAMINATION BY SIR T. B. SAPRU :

I was trying a criminal case known as the-Dhakoli murder case.
I do not remember what date I had originally fixed for the delivery
of judgment. I do not remember if I had originally fixed 29th of
July for the delivery of judgment. I did deliver judgment on the
31st of July. There were in all 20 accused in the case and all
the 20 accused were present in court at the time of delivery
of judgment. There were several pleaders appearing for the

200 THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

accused and one of them was Mr. Swami. I read out the
operative part of the judgment in open court. I sentenced lour of the
accused to transportation for life. At the same time and in the
same breath I passed the order acquitting the rest of the accused.
After the operative part of the judgment had been pronounced I
told the pleaders ror the accused to raise subscription. All the 20
accused were present in court when I asked the pleaders to raise
subscription. Out of the 20 accused 15 were in custody and 5
were on bail. All of the 20 accused were present in court. When
1 said that the best form of charity was to help the wounded soldiers
or their relations no comment was made by any one of the 20
accused to my knowledge. The pleaders consulted the pairo^ars
of the accused in court-room and said that some of the accused
were giving Rs. 200 willingly. Those who were transported for
lite did not offer to pay anything, nor did I expect them to con-
tribute any amount. A few days before the 31st of July I had
also asked for subscription from the pleader in another criminal
case and Rs. 50 were subscribed and that money was paid
to the Secretary of the War Fund on the same day on which this
sum of Rs. 200 was paid. Some money was paid on the next day
also. 1 do not remember the name of the pleader who said on the
31st of Jiily that Rs. 200 are being paid or had been paid or will
be paid. I do not remember whether it_was Mr. Swami who said
this. Mr. Gupta was appearing for the same accused for whom
Mr. Swami was appearing. On the 31st of July Rs. 200 were
actually collected and the matter had passed beyond the region of
promise. 1 saw the money with my own eyes in the court-room.
1 do not remember if I saw Mr. K. N. Banerji coming in the court-
room at that time. The money was in currency notes. I
did not see any pleader counting those notes. I do not remember
if Mr. K. N. Banerji counted the notes. I am definite
and positive that the notes were not put on my table. If Mr.
Banerji states that the money was put on my table then his state-
ment will be untrue. The money was probably put into the hands
of Mr. Gupta by the pairokars who had made the collection. I told!
Mr. Gupta that he should send the money to the War Secretary.
Mr. Gupta told me next day that he had paid the money to the War
Secretary. Mr. Gupta did not tell me that he had a receipt for the
payment. I don't know whether any receipt was given and, if ft

MR. HARI SHANKAR VIDYARTHI 201

was given, on what date it was given. I do not know whether the
receipt was given on or about the 14th of September.

Question : Is it a fact that the receipt was to be given after
the contempt case was over in the High Court?

Answer : I do not know anything about the receipt.

I am not in the habit of reading Hindustan Times. I read
the Leader. My attention was drawn on the evening of the 3rd
or August to the news that had appeared in the Hindustan Times of
that date. That news was from a correspondent of Meerut. I read
that item of news on the 4th of August. On reading the news I
realized straightway that the news had reference to what was alleged
to have occurred in the court room about the raising of subscription on
the 31st of July. On the 4th and 5th of August either I must have
been trying some criminal case or must have been hearing some
criminal appeals. I did not see Mr. Singhal in my court room either
on the 4th or on the 5th of August. I know Mr. Singhal by sight.

Question : When your attention was drawn to this item of
news which appeared in the Hindustan Times of the 3rd of August
as coming from Meerut correspondent did you realize that it might
have a bearing on something that you had said in court on the 3 1 st of
July?

Answer : No I did not imagine that it was attributed to me
excepting about the raising of subscription.

From my personal point of view I did not attach any importance
to this item of news* The paragraph that appeared in the issue of
the Hindustan Times of the 5th or the 6th of August was not read
by me on those days. It was read by me a few days after when the
contempt notice was issued by this court. I read about the contempt
notice on the 9th of August. I was not at all disturbed in my mind
by the contempt notice. When I read the news in the Hindustan
Times on the 4th of August then I sent for Mr. Singhal on the 5th
of August. W'hen I read the item of news in the Hindustan Times
on the 4th of August I sent for Mr. Singhal with a view to inquire
from him as to what foundation there was for the news that a circular
had been issued by the Hon'ble Chief Justice. The word * "circular"
$s in the heading and not in the item of the news. I wanted to tell

202 THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

Mr. Singhal that no circular had been issued by the Hon'ble the
Chief Justice.

Question : And probably you would have told Mr. Singhal
that day or the next day that quite apart from there being no circular
you had not been asked by the Hon'ble the Chief Justice to raise
war subscriptions?

Answer : If he would have seen me I would have said that
apart from any circular letter I was never asked by the Hon'ble the
Chief Justice to raise subscription for war. There is no question of
fairness to myself. But I was anxious to be fair to the Hon'ble the
Chief Justice.

Question : And you therefore considered it necessary to call
Mr. Singhal to your chambers?

Answer : Yes.

When Mr. Singhal did not come I did not take any further
steps to call Mr. Singhal to remove that impression.

Question : 1 suggest to you that having realized that Mr.
Singhal had been unfair to the Hon'ble the Chief Justice you never
said a word to any pleader in your court to convey the message to
Mr. Singhal?

Answer : No, I did not say anything to anybody.

Question : Do you think that you would have been guilty of
any impropriety consistent with your anxiety to be fair to the Chief
Justice in telling the pleaders who attended your court to convey
the message to Mr. Singhal that he had been unfair to the Chief
Justice?

Answer : No.

I did not bring the matter to the notice of Mr. Akbar Husairu

Question : After the 5th of August did you write any letter
to the Chief Justice or the Registrar of the High Court that Mr.
Singhal had been unfair to the Chief Justice?

Answer : I did not write. Everybody knew this fact.
There was no question of my own interest being involved.

MR. HARI SHANKAR VlDYARTHl 203

Question : Did you not consider it necessary in the interest
or the reputation of this court and of the Chief Justice that you
should officially bring this matter to the notice of the Chief Justice
through the Registrar?

Answer : I did nol, because I knew that the Hon'ble the
Chief Justice and the Registrar must themselves have read it.

I do not recognize the handwriting of my stenographer because
he has to type my judgments I think that he writes very seldom!
a line or two. I must have seen his signature very seldom. I never
said to Yunus Khan that I wanted to see Mr. Singhal because I
wanted to consult him about any particular matter.

Question : I take it that as a judge you are not in the habit of
consulting reporters?

Answer : No.

Mr. Yunus Khan had no authority on my behalf to say that I
wanted to consult Mr. Singhal about a particular matter. The
4 'parlour" must be his own English. I said nothing to Yunus Khan
except that I told him that he should ask Mr. Singhal to see me in my
chambers. I do not remember to have seen Mr. Singhal in my court
room between the 5th and 13th of August. I did not ask either
Yunus Khan or any pleader in between these dates to ask Mr.
Singhal to see me. On the 5th of August I had asked Yunus Khan
to ask Mr. Singhal to see me in my chambers. When I read the 1
comment in the Hindustan Times I did not realize that it would lead
to some inquiry about my conduct. Even then I did not talk about
this matter to Mr. Akbar Husain. I did not meet him until the 1st
of September. On the 10th of September I received a copy of the
affidavit of Mr. Devadas Gandhi.

Question: Up to the 10th of September you did not know
what the allegations would be in Mr. Devadas Gandhi's affidavit?

Answer : No, not all of them.

I had reason to know about some of the allegations that might
be made in the affidavit. I had those reasons on the 1st of Septem-
ber. On that date Mr. Akbar Husain called me to his chambers
and said to mt that Mr. Banerji had met him 2 days previously and

206 THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

sation with Mr. Akbar Husain all that I did was to take those
written statements. I did nothing else in the matter. Before the
Dhakoli case 1 had seen Mr. Singhal once or twice working as rei
porter in my court. I knew him by sight but not by name. Once
before Mr. Singhal had made incorrect report. It was a criminal
appeal. The ract is that there were two persons who were sen-
tenced by the lower court to six months' R.I. under Section 323,
I.P.C., and I converted the sentence into fine. It so happened
that one of the appellants wanted time to pay the fine and he gave
the application to the reader to be put before me for orders. As I
was doing other work the reader said that it could not be put up at
that time. Then the appellant shouted out very loudly and dis-
turbed my work. It was reported in the Hindustan Times that I
took that appellant into custody when he complained against my
office. As a matter of fact I had not taken that appellant into
custody. I did not consider this matter so important as to take
any notice of it. But if he had come to see me this time, I would
have drawn his attention to this fact also. So far as I remember
Mr. Swami did not tell me in court on the 31st July that he had
collected Rs- 1 50 and would present that amount the next day. A
sum of Rs. 450 in all was collected from the accused in the
Dhakoli case in Between the 31st of July and, I think, the 2nd
of August. I only paid a formal visit to Mr. Bonarji, Collector,
when I was posted to Meerut. Thereafter I did not meet him. I
do not know anything about the alleged conversation between Mr.
Banerji and Mr. Bonarji. On the 1st of September Mr. Akbar
Husain told me that Mr. Banerji had informed him that Mr. Deva-
das Gandhi had arrived in Meerut. On the 2nd of September Mr.
Akbar Husain told me that Mr. Bharadwaja, the assistant editor
of the Hindustan Times, had also seen him. Mr. Akbar Husain
told me that Mr. Bharadwaja had told him that the statement of the
pleader had been taken by pressure. I never exercised pressure on
any pleader for taking any written statement. Mr. Krishna Swamp
and other advocates gave their statements to me of their free-will'
and accord. As a matter of fact one of them sent his written state-
ment from his house and did not write it in my chambers-

Question : You said that you destroyed these statements be-
cause you relt that it was improper on your part to have taken those

MR. HARI SHANKAR VIDYARTHI 207

statements. Would it have become more improper if you would
have preserved these statements and shown them to this court?

Answer : It was only to correct my impropriety that I destroy-
ed the statements.

1 only learnt from the affidavit of Mr. Devadas Gandhi that
Mr. Swami resented the coming of his son-in-law in my chambers.
As a matter of fact I had called Mr. Swami also to my chambers,
but as he was busy he could not come. I never told Mr. Swami
after that that I would like to have a written statement from him.
I would have attached the same weight to the written statement of
Mr. Swami as I did to the written statement of his son-in-law. The
son-in-law was present in court when I appealed for charity.

Question : Can you suggest any reason why Mr. Singhal sent
a false report of what happened in your court room on the 31st
July during the trial of the Dhakoli case?

Answer : 1 think it might be due to some misunderstanding
based on some conjectures and surmises and once they took up that
position, they adhered to the same.

Question : What do you mean by 'misunderstanding* ? Do
you suggest that he misunderstood what was said, or there was any
ill-will between you and him?

Answer : There was no ill-will between me and him. My
impression is that he was not present in court and he acted on some
hearsay or rumour.

BY THE COURT :

Question : Was it your own idea or did somebody ask you
to raise subscription for the war fund?

Answer : I have been doing it as a private citizen out of court
myself. The war secretary told me about a week before that I must
also do something. I told him that I was doing my very best.
Then he said that 1 should accelerate my efforts.

&>8 THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

CROSS-EXAMINATION BY SIR T. B. SAPRU :

Question : When you read the comments in question in the
Hindustan Times, did you suggest to any pleader or advocate prac-
tising in your court that he might issue a contradiction of the facts
alleged in it?

Answer : No 1 did not.

Read and admitted to be correct.

(Sd.) Hari Shankar.

Hon'ble C.J. and Hon'ble H./.C.

Recorded in our presence and under our supervision.

Sd. I. A.

MR. AKBAR HUSAIN

Mr. A^bai Husain, District Judge, Meerut, on S.A.
TO COURT :

1 have read a copy of the Affidavit of Mr. Devadas Gandhi.
It was about two or three weeks ago that Mr. K. N. Banerji saw me
in connection with this matter. He spoke to me about the matter
at a tea party. He said that he wanted to see me at my house
about the matter. I told him that it was not necessary for him to do
so and that if he had anything of importance to tell me, he could
do so in court in my chambers. Then Mr. Banerji came to my
chambers. He said that he was worried about this matter, about
the collection of subscriptions for the war fund by Mr. Vidyarthi.
He said that he was being aslced to give evidence of a certain
matter by Mr. Devadas Gandhi, the Editor or the Manager of the
Hindustan Times. He said that the fact was that he had no
personal knowledge about the matter. I told him that he had
nothing to worry about if he had no personal knowledge about the
matter, and he went away. Mr. Vidyarthi also saw me in connec-
tion with this matter. So far as I remember, while Mr, Banerji
was still in my chambers, Mr. Vidyarthi came to me. I believe I sent
tor Mr. Vidyarthi. I asked Mr. Vidyarthi about the matter. Mr.
Vidyarthi came and said that he wanted to hide nothing. He said
that he had made a mistake which he very much regretted and that
all that he could say in his defence was that he had acted in
absolute good faith. He said that in a murder or similar case, after
he had pronounced judgment, he suggested to the pleaders for the
accused persons who had been acquitted that they might, as a token
of thankfulness, contribute something towards the war fund and
that as a result of this suggestion, a sum of Rs. 500 was paid by
persons who were acquitted, or similar amount. He said that he
felt aftewards that he had acted improperly in attempting to realize
subscriptions in that manner and that he was very sorry for it. He
said that the allegation that he stated that the Hon'ble High Court or
the Government had issued instructions to judicial officers that they
should assist in collection of subscriptions was an absolute
falsehood. Mr. Banerji had probably already left when Mr. Vid-
yarthi made this statement. I am certain about this. I had heard
vague rumours about the matter even before Mr. Banerji met me

210 THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

at the tea party but I had no precise knowledge about the matter
at all. I never read the offending article or the item of news. Mr.
Bharadwaja had an interview with me. He said that he had
come to see me because he had been informed on the telephone
by his local correspondent, that Mr. Vidyarthi had been using undue
influence to get lawyers practising in his court to make a statement
to the effect that he had not made the statement which was ascribed
to him. I told Mr. Bharadwaja that I could not believe it because
Mr. Vidyarthi had already seen me and made what I thought was
a very frank and straightforward statement about what happened
and that I thought that the local correspondent had been sending
him false and mischievous information. Then Mr. Bharadwaja
went away.

CROSS-EXAMINATION BY SIR T. B. SAPRU :

The tea party was probably before the 1st of September.
It was in connection with the visit of the Inspector-General of the
A.-R.P. I believe it was the next morning that Mr. Banerji came
and saw me in my chambers. Mr. Banerji was present when I
called Mr. Vidyarthi to my chambers. Mr. Banerji stayed there
up to a certain point of the conversation and then left the chambers.
It is difficult for me to say what it was that Mr. Vidyarthi said
so long as Mr. Banerji was there. But I am positive that part of
the conversation between Mr. Vidyarthi and me took place in the
hearing and presence of Mr. Banerji and the rest took place when
Mr. Banerji had left.

Question : When Mr. Vidyarthi told you he had made a
mistake, did he mean by that that he had mentioned the name of the
Chief Justice and the Governor, or did he mean by that he had been
raising war subscriptions in court?

Answer : I can only say what he actually said, and what he
actually said was that the error on his part lay in the fact that he
had used the occasion of the acquittal of certain accused persons in
a criminal case for realizing subscriptions to the war fund. There
was no occasion for him to say that he had instructions from the
Governor and the High Court to assist in the collection of subscrip-
tions to the war fund.

MR. AKBAR HUSAIN 21 1

Question : Did he himself say that the allegation that he
had been asked by the Governor or by the Chief Justice was untrue
or did you ask him anything about that allegation?

Answer : It is difficult for me to say. I have no precise re-
collection whether it was one way or the other.

I never read the comments in the Hindustan Times about this
matter. My information was very vague.

Question : Had it reached your ears from any source up to
the 1st of September that Mr. Vidyarthi was being accused of
having mentioned the names of the Chief Justice and the Governor
in connection with war funds?

Answer : There were vague rumours. It is not possible for
me to fix the date when they first came to my notice.

Question : I am only anxious to know whether these rumours
had reached your ears before this interview between you and Mr.
Vidyarthi had taken place on the 1st of September?

Answer : Yes. I believe that what Mr. K. N. Banerji told
me when he met me at the tea party was that he was being asked
by or at the instance of Mr. Devadas Gandhi to say that he heard
Mr. Vidyarthi say that he had instructions from the Government
and the Hon'ble High Court to assist in the collection of subscrip-
tions to the war fund.

Question : And I suppose Mr. Banerji probably conveved
the impression on your mind that he was not present when Mr.
Vidyarthi is alleged to have made the statement imputed to him?

Answer : Mr. Banerji told me definitely that he was not pre-
sent when Mr. Vidyarthi is alleged to have made the statement
about the alleged instructions from Government and the Hon'ble
High Court.

Question : Did he tell you anything about Rs. 200 being
collected in the court-room on the day when the judgment was be-
ing pronounced?

Answer : He said that a sum of money was being collected
when he went to Mr. Vidyarthi 's court-room,

212 THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

He did not tell me that he had himself counted the notes. He
did not tell me that he had himself placed the money on the judge's
table. It was from Mr. Bharadwaja that I first learnt that Mr.
Vidyarthi had by undue influence taken statements of certain
pleaders. I did not refer the matter to Mr. Vidyarthi because I
was convinced thai the allegation was wholly without foundation of
truth. Mr. Vidyarthi had already made a frank and what I
thought an honest admission of his error to me and he said
that he was also prepared to admit it before the highest authority.
There remained thus no occasion for him to attempt to get any one to
make any particular statement in writing before him. Mr. Vid-
yarthi told me that he had taken some written statements from some
pleaders. Mr. Vidyarthi said that he had taken the statements
and he explained that he had done so because he had to safeguard
his interests against what he considered a campaign of vilification
which was afoot.

Question : Against whom ?

Answer : I suppose it was against everybody.

Question : You had no further interest in the matter ?

Answer : It is difficult for me to say that I had no further in-
terest in the matter.

Mr. Banerji saw me again after the 1st of September. It is
difficult for me to say how many days after the 1st of September he
saw me. It was only very recently, only a few days ago that he
saw me. He only came to repeat that he had no personal know-
ledge of the alleged statement which was imputed to Mr
Vidyarthi.

Question : Did you ask Mr. Banerji why he should be
worried ?

Answer : I did not ask Mr. Banerji why he should be
worried.

Question : Did his conversation leave the impression on your
mind that he was being pressed by Mr. Devadas Gandhi to make
a certain kind of statement?

MR. AKBAR HUSAIN 213

Answer : That was the impression that I had. Mr. Banerji
told me that he was being pressed by Mr. Devadas Gandhi to make
a particular kind of statement.

Question : And that is why he felt worried ?
Answer : I suppose so.

1 know Mr. Surajbal Swami. I had no conversation with
Mr* Surajbal Swami about this matter. I would have called Mr.
Surajbal Swami and examined him if it were not the fact that Mr.
K. N. Banerji told me that no one told him that he had actually
heard Mr. Vidyarthi making the statement which was imputed to
him.

TO COURT :

Mr. K. N. Banerji is a young but promising lawyer.
Read and admitted to be correct.

(Sd.) Akbar Husain.
15-9-41.

The Hon'ble C. J. and Hon'ble H. J. C.

This statement has been recorded in our presence and under
our supervision.

(Sd.) I. A.

MR. R. L. SINGHAL

Statement of Mr. R. L. Singhal, 4, Vaidwara Mohalla,
Meerut, on S.A.

1 live at Meerut. I am the local correspondent of the
Hindustan Times, Pioneer, National Herald, Hindusthan Standard
of Calcutta and some vernacular papers. I am also the correspon-
dent of the Leader. 1 send news to the papers sometimes by 1
telegrams and sometimes by letters. In my capacity as corres-
pondent of the papers I sometimes attend courts at Meerut. I
know of the Dhakoli murder case that was tried at Meerut by
Mr. Vidyarthi. I attended the court of Mr. Vidyarthi on the
date that the judgment was delivered in the Dhakoli case. I heard
the sentence passed by Mr. Vidyarthi. He did not read out the
whole of his judgment. He only pronounced sentence on four
of the accused. After pronouncing the sentence on four of the
accused he kept silent for a minute or two. He then said :
'Istighase e mulzimon ko age bulao,' i.e. 'Call the accused against
whom the complaints were filed/ Those accused then moved
forward. Then there was some side talk between the judge and
those accused who had moved forward. I could not follow the
side talk. 1 was unable to understand that conversation ; nor did I
hear that conversation clearly. Then the judge said :

'Chunki Chief Justice sahab ne jinse ty His Excellency the
Governor ne war efforts men madad deni ty request 1 hai ham
logon se larai k a chanda ifyattha k amc k e liyc k ana h a *> rs 'i</ e
hamara ye farz hai fa hambhi chanda ikattha aren. Ismen aplog
hamari madad aren. Chanda mangne par main \isi par fcisi
lysm fa zor nahin deta. 9
That is :

'Since the Chief Justice who has been requested by his
txcellency the Governor to help in the war efforts has asked us
to raise subscription for the war fund, it is incumbent on us to
raise subscription and you should help me in this work/ , -

He further said :

"1 am not using any pressure/

He made these observations facing the lawyers standing there and
the accused who had moved forward and some others. Then

MR. R. L. SINGHAL 215

consultations followed among the lawyers and some of the persons
svho had come forward and other persons and then currency notes of
Rs. 200 were produced in the court-room. I did not see anybody
counting the currency notes. I however heard Mr. Banerji,
advocate, saying that he had verified the numbers of the notes. He
said "1 have seen the numbers of the notes, they are all right." Those
notes were then put on the judge's table. I do not remember who
put those notes on the table ot the judge. 1 asked the judge to
hand me over the judgment so that I might copy out some of the
observations contained therein. 1 made this request to
Mr. Vidyarthi after he had pronounced the judgment as regards the
remaining 16 accused as well. The judge said the judgment was
not ready. The judge inquired from me as to who 1 was. Before
1 could answer, Mr. Banerji, advocate, told the judge that I was
the correspondent of the Hindustan Times and sjme other papers.
After this conversation I left the room. I sent the news to the
Hindustan Time* next day. That was the 1st of August. The
news appeared in the issue of the 3rd. I have seen that news item.
1 have seen the cutting shown to me- It contains the news which I
sent. J he Hindustan Times arrives from Delhi in Meerut on the
date it bears. In the issue of the 5th August 1 read a comment
upon the news item which I had sent. I read it in the Delhi edition
which arrived at Meerut on the 5th. The paper reaches at about
9-30 a.m.

1 know a man called Yunus Khan. He is Mr. Vidyarthi's
stenographer I cannot say whether he ever came to my house.
When 1 returned home on the evening of the 5th August I found at
my house the slip which has just been shown to me. 1 do not know
the signature of Yunus Khan. I did not go and see the judge in
response to this chit. A man named Gauri Shankar came to me on
the 9th or the 10th of August. He wanted me to go and see
Mr. Vidyarthi at his house. At first I did not agree, but when hr
pressed me 1 agreed to go. 1 went to Mr. Vidvarthi's house on
the 13th of August.

I know a man named Ganga Prasad. He came to me four or
five days after I had been to Mr. Vidyrthi's house. He asked me
whether 1 had mentioned the name of Mr. Vidyarthi to the Hindustan
Times. I told him that 1 had done so.

216 THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

When Gauri Shankar and I reached Mr, Vidyarthi's house on
the 1 3th he first of all talked upon general topics. He then referred
to the news which had appeared in the Hindustan Times of August
3. He then said that it had been nicely and correctly written,. He
then referred to the comment which had appeared in the issue of
5th August. He said that it too was well written. He then asked
me not to disclose his name or mention his court in case an inquiry
might be made. 1 assured him that I would not do so.

To Court : Actually 1 had done so

7 o Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru : I had written a letter to the Editor
either on the 1 1 th or the 1 2th of August disclosing the name of
Mr. Vidyarthi. The reason why 1 told Mr. Vidyarthi on the 13th
that 1 would not disclose his name was that I wanted to avoid
discussion on the subject with him- I did not see Mr. Vidyarthi
again after the 13th.

1 was in the habit of reporting cases from Mr, Vidyarthi's
court to the Hindustan Times. He had never on any previous
occasion called me and found fault with any report whicn I had
sent. The comments which appear on my news items are written
in the office of the Hindustan Times at Delhi. I have read the
comment which appeared in the local edition of the 5th August. I
had nothing to do with that comment except that it was probably
based on the news item which I had sent- I have never had any
complaint from the editor of any of my newspapers that any report
sent by me was untrue. 1 have been connected with the Hindustan
Times as a correspondent for about eight years.

1 am a member of the Civic Guard.

The judgment against the remaining 16 accused in the Dhakoli
case was pronounced after the collection of Rs. 200.

Cross-examination by Sir Wazir Hasan on behalf oj
Mr, Vidyarthi.

My work as a correspondent is not confined to reporting cases
in court. 1 do not remember whether I reported any other item of
news from Meerut on the 3 1 st July. I do not remember whether I
visited other places for the purposes of collecting news that day.

MR. R. L. SINGHAL 217

Question : Are you prepared to state the general policy of the
Hindustan Times with regard to war efforts?

Answer : I cannot say anything about the policy.

I read Hindustan Times as a rule. 1 could not gather anything
about the policy of the Hindustan Times by reading that paper. I
had on previous occasions reported to the Hindustan Times about war
efforts by other persons. 1 am not in a position to state as to when
previous to supplying the news in question 1 had sent news item
concerning war efforts to the Hindustan Times. Comments were made
in the Hindustan 7 imes now and then with respect to war efforts.

Question : Have you read any other comments of the
Hindustan Times about war efforts?

Answer : 1 very often read comments but 1 do not remember
it 1 read any such comment that might show that the policy of the
Hindustan Times was opposed to war efforts.

1 had previously reported news to the Hindustan Times about
the decisions ot Mr. Vidyarthi. I cannot give any details about
my other reports. My statement that I went to the house of
Mr. Vidyarthi on the 13th of August will be corroborated by
Mr. Gauri Shankar. I had conversations with Mr. Vidyarthi in
the presence of Mr. Gauri Shankar. I wrote the letter on the 1 Hh
or the 12th of August to the Editor of the Hindustan Times myself.
When I told the judge that I would not disclose his name 1 told an
untruth. 1 also attend other courts besides the court of
Mr. Vidyarthi. When Mr. Vidyarthi pronounced sentence on four
of the accused persons and deferred delivering judgment as regards
the rest there were present in the court-room Mr. Banerji, Surajbal
Swami and others whose names I do not know. I am not in a
position to state the names of the pleaders who appeared for one set
of the accused or for another set of the accused in the Dhikoli case.
Mr, Banerji was not engaged in that case. The Judgment was
pronounced at about 3-30 in the afternoon in respect of four accused
persons. About fifteen minutes after that the judge delivered
judgment as regards the remaining 16 accused. I have got no idea
as to how the sum of Rs. 200 was raised, i.e. I cannot say how much
was contributed by individual persons. When the judge said,

218 THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

"Istighase k c mulzimon feo age. bulao" those accused were still in
the court. None of the lawyers who were present in court protested
against the manner in which the judge was asking for subscription.
I did not assist Mr. Devadas Gandhi in making his inquiry when he
came to Meerut. 1 cannot say definitely whether or not he made
any inquiry before he received notice from this Court. I did consider
the news about the Hon. the Chief Justice being requested by his
Excellency the Governor to assist in war efforts as a news of great
significance, as it was calculated to give a fillip to war efforts. I
had no opinion of my own in the matter of whether fillip to war
efforts should or should not be given. I do not receive any fixed
salary for reporting. I am paid on column basis. I know Mr. Gauri
Shankar for a long time. He is not my friend. He is a public
worker in Meerut. He is associated with several organizations, for
instance, Prisoners' Aid Society, Congress and Congress Socialist
Party and some others. I am not his associate in these activities-
I am not a member of these associations. After reporting the news
1 had a talk with Mr. Banerji concerning this mater on several
occasions. In the news item published in the issue of August 3
there is a summary of the judgment in the Dhakoli case. The item
of news was supplied by me on the 1st of August. While the case
was proceeding in the court of Mr. Vidyarthi I had taken the facts
from the committal order and I reproduced the same in the news item
that 1 supplied adding the acquittals and convictions. The final
judgment may have been delivered after 4 o'clock but I was still
present in court.

Question : I suggest that the judgment was pronounced all at
once and that it was not pronounced piecemeal?

Answer : No, the suggestion is incorrect.

1 saw with my own eyes that the currency notes were put on
the judge's table, but 1 cannot say whose hand it was that put the
currency notes.

To Court :

Barring the head lines and the word *new' before the words
'Chief Justice,' the whole of the news published in the issue of
August 3 .is exactly the same as supplied by me,

MR. R. L. SINGHAL 2lU

Question : Why did you put the word 'efforts' in the first
paragraph of the news in inverted commas?

Answer: Because by 'efforts' I meant war efforts.

Question : But the words 'war' efforts had immediately
preceded the word * efforts.' Then why were inverted commas
necessary ?

Answer : Because with this 'efforts' 1 had not put the word
'war,' and 1 put the inverted commas only to lay stress on the war
efforts.

Question : k it or is it not a fact that it has been the confirmed
policy of the Hindustan Times to oppose war efforts?

Answer : I think it is not its confirmed policy to oppose war
efforts .

Question : Is it a fact that the word 'efforts' was put in inverted
commas to emphasize the policy of the Hindustan Times?

Answer : No, my Lord.

1 had supplied this news item to other papers of which 1 was
the correspondent. As far as I know the Leader published the
first two paragraphs as well as the other news item. The Pioneer
published the judgment but 1 am not certain whether it also publisEed
the first two paragraphs. The Leader published the first two para-
graphs. 1 am not sure about any other paper having published.

Question : If what you have stated is true, why did you in the
hrst paragraph use the guarded words 'I reliably learn' and 'it is
understood' ?

Answer : Because in this dispatch I had not mentioned the
source of my news.

1 probably received a letter from the Editor of the Hindustan
Times either on the 10th or 1 1th of August asking me to mention
the source of the information on which the news item referred to
above was based. I had not till then come to know that notice for
contempt had already been issued by this Court. I first came to
know about the issue of notice on the 13th when Mr. Vidyarthi told

^20 THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

me about the same. 1 sent a reply to the letter of the 1 Oth or 1 1 th
August forthwith. 1 did mention in my reply that Mr. Vidyarthi
had said all this in open court. I had dispatched that reply before
1 met Mr. Vidyarthi on the 13th August. Probably I did not
receive any letter from the editor, publisher or printer of the
Hindustan I imes after my reply to the letter, dated 10th or 1 1th
August. Mr- Devadas Gandhi after that came to Meerut for the
first time on the 31st August. No correspondence passed between
me and the editor, printer or publisher in between the 13th and
31st August. 1 was not informed of the intended visit of
Mr. Devadas Gandhi to Meerut. I met Mr. Devadas Gandhi at
Meerut at Prof. Dubey's house on the 31st August. He told
me that he had come to make enquiries about the matter.

Question : Had he reasons to suspect the veracity of the in-
formation contained in the reply sent by you?
Answer : 1 cannot say anything about it.

Question : Then why he needed verification of the inform-
ation supplied by you?

Answer : This question too I cannot answer.
Question : Did you attempt an answer to that question?
Answer : Yes, I attempted to answer the question but I failed.
Probably Mr. Gandhi left Meerut on the evening of the 31st.
Question : Did Mr. Gandhi revisit Meerut ?

Answer : If he visited it is not within my knowledge. I did
not meet him after the 31st August.

Question: What steps did Mr. Gandhi take on the 31st
August to verify the information supplied by you?

In the evening Mr. Banerji told me that he had
met Mr. Gandhi at Prof. Dubey's house. Mr. Devadas Gandhi
did not tell me about the steps he was taking to verify the inform-
ation given by me.

Question : Was the sole object of Mr. Devada$ Gandhi to
verify the truth of the information given by you?

MR. R. L. SINGHAL 221

Answer : He told me so.

Question : Did you then question him why did he doubt the
veracity of your statement ?

Answer: I did not put any question to him-

Question : Did Mr. Devadas Gandhi on the 3 1 st August en-
quire trom you as to what evidence will be available to support your
statement ?

Answer : He did not enquire from me on that day but on
the 1 1 th or 1 2th of August when I had sent a reply to him 1 had
mentioned therein the lawyers that were present there.

Question : Was any attempt made by you or any other per-
son connected with the Hindustan Times in between the 1 1 th of
August and till this date to get into touch with persons who might
possibly hgure as witnesses in these proceedings?

Answer : No attempt was made by me nor do I know of any
attempt by any other person.

1 received the slip of Yunus Khan on the 5th of August.
The slip requested me to meet Mr. Vidyarthi. By the word parlour
in the slip 1 understood private baithak. I did not comply with the
request contained in the slip.

Question : Why did you hesitate to comply with that request ?

Answer : Firstly, I was very busy with the starting of the Civic
Guard and the A.-R.P. Club in Meerut and, secondly, I wanted to
avoid him-

Question : Why did you want to avoid the judge?.

Answer : There was no particular reason for it. I cannot
suggest any reason for avoiding to meet the judge except that I was
very busy in those days.

Question : Is it a fact that the avoidance was due to a guilty
conscience ?

Answer : No, my lords.

It was the first time that on the J 3th August I visited Mr.

222 THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

Vidyarthi at his residence. Except Mr. Vidyarthi and Gauri
Shankar, no one else was present at the interview. I met Mr.
Vidyarthi on the 13th at about 7-30 a.m. Mr. Vidyarthi informed
me about the issue of notice by this Court after I had assured him
that 1 would not disclose his name. He told me about the notice
when we were leaving his house.

Question : Did you not then think it prudent to tell him that
as the matter had reached that stage it was impossible for you to
hold out a promise not to disclose Mr. Vidyarthi 's name?

Answer : 1 had already disclosed his name to the Hindustan
Times and I did not say anything to him then.

Question : Did you attach any importance to the slip of
Yunus Khan?

Answer : I thought that he was calling me in connection with
tne comment that had appeared that morning.

Question : Why did you preserve that slip?
Answer : It simply remained in my possession.

Question : When you sent the news item which was published
on the 3rd August did you realize that your note would create public
teeling against the judge or against the Chief Justice of this Court?

Answer : No, I did not.

Question : it was not on that account that you were reluctant
to meet Mr. Vidyarthi?

Answer : Not on that account.

Question : Read the Hrst paragraph in the news of August 3
and state whether that paragraph does or does not disclose utter
hostility to war efforts.

Answer : It does not.

In answer to Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru

The letter dated 10th August, 1941, that has just been shown
to me was written hy me and is signed by me (the letter is put on
the record).

MR. R. L. SIN3HAL 223

In answer to Sir Wazir Hasan

So far as I remember I did not meet Mr. Devadas Gandhi be-
tween the 1 Oth and the 3 1 st August nor had I any talk with him

about the matter in dispute in between those dates.
Read and admitted to be correct.

Sd/. R. L. Singhal.
25/9/41.

This statement has been recorded in our presence and under our
supervision.

Sd/. I. A.,
25/9/1941. Sd/. H. 1. C.

MR. GAURI SHANKAR

[UNOFFICIAL ENGLISH TRANSLATION OF MR. GAURI
SHANKAR'S EVIDENCE RECORDED IN URDU]

Deposition of Gauri STian^ar on S.A. :

Father's name : Mathura Pershad ; caste : nil ; age : 53 ; resi-
dent of Meerut. Dated September 25, 1941 .

EXAMINED BY SIR TEJ BAHADUR SAPRU :

I live in Meerut. I participate in public activities and am
working as the manager of the Free Maternity Home, an institution
founded by my wife where she works along with several midwives.
The Maternity Home charges no fees but accepts voluntary contribu-
tions. I have been acquainted with Mr. Radhe Lai Singhal for a long
time. I know Mr. Vidyarthi, Sessions Judge, since the institution
of this case ; I did not know him before that. I know Babu Ganga
Prasad, a resident of Meerut. He came to my house and told me :
** Mr. Vidyarthi wants to see Mr. Radhe Lai Singhal, and it
will be very kind of you if you can arrange the meeting." I
think this was about August 5 or 6. I promised to see Mr.
Radhe Lai Singhal and tell him about his (Babu Ganga Prasad 's)
mission that Mr- Vidyarthi would like to see Mr. Singhal. I told
this to Mr. Radhe Lai Singhal. He said that owing to some
Civic Guard function he would not be able to see Mr. Vidyarthi on
the next day, but asked me to tell him (Babu Ganga Prasad)
that he would do so the day following. On the third day we went
to Mr. Vidyarthi 's house on cycles. I introduced Mr. Singhal to
Mr. Vidyarthi. Mr. Vidyarthi said to Mr. Singhal, "The news
item which you sent to your paper is well written and correct. You
have a good command over the English language." He also said :
* * Who wants to collect subscriptions ! But under compulsion
subscriptions have to be collected." After that he asked Mr. Singhal
that il the editor of the Hindustan Times made any inquiries
from him, Mr. Singhal should consult him and should avoid
disclosing his name as well as the name of his court m Mr. Singhal
replied that hitherto he was not called upon to furnish any details,
but in case of demand he would show his report to the judge before
he sent it. When we were about to depart Mr. Vidyarthi told

MR. GAURI SHANKAR 225

us that the High Court had served a notice for contempt of court on
the Hindustan Times. Immediately after that we left him.

CROSS-EXAMINED BY SIR WAZIR HASAN :

When Mr. Ganga Prasad first came to me he took me to
Mr. Vfdyarthi and I was introduced to him. I cannot say why Mr.
Ganga Prasad took me to Mr. Vidyarthi, whom I had not met
previously. He introduced me as a public worker and that my
wife was running the Free Maternity Home. In addition Mr.
Ganga Prasad told the Judge that he and my wife had resigned
from the Municipal Committee according to the Congress mandate.
My wife and I are both members of the Congress. After the
introduction, Mr. Vidyarthi expressed a desire to meet Mr. Singhal.
1 interpreted it to mean that Mr. Vidyarthi thought that Mr. Singhal
and I were so much acquainted with each other that Mr. Singhal
would see him (Vidyarthi) if I asked him to do so. Mr. Vidyarthi
had not told me that I should accompany Mr. Singhal when the
latter would come to see him. I was an accused in the Meerut
Conspiracy Case and was sentenced to three years' imprisonment, but
was acquitted by the High Court. Recently, I was convicted to
four months' imprisonment under the Defence of India Rules.

Question : What are your means of livelihood?

Answer : I get Rs. 50 per month from the Free Maternity
Home. I have no other income.

I have not related Mr. Singhal' s meeting with the Judge to
anybody ever before. I had no meeting with Mr. Gandhi in this con-
nection. I had no serious talk about this case with Mr. Singhal,
except that he was asked to meet Mr. Vidyarthi. Mr. Singhal
and I are not associated in any public activities. He is
a reporter. When I went to the Judge's house I was against all
war effort, but I have been silent since the invasion of Russia.
Before the involvement of Russia in the war, the Congress was
against all kinds of war effort. I know English sufficiently well
to read and understand the Hindustan Times. I read the news
item which is the basis of the present proceedings in the columns of
tfie Hindustan Times the same day. I did not read the editorial
comment on the day of its appearance, but later on. When Ganga

226 THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

Prasad came to me he said that the Hindustan Times had published
a news item about collections for the War Fund and a comment had
also appeared on it. I read the comment then. I never, inquired of
Mr. Singhal about the source of the news which appeared on
August 3, nor did he tell me about that. Mr. Ganga Prasad had
told me that Mr. Vidyarthi wanted to see Mr. Singhal about the
news published in the Hindustan Times about the collections for the
War Fund.

BY THE COURT :

I read local papers besides the Hindustan Times.

Babu Ganga Prasad and Mr. Singhal are known to me.

Question : Did you suggest it to Babu Ganga Prasad to see
Singhal himself?

Answer : No, I did not.

Neither did I ask Ganga Prasad to see Singhal directly nor
did he tell me to persuade Mr. Singhal to go to Vidyarthi. At
the time of our departure from Mr. Vidyarthi's house, when he had
disclosed that contempt of court notice had been issued against the
Hindustan Times, neither I nor Mr. Singhal pointed out to Mr.
Vidyarthi that in the circumstances it would be difficult to conceal
his or his court's name. There was no talk about the notice aftei
we came out of Mr. Vidyarthi's house. I went away to Sadar and Mr.
Singhal went home. Later on I did not converse with Singhal about the
notice. Babu Ganga Prasad came to me once more to find out
whether the Hindustan Times had made some inquiries and what was
Mr. SingRal's reply to them and requested me to get for him from
Mr. Singhal the particulars of any inquiries that might have been
made from him by the Hindustan Times and his replies thereto.
Subsequently, I went to Mr. Radhe Lai Singhal who told me to
tell Mr. Ganga Prasad himself to see Mr. Singhal. Accordingly
I conveyed the message to Babu Ganga Prasad.

I did not meet Mr. Devadas Gandhi in Meerut. I know
Prof. Dubey. So far as I know he is not a member of the Congress.
Prof. Dubey told me that he and Mr. Bharadwaja had come to
my place, but could not meet me. Prof. Dubey said that he

MR. GAURI SHANKAR 227

wanted to make inquiries from me about the subject of the comment
in the paper. The Judge did not call me after August 13.

RE-EXAMINED BY SIR TEJ BAHADUR SAPRU :

The Russo-German war had started before August. I am a
socialist and like the Soviet system of government.

To Court Question : I am a communist.
Read and admitted to be correct.

(Signature in Urdu) Gauri Shankar.

This statement has been recorded in our presence and under
our supervision.

Sd. LA.
25-9-*41. Sd. H.J.C.

MR. DEVADAS GANDHI

Mr. Devadas Gandhi on S.A.

My name is Devadas Gandhi, father's name Mohandas
Gandhi, age 40 years, residence Delhi, occupation Editor.

Statement
TO SIR TEJ BAHADUR SAPRU :

The Hindustan Times is a daily newspaper and is issued from
Delhi. It is owned by a registered company. I am its Editor. Mr.
Bharadwaja is one of the assistant editors and Mr. Subramanyan is
the joint editor. We maintain a certain number of correspondents
in different parts of the country. Among them, there is a corres-
pondent at Meerut. That correspondent is Mr. Singhal. He has
been my correspondent for the last seven or eight years. The staff
is quite big but there is a particular department in the editorial staff
which deals with the news sent in by correspondents. It is invari-
ably edited before it is printed.

Question : Explain to the Court what exactly you mean by
the words "editing of the news."

Answer : The person concerned would normally first decide
whether he is going to publish it. He would then examine the
language and put it right both in respect of its English as well as in
respect of the policy of the paper. He would then give it suitable
headlines which always reflect the views or efficiency of the parti-
cular person giving these headlines. The news in this particular
case did as a matter of fact go to the editorial staff.

When this news arrived in our office it was edited in the usual
manner by some member of the staff. The news having appeared in the
issue of the 3rd, some one wrote the comment in the issue of the
5th August. When this news was received in our office, I had no
reason to suspect the honesty or veracity of the correspondent. In
regard to the allegations made in paragraph 13 of my affidavit I
cannot say for certain off-hand whether we printed any rsuch com-
plaints, but I know that in our editorial columns we have drawn
attention to such complaints off and on. We drew the attention
both of the public and of Government to these complaints, but
mainly of the Government. With regard to the war subscriptions

MR. DEVADAS GANDHI 229

as well as the war efforts the Hindustan Times has done a lot to help
the war effort and will continue to do so, if I may say so. But it is
the policy of the paper to uphold voluntary war effort and to cri-
ticize and if possible expose such war effort as may be carried on
under pressure- My paper has not hesitated to criticize any war
effort which has been carried on under pressure. My paper is not
regarded in the country as officially or directly connected with the
Congress, but it has obvious Congress leanings, and a good deal
ol sympathy for the Congress. As I can see it, the Congress policy
is to oppose war effort which is carried on under pressure and to
advocate a policy of allowing such men and women as do not see eye
to eye with the British Government's policy in this country to exer-
cise freedom of expression and to function virtually as neutrals. I,
however, have no official capacity entitling me to epitomise the
policy of the Congress. Largely the policy of the Congress is at
present dictated by my father, Mahatma Gandhi. I believe that
his advice to Congressmen at present is that they should hold aloof
from war efforts. He has not advised the Congressmen to interfere
with war efforts of the Government. On the contrary he has ex-
pressed himself, I believe, more than once to the effect that Con-
gressmen should take no active part this way or that in relation to
the war effort but should exercise fieedom of expression. He has
based his advice to the Congress largely on his belief in non-
violence.

As a newspaper we are in a peculiarly favourable position for
receiving communications from members of the public and a good
part of the communications we have been receiving since the
commencement of the war has related to pressure supposed to have
been exerted on people in the matter of the war effort. I do
recollect speeches made by very responsible members of
Government repudiating all suggestion that any compulsion is
exercised in this country in regard to the war effort.

I believe the writ from this court was issued on th 8th of
August and my correspondent in Allahabad sent me a telegram to
that effect the same day. It was not published until the issue of
the 14th August. The reason was that I preferred to await the
receipt of the writ which I was told was on its way. It was,
however, published on the 14th, although I did not receive the

230 THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

writ because it had already appeared in the Leader. I think the
notice issued by this Court was served on the 25th of August.
After the receipt of that telegram we wrote to Mr. Singhal to
make inquiry. The paper shown to me is the office copy of the
letter which we wrote. It is dated the 9th of August. I have
got it with me and I am producing the same in the court. The letter
of the 10th of August which has already been produced is
Mr. Sbghal's reply to that letter. The letter of the 10th of
August is addressed to Mr. Subramanyan, Joint Editor of the
Hindustan Times.

Question : Did you after the receipt of this letter on the
1 1th of August make any further enquiry up to the 25th of August?

Answer : I still preferred to await the formal orders of the
High Court and the only serious enquiries that I made were after
the receipt of the writ of service from the Court.

After the receipt of the writ I went to Meerut on the 3 1 st of
August. Mr. Bharadwaja, the Assistant Editor, accompanied me
to Meerut. I reached Meerut at about 9 o'clock in the morning.
Having reached Meerut we proceeded to the residence of
Prof. Dubey. I had not met him before. I went to Prof. Dubey
because he happened to be known to Mr. Bharadwaja. My
information is that Prof. Dubey is not and has never been a
Congressman.

Question : Is it a fact that Mr. Dubey is a public critic of the
Congress ?

Answer : I have not enquired into that aspect of his views.
1 saw Prof. Dubey at his house. He is to appear as a witness for
me in this court.

Question : What did you ask Mr. Dubey to do for you?

Answer : My first inquiry was whether he knew
R. L. Singhal and whether he could tell me something about him
from his personal knowledge. Prof. Dubey asked me what was
the nature of my mission and I briefly told him. He them
informed me that R. L. Singhal was known to him as a very
upright, active and conscientious journalist known to and popular
among all circles,

MR. DEVADAS GANDHI 231

* Question : Did you have any talk 'with him about
Mr. Banerji, Advocate?

Answer : I then placed myself in Prof. Dubey's hands and
requested him to give me what help he could in connection with
the case and in particular to help me to satisfy myself that
R. L. Singhal in sending me the news was acting properly and
truthfully.

Question : Then what did he say ?

Answer : I mentioned to Prof. Dubey my information that
Mr. Banerji and Mr. Surajbal Swami were present in the court)
when the particular incident took place and I asked Prof. Dubey if
he could facilitate my meeting these gentlemen in order that I may
be able to make further verification of the information supplied by
R. L. Singhal. Prof. Dubey then went to see Mr. Banerji and
returned a short while after and told me that Mr. Banerji 1
corroborated in every detail the information I had received from
R. L. Singhaf in the letter dated 10th August that has been
produced but added that he had requested Mr. Banerji to meet me
personally that afternoon and relate the facts to me himself.

Question : Then did Mr. Banerji come in the afternoon at
Prof. Dubey's house?

Answer : Mr. Banerji arrived according to the appointment
at tea time at 4 p.m. when Prof. Dubey was kind enough to
serve tea.

Question : Then what happened ?

Answer : I asked Mr. Banerji if it was a fact that he was
present in the court of Mr. Vidyarthi on the 31st of July when he
pronounced the judgment in the Dhakoli murder case. Mr. Banerji
told me that he was present and I requested him with reference to
the case that was pending and which was common knowledge if he
would be good enough to relate the facts to me as he knew them in
order to enable me to check Mr. Singhal's information. Mr.
Banerji then said that he was not only present but that the whole
ot the incident that had taken place was the talk of the town in
Meerut, But I wished to be specific and requested him to give

232 THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

me a first-hand account. He then went on to tell me that while
delivering judgment in the case Mr. Vidyarthi made precisely the
statement that I had been informed he had made. I then
requested him to be good enough to repeat the language used by
Mr- Vidyarthi as I was very anxious that there should be ndj
misunderstanding. He then repeated word for word the language
which I have quoted in my affidavit. I then told him that it)
would help me in my case if he could file an affidavit along withl
me. He said he did not think that an affidavit was necessary.
1 then asked him if he could relate those facts in a letter in ordei'
to help me in my defence. His reply was that if I meant that he
should write a letter to me starting with the words " Apropos of
your enquiry the following are the facts known to me" he would
consider my request but that he would give me his final answer
later on. But he added that in any event I could rely on his help)
to speak the whole of the truth in the court if summoned by the
High Court. This happened in the presence of Prof. Dubey and
Mr. Bharadwaja, Assistant Editor of the Hindustan Times.
Mr. Swami was not present. I have not yet seen Mr. Swami.
Mr. Bharadwaja has seen Mr. Swami. The conversation ended
at about 4-30 p.m. I left Mr. Bharadwaja behind and returned
to Delhi that night. I caught the train that leaves Meerut at
about 8 o'clock. Between 4-30 and 8 o'clock I made no further
enquiry in the matter apart from my conversation with Prof. Dubey.
Mr. Bharadwaja returned to Delhi next evening, that is the 1st
September.

Question : When Mr. Bharadwaja reached Delhi, did he
report as to what happened between him and other persons
including Mr. Akbar Husain?

Answer : Mr. Bharadwaja gave me a report a lengthy
report of his enquiries which included the conversation he had had
with Mr. Swami and again with Mr. Banerji. He gave me the fullest
account.

Question : Between the 1 st of September and the 9th of
September when you appeared in this court, did you go to Meerut
at all?

Answer : No. My next visit was three or four days ago.

MR. DEVADAS GANDHI 233

Question : Why did you go to Meerut a second time?

Answer : That was in connection with preparations of the
case and in particular to meet Mr. Gopi Nath Sinha, Advocate,
who is now here assisting the leading counsel.

Question : What help did you want Mr. Gopi Nath Sinha
to give you?

./Insurer: I knew Mr. Gopi Nath Sinha by name and fame
as a leading lawyer and 1 expected that I would have to answer
certain enquiries either from counsel or from the court in which
the advice and help of Mr. Gopi Nath Sinha might be of assistance
to me.

Question : Did you ask for the collection of any evidence?
Answer : I do not think so.

Question : About the time that you received this news had
you from any quarter received complaints that judicial officers were
taking undue interest in the matter of collection of subscriptions?

Answer : I have, as a matter of fact, heard numerous complaints
of subordinate judicial officers both in the United Provinces and
the Punjab making efforts to collect subscription to the war fund in
a manner which 1 would not consider appropriate.

It was the sub- editor concerned who had the headlines
inserted over the news item of the 3rd August, but the legal
responsibility is of mine.

The news, as it appears, purely from the point of view of a
sub-edilor, lends itself to the possible interpretation but not a
definite interpretation that it may be based on the existence of a
circular and that is why there is a question mark after the word*
"Circular."

Question: In the news item the word "efforts" in the third
line is in inverted commas. Were these inverted commas put
down there by the correspondent or by somebody in your office
and, if so, with what object?

Answer : I cannot answer that without making further
enquiries as to how the inverted commas came to appear.

234 THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

CROSS-EXAMINED BY SIR WAZIR HASAN :

The news was published on the 3rd of August without any
further enquiry beyond the letter or telegram of the 31st July.

Question : You have stated that a possible interpretation of
the headline over the news item, that is to say, "judicial officers for
war work and new Chief Justice's circular," may amount to a
statement of fact that the Chief Justice had issued such a circular.
Did you consider it prudent and indeed necessary or not that before
that was allowed to go into print, you shouio! make some enquiries
about its truth or otherwise?

Answer : Work in a newspaper office, more particularly in
the office of a daily newspaper, is carried on under conditions of
great stress and strain. Nevertheless my newspaper office, as I
believe all newspaper offices, maintain a list of their correspondents
and a list of those on whom the fullest reliance can be placed and
another list of those whose news must be checked. Mr. Singhal
in my office belongs to the first list and had it not come from him
(and only a few others enjoy his reputation) it would not have been
published without further enquiry.

It was only because of the issue of the notice that I started
an enquiry into the matter, otherwise I would not have launched an
enquiry immediately.

Question : And were you of the view that you will not be
guilty of the offence of contempt of court if you were able to
establish that the Judge uttered those words which were attributed
to him?

Answer : In the first place, I was anxious to convince
myself that the Judge had uttered those words. I made every
effort that it was humanly possible to make to convince myself that
the Judge had uttered those words and it was only when I was
morally convinced to the bottom of my heart that he had uttered
those words that I felt, subject to legal advicer that it was my !
public duty to bring those facts to the attention of this Hon'ble
Court regardless of its bearing on the case against me. As a
layman I did take the view that if the facts could be established,
that would be complete justification for my conduct and that I

MR. DEVADAS GANDHI 235

would be absolved of the charge of contempt.

Question : May I take it that till your first visit on the 31st
August to Meerut you had not taken legal advice in this behalf?

Answer : I believe I was in consultation with lawyers, but as
a matter of fact I took no serious action until I had received the
writ from the Court which arrived on the 25th of August. I went
to Meerut on the 3 1 st of August and was then certainly in touch'
with lawyers.

Question : Do you wish to suggest that the news which your
paper published and the comments of August 5 were not serious
enough per se so as to justify a further enquiry on your part in the
truth or otherwise of the item of news or thev only became serious
as a part of your defence to the charge of contempt?

Answer : The news was published very reluctantly but in
the background of the complaints which we had been receiving and
in view of the fact that the news came from a reliable
correspondent, it was not possible to disbelieve it and serious though
it was, it was published and it is the function of a newspaper to
give publicity to all kinds of news including serious news, if
necessary.

Question : In the paragraph that appeared in the issue of
August 5 you say "If it is true," may I take it that till then you
entertained doubt about accuracy of the report that you had
received ?

Answer : As a matter of fact we were convinced of the truth
of the news, but it was not our desire that the vast reading public
of our paper should at the same time regard it as gospel truth since
it obviously was a serious matter and hence the use of word 'if-'

I believe the paragraph was written from a desire to be fair
to th,? Hon. The Chief Justice. I did not desire that the public
should iake it as gospel truth.

Question : And you wanted the impression to be made on
the mind of the public that the matter was still a matter of
doifbt?

236 THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

Answer : I would not go so far.

I was definitely led to believe that a circular or instructions
in any other form did exist. I entertained this belief on the basis;
ot the news that I received from Meerut and which is published i*
the issus of August 3.

Question : So far as the news item itself is concerned it
makes no reference to any circular?

Answer : That is true.

The reason why I did not go direct to Mr. Vidyarthi to make
an enquiry into the matter was "My name, my dress and my
profession are such that I am regarded as a red rag in several
quarters and it is with the utmost reluctance that I would approach
such quarters for a personal interview/*

1 was not quite sure that it would be legally appropriate to
approach Mr. Vidyarthi through some other person.

1 do not think that Mr. Banerji is a Congressman.

In letters I wrote to friends I mentioned the conversation 1
had with Mr. Banerji. I write no memorandum for my own use
and 1 use the letters which I write to my special friends for this
purpose. 1 keep a diary of sorts. I did not note this interview
in any diarv noi the substance of it.

BY THE COURT :

Question : Are you now satisfied that the imputation casJt
ou the Chief Justice by the news published in the issue of August
3 was wholly unjustifiable?

Answer . I was so satisfied on the very first day of the hearing
of this case in this court.

Question : Are you now satisfied that what was attributed
by the news item to his Excellency the Governor was wholly
untrue ?

Answer : Nothing has been said on that point, My Lord,
but 1 am prepared to accept it as your Lordship puts it.

MR. DEVADAS GANDHI 237

Question : Then do you admit that by the news item a
grievous wrong has been done to his Excellency the Governor and
the Chief Justice of the province?

/Insurer: I can only say, My Lord, that I regard the whole
affair as most unfortunate.

Question : Do you consider your paper a responsible paper?

Answer : I do.

Question : And yourself a responsible editor?

Answer : Yes.

Question : Do you now appreciate the grievous wrong that
you have done by publishing the news item and the paragraph in
the editorial column?

Answer : I think in the circumstances it was unfortunate that
it was> published, but I do not sec how, again in the circumstances,
it could have been avoided.

Question : Did it ever strike you that the exalted office ol
the Governor and of the Chief Justice demanded extreme caution
on your part?

Answer : My Lord, had it had reference to any thing but
the war effort, I would have exercised ten times the caution that I
actually did in this case. My paper has no animus against your
Lordship and although it strongly criticises his Excellency the
Governor it would have no interest in starting a canard of this kind.
But unfortunately it is the belief of my paper that many things are
taking place in this country under the stress of the war which
would not otherwise take place and it was my frank belief that in
view of the extraordinary circumstances of the war even his
Excellency the Governor and even your Lordship might conceivably
be drawn into action which, according to one section of opinion,
might be considered appropriate but entirely inappropriate
according to another section of opinion.

Question : Did the belief that the Governor or the Chief
Justice might have resorted to a certain course of conduct, in your
opinion, furnish a justification for giving publicity to the news of
the description that you did on August 3?

238 THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

Answer: My Lord, the question of "might" would arise in
lhat sense if I had been concocting a piece of news, but what I
am trying to state is that when the news came to me in the
manner it did, I shrugged my shoulders and said, perhaps the war
has made it possible.

Question : Do you now realize that the mention about a
circular in the headlines was wholly unjustified?

Answer : I am prepared to agree to that, My Lord.

Question : Did you appreciate this fact on the first date of
hearing in this court?

Answer : I did.

Question : Did you consider it proper then to make amends
for the wrong done by you?

Answer : The question of personal amends to your Lordship
has been engaging the attention of myself and my distinguished
counsel .

Question : It is not the question of making personal amends
to the Chief Justice personally, but it is the question of making
amends to the Exalted Office of the Chief Justice. Has that
engaged your attention so far?

Answer : It has, My Lord.

Question : The weeks that have intervened have not enabled
you to arrive at a decision in the matter?

Answer : My Lord, if any thing short of the evidence that
has been placed before this Hon'ble Court had come to my
attention I would have made the fullest amends long ago.

Question : You realized from the very outset that the
existence of the circular was a matter of cardinal importance in
the case?

Answer : I did not take that view.

Question: Then why did you in the letter dated the 9th of
August exhibit extreme anxiety about the production of the
circular or a copy thereof?

MR. DEVADAS GANDHI 236

Answer : This letter is dated the 9th of August. As I
have already stated, I could not make out all the details of the
charge against me until I had received the writ which arrived on
the 25th and I think it would be granted that it was natural on my
part to proceed in the case, legally speaking as well as morally, as
though a circular did exist.

Question: You have talked about your * 'public duty*' in
the course of your evidence. Does it occur to you that it was
equally your public duty not to be disrespectful to the office of the
Chief Justice?

Answer : Entirely, My Lord.

Question : Do you realize now that the disrespect has been
done to that office?

Answer : I realize that I have been an unwitting instrument
in showing disrespect for which I am extremely sorry.

Question : And the cause of the whole trouble is
Mr. Singhal?

Answer : My Lord, that is a point on which I would strive
to establish his innocence to the end of my existence.

To Sir Tej Bahadur Sqpru : The office copy of the letter
dated the 9th of August bears the initial of Mr. Subramanyan, who
is the Joint Editor, and he wrote that letter.

Sd. Devadas Gandhi.
Read and admitted to be correct.

D/25-9-41.

Recorded under the supervision of the court.

D/25-9-41.

Hon'bles CJ. and H./.C., /.

This statement has been recorded in our presence and under
our supervision.

25-9-41.

240 THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

Mr. Devadqs Gandhi recalled 26-9-' 41 .
TO COURT :

Question : Have you any objection in disclosing the name
of the author of the paragraph in the editorial column?

Answer: My Lord, I cannot answer the question in "Yes"
or **No" 1 propose to answer in two or three sentences. My
Lord, I was privileged to be present here during your examination
of Mr. Bharadwaja. My attitude in this case has been one of
laying every card on the table, but if 1 may be permitted to say so,
certain words fell from your Lordship a few moments ago which
struck me as constituting a threat of action against other members
of my staff in addition to myself and Mr. Singhal. Under the
circumstances 1 desire to state that, unless compelled under law, I
shall not disclose any further names of any member of my staff and
I desire further to declare that I invite on my head the cumulative
punishment that this court may desire to inflict on all the members
of my staff.

Sd. Devadas Gandhi.
Read and admitted to be correct.
Hon'bles CJ. and H./.C., /.

This statement has been recorded in our presence and under
our supervision.

26-9-'41.

MR. D. D. BHARADWAJA

Statement of Mr. D. D. Bharadwaja, Assistant Editor,
Hindustan Times, Delhi, on oath :

I am an assistant editor of the Hindustan Times. I have
been connected with this paper for the last three years. As an
assistant editor 1 deal with the news that is received from mofussil
correspondents and write editorials. I remember that a news item
relating to the incident under enquiry appeared in the issue of the
Hindustan Times dated 3rd of August. The news passed through
my hands when it was received in the office. I myself gave the head-
lines. The reason why I put a question mark after "The new Chief
Justice's Circular" is that the word "Circular" was not mentioned
in the news item ; it was merely an inference from the text of the
message. After this some comments appeared in the Hindustan
Times of the 5th August. I know that a telegram was received in
our office on the 8th August informing us that some steps were being
taken by this court against us in respect of that comment. After
the 8th August we wrote a letter to Mr. Singhal and we received
a reply from him. Our letter is dated 9th and his letter is dated
the 10th August. The letter of the 10th must have reached our
office on the 1 1th. I think it was in the issue of the 14th August
that we published the information of the fact that a writ for contempt
had been issued against us by this court. Between the 1 1th and
the 25th August we did not communicate with any of our corres-
pondents in respect of this matter. We only wrote to our legal
correspondent at Allahabad that he should send us full text of the
affidavit and of the court's order as early as possible.

The writ was served on the 25th August. Mr. Devadas
Gandhi and I went to Meerut on the 31st August and arrived at
Meerut at about 10 a.m. We went to Prof. Dubey's house. I
have known him for about 20 years. He and I were contempor-
aries at the Agra College. Our correspondent had told us that some
lawyers had been present in the Judge's court when the incident
took place and we asked Prof. Dubey if he could take us to those
lawyers or arrange a meeting between us and them. Prof. DuSey
went to Mr. Banerji's house* On his return he told us that Mr.
Banerji had narrated to him what had taken place in his presence.
Prof. Dubey invited Mr. Banerji to come and -have tea with him
that very day in order that he might meet us and he came. Mr,

242 THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

Banerji admitted to us in the presence of Prof. Dubey that he was
present in court when the incident occurred- Mr. Devadas Gandhi
left Meerut ror Delhi that evening by, I think, 7 p.m. train. Mr.
Devadas Gandhi and I did not meet Mr. Swami, Advocate, that
day. 1 stayed on for a day and a half after Mr. Gandhi had left.
1 left for Delhi on the 2nd. In the afternoon of the 1st of Septem-
ber I met Mr. K. N. Banerji again and had some talk with him
about the incident in court. Mr. Surajbal Swami arrived while
Mr. Banerji was still with Prof. Dubey and myself. This meeting
took place at Prof. Dubey's house. Mr. Swami complained to me
that Mr. Vidyarthi had called his son-in-law, Mr. Krishna Swarup
Sharma, to his chambers where he talked to him for about fifty
minutes and obtained from him a written statement saying that the
Judge, Mr. Vidyarthi, had not made, the statement attributed to
him. I met Mr. Akbar Husain next morning, that is, the 2nd or
September at 8-45 at his house. I went to Mr. Akbar Husain
in order to bring to his notice the fact that Mr. Vidyarthi was tak-
ing statements of this sort from lawyers by exercising pressure.

Continued on 26-9-1941-

M.. Akbar Husain said that he had no knowledge of what I
said and that Mr. Vidyarthi was the best person either to contradict
it or confirm it.

Question : Did Mr. Akbar Husain say anything more than
that?

Answer : Yes, he said during the course of the conversation
that matters had taken a very unfortunate turn and that some one was
likely to get it in tKe neck and that Mr. Vidyarthi had admitted his
mistake to him and it was Mr. Vidyarthi who was likely to get it in
the neck. Then I said what is the solution of this. We have no
animus against Mr. Vidyarthi. Then he said that he had advised
Mr. Vidyarthi to go to Allahabad and to make a clean breast of
the whole matter to the Chief Justice because if these facts came
out in court, then the High Court might be put in a very false
position-

I left Meerut the same noon on the 2nd. I went to Meerut
again on the 3rd of September. I was called by Mr. Surajbal Dikshit

MR. D. D. BHARADWAJA 243

to see him and so I went and I saw him. Mr. Surajbal Dikshit said
on the 3rd that he was anxious that there should be some sort of
compromise so that Mr. Vidyarthi might not have to suffer. I told
Jbim in reply that it was a matter between the High Court and the
Hindustan limes and I did not think any compromise between Mr*
Vidyarthi and the Hindustan Times could be of any avail. Then
1 came away.

After the 3rd of September I came to the High Court on the
9th.

Question : Why did you go to Mr. Surajbal Dikshit?
Answer : Because Surajbal Dikshit wanted to see me.

Question : After the last hearing on the 9th and the present
hearing did you go to Meerut?

Answer : Yes, I went there a few days ago to engage Mr.
Gopi Nath Sinha, local advocate, as our counsel to appear in the
High Court in this case and Mr. Gopi Nath Sinha is here. I went
with Mr. Devadas Gandhi.

According to the practice prevailing in my office it is within
my discretion and that of the editorial staff to reject any news item
and not to publish the same. The entire responsibility is of the
editor and the editorial staff for the publication. When we receive
a letter from a correspondent, we are at liberty to change the langu-
age, but we do not alter the substance. So far as the headlines
are concerned, they are entirely my own in the news item of 3rd
August and besides that the word "new" before * 'Chief Justice"
was also introduced by me. We have the original of the letter
from Mr. Singhal (witness produced the letter dated 1 st of August).
He stated that this was the news received from Mr. Singhal from
Meerut. (Witness has with his own hand marked the pages with
the court's permission).

Question : Look at page 4 of the letter and state what
changes did you make in that page in your capacity as sub-editor?

Answer : The corrections made on page 4 with ink are most-
ly mine, but at one place the word "donate" is in the handwriting

244 THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

of the correspondent. I do not remember whether I introduced
the inverted commas before and after the word "efforts" or whether
the correspondent had done it with his own hand. It may be that
I introduced the inverted commas while editing the copy.

At page 1 of the letter all that has been scored out and what
is written in ink has been done by me.

On page 2, I have scored out certain portions and the whole of
page 3 has been scored out by me. I also changed the order by
putting page 4 at the top and the rest of the message under it. AH
this technically is styled as editing the news.

Throughout my period of three years on the staff of the
Hindustan Times I have been dealing with news received from Mr.
Singhal and I have never had any occasion to doubt his reliability
or honesty. Numerous complaints about Judicial officers trying to
raise contributions for war funds were received by us from all over
India. We have published a few of those complaints and in regard
to several others we have made editorial comments bringing it to the
notice of the Government. All this happened before this particular
news arrived-

I met Mr. Swami at Meerut on the 1st of September in the
evening. He came to Prof. Dubey's house. At Prof. Dubey's
house he complained that Mr. Vidyarthi had obtained a statement
from his son-in-law, Mr. Krishna Swamp Sharma, by exercising
pressure, stating that Mr. Vidyarthi had not made the statement
attributed to him and he said that though it was a fact, Mr. Vid-
varthi was trying to get evidence from lawyers and that it was very
improper on his part to exercise pressure* and to obtain such state-
ments in order to save himself. It was after this conversation with
Mr. Swami that I went next morning to Mr. Akbar Husain.

CROSS-EXAMINATION BY SIR WAZIR HASAN :

The very identical pages corrected and edited by me in the
letter of Mr. Singhal dated the 1st August went to the Press.

Question : The headlines do not appear in the letter of Mr,
Singhal dated August 1 when you sent it to the Press?

MR. D. D. BHARADWAJA 45

Answer : That is a matter of technical convenience. Head-
lines are composed on a separate machine and the text is composed
on another machine. Headlines are given on a separate piece of
paper so that they may be immediately sent to the machine meant
for composing headlines and the text is sent to the machine meant for
composing text. The paper containing the headlines may be some-
where in our office. It is not in the file which we have brought. 1
wrote those headlines.

Question : What is the matter in this letter which led you
to infer that there was a circular issued by the Chief Justice?

Answer: The words "The Judicial officers all over the
Province have been, I reliably learn, asked by the Chief Justice
oi the Allahabad High Court, who, it is understood, has been
requested by his Excellency the Governor for co-operation in war
efforts to raise subscriptions for the war funds."

From the words "I reliably learn" I inferred that Mr.
Singhal had received this information from other sources and inferred
that those sources must be authoritative. From the word * 'reli-
ably" I inferred that he was speaking from personal knowledge
based on authoritative information from other sources.

Question : Did Mr. Dikshit at the interview you had with him
tell you that there was no circular from the Chief Justice and that
your only way of escaping the consequences was to apologize?

Answer : No, Mr. Dikshit had no discussion with me about
the circular. He only wanted that we should come to some com-
promise with Mr. Vidyarthi.

Question : What did you understand by the word "compro-
mise" in a case of this nature?

Answer : I thought that he wanted that somehow we should
not mention the name of Mr. Vidyarthi because he also said that
a Hndu -(Judge would be sacrificed. These are his words.

Question : Did you ask Mr. Dikshit to get a photograph of that
alleged circular or letter?

Answer : His reply was that that was not practicable.

246 THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

Question: From the conversation that you had with Mr.
Uikshit you carried the impression that there was such a circular?

Answer : Yes. That was my impression then. I have no
longer such an impression since his Lordship the Chief Justice has
denied its existence. At the time of my interview with Mr. Dikshit
1 was aware of the issue of notice. The interview was on the 3rd
of September. What Mr. Swami told me was not reduced to
writing. I did not ask him to give it in writing because he said
that he would not take any initiative in the matter, but if he were
called by the High Court, then he would depose.

Question : Is it a fact that during the interview Mr. Dikshit
told you that you should act in a manner so as not to make your
paper suffer. He also told you that independently of the fact what
Mr. Vidyarthi said or did not say, your offence for contempt was
complete and that you should apologize?

Answer : No, he did not say anything about the paper.
He only said that some way should be found to save Mr. Vidyarthi.

Question : Did you not in answer to what he had said tell
him then and there that you would not apologize and that you were
persons who were prepared to go to jail?

Answer : No, I did not say anything of the kind- I only
said that we shall place all the facts before the High Court without
caring for legalities and ask them to judge us on the basis of those
facts.

Question : As regards your interview with Mr. Akbar Husain
can you add anything to it or that is the whole purport of the con-
versation which you have already stated?

Answer: I also enquired from Mr. Akbar Husain whether
Mr. Vidyarthi was going to accept his advice to see the Chief Jus-
tice and to make a clean breast of the whole matter to his Lord-

L?" In , rply t0 this Mr ' Ak !> ar Husain said that Mr - Vidyarthi
had already written to the Registrar for an earlv appointment with
his Lordship the Chief Justice and as soon as he received a reply
he would go to Allahabad and make a clean breast of the whole
matter- He also said that my correspondent was rather indiscreet

MR. D. D. BHARADWAJA 247

in passing on all kinds of information to me. In reply I told him
that *it is his duty to send me all the facts which come to his know-^
ledge and it is for me to judge what to publish and what not to
publish/

Question : Whether Mr. Akbar Husain in the course of the
conversation told you that he could not believe what you had told
him that Mr. Vidyarthi was exercising undue influence in obtaining
statements and whether Mr. Akbar Husain also said that Mr. Vid-
yarthi had already seen him and made what he thought a very frank
and straightforward statement about what happened and that Mr.
Akbar Husain thought that the local correspondent had been sending
to the Hindustan Times false and mischievous information?

Answer : No. All that he said I have already stated in my
examination-in-chief and the words used about the correspondent
were that he was sending indiscreet reports. I distinctly remember
the word "Indiscreet."

I spoke to my friend, Prof. Dubey, about the interview that
1 had with Mr. Akbar Husain, but I did not give Prof. Dubey the
entire details of the interview. I did not meet Mr. Swami on
that occasion after the evening of the 1st of September. I did not
report to Mr. Swami the result of my interview with Mr. Akbar
Husain.

TO COURT :

Question : Were you present in this court when Mr. Akbar
Husain and Mr. Vidyarthi were examined?

Answer : 1 was present in this court on the day when Mr.
Vidyarthi and Mr. Akbar Husain were examined.

Question : Have you been taking an active part in instructing
your counsel in this case?

Answer : 1 have been helping Mr. Devadas Gandhi in instruct-
ing the counsel with the information in my possession.

Question : Were you present in the court-room when Mr.
Akbar Husain was examined?

Answer : Yes,

248 THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

Question : Did you instruct your counsel to put to Mr. Akbar
Husain in the course of cross-examination the fact that Mr. Akbar
Husain had told you that Mr. Vidyarthi had admitted his mistake
to him (Mr. Akbar Husain).?

Answer : No, I did not instruct him.

Question : Can you assign any reason for this conspicuous
omission ?

Answer : We put all the salient facts before our counsel and
leave it to him to put any questions he likes. It may be that this
fact was not described to him in detail.

Question : Do you or do you not consider this statement of
Mr- Akbar Husain that Mr. Vidyarthi had admitted his mistake
to him a salient fact in this case?

Answer : I did consider that it was an important enough fact,
but the line adopted by Mr. Vidyarthi of admitting collection of war
iunds in court gave it a different interpretation.

Question : It may be that all that Mr. Vidyarthi had admitted
to Mr. Akbar Husain was his mistake in raising subscriptions for the
war fund in the court-room?

Answer : Yes. I did not specifically enquire from Mr.
Akbar Husain as to what that admission of mistake amounted to.
At that time my impression was that it amounted to making the
statement implicating the Chief Justice and the Governor in the col-
lection of war funds in court.

Question : So now you cannot say positively that Mr. Vid-
yarthi admitted to Mr. Akbar Husain that he had implicated his
Excellency the Governor and the Chief Justice?

Answer : I cannot say it either way.

Question : On how many dates in all between the 1 0th of
August and this data you visited Meerut in connection with this
case?

Answer : I have visited Meerut three or four times in con-
nection with this case.

MR. D. D. BHARADWAJA 249,

v Question : And during your visit you were engaged in the
task of marshalling evidence?

Answer : No. In the first visit we went to ascertain the
correctness or otherwise of the information supplied to us by our
correspondent by meeting people whom he had named that they
were present in court, the second time I went because Mr. Dikshit
wanted to see me and the third time we went in order to engage
and instruct Mr. Gopi Nath Sinha.

Mr. Bharadwaja.
To Court (Contd.)

Question : Do the first paragraph in the news item of 3rd
August and the editorial comment in the is^ue of the 5th have a
political flavour in them? N

Answer : No, they have no political flavour. It is all
factual.

Question : Are the first paragraph and the editorial comment
completely divorced from political flavour?

Answer : If the raising of war fund is politics, then the first
paragraph and the editorial comment are associated with politics,
otherwise not.

Question : If the raising of war fund is a branch of political
activity, then the first paragraph and the editorial comment have a
political flavour in them?

Answer : No. I suppose " association" and "flavour"
are two different things. There it is the Facts about raising of war
funds which have been mentioned.

Question : Do you now realize that it was highly improper on
your part to associate the Chief Justice with the involved atmosphere
of politics and take him out from the purer atmosphere of adminis-
tration of justice?

Answer : At the time I passed this news, I did not consider
it as improbable that some such instructions might have been issued
because the Chief Justice of the Lahore High Court has himself

^250 THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

been going about raising war funds and speaking on the subject of
war efforts.

Question : But now you realize your mistake in associating
the Chief Justice of Allahabad with politics?

Answer : After your Lordship's denial of any kind of instruc-
tions by you to judicial officers in connection with war funds, I do
think that our Chief justice at any rate is not associating himself
with controversial politics.

Question : Apart from the denial by the Chief Justice, is it
now clear to you as daylight or not that the Chief Justice of Allah-
abad is completely dissociated with politics? I consider you to be an
intelligent and experienced member of the public and, therefore,
these questions, and I expect candid answers to these questions-

Answer : I do think that the Chief Justice of Allahabad does
not take part in any controversial politics. But at that time the
question of raising war funds was not considered by me as any
highly improbable thing because of the experience of the Punjab.

Question : At this moment do you realize your mistake or not?

Answer : Yes, now we do feel that an injustice has been
done to the Chief Justice by associating him with collection of war
funds.

Question : And even then the course that would have appeal-
ed to a gentleman did not appeal to your editorial staff, viz., the
course of submitting an abject and unqualified apology?

Answer : We have been thinking of making amends to his
Lordship the Chief Justice, but we at the same time wanted to
place before him all the facts which have come to our knowledge.

Question : Is it appreciated by you and other members of
your staff connected with this case that it is now too late to tender 1
an apology?

Answer : No, that is not my impression.

Question : You stated yesterday that you had put a note of in-
terrogation after the word "circular" in the headlines as no circular

MR. D. D. BMARADWAJA 251

was mentioned by your correspondent and it was merely your infer-
ence that a circular might have been issued- Now state whether it
was consistent with your responsibilities as a journalist to make such
serious an allegation against the Chief Justice on a mere surmise or
inference on your part.

Answer : 1 did not want the public to conclude that it was
an absolute truth that a circular had been issued and I wanted to
guard myself against the public drawing any hasty conclusion and
having any decisive opinion about his Lordship the Chief Justice in
this matter.

Question : Were the headlines in the news item calculated
to lead the reader of the paper to conclude that what was alleged
against the Chief justice may probably be true?

Answer : The public could form their own conclusion. Some
people would think that there was a circular, some might think that
there was not a circular.

Question : Do you consider such a publication consistent with
your responsibilities as a journalist?

Answer : 1 do feel that if it is based on reliable information,
such a thing should be published in public interest.

Question : Are you now conscious that you abused your posi-
tion as a journalist in putting those headlines?

Answer : I do not think I have abused my position as a jour-
nalist in putting those headlines because I believe that, the Punjab
High Court Chief Justice having interested himself in war efforts, this
thing may not be improper.

Question : So you consider it consistent with journalistic pro-
priety to attribute improper conduct to the CEief Justice of the
Allahabad High Court on analogy drawn from some other person?

Answer : I thought that if it was not improper for the Chief
Justice of the Lahore High Court, it cannot be improper also for the
Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court to take interest in war
effort.

252 THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

Question : Do you mean to say that you how hold the view
that it was not at all improper for the Chief Justice of the Allahabad
High Court to interest himself in the raising of war fund?

Answer : Our paper had criticized the Chief Justice of the
Lahore High Court for taking interest in raising war funds and we do
consider it improper for a Chief Justice to take interest in this kind
of effort.

Question : Did it occur to you that before putting these head-
lines, you should verify whether a circular had been issued by the
Chief Justice?

Answer : Work in a newspaper office has to be done under
great pressure and we have to carry on a race with time and some-
times we cannot realize all the implications and interpretations that
may be put on a thing.

Question : In other words, that pressure and race justifies reck-
lessness on the part of the editorial staff ?

Answer : No, this is not a justification for recklessness, but
we depend on our experience and intuition to decide whether a thing
is proper to be published or not.

Question : Does that experience and intuition justify the
indiscriminate throwing of mud?

Answer : No, I did not consider it any throwing of mud.
RE-EXAMINED BY SIR TEJ BAHADUR SAPRU :

Mr. Akbar Husain's statement was recorded when I was
present in the court room and I heard every part of it.

Read and admitted it to be correct.
A note is appended about omissions.

(Sd.) D. D. Bharadwaja.
Hons. C. J. and H. J. C., J,

This statement has been recorded in our presence and under
our supervision.

26-9-'4K

DR. D. L. DUBEY

Deposition of Dr. D. L. Duley, son of Pi. Chhedi Lai,
Brahman, about 44 years, Professor, Meerut College, on solemn
affirmation.

EXAMINED BY SIR T. B. SAPRU :

I am a Professor at the Meerut College, Meerut. I have been
connected with the Meerut College for over eighteen years. I took
my Ph.D. degree at the London University. That was during this
period. I have known Mr. Bharadwaja for over twenty years. I came
to know Mr. Devadas Gandhi since the 31st of August last. Before
that I did not know him. I am neither a Congressman nor anything
else, but I am a student of politics. I wrote a number of articles!
criticizing the Congress Ministry in the United Provinces. On the
31st of August last Mr. Bharadwaja and Mr. Gandhi saw me at
Meerut. They gave me the impression that they had come on a
i act-finding mission in connection with the case of the Hindustan
Times. I think, so far as I recollect, the first question that they
put me was with regard to Radhe Lai Singhal, the correspondent
of the Hindustan Times. They asked me what was the position
and reputation of Radhe Lai Singhal. I said he was a good and
independent man and I knew him. On one occasion at least he
had shown that he was above temptation. Mr. Gandhi gave me
the impression that he wanted to verify from some eye-witnesses
what Mr. Singhal had written to the Hindustan Times was or was
not true. He mentioned to me the names of Mr. Banerji and
Mr. Surajbal Swami and also of Mr. Hanifi. I know Messrs.
Banerji and Swami, but I am not intimate with them. I saw
Mr. Banerji thereafter and I had a talk with him about the incident
under inquiry. He lives 200 yards off from my place. 1 saw
him at his place. He told me that he was present that day in the
court-room. He further said that Mr. Vidyarthi delivered a part
of the judgment and afterwards he made a reference to a talk that
was held between his Excellency the Governor and the Chief
Justice and later on he said that there were some instructions to
that effect and in response to those instructions he made an appeal
lor funds. Some amount of money was collected there and
placed on his table. Thereafter I asked him to accompany me to
my house. I did so because I did not want to take the
responsibility of conveying his version and I wanted him to give

25 4 THE HINDUSTAN TIMES

first-hand information to Messrs. Gandhi and Bharadwaja. He
came sometime in the afternoon. The conversation in my room
took place in the presence of myself, Mr. Bharadwaja, Mr. Gandhi
and Mr. Banerji. This happened on the evening of the 31st of
August. Mr.' Banerji repeated the same thing he had told me ui
the morning at that conversation. Mr. Gandhi did put a specific
question to Mr. Banerji as he wanted to get to the bottom of the
truth. Towards the end of the conversation Mr. Gandhi put a
straight question to him whether he would be prepared to give an
affidavit on the lines of the statement made by him. He said he?
would not like to volunteer himself in that way, but he would be
prepared to go to the High Court if necessity arose and if he was
called to the High Court. He said he would state in the High
Court what he had stated to us at that meeting. After this
conversation Mr. Devadas Gandhi had to leave that very afternoon.
1 was anxious that Mr. Banerji should make his entire statement
before Mr. Gandhi as I wante^l to evade the responsibility of
reproducing Mr. Banerji. After Mr. Devadas Gandhi left tor
the station in the evening, Mr. Bharadwaja stayed on with me.
Mr. Surajbal Swami was out of station that day. I met him the
next day. Mr. Bharadwaja was not with me at that time. I met
Mr. Swami in his chambers in tlie law courts. The law courts
are quite close to my college and residence. I went to him at
about 3 o'clock in the afternoon. That takes me on to the 1st of
September. I told him that Mr. Gandhi had come the previous
day and he wanted to meet him (Mr. Swami).

Question : Did you ask him as to what had happened in his
presence on the day in question?

Answer : I do not exactly remember what talk I had with
Mr. Swami. I do not exactly remember the conversation that
took place between me and Mr. Swami, but there was some
conversation between me and Mr. Swami.

Mr. Bharadwaja went to my place on the 3rd of September
and I think he did stay with me that day. Mr. Bharadwaja visited
me on several occasions and, therefore, I am not positive on which
occasion he stayed with me and on which he did not. He
positively saw me on the 3rd. I rang up Mr. Devadas Gandhi on

R. D. L. DUBEY 256

the evening of the 2nd and he said that Mr. Bharadwaja would be
coming the next day. 1 had received a message the previous
evening irom a certain respectable lawyer that he wanted to see
me and 1 had gone to see him the previous night.

Question : What did he ask you to do ?

Answer : He asked me whether Mr. Bharadwaja was with
me and 1 told him that he had gone. He asked me to get either
Mr. Gandhi or Mr. Bharadwaja.

Question : Did the respectble lawyer tell you why he wanted
them or either of them?

Answer : He wanted to have a conversation with them about
the contempt of court affair and to consider if any way could be
found out to save Mr. Vidyarthi, if possible.

For that reason 1 rang up Mr. Devadas Gandhi and
Mr. Bharadwaja arrived the next morning (day as slip attached).
That gentleman had asked me to inform him what the result of my
'phone was and I informed him early in the morning that
Mr. Bharadwaja would be coming at about 10 o'clock. The next
morning Mr. Bharadwaja arrived on the morning of the 3rd of
September at about 3 o'clock. Before the arrival of Mr.
Bharadwaja that respectable gentleman had himself called at my
residence in order to enquire whether Mr. Bharadwaja had
arrived. After Mr. Bharadwaja arrived, I sent a message to the
respectable lawyer and the respectable lawyer sent message to me
requesting that Mr. Bharadwaja should go to him. I accompanied
Mr. Bharadwaja to the respectable lawyer's house. The respectable
lawyer said, 'Could you somehow or other save Mr. Vidyarthi?
He is a man with family and children.' Something like that went
on between them. Mr. Bfiaradwaja said, "It is a matter between
the High Court and the Hindustan Times. We have no grudge
against Mr. Vidyarthi."

Question : Did that respectable lawyer tell Mr. Bharadwaja
to go to the High Court and tender an apology for what the
Hindustan Times had published?

Answer : He did not suggest it to Mr. Bharadwaja.

250 THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

That respectable lawyer was Pt. R. B. Surajbal Dibhit.
He is a leading criminal lawyer t>f Meerut. He is a man of
considerable influence both in the bar and the judiciary.
Mr. Bharadwaja said that there were two alternatives open, either
Mr. Vidyarthi should state the truth in the High Court or he
should intorm the Chief Justice in the meantime and make a clean
breast of the whole affair. There were some arguments thereafter
and ultimately Mr. Dikshit came round to the view that
Mr. Vidyarthi should see the Chief Justice. I think this is all the
conversation that took place and I have nothing further to add.
Two of my colleagues, Prof. Madan Mohan and Mr. Khare.
were also at the interview with Mr. Dikshit. They are professors
in the Meerut College. After that we left Mr. Dikshit *s place.
1 do not remember whether Mr- Bharadwaja stayed that night or
not. All this happened on the 3rd. I saw Mr. Devadas Gandhi
then on the 10th at Delhi where 1 had gone to give a radio talk
and there I went to see Mr. Gandhi for a few minutes. I had not
much talk there. After the 10th Mr. Gandhi went to Meerut
about five days ago and Mr. Bharadwaja also accompanied him.
They went to my place in my absence and had tea there. After-
wards I met them. They told me that they had come to engage
Mi. Sinha. They did not ask me to do anything. Mr. Surajbal
Swami did come to my house on the 1st of September.
Mr. Swami told us that Mr. Vidyarthi had taken some sort of
statement from Krishna Swarup, his son-in-law, under pressure.
Mr. Gandhi was not there. Mr. Bharadwaja was present at that
time. Mr. Swami was very angry. He said that he was very
indignant with his son-in-law and had told him that he (son-in-law)
would sign his (Mr. Swami 's) death warrant.

Question : Did Mr. Swami tell you then that he had heard
the judge making the statement in court which is attributed to
him?

Answer: I think he did.

Mr. Swami always said that he would speak the truth,
whatever happened. I do not recollect any part of the conversa-
tion that may have further taken place between Mr. Bharadwaja
and Mr. Swami.

DR. D. L. DUBEY 257

CROSS-EXAMINED BY SIR WAZIR HASAN :

Question : May I take it that you played the role of an agent
of Mr. Gandhi and Mr. Bharadwaja for the purpose of collecting
evidence for them?

Answer : My Lord, it is a wholly unwarranted assumption.

Question : What interest had you in helping them by going
to Mr. Banerji and to Mr. Swami?

Answer : Mr. Gandhi wanted to ascertain the truth from
eye-witnesses and as they had come to my place, it was my duty
to give them that facility.

Whatever I have stated about the purport of the conversation-
at the interview with Mr. Dikshit is all that 1 remember.

Question : Did you or Mr. Bharadwaja ask Mr. Dikshit for a
photographic copy of the alleged circular?

Answer : We did not ask specifically Mr. Dikshit but we
said if we could have a photograph of the circular that would
absolve Mr. Vidyarthi of all the responsibilities.

At the interview Mr. Dikshit said positively that there was
no such circular in existence and therefore no photographic copy
could be had.

Question : Did Mr. Dikshit tell Mr. Bharadwaja that the only
way to get out of the contempt case was to go to the High Court
and to tender an apology ?

Answer : I do not think that he advised him in that way.
Question : In what way did he advise?

Answer : I do not remember exactly the text of the conver-
sation but I have already given the gist. Mr. Bharadwaja had
suggested to Mr. Dikshit that it was of Mr. Dikshit to find some
way out of the difficulties. What Mr. Dikshit said in reply I do
not remember*

Question: Did Mr. Bharadwaja tell Mr. Dikshit at that
interview that he would not accept his advice and that he was not
afraid of going to jail?

258 THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

Answer : Mr. Bharadwaja said, 'Well, we are not afraid
of the consequences. We should be able to establish the position
of the Hindustan Times. 9

Question : In what connection and with what advice did
Mr. Bharadwaja say this?

Answer : Probably Mr. Dikshit had held out a suggestion
that it would be difficult for Mr. Bharadwaja to bring lawyers to
court and depose to that effect.

Question : Therefore what Mr. Gandhi and Mr. Bharadwaja
should do?

Answer : They should seek some sort of way out for the
purpose.

Question : Did any of you ask Mr. Dikshit as to what was
the way that he suggested?

Answer : Yes, we asked him what was the way that he
suggested. He was simply telling us that it would be useless for
you to proceed in the way. You will not be able to support your
version. As a matter of fact they wanted to establish in the High
Court that what Mr. Singhal had written was true but Mr. Dikshit
said that it would be difficult for them to establish that fact.

Question : What was your object in going to the chambers
of Mr. Swami?

Answer : I went to tell him that Mr. Gandhi wanted to see
him.

I do not remember the text of the conversation that I had
with Mr. Swami in his chambers. All that I remember is that
the conversation that 1 had with him had reference to certain
statements that were being collected. What transpired between me
and Mr. Swami, I communicated to Mr. Bharadwaja. I had on
many occasions before this date repeated what Mr. Banerji and
Mr. Swami told me at my house. I do not remember any such
occasion. The words used by Mr. Banerji have been stated by
me and not merely the substance of his conversation. I had no
talk with Mr. Singhal directly.

DR. D. L. DUBEY 259

Question : What experience had you about Mr. Singhal on
the basis of which you formed your opinion about him?

Answer : I remember on one occasion certain parties wanted
him not to send news regarding a particular case that was being
reported and he did not yield to that request. They wanted to
offer him some money. That happened three years ago. I had
absolutely no interest in that matter. That person had approached
me with the request that 1 should write to the Hindustan Times
people that they should not publish that news.

TO COURT :

Question : Why did that man approach you with the request
to Hindustan Times?

Answer : As a matter of fact, he had approached my
neighbour and the neighbour approached me to ask the Hindustan
1 imes people not to publish that news.

Question : Did that neighbour know that you wield great
influence with the Hindustan Times staff?

Answer : Yes, he knew that I knew Mr. Bharadwaja.
Mr. Bharadwaja and 1 are friends.
Question : And intimate friends too?
Answer : I cannot say intimate.

Question : Was that the only incident about Mr. Singhal
that you knew?

Answer : He always sends faithful reports to the Press.

Question : Did you on previous occasions verify the report
sent by him to the Press?

Answer : Of course, 1 had seen certain reports concerning
the Meerut College affairs and I had found that they were a
faithful picture of what had happened.

Question : It was on the basis of this that you formed the
opinion about Mr. Singhal that you have stated in your
examination-in-chief or was there any other material available to
you for the formation of that opinion?

260 THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

Answer: He occasionally came in contact with me and I
always saw him in all circles and he had a better reputation than
others.

Question : You consider that a man who moves in all circles
must necessarily be honest and truthful?

Answer : 1 think that one who is true must always be in a
position to please every one,

Mr. Sinha is quite a good legal practitioner at Meerut and
Messrs. Bharadwaja and Gandhi went to engage Mr. Sinha

Question : Did you enquire from Mr. Gandhi or
Mr. Bharadwaja as to where was the necessity of taking a counsel
from Meerut when eminent counsel were appearing for them in
the High Court?

Answer : The feeling at Meerut was that the cross-exami-
nation of Mr. Vidyarthi had not taken place in as satisfactory a
manner as it coiild have been done, otherwise the whole truth
would have been out to the High Court at that time. It was
specially due to the fact that no lawyer with a background of the
incident was present at the time of the cross-examination.

I do not know whether by the 31st of August when
Mr. Gandhi and Mr. Bharadwaja arrived, there were two divergent
versions, about this incident, current in Meerut. I had not till
then interested myself in this matter

Question : You interested yourself in this matter from the
31st of August?

Answer: Not exactly.
Question : Then what?

Answer : I simply wanted to give facilities to these people to
meet the eye-witnesses. By these people 1 mean Mr. Gandhi
and Mr. Bharadwaja.

Question : Why did Mr. Gandhi ask Mr. Bancrji to give an
affidavit? Was Mr. Gandhi doubtful whether Mr. Banerji will
stick to his statement to the last?

DR. D. L. DUBEY 261

Answer : Mr. Gandhi thought that the whole affair would
be over at the first hearing if he could get a statement of that sort
from Mr. Banerji.

I frequently met Mr. Banerji after that date. In the
subsequent interview that 1 had with Mr. Banerji I asked him and
he told me that he would stick to his statement. He began
wavering as a matter of fact.

Question : When did he waver for the first time ?
Answer: He began wavering from the 1st.

Mr. Banerji began to waver from the 1st of September, it
came to my knowledge at about 2 or 3 o'clock in the afternoon
of the first of September that Mr. Banerji had begun to waver. In
the meantime he had met some people?

Question : What people?

Answer: He had seen Mr. Akbar Husain. He had seen
Mr. Dikshit also.

Question : Do you mean to suggest that Mr. Akbar Husain
was trying to win over witnesses in the interest of Mr. Vidyarthi?

Answer: That is for you to judge, My Lord.

Question : Is it your suggestion that Mr. Dikshit was trying
to suborn the evidence with a view to help Mr. Vidyarthi?

Answer: That again is for you to judge, My Lord.

Question : Are you reluctant to make a statement on the
point?

Answer : I do not want to make any insinuation about any
individuals.

Question : Can you suggest any substantial reason for
Mr. Banerji beginning to waver within 24 hours of the conversa-
tion that he had with you?

Answer: Probably it must have been brought home to him
that the matter was more serious than he had taken it to be.

262 THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

Question : Is it true that from 2nd after the 3 1 st of August
there was a tug of war between the parties for the preparation and
concoction of evidence?

Answer : There was only one party in the tug of war and
that was Mr. Vidyarthi's party and they had begun taking
statements from lawyers.

Mr. Gandhi also wanted to get a statement from Mr. Banerji
of what had actually happened.

Question : How do you know that Mr. Singhal was offered
a bribe and refused it?

Answer : I know because those people approached my
neighbours.

Question : Who told you?
Answer : My neighbour told me.

Question : Have you any objection in disclosing tho name of
your neighbour?

Answer : I do not think it necessary to disclose his name.
RE-EXAMINATION OF SIR TEJ BAHADUR SAPRU :

I never had any reason to feel that any item of news sent by
Mr Singhal was lacking in truth or precision.

Read and admitted to be correct,

Sd. D. L. Dubey.

Recorded under the supervision of the Court.
Hon'bles C.J. and H.J.C., J.

This statement has been recorded in our presence and under
our supervision.

MR. ATTAR SINGH

[UNOFFICIAL ENGLISH TRANSLATION OF MR. ATTAR
SINGH'S EVIDENCE RECORDED IN URDU.]

Statement on solemn oath of Attar Singh.

"My name is Attar Singh. Father's name, Durga Singh.
Caste, Rajput. Age, 34 years. Profession clerkship. At
present clerk to Lala Chattarpal, Vakil. Resident at Meerut.

"I remember the Dhakoli murder case. This case was
tried in Mr. Vidyarthi's court. I was acting as a pairokar for the
complainants. Judgment was delivered in the case on July 31,
1 94 1 . I was in the court at the time of the delivery of the
judgment. There were 20 accused in the case. The judge
sentenced four of the accused to transportation " for life and six
months' imprisonment. Nothing was said at that time in regard to
the rest of the accused. After a minute or two, four of the accused
who were prosecuted on private complaint were asked by the court
to come forward. On their coming forward they were asked to give
subscription. After remaining silent for some time, Khacheroo
Choube said. "We have been robbed sufficiently. We have nothing
to give." They meant that they had spent a lot on the case. The
judge said that the Governor and the Chief Justice desired that war
contributions be collected. Consultations were then held between
the pairokars of the accused and their counsel and after that money
was paid. Two hundred rupees were paid on behalf of these four
accused. The names of these four accused are : Khacheroo Choube,
Manni, Munshi, and Fazil alias Kharak Singh. Two hundred rupees
were collected in currency notes. These notes were counted by Mr.
Banerji, and he said that the amount was correct. After that Mr.
Surajbal Swami said that he had with him Rs. 1 50 on behalf of
his clients and he would deposit the sum. When Mr. Surajbal Swarm
asked about the judgment regarding the remaining accused, the judge
replied that the remaining accused were acquitted. There was an
interval of 1 5 minutes between the sentencing of the four accused
and the order of acquittal of the remainder.

CROSS-EXAMINATION :

"I know Mr, Singhal. I know him from the time of the Dhakoli

264 THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

murder case. I did not know him before that. I have been living
at Meerut since 1930. I have been lawyer's clerk since 1930. I
am a clerk of Mr. Chattarpal, Vakil. I have been attending the
courts in connection with my clerkship since 1930. It is possible
that I might have seen Mr. Singhal in the interval between 1930 and
the date of the Dhakoli case. I have known Gauri Shankar for the
last five or six years. I have no connections with him. Between
31st July, 1941 , and this day I saw Mr. Singhal and Gauri Shankar
only yesterday. From 31st July till today there has been no talk
between them and me. I received this court's summons. Before coming
to Mr. Chattarpal, I was clerk of Mr. Fattan Lai, Vakil. The judge
was speaking about war fund contribution Tor those 1 5 minutes. At
the time of counting the money Mr. Banerji was present in the
court. But I cannot say whether at the time of pronouncement of
the judgment he was there or not. I did not see Mr. Moti Lai in
the court room at the time the judgment was pronounced. Mr. S. C.
Gupta, Bar-at-Law, a counsel on behalf of the accused, was present
in the court room at the time of the pronouncement of the judgment.
Mr. Gopinath Sinha was the counsel on behalf of the complainants.
He was not present in the court on that date, that is, on the day the
judgment was delivered. No lawyer on behalf of the prosecution
was present in the court at the time orders were passed.

TO COURT :

"My pleader, Mr. Chattarpal, did not represent any party in
the Dhakoli case. The men who were murdered were my relations.
1 was not grieved by the acquittal of the sixteen accused."

Question : Did this decision cause sorrow or delight to you and
other

Answer : It caused us neither delight nor sorrow.

During my presence, the judge did not ask for contribution
from the complainants* party or from those accused who were
convicted ; npr did he ask for it from the remaining 1 2 accused who
were prosecuted by the police and were acquitted by him. In my
presence only those four who were prosecuted on complaint were asked
to contribute. Till today nobody has asked me to come and give
evidence in the High Court. Mr. Surajbal Swami was counsel on

MR. ATTAR SINGH 265

behalf of three accused in that case. He had said that he had with
him Rs. 1 50, which he would give as contribution of his three clients.

Read and admitted to be correct*

(Signature in Urdu) Attar Singh.
Hans. CJ.andHJ.C.J.

This statement has been recorded in our presence and under
our supervision.

(Sd.) I. A.
26-9-'41. (Sd.)H. J. C.

MR. SURAJ BAL SWAMI

Statement of Mr. Swraj Bal Swami, Pleader, Meerut, on oath.

I have been practising in Meerut for about the last 13 years.
I practise specially in the criminal courts- I frequently appear in
sessions cases. 1 very vividly remember the Dhakoli case. I ap-
peared as defence counsel for three of the accused in that case.
Those accused were acquitted. The judgment was delivered on
the 31st of July, 1941. The judgment was delivered between 3
and 4 p.m. He delivered first the judgment with regard to the four
of the accused persons who were sentenced to transportation for life.
He did not deliver the judgment as regards the rest of the accused
when 1 was there, but the lawyers present there knew that they stood
acquitted*

Money for war fund was collected that day in the court-room.
Rs. 200 were collected in notes and a promise for Rs. 200 was
made on behalf of probably two persons who were represented by
an advocate from Bijnor.

Question : Did you make any offer on behalf of your clients?

.Answer : It was no question of an offer. I discussed the
matter with the judge and another lawyer present there. The dis-
cussion was that the lawyer told me that my three clients had to give?
Rs. 300, i.e., Rs. 100 each and I said that you were not engaged
to nave them hanged. Thereafter he said that the judge also
wanted it and 1 said: "The judge may want a thousand rupees,
but you are their counsel." I said so because he was appearing in
the case with me. Thereafter I said that as Rs. 200 had been
paid by four accused persons, my clients should pay at the rate of
Rs. 50 each, i.e. Rs. 1 50. Then I said that I was ready to pay
Rs. 150, but I had no money ready with me at that time. The
question of raising money in court arose at the instance of the judge.

Question : Will you kindly relate to their lordships the langu-
age or the substance of the language which the judge used in mak-
ing an appeal for the raising of the fund?

[Note. At this stage when the witness was not prompt in
answering the question, Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru suggested to the
witness that he might answer the question in Urdu if he so desired.
The witness then stated : "No, no. It is a question of recollection
because I have not talked over the matter to many persons."]

MR. SURAJ BAL SWAMI 26?

Answer : The judge said addressing to Mr. S. C. Gupta so
tar as 1 remember 1 cannot vouchsafe the guarantee of my state-
ment in this connection being verbatim true, but the substance of
the words was:

"Ham kya karen His Excellency the Governor Saheb Chiej
Justice Saheb se mile the. Vnhon ne ham se \aha aur ham ko aisa
k<ffna hota hai," or some such things.

Question : Are you quite positive that you heard the judge
refer to his Excellency the Governor and to his lordship the Chief
Justice?

Answer : Certainly. 1 am very positive and it is true. I
wa> asked on numerous occasions to see the judge personally, but I
persistently refused to see him. I eventually saw the judge in his
chambers on the 10th of September when one of my criminal
appeals was on.

Question : Will you tell us what passed between you and the
judge in the chamber?

Answer : The substance of it was that the judge suggested
that either I should take his resignation or I should not give evidence
against him to the effect that he had mentioned the Governor or
the Chief Justice in connection with the raising of subscription and
then he showed me a copy of the affidavit that was probably sent
to him that morning.

That was an affidavit of Mr. Gandhi. That was on the
10th of September and the judge was to proceed that day to
Allahabad in pursuance of the orders of the High Court. I saw that
affidavit. He showed the affidavit to me. He asked me to suggest
answers to some of the paragraphs in the affidavit. He never
read the paragraphs over to me nor did I read the paragraphs. He
handed over the affidavit to me and he said he was unhinged. I
told him, "Sir, I am not going to tell a lie and I cannot tolerate
your face any longer and probably you may also be wishing the
same." Thereafter I left his court abruptly. I came to know
that the judge had called my son-in-law Krishna Swarup. Exactly
he was not called. I sent him because the judge repeatedly sent
his men, his peons, to me, asking me to see him. I asked my

268 THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

son-in-law Krishna Swarup to go and find out what the judge
wanted to say to me. This happened on the 1st of September.
Then my son-in-law did go to the judge and remained with him
in his chambers for 45 minutes. I then sent Mr. D. P. Mittal, a
junior advocate, to find out what was happening to my son-in-law.
He reported to me that Mr. Krishna Swarup was in the judge's
chambers. Thereafter Krishna Swarup came and told me that the
judge pressed him and had obtained a writing from him. I lost
my temper at once and I left the place at once for my home. 1 did
not rebuke my son-in-law then. 1 discovered only three or four days
ago what my son-in-law had written. He had written something
like that he was present on the date of the delivery of judgment
and the judge did not use the name of "His Excellency" and "My
Lord the Chief Justice" in raising subscriptions. But my son-in-
law on his return had reported to my clerk what had happened. I
gathered the contents from my son-in-law only four days ago. The
fact is that after the day that he had an interview with the judge
on the 1 st of September, he left practice at Meerut and went away
to practise at Bijnor.

Question : Why did your son-in-law leave Meerut and go and
settle at Bijnor?

Answer : My son-in-law knew my habit that for the last
two years I have not told a conscious lie and because I had turned
put my son who used to tell any amount of lies ; therefore, my son-
in-law left Meerut.

Question : Anyhow, this incident has led to very unpleasant
consequences in your family?

Answer : Yes, it has. He had dragged my daughter also
away from me and went with bag and baggage from Meerut to
Bijnor.

For the first time I met Mr. Devadas Gandhi about half an
hour ago. I did not talk to Km. I know Mr. Dubey by face. I
do not remember any occasion on which I may have met Mr. K. N.
Banerji at the residence of Mr. Dubey. There was a cnoversation
between me and Prof. Dubey about this incident. It was on the 1st
of September between 12 and 1 p.m. Prof t Dubey met me in
my chambers in Court. He told me that one Mr. Bharadwaja and Mr.

MR. SURAJ BAL SWAMI 260

Devadas Gandhi had come on the 31st of August to meet me, but
as I was away, they could not meet me and either I should go to
see Mr. Gandhi or he should bring Mr. Gandhi to me. I answer-
ed that I did not want to pick up Mr. Gandhi's acquaintance.

Question : Have you any objection to the word "Gandhi" ?
Answer : No.

Question: Then what was passing in your mind when you told
him that you did not want to meet Mr. Gandhi?

Answer : I thought 1 did not know what statement they
would like me to make and, therefore, I said I did not want to
meet Mr. Gandhi and besides, I do not go to see anybody in
Meerut, nor do I invite anybody at my place without business.
My interests are confined to my professional work and to a study
of all the religions of the world.

Question : And, therefore, you do not mix in society?
Answer : No.

I have had no conversation with Mr. Gandhi upto
this moment concerning this incident. But Mr. Bharadwaja and
Mr. Dubey appear to me to be old chums, because I saw a photo-
graph when 1 went to Mr. Dubey 's place once, in which Dubey
and Bharadwaja were photographed together and he said to me that
he was Mr. Bharadwaja and they were students at Agra. On
various occasions Mr. Bharadwaja and Mr. Dubey met me and
wanted me to make certain statements.

Question : Then should I take it that your position was that
you would not like to commit yourself to anyone but would, if
necessary, come to court and make your statement to their lordships
according to your conscience.

Answer : No, Sir, this is also not correct. I did not want to
give evidence in this case.

Question : Will you please tell us why you did not want t
give evidence?

(Witness: Is it cross-examination?)

Court : Answer the question-

THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CAStf

Answer : In Meerut there have come to be two distinct parties
because oi this unfortunate incident. One is composed of Dubey,
Bharadwaja and certain leading Congressmen, one of them being
a premier zamindar of U.P. And the other party is of the Judge.

Question : Who are the members of the other party?

Answer : Certainly, I know that the judge had the support
of our President, President of the Bar Association, Rai Bahadur
Pandit Surajbal Dixit, Rai Sahib Moti Lai, S. C. Gupta, Barrister,
and several other persons, and that was the reason that I did not like
to drag myself into the mud.

Question : Did you ever go to Mr. Akbar Husain to complain
that the judge had taken a written statement from your son-in-law?

Answer : No.
CROSS-EXAMINED BY SIR SYED WAZIR HASAN :

Question : You said that within the last two years you have
not uttered a conscious lie. Are we to infer that you did utter
conscious lies previous to that?

Answer: Certainly not, never. By the words "conscious
lie" I mean that which is palpable lie to me.

Question : Did you offer protest at the time when the sub-
scription was being raised?

Answer : Why should 1 It is not a lawyer's duty. I did
not consider it an improper act on the part of the judge because
the name of his lordship the Chief Justice was there.

Question : You did not consider it improper because the name
of the Lord Chief Justice was associated with that?

Answer: Because the statement was made in the name of
his lordship the Chief Justice by a man who occupied a very im-
portant chair in the district, I thought, as other lawyers began
to think, then, that some how or other this thing may have happened.

r ,. Q Ue ^ I(>n . : If Jt had not been associated with the name of the
Lhief Justice, it would have been an improper act?

Answer : I do not know anything about it.

MR. SURAJ BAL SWAMI 27 i

The contents of the writing that the judge had taken from my
son-in-law were communicated to me by my clerk on the 1st of
ScptemSer. I believed my clerk's statement, because writings had
been obtained from other persons.

Question : You expressed no indignation to your son-in-law?

Answer : The indignation was apparent from my eyes. I
had not spoken a word to him.

Question : Did you ever by words or in some other direct
way express your indignation to your son-in-law?

Answer : I never expressed my indignation in words.

Question : Is it right to suggest that he left Meerut because
of your anger with him over what he had done?

Answer : Yes, because he had reasons to infer that I hate
a man who lies, as I submitted I turned out my son, and I must feel
angry over his act. Three or four days ago, he told me the con-
tents of his writing and he did not tell me this before, in details.

Question : Your statement is that you never repeated what
had happened in court that day either to Mr. Dubey or to Mr.
Bharadwaja or to Mr. Gandhi?

Answer : I never repeated to Mr. Dube or to Mr.
Gandhi or to Mr. Bharadwaja what had happened in court on the
31st of August except on the morning of the 12th September when
all three of us (Dubey, Bharadwaja and myself) went to see Mr.
K- N. Banerji.

TO COURT :

Question : May I take it that the decision of the ju3ge as
regards all the twenty accused was known to the lawyers at one
and the same time, i.e. that four accused had been convicted and
the rest acquitted?

Answer : My Lord, this is the position. The lawyers pre-
sent knew it.

Question : Then the accusation against the judge that he
delivered judgment piecemeal is untrue?

272 THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

Answer: Certainly. I may add that we knew that this is
the state of affairs. But if by the word "delivered" it is under-
stood that some portion of it was read loudly to the accused and
some portion was not, then it is not correct-

Question : Will you kindly elucidate the statement that you
made about the delivery of judgment in the first paragraph of your
cxamination-in-chief which has just been read over to you ?

Answer : My Lord, the position is that some of the lawyers
may have been present before me when the warrants for the commit-
ment of the accused, who were convicted, to jail were being writ-
ten and it may have been then that they somehow or other inferred
and also knew that my clients also stand acquitted.

Question : How did you know that your clients stood acquitted ?

Answer : The entire court was chock full and for some time
I stood in the gallery. Then Harish Chandra probably informed me
that papers were being written to send some of the accused to jail
and we did not know what will happen to our men, and he asked
me to go in and find out. I told him that Mr. Gupta was there,
but then he insisted on my going and I went there and from the talk
which had been going on previously between the judge and some
of the lawyers present before the judgment was pronounced, I
gathered that the rest of the accused were to be acquitted.

Question : So it is a fact that all at once it was known
to everybody concerned that four of the accused had been convict-
ed and the rest acquitted?

Answer: Yes, even to the persons acquitted and convicted.

I lead a very secluded life and I am not on visiting terms with
anyone in Meerut. The relations between my son and me are strained
and so are the relations between me and my son-in-law now.

Question : Do the people harbour the feeling that you
have got an uncontrollable temper?

Amwer : Yes, some of them. I myself am conscious of this
fact.

MR. SURAJ BAL SWAMI 273

Question : What is the nature of the relations between
you and Mr. Surajbal Dixit?

Answer : He is a distant relation of mine. He is a thorough
gentleman. He loves me very much and is a man of very high
position, such as Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru's.

Sd. Suraj Bal Swami.
26-9-41.

Read and admitted it to be correct.
Hons. C.J. and H.J.C,, J,

1 his statement has been recorded in our presence and under
our supervision.

26-9-41.

MR. KRISHNA SWARUP

Deposition of Mr. Krishna Stoarup, on 5. A.

My name is Krishna Swarup Sharma, father's name Pt. Nathu
Mai.

1 am a Vakil. I have been practising as a Vakil for about
8 or 9 months. 1 am not practising at Meerut now and 1 have left
Meerut now. I now propose to practise at Bijnor. On 1st
September my father-in-law, Mr. Surajbal Swami, asked me to go
to Mr. Hari Shankar Vidyarthi to enquire from him why he is
calling Mr. Surajbal Swami. 1 went there and he made me sit
there. Mr. Vidyarthi then gave me some 4 or 5 statements
and he asked me to read one of those statements, viz., the statement
of Mr- S. C. Gupta and to copy the same statement and sign my
name. I told him that I did not want to make any incorrect state-
ment as 1 was not present at the time of the delivery of the judgment.
He induced me again and again to write the statement similar to the
statement of Mr. Gupta explaining his position to me that his ser-
vice was in danger and it was an enquiry from the District Judge,
Meerut. He said if I would give him the statement in writing that
would help him very much. The judge told me that as Mr. Gupta
who was appearing for the same client as Mr. Swami had given a
written statement, it would be no harm if I also give a similar state-
ment in writing and it would harm no one. I went on resisting for
30 to 40 minutes and then I submitted to his request. I got the
etatement of Mr. Gupta and appended my signature to the copy.
Then 1 left the chambers of the judge. My father-in-law did not
send anybody to the chambers of the judge to enquire what I was
doing. After I left the chambers of the judge, I went to my
father-in-law and told him what I had done. My father-in-law got
angry with me. 1 with my wife was living separate in a house from
my iather-in-law. When 1 found that my father-in-law had be-
come angry, 1 went the same day to the chambers of Mr. Vidyarthi
and asked Rim to return my statement and told him that my father-
in-law was very angry with me. Mr. Vidyarthi did not return the
statement to me but he said that he would speak to my father-in-law
and that the latter would not be displeased with me- Then I went
to my home. Two days after this incident I decided to leave
Meerut for Bijnor. The next day again 1 went to Mr. Vidyarthi
in his chambers and asked him to return my statement. He, how-

MR. KRISHNA SWARUP 276

ever, did not return the same to me. He again said that he would
speak to my father-in-law- 1 spoke about the incident to the clerk
ot my father-in-law and Mr. Daya Prakash Mitttal. I left Meerut
because my father-in-law got angry with me.

CROSS-EXAMINED BY SIR WAZIR HASAN :

Question : Can you give us the substance of the contents of
the writing that you had given to the judge ?

Answer : It was to the effect that I was present at the time of
the delevery of the judgment in the Dhakoli case and the
judge did not use the words that he had received instruc-
tions horn the Chief Justice and that the money was
collected simply for the benefit of the wounded soldiers,
the best lorm of charity ; and on a separate chit he also made me to
write that my tather-in-law was not present at the time of the delivery
of the judgment. The writing that I had given was a true copy of
the statement written by Mr. Gupta. The statement signed by me
was incorrect. As a matter of fact 1 was not present at the time that
the incident happened.

Read and admitted to be correct.

26/9/41. Sd/. Krishna Swarup Sharma.

Recorded under the supervision of the court.

This statement has been recorded in our presence and our
supervision.

Sd/. I. A.
26/9/41. Sd/. H. J. C.

MR. K. N. BANERJI

Statement of Mr. K t N. Banerji, father's name Mr. M. N.
Banerji, aged 36, caste Brahman, Pleader, Western Kutcherri Road,
Meerut, on S.A.

1 practise in Meerut. 1 practise mostly in criminal courts- I
fully remember the case known as the Dhakoli Murder Case though
1 had nothing to do with that case. I was not a counsel for eiher
party in that case. 1 was present in the court of Mr. Vidyarthi on
the 3 1 st ot July on which date the judgment, I believe, in the Dhakoli
Murder Case was delivered. I was, however, not present at the
time that the judgment was delivered. I was appearing in a criminal
appeal that was fixed for hearing before Mr. Vidyarthi on that date.
My appeal was not heard that day. I went to the court-room at
the fag-end of the day to enquire whether my case will be taken up.
By fag-end of the day I mean that I went to the court of Mr. Vid-
yarthi after 4 p.m. When I went to the court-room I found money
being collected by certain people. The persons collecting the money
appeared to be the accused in the Dhakoli Murder Case who had
perhaps been acquitted in that case. The money was being collect-
ed for war purposes. I was told that the judge had asked for the
collection of the money. The money was collected, counted and
then placed on the table of the judge. I counted the money. ) had
no tafk personally with Mr. Bonarjee, the District Magistrate, about
this matter, nor did I send any message to him. Thereafter I met Mr.
Devadas Gandhi and Mr. Bharadwaja at Dr. Dubey's place so fai
as 1 remember on the 3 1 st of August. We had a long talk about
this incident and other matters while we were sitting at tea together.
We talked about the realization of money and so many other things.
Thereafter 1 met Mr. Bharadwaja at Dr. Dubey's place the next
day. We did not talk about this incident then. I saw Mr. Akbar
Husain after seeing Mr. Gandhi off at about quarter past six on the
31st of August. I met Mr. Akbar Husain that afternoon at a tea
party that was arranged in honour of Mr. Marsh-Smith- I spoke to
Mr. Akbar Husain about this incident. I told Mr. Akbar Husain
about Mr. Gandhi's visit and also said that Mr. Gandhi wanted an
affidavit from me. I did not ast the advice of Mr. Akbar Husain in
the matter. I narrated the facts to Mr. Atbar Husain in pursuance of
the advice given to me by Pt. Surajbal Dikshit who is the President
ot the Meerut Bar Association. I di3 not complain against Mr, Deva-
das Gandhi or Mr. Bharadwaja.

MR. K. N. BANERJI 277

CROSS-EXAMINED BY SIR WAZIR HASAN :

Dr. Dubey had asked me to take tea at his place. The object
oi inviting me to tea was not menioned to me by Dr. Dubey.
1 did not discover the object ot my being called at the tea party even
when 1 was at the tea party. After the tea was over and when we
were coming down to see Mr. Gandhi off I was asked by Mr.
Gandhi to give an affidavit concerning the incident of the 31st of
July. He did not say specifically what he wanted to be the con-
tents of the affidavit. I told Mr. Akbar Husain that Mr. Devadas
Gandhi had come and had made enquiries from me concerning the
incident of the 31st of July. Mr. Akbar Husain called me in his
chambers the next day. ihere Mr. Vidyarthi was also present and
they asked me what I knew about this incident and I tpld them. 1
did not meet Mr. Gandhi after the 31st of August, but Mr. Bharad-
waja came to see me on or about the 12th of September. Mr.
Bharadwaja cams to my house that day. He came to tell me that
1 would be summoned as a witness* I had no talk about this incident
with Mr. Vidyarthi. All the talk that I had with Mr. Vidyarthi
about this matter or about the visit of Mr. Gandhi or Mr. Bharad-
waja was in the presence of Mr. Akbar Husain.

TO COURT :

Question : Did you hear the judge, Mr. Vidyarthi, mention-
ing the Governor or the Chief Justice on the 31st of July, 1941 ?

Answer : I did not.

Question : Did it come to your knowledge that a reference to
the Governor or the Chief Justice was made by Mr Vidyarthi on
the 3 1st of July?

Answer : Yes.

Question : Who told you this?

Answer : I do not remember as to who told me. I learnt
this in the court-room when I went there.

I know Mr. Surajbal Swami. He is a respectable pleader.

Question : Has he any reason to depose falsely against Me
Vidyirthi?

278 THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

Answer : Absolutely none.

Question : Give us the gist of the conversation that you had
with Mr. Gandhi and Mr. Bharadwaja at the tea party concerning
this incident ?

Answer : Mr. Gandhi asked me if I considered Mr. Singhal
to be a respectable reporter and I said yes. After that he asked
me if the incident reported by Mr. Singhal was correct and I said
yes. Then he asked me if the money was collected in my presence,
and I said that it was collected in my presence. After this we talked
about other matters.

Question : Did either Mr. Gandhi or Mr. Bharadwaja enquire
horn you whether Mr. Vidyarthi had made reference to the Gover-
nor or the Chief Justice on the 31st of July?

Answer : That question was never pointedly put to me.
Question : What do you mean by pointedly ?

Answer : I mean that that question was never put to me in that
form.

1 hey asked me whether there was a talk about a circular from
the Chief Justice and I said yes.

Question : Were you told on the 31st of July that Mr. Vid-
yarthi had said in court that there was a circular from the Chief
justice?

Answer : Yes.

1 do not remember the gentleman who told me about this.

Question : Are you aware that even Mr. Singhal does not
state that Mr. Vidyarthi mentioned that a circular had been issued by
the Chief Justice?

Answer : I know it now after reading the evidence of Mr.
Singhal

1 "ead the evidence of Mr. Singhal when it came out in the
papers. k "

Question : Why did you in particular count the notes?

MR. K. N. BANERJI 279

Answer : I only helped the accused in counting the notes.

1 do not know whether any counsel of those accused in the
Dhakoli Murder Case were there. There were only four accused
whose money I counted.

Question : Do you realize that it was a strange conduct on your
part to meddle into the affair?

Answer : 1 did not consider anything unusual in it.

1 am an acquaintance of Dr. Dubey. My acquaintance with
Dr. Dubey dates back to about 5 or 6 years- That acquaintance
has not developed into friendship. When Dr. Dubey came to invite
me to tea he did not tell me that he wanted me to meet Mr. Gandhi
and Mr. Bharadwaja. I did not enquire from Km as to why the tea
party was being held- There were only four persons present at the
tea party, viz. Dr. Dubey, Mr. Gandhi, Mr. Bharadwaja and my-
selr. Immediately after the tea party Mr. Gandhi left.

RE-EXAMINED BY SIR T. B. SAPRU :

On the day that this thing happened in the court of Mr. Vid-
yarthi we had a tea party in our club where amongst others Mr.
Bonarjee was present. There we talked about the incident of realiza-
tion of money in court.

TO COURT :

1 first attended the tea party of Dr. Dubey and after seeing Mr.
Gandhi off I went to the tea party that was held in honour of Mr*
Marsh-Smith the same afternoon and it was there that I met Mr-
Akbar Husain.

Read and admitted to be correct.

27-10-'41.

Sd/. K. N. Banerji.

This statement has been recorded in our presence and under oui
supervision.

Sd/. I. A.

27/10/41, Sd./ H. J. C,

MR. SURAJBAL DIKSHIT

Statement of Mr. Surajbal Dikshit, aged about 70, Advocate,
Meerut, on S. A. :

1 am an advocate practising at Meerut since 1898 or 1899. I
hold the title of Rai Bahadur. I am the president of the Meerut
Bar Association. On September 2, 1941, I asked Dr. Dubey to
call Mr. Devadas Gandhi if he would be kind enough to come-
Or. Dubey said that perhaps Mr. Gandhi may not be able to come
as he is a busy gentleman, but he could send for Mr. Bharadwaja
who was Mr. Gandhi's right hand. The next day Dr. Dubey
informed me that Mr. Bharadwaja had come and that he would
come over to my place at any time that would be convenient to me.
Mr. Bharadwaja came over to my place some time in the afternoon
of September 3 and he was accompanied by several gentlemen
including Dr. Dubey and some other professors and gentlemen. The
occasion for calling Mr. Gandhi and Mr. Bharadwaja was that on
September 1 there was rumour in the Bar Room that Mr. Vidyarthi
had confessed every thing to Mr. Akbar Husain and on this I
thought that if that is the truth then the whole thing must at once
be confessed before the Hon'ble High Court. As there were
conflicting rumours in the Bar Room as to the words uttered by Mr.
Vidyarthi I approached Mr. Vidyarthi himself and asked him as
to what he had stated before the District Judge and he told me that
he had admitted his mistake in collecting money for war funds in
open court from the persons who had been acquitted and that he
had expressed his regret and apologized to the District Judge. I
definitely asked him if he had admitted anything about the circular
or his Excellency the Governor or his Lordship the Chief Justice
and he said it is all false. 1 believe it was on September 2 that
I spoke to Mr. Vidyarthi. When Mr. Vidyarthi told me all
this then I asked him as to whether there was any truth in the rumour
that there was a circular or that there was any instruction from the
Hon'ble High Court to the judicial officers and he said that it was
utterly false. ' Thereupon when I came to the Bar Room I learnt
that Mr. Gandhi and Mr. Bharadwaja were staying with Professor
Dubey. Considering, therefore, that possibly they might have
heard the rumour that Mr. Vidyarthi had admitted the fact of his
having made reference to the circular, to his Excellency th/s
Governor and to his Lordship the Chief Justice I at once drove to

MR. SURAJBAL DIKSHIT 281

Professor Dubey's place but there I understand that both Mr. Gandhi
and Mr. Bharadwaja had left Meerut, and, as such, I asked Dr.
Dubey to call Mr. Gandhi so that I may inform him of the real truth.
On September 3 when Mr. Bharadwaja with a number of his
friends came to my place, I at once realized that those gentlemen
were brought in with a view to figure as witnesses with regard to the
meeting at my place. I told Mr. Bharadwaja that even though
Mr. Vidyarthi was a Hindu, he was not connected with me in any
manner. He was not even my caste fellow. I also told Mr.
Bharadwaja that the Hindustan Times was a very prominent paper
if not of my province at least of the adjoining province of Delhi and
was also run by Hindus. I, therefore, told Mr. Bharadwaja that
there could be no reason tor me to favour the one and to disfavour
the other. 1 now understand that Mr. Vidyarthi is a Vaish and
Mr. Gandhi is also a Vaish. I told Mr. Bharadwaia that I had
particularly called him because I did not want these proceedings to
be protracted before the Hon'ble High Court and wanted to inform
him that it is a definite and positive fact that no such circular was
ever issued nor any instruction was ever given to any judicial officer.
Mr. Bharadwaja thereupon told me and he was supported by
Pro lessor Dubey that he was convinced that there was a circular or a
letter from the High Court and that he and Professor Dubey would
reel very grateful if a copy or a photograph of that letter could be
obtained. 1 said that I am giving first-hand information and I do
net know why you do not believe me that a circular or letter never
existed and is not in existence and no copy or photograph of the
same could possibly be obtained. I do not know why Mr.
Bharadwaja had deposed before the Hon'ble High Court that I
told him that a copy of that circular was impracticable. I told
him definitely that no such letter or circular existed.

Question : Did you suggest to Mr. Bharadwaja some way
out of the situation?

Answer : I definitely told Mr. Bharadwaja that Mr.
Vidyarthi like a gentleman had gone and admitted his mistake
before the District Judge and apologized for his mistake in collect-
ing money and you now definitely know that there is no such
circular or instruction issued to judicial officers by the Hon'ble High
Court and, therefore, the right course for you would be to go hlce

282 THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

a gentleman and submit unconditional apology to the Hon'ble High
Court lor having repeated false statement without verifying its truth.

Mr. Bharadwaja said that no apology will be submitted
because he and Mr. Gandhi were convinced that there was a
circular or instruction. 1 then told Mr. Bharadwaja that the
matter was at an end so far as 1 was concerned because he (Mr.
Bharadwaja) was not prepared to submit an apology. When
these gentlemen were leaving my place, Mr. Bharadwaia gave me a
parting thrust saying that if I could reconsider over the thing he
would be staying for the night in Meerut. What I understood him
to mean was that if I could supply him a copy of the circular then he
would stay at Meerut for the night. I told him that his staying
would be useless.

Question : Did you tell Dr. Dubey or Mr. Bharadwaja that
something should be done to save Mr. Vidyarthi?

Answer: Most certainly not. Mr. Vidyarthi was not on
his trial as no notice had been issued to him.

1 did not advise Mr. Vidyarthi to do anything in the matter,
but I was told by Mr. Vidyarthi that he was asked and he intended
to go to the Hon'ble High Court and I told him that he should better
consult the lawyers before he saw the Hon'ble the Chief Justice. I
told Mr. Bharadwaja and Dr. Dubey that it would be impossible for
them to get lawyers to depose to their version of the facts for the
simple reason that till then no lawyer had ever told me that Mr.
Vidyarthi had made reference to a circular or to his Excellency the
Governor or to his Lordship the Chief Justice or to any letter or
instruction.

CROSS-EXAMINATION BY SIR T. B. SAPRU :

On the last occasion when this case was heard in this Court
I appeared as counsel for Mr. Vidyarthi.

Not e by the Court :

Before Mr. Surajbal Dikshit stepped into the witness-box Sir
Syed Wazir Hasan, who is the leading counsel on behalf of Mr.
Vidyarthi, asked the permission of the Court to allow Mr. Dikshit
to retire from the case and the permission was granted,

MR. SURAJBAL DIKSHIT 283

1 was engaged by Mr. Vidyarthi three or four davs before the
last hearing of this case. Mr. Vidyarthi expected me to conduct
the case if the Hon'ble High Court would permit, but when I found
that Sir Wazir Hasan was engaged in the case and was senior
counsel to me, I simply sat down with him and watched the case and
gave him instructions when necessary. I had communicated to Mr.
Vidyarthi what had passed between me and Mr. Bharadwaja. It
was after that that I was offered the brief and brought here. I did
not at that time realize that I might be an important witness in tHe
case. 1 expected that the gentlemen who will figure as witnesses
will speak the truth. At the last hearing when Mr. Bharadwaja
was examined in this Court, I for the first time realized that I will
have to figure as a witness in these proceedings. In fact, Sir Syed
Wazir Hasan then informed the Court that he will have to produce
me as a witness.

Note by the Court :

It is a fact that during the progress of the statement of Mr.
Bharadwaja, Sir Wazir Hasan informed the Court that Mr. Dikshit
will have to be examined by him as a witness.

After a while when Mr. Bharadwaja started giving evidence
about me I was asked by Sir Syed Wazir Hasan with the permission
of the Hon'ble Court to retire and then I walked out of the court
room even though Sir Tej Bahadur said that he did not mind my
presence in the court room. I did not tell Sir Wazir Hasan before
the case was taken up on the last date of hearing all that had passed
between me and Mr. Bharadwaja because I thought that Mr,
Bharadwaja or Mr. Dubey will make reference to the interview
with me. The statements 1 have made today were put to Mr.
Bharadwaja and Dr. Dubey; indeed I hurriedly noted the questions
and passed them on to Sir Syed Wazir Hasan while he was cross-
examining those witnesses.

Question : Why was not any question about the circular or
the letter or about the photograph put to Dr. Dubey or to Mr.
Bharadwaja?

Answer : As far as I remember the questions were put to both
of them and Professor Dubey said that Mr. Dikshit definitely and
positively said that there was no circular and no letter.

284 THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

1 suppose it was on the 2nd September that for the first time I
saw Mr. Vidyarthi in connection with this matter. 1 saw Mr.
Vidyarthi in his chambers . On the 2nd September Mr. Vidyarthi
told me all that he had stated to Mr. Akbar Husain. Mr.
Vidyarthi never asked me to call Mr. Gandhi or Mr^ Bharadwaja
horn Delhi. 1 Hid not advise Mr. Vidyarthi to see the Hon'ble the
Chief Justice or the Registrar. He himself told me that he wa$
advised to see the Hon'ble the Chief Justice. I believe there is a
Hindu Sabha at Meerut. I am the President of the Sanatan
Dharam Aushdhalya. I am the Secretary of this Association and
not the President.

Question : I put it to you again whether you are connected
with the Hindu Sabha either as an official or as a member ?

Answer : Not that I know of. In fact there are so many
institutions of which I am either member, President or Secretary
that there is barely any with which I am not connected, but I
exactly do not remember being connected with Hindu Sabha in any
way.

Question : I put it to you that the Hindu Sabha is a powerful
Hindu organization and that if you are connected with it you ought
to remember it and if you are not connected with it you ought
similarly to remember it?

Answer : I am definite that I am not connected as a member
cr an office-bearer with the Hindu Sabha.

1 realised that if the allegations made in the news item were
proved to be true, it would be serious from the point of view of
Mr. Vidyarthi, as to have spoken of a thing which never existed
was a serious matter. I did not ask Mr. Bharadwaja as to why he
said that there was a circular issued by the High Court. I never
spoke to the correspondent of the Hindustan Times about the
matter.

Witness volunteered : I spoke to Dr. Dubey and Mr.
Bharadwaja in my capacity as President of the Bar Association at
Meerut and secondly as a member of the Provincial War Committee
I thought that if these proceedings are protracted they will be
detrimental to war efforts.

MR. SURAJBAL DIKSHIT 285

1 never asked Dr. Dubey to persuade Mr. Bharadwaja to
apologize. Why should I? 1 'had no conversation with any other
judicial officer at Meerut about this matter .

Question : Will you please tell us as precisely as possible what
Mr- Vidyarthi told you about having spoken to Mr. Akbar Husain?

Answer : As far as I remember Mr. Vidyarthi told me that
he had admitted before the District Judge that in the Dhakoli
murder case he asked for money as charity for the wounded soldiers
or their families and some money was collected in the court room
after the judgment had been pronounced. He said something like
that, and then on my question he said that there was no admission
or mention whatever about his having spoken of a circular or his
Lxcellency the Governor or his Lordship the Chief Justice. In the
course of the conversation that I had with Mr. Bharadwaja I did
throw out a suggestion about calling Mr. Vidyarthi, but I at once
realized my mistake, as when Mr. Bharadwaja was not prepared to
believe me he might not have even believed Mr. Vidyarthi and
thus I would have put Mr. Vidyarthi in an awkward position. Mr.
Vidyarthi perhaps saw me on the morning of the 3rd September at
my house. He lives practically opposite to my house. I told
him that 1 had called Mr. Bharadwaja and would inform Mr.
Bharadwaja of the real facts.

Question : What reason according to you had Mr.'
Bharadwaja to believe that you might be able to deliver to him the
circular or a photograph of the circular?

Answer : My idea is that they were firmly convinced that
there was a circular and 1 may be induced to go to Mr. Vidyarthi
and tell him that Mr. Bharadwaja says that there is such a circular
and then he might give it. That may be working in his mind.

BY COURT :

Question : Is it a fact that you told Mr. Bharadwaja that "a
Hindu Judge was being sacrificed"?

Answer : If I may be permitted to say so, it is a big lie.
There was no question of a Judge being sacrificed at that time. The
matter was only between the Hindustan Times and the High Court.

286 THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

1 know Mr. Surajbal Swami. I was present here when he
gave his evidence. I heard his evidence.

Question : Can you suggest any reason why Mr. Surajbal
Swami gave false evidence?

Answer : Personally I know of no reason, but subsequent to
his statement I have been told of certain things which may be
hearsay.

Question : Will you please state those things?

Answer : I have now come to understand that several years
ago Mr. Surajbal Swami was a very enthusiastic Congress
worker. 1 do not know how far that information is correct, but
somebody told me that he was perhaps tried and convicted. I am
very sorry to say so after Mr. Surajbal Swami in his evidence has
given me a good certificate ; and as far as I understand he is a gentle-
man of very strong likes and dislikes and a Judge in his capacity as
a Judge may not be able to please everybody at every time.

Question : Are you aware of any misunderstanding between
Mr. Vidyarthi and Mr. Surajbal Swami?

Answer : Not to my knowledge. Mr. Vidyarthi may be
able to throw light on this matter.

27<- 10-41 . Read and admitted to be correct.

Sd. S. DIKSHIT.

This statement has been recorded in our presence and under our
supervision.

Sd. I. AS.,

Sd. H. J. C.

27-10-41.

MR. HARI SHANKAR VIDYARTHI

RE-EXAMINED

Statement of Mr. Hari Shankqr Vidyarthi, Civil and Sessions
Judge, Meerut, on S.A. :

Neither Mr. Singhal nor Mr. Gauri Shankar came to me on
the 13th of August, nor on any other date. As I stated before 1
took the written statements of some of the members of the Bai
including that of Mr. Gupta, but I destroyed those statements.
Mr. Gupta was summoned as a witness on my behalf, but he told
me that a number of his friends at Meerut and he also possibly told
me that some of his relations who had come from Delhi, were
bringing pressure upon him and were harassing him and insisting that
he should not give evidence against the Congress and Mr. Gandhi.

BY THE COURT .

Question : Whose son is Mr. Devadas Gandhi?
Answer : He is Mahatma Gandhi's son.

BY SIR TEJ BAHADUR SAPRU :

No influence was exercised over Mr. Gupta at the time that
1 summoned him. In his written statement Mr. Gupta had made a
positive statement that I had made no reference to His Excellency
the Governor or the Chief Justice and he also told me when he
wrote the statement that Mr. Banerji had asked him that he should
not give evidence against Mr. Gandhi as it will bring some conse-
quences over Mr. Gandhi, but he said that he could not give false
evidence to help Mr. Gandhi.

Question : When you had a talk with Mr. Gupta the Barrister
about pressure being brought to bear on him did he tell you that if
he was produced as a witness he will make a false statement against
you?

Answer : No.

I am aware that Rai Saheb Moti Lai, Government
Pleader, was served with a notice to appear as a witness
in this Court on my behalf. He is Government Pleader at Meerut.
He was appearing in the Dhakoli Murder Case on behalf of the
Crown. He is a very respectable lawyer and a man of position in
Meerut. I do not remember that Rai Saheb Mori Lai's statement
was taken down in writing by me. I know Mr. Surajbal Swami.

288 THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

Witness Volunteered:

Mr. Moti Lai also came to me on the evening of the 24th ol
October and said that there had been great propaganda and com*
plaints had been made against him probably to the Commissioner or
the Collector and that if he gave evidence against the Congress
those complaints will be pressed, otherwise not.

BY THE COURT :

Question : Who made those complaints ?

Answer : The complaints were made at the instance of some
Congress people and he probably also said that his explanation had
been called by the Commissioner. The complaints were made to
Mr. Bonarjee.

BY SIR TEJ BAHADUR SAPRU :

Question : Is it for that reason that you did not insist on Mr.
Moti Lai coming in the witness-box?

Answer : I was not present yesterday, but I was told by Mr.
Surajbal Dikshit this morning that Rai Saheb Moti Lai refused to
give evidence against the Congress.

Question : Did it strike you after you had these talks with Mr.
Gupta and Mr. Moti Lai that it was a very serious thing for the
other side to tamper with your witnesses?

Answer : I was in great domestic trouble owing to the death of
my elder son who died on the 9th of October.

I did bring all these facts concerning Mr. Moti Lai and Mr.
Gupta to the notice of my local counsel Mr. Surajbal Dikshit.

Question : I suppose your intention was that some step should
be taken to prevent the tampering of your witnesses?

Answer : No, I was all alone and the other side* was working
in hundreds and thousands.

Question : Can you suggest any reason why this matter was
not brought to the notice of the Hon'ble Court?

Answer : 1 was not present here and they came to me al
Meerut with the promise that they would give evidence.

MR. HARI SHANKAR VIDYARTHI RE-EXAMINED 289

Notwithstanding the pressure they had held out tKe assurance
to me at Meerut that they would support my case. I know Mr.
Surajbal Swami. So far as 1 remember he appeared only in two 01
three cases before me.

Question : Was there any unpleasantness between you and him
on those occasions?

Answer : He used to ask irrelevant questions and create scenes
in court. 1 prevented him from doing so and he generally lost his
temper.

1 knew that Mr. Swami was to be produced as a witness in this
case on behalf of the other side. I was not in Court on the day that
Mr. Swami was examined.

Question : Did you bring it to the notice of your counsel that
Mr. Swami created scenes in court?

Answer : As a matter of fact I never expected that he will
give the evidence that he has actually given.

Question : From the manner in which Mr. Swami conducteH
himself in Court have you any reason to believe that he conceived
a great dislike for you or was hostile to you?

Answer : No, I did not, I never thought that he would go to
the extent to which he did go.

1 saw Mr. Akbar Husain on September I . He called me to
his chambers. I did not take the written statements of the lawyers
before seeing Mr. Akbar Husain as I never knew till then that it
was attributed to me that I had made reference to His Excellency
the Governor or the Chief Justice. Mr. Banerji was present during
part of the conversation that I had with Mr. Akbar Husain. At
the time that I was with Mr. Akbar Husain he knew that the charge
against me was being levelled that I had made reference to His
hxcellency the Governor and the Chief Justice in the court room.
After 1 went to the chambers of Mr. Akbar Husain two or three
minutes after the commencement of the conversation Mr. Banerji
was calfed in. I do not remember what part of the conversation
took place in his presence and what part of the conversation took

290 THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

place in his absence. I saw Mr. Surajbal Dikshit in this connec-
tion, but 1 do not remember the date on which I saw him. If Mr.
Dikshit says that I saw him on September 3, I must have seen him
on that date. So far as I remember Mr. Dikshit came to me either
on September 1 , or 2, and he asked me what the matter was- Then
1 told him every thing about the conversation with Mr. Akbar
Husain. Mr. Dikshit told me that either Mr. Gandhi or Mr-
Bharadwaja had given the impression to him that I had made confes-
sion to the District Judge that I had made a reference to His
Excellency the Governor and the Chief Justice and also about the
collection of money for war funds. I told him that the fact that I
had collected money for war tunds in court was correct and the rest
o f the allegations were a tissue of lies. He told me that he was
calling either Mr. Gandhi or Mr. Bharadwaja to correct their
impressions and he, therefore, had either called me or I myself went
to his place. 1 do not remember the date on which either Mr.
Gandhi or Mr. Bharadwaja were expected. Mr. Dikshit told me
that they had been sent for or would be sent for. I was not anxious?
but Mr. Dikshit was anxious to remove that impression because he
was very much interested in the collection of war funds and he did
not want that any fuss should be created. I engaged Mr. Surajbal
Dikshit as my counsel about the 20th of September.

BY SIR WAZIR HASAN :

Question : Do you know anything about the political leanings
of Mr- Surajbal Swami?

Answer : Yes. He is a staunch supporter of the Congress and
in the last election to the Legislative Assembly of the United Pro-
vinces he supported Pt. Pyare Lai Sharma, a Congress candidate,
against Sir Sita Ram.

(Note : At this stage Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru stated that he
had made enquiries from his clients and he was told that Mr.
Surajbal Swami had no connection with the Congress and that he
was tried under Section 124-A about the year 1921 and was
acquitted).

The assertions of facts contained in the letter of Mr. Singhal

MR. HARI SHANKAR VIDYARTHI R&EXAMINED 291

dated August 10, 1941, that has been filed on behalf of the
opposite party in this case are wholly untrue.

Read and admitted to be correct.

Sd. Hari Shankar Vidyarthi.
28-10-41.

This statement has been recorded in our presence and under our
supervision.

Sd. I. A.
28-10-41 Sd. H J. C.

PART III
Appendices

NEWSPAPER COMMENTS ON CASE

RESOLUTION OF STANDING COMMITTEE
OF EDITORS' CONFERENCE

CONTEMPT OF COURTS ACT
CHRONOLOGY

NEWSPAPER COMMENTS ON CASE

THE INDIAN EXPRESS

The conviction of Mr. Devadas Gandhi, Editor, Hindustan
Times, Mr. Sharma, the Printer of the paper, and Mr. Singhal, its
Mecrut correspondent, on charges of contempt of the jAllahabad
High Court would hardly come as a surprise to the public. The
Ch:ef Justice of that court had indicated his conclusion that the
persons to whom notice had been issued were guilty, and public
suspense related only to the question of sentence. The correspondent
has now been awarded a prison sentence while the Editor and the
Printer have had substantial fines imposed on them with provisions
for default. If, as has been reported, Mr. Devadas Gandhi has
decided not to pay the fine, we will witness the phenomenon of the
Editor of an influential organ of the Indian Press having to go to
jail by way by purging his contempt of the judicial authority of a
High Court. It may be added that the Editor is the Vice-President
of the Indian and Eastern Newspaper Society and an important
member of the All-India Newspaper Editors' Conference. If the
convictions are sustained by adequate evidence exception can only
be taken to the sentences awarded. But a scrutiny of the testimony
on which they are based makes it doubtful if the conclusions of the
judges are warranted by the facts, and would indicate that there has
been miscarriage of justice. In fact, Mr. Devadas Gandhi, apparently
impelled by a strong sense of the injustice done, blurted out in court
after orders had been pronounced that "it is a matter of sorrow
and pain to me that I have failed to convince this honourable court
of the truth of the evidence of my eyes and ears and such other
evidence which I have produced and in which I have the same
belief as I would have in the evidence of my eyes and ears."

It is well, therefore, to recall the facts which led to these
contempt proceedings. The Hindustan Times had in its issue of
August 5 published an editorial note commencing with "If it is true
that the new Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court, Sir Iqbal
Ahmed, in his administrative capacity has issued a circular to the
judicial officers under his jurisdiction enjoining on them to raise
contributions to the war funds then it must be said that he has done
a thing which would lower the prestige of the courts in the eyes of
the people." The note then proceeded to point out the dangers of
ths presiding officers of courts taking on themselves the work of
war fund collections. It ended with the statement that "it was bad
enough that the services of members of the Executive were utilized
foe the purpose but to make judicial officers do this work is something
worse." This note was based on the report of Mr. Singhal, the
Meerut correspondent of the paper, which contained the statement
thai "the judicial officers all over the province have been, I

296 THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

reliably learn, asked by the new Chief Justice of the Allahabad High
Court who, it is understood, has been requested by his Excellency
the Governor for co-operation in war efforts to raise subscriptions
for the war funds." Called on to show cause why they should not be
convicted for contempt, affidavits were filed by Mr. Devadas Gandhi
and Mr. Sharma which specifically alleged that Mr. Hari Shankar
Vidyarthi, Additional Sessions Judge of Meerut, had, in a murder
trial, after convicting four of the accused, stated in open court that
the Chief Justice, at the request of H.E. the Governor, issued
instructions to the subordinate courts to raise subscriptions for war
funds and he, accordingly, appealed to the persons present to help
him in the work. A sum of money was, accordingly, collected from
the remaining accused concerning whom orders of acquittal were
theieafter passed.

No such circular appears, in fact, to have been issued by Sir
Iqbal Ahmed, the Chief Justice, and the only question for decision
which then arose was whether Mr. Vidyarthi had in fact uttered
the words attributed to him. Admittedly, Mr. Vidyarthi had collected
money for the Governor's War Purposes Fund from some of the
acquitted accused though he alleged that he did the collection work
after orders of the acquittal had been passed by him and not at any
earlier stage. It is also common ground that Mr. Vidyarthi had
after the publication of the Hindustan Times comment taken state-
ments from some lawyers in his court concerning what had happened.
These statements aie said to have been destroyed and in any event
they have not been made available. Also Mr. Vidyarthi had never
reported the matter to the High Court or put himself in com-
munication with the Chief Justice. These circumstances make it
necessary to scrutinize Mr. Vidyarthi's emphatic denial that he had
uttered the statement attributed to him with considerable reserve
and not to accept any part of his evidence in the absence of
independent corroborative testimony. It must be confessed that
sufficient weight has not been given by the Allahabad judges to these
aspects and their finding in his favour on the vital question at issue
is vitiated by the wrong standpoint from which they have examined
the evidence.

Considerable stress has been laid in the order on the fact that
Mr. Singhal had not reported to his newspaper the "very remarkable
utterance" ascribed to Mr. Vidyarthi. Mr. Singhal, in fact, appears
to be well known to Mr. Vidyarthi and it is beyond dispute that after
the trouble commenced there was an attempt at an interview between
the two. There is nothing surprising in Mr. Singhal not sending a
report of such an extraordinary action on the part of a judicial
officer, who is no stranger to him, and tactfully enough he confined
himself to a general report of the war fund work of judicial officers.
Nor has the learned Chief Justice given any margin to the position

THE INDIAN EXPRESS 297

and authority wielded by a person holding the post of a District
Judge and the difficulties to which members of the Bar are put in
alleging anything against the presiding officers of their courts.
Undue significance has been laid on the stage at which Mr. Vidyarthi
started on war fund collection work. Further, it is not easy to
follow the argument that, while Mr. Vidyarthi might have used the
name of H.E. the Governor for his appeal, it is unlikely that he
reinforced it by invoking the authority of the Chief Justice. It is
much more likely that an over-zealous judicial officer, embarking
from his place in court on an enterprise entirely outside the scope of
his work, would have invoked the authority of the judicial head of
the province than of its executive chief. In fact, the allegation is
that he had used both these names, and, admittedly, the money was
collected from persons tried before him on a charge of murder before
they had left court.

If Mr. . Vidyarthi's evidence is to be ignored what remains in
his favour? The case of the Hindustan Times is supported by the
direct testimony, among others, of Mr. Singhal, Mr. Surajbal Swami
and Mr. K. N. Banerji, advocates, Mr. Bharadwaja and Mr. Dubey,
not to speak of the evidence of Mr. Gandhi himself, and by intrinsic
probabilities. The learned judges brush aside their testimony and
stress the alleged unsatisfactory demeanour in the witness-box of
some of them. Yet these witnesses are men of education and it is
not obvious how demeanour counts. In any event there appears
to be no justification for the positive finding that "Mr. Vidyarthi did
not give utterance to the words attributed to him" and that the
respondents had failed to establish a case which they had set up.

Mr. Devadas Gandhi went as far as he could by expressing
regret, a feeling which would be shared by all. But there could be
no question of an apology, in the circumstances. While the authority
of courts has to be respected and maintained, the duty of the Press
as a guardian of public interests has also to be discharged.
Mr. Devadas Gandhi and his two associates will have the sympathy
of the public in their present position and they will doubtless be
sustained by the feeling that though the arm of the law has struck
at them they had only acted in what they had done in the best
interests of the public and as vigilant custodians of the rights of the
Press.

Madras, 16-11-41.

THE NATIONAL HERALD

A trial for a contempt of court is vitiated by the fact that
the judges themselves are the prosecutors and so long as this grave
defect remains, it violates one of the first principles of jurisprudence,
namely, that the accused and convicted person should feel as
convinced about the fairness of the sentence awarded to him as
any other person not directly concerned with it. In the case of
th* Hindustan Times at the Allahabad High Court, we regret to
say that we have to underline our disagreement with every word
of that section of the judgment which deals with their lordships'
valuation of the evidence for the defence, which they condemn as
manufactured. We are convinced to the contrary, and we have no
doubt in our mind that the accused made out a sufficiently strong
case to prove the truth of the correspondent's report about the
collection of war funds in the court of Mr. Vidyarthi at Meerut and
all that happened there, and consequently, the correctness of the
editorial note which was written on the basis of the report.

We are surprised that after seeing Mr. Devadas Gandhi in
court and hearing his statement, their lordships should have thought
that the evidence produced in support of the defence was manu-
factured. Mr. Devadas Gandhi is not the man afraid of going to
jail the Gandhis are not made that way. We must express equal
surprise at the line of reasoning adopted by the judges in referring
to the action of Mr. Vidyarthi. They admit that he acted in a very
unwise and misguided manner after seeing the news item in the
paper regarding collection of the war funds at a certain stage of a
criminal case before him, even as they admit, in the earlier part
of their judgment, that Mr. Vidyarthi was, to say the least, highly
ill-advised to collect subscription "in this manner while sitting in
court as a judge." They even observe that the evidence produced
by the two sides "before them clashed and contradicted at more than
one place. 11 it was a question of going by possibilities and
probabilities, then the benefit of the speculation might as well be
given to the accused as to the other side. And all the time their
lordships had before them Mr. Devadas Gandhi's statement that
his motive in printing the news paragraph and the editorial comment
was to maintain the reputation of the High Court and the purity
of the administration of justice. He should have been taken at
his word.

Mr. Singhal, the paper's Meerut correspondent, was charged
by the court with not having revealed the source of his information
and with not having dealt straight with the judge of Meerut. We
would respectfully point out to their lordships that if they had been
intimately familiar ,vith the conditions in which Press correspondents
woik and have got to work, they would not have permitted them-
selves this somewhat inaccurate reflection. In any case, the
editorial comment of the Hindustan Times could not have been

THE NATIONAL HERALD 299

more carefully written. That comment was based on honest
assumption and legitimate conjecture. It was not the purpose of the
writer, contrary to what their lordships infer in their judgment, to
make imputations against the Chief Justice of subservience to the
Governor, but to draw the attention of the Chief Justice to the danger
of judges and law courts getting mixed up with political controversy
anl the drive of the executive for war fund collections.

We would further remark that once Mr. Devadas Gandhi
admitted his error so far as the sending out, as alleged, of a circular
by the High Court to the lower courts in connection with the war
fund was concerned, there was no further need to proceed with the
case. Nor did the circumstances call for an apology an apology
in those circumstances in which Mr. Devadas Gandhi was placed
would have been very insincere, to say the least. The ends of
justice would have oeen indeed better served if, in the first instance,
the attention of the Editor had been called by the registrar of the
High Court to the offending paragraph and the offending comment,
and if a flat contradiction had been issued of the alleged sending
out of a circular. The formidable machinery of contempt of court
proceedings might well have not been used at all.

We note that throughout the proceedings of the trial the
learned Chief Justice showed very serious concern for the absolute
independence of the judiciary of the executive. To his lordship it
appeared, and rightly too, monstrous that anyone should think that
in matters relating to the administration of justice and control of
the law courts, there should be any body, a rival, parallel or
superior authority, that can be in a position to suggest, much less
to dictate, a course of conduct or a line of action contrary to settled
procedure and established precedent. It is all to the good. In thus
trying to reiterate one of the classic principles that concern the
government of the State, his lordship was not laying too much
emphasis on that principle, and that at a time when the atmosphere
is charged with the dynamics of political controversy. May we
make an humble suggestion to his lordship in this connection? The
courts should be circularized, in unmistakable language, that they
should keep themselves clear of the war effort and the judges should
have nothing to dc with it except to the extent of paying a
suoscription of their own if they feel they must. Not a speech must
be made by them, in fact not a word must be uttered by them for
this purpose. If the judiciary is to remain independent, and above
suspicion, we must pursue the logic of the implications of the
Hindustan Times contempt of court case. But are we not, as a
matter of fact, aware of speeches by Governors of provinces shouting
at the top of their voices that it is the duty of every public servant
to help in the organization and successful fruition of the war effort?
What does that mean? Are not judges public servants? Are they

300 THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

or are they not expected to take an active part in the war effort?
Is it anything but natural, though it may be unfortunate, that judges
like Mr. Vidyarthi should carry their zeal to the point of indiscretion?
But can that be helped when the voice of the mighty rends the sky?

This aspect of the judgment of the Allahabad High Court must
be considered to be both opportune and well warranted by the
circumstances of the day. We would reiterate our view that in
attempting to keep the springs of justice pure and undefiled by the
turbid atmosphere around, their lordships can depend upon the good
sense as well as the active co-operation of the Press and the public
of this province.

Lucknow, 16-11-41.

THE BOMBAY CHRONICLE

The judgment of the Chief Justice and Mr. Justice Collister
of the Allahabad High Court in what is known as the Hindustan
Times contempt court case raises several important issues about the
rights and risks of the Press. The case arose out of a news item
published in the Hindustan Times in August last on the collection
of funds for war in the Sessions Court of Meerut. The news item
stated inter alia: "The judicial officers all over the province have
been, I reliably learn, asked by the new Chief Justice of the Allahabad
High Court, who, it is understood, has been requested by his
Excellency the Governor, for co-operation in war efforts, to raise
subscriptions for the war funds." Commenting on the whole news
item the editorial comment stated: "If it is true that the new Chief
JusMce of the Allahabad High Court, Sir Iqbal Ahmad, in his
administrative capacity, has issued a circular to the judicial officers
under his jurisdiction enjoining on them to raise contributions to
the war funds, then it must be said that he has done a thing which
would lower the prestige of the courts in the eyes of the people."
Their lordships have held that the suggestion in the editorial com-
ment read with the news item is that the Chief Justice, at the
instance of the head of the executive, is interfering with the course
of justice in the lower courts, inasmuch as the persons asked by the
judge under orders from the Chief Justice to contribute money will
have no alternative but to comply as, otherwise, they may incur the
disfavour of the judge to their own detriment. The probable effect
of the news item and the editorial comment, their lordships think,
will be to impair the authority o?: the High Court, to lower its dignity
and its prestige and seriously to shake public confidence in the
administration of justice. The publication of the editorial comment
calculated to have this effect, they hold, is a clear contempt of court.

This is an obvious legalist view of the case. And the Editor,
Mr. Devadas Gandhi, himself stated in the course of the trial that
he was "extremely sorry" for the publication of the offending
expressions. But their lordships, while admitting that "this may
amount to an expression of regret," held that it was "not an
apology, which is the word in the Contempt of Courts Act." But
surely, commonsense should suggest that words admittedly expressing
regret cannot be discussed as not being an apology just because they
do not contain the word "apology". And merely because this word
is used in the Act it does not necessarily follow that every apology
must contain that very word and that no equivalent [will do.
Secondly, in view of the expression of regiet the sentences inflicted
are needlessly harsh. Their lordships justify the harshness by
remarking: "We do not feel justified in awarding a light sentence of
fine for ve are satisfied from the evidence that they have
manufactured evidence for the purpose of their defence." The evidence
was necessary to justify or extenuate many things said or done

302 THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

by the respondents, quite apart from- the amazing revelations of
public importance the evidence made possible. Mr. Devadas Gandhi
has done well to prefer imprisonment to paying the fine on the
ground that Mr. Singhal, his Meerut correspondent, has not been
allowed the option of fine.

That leads us to the worst feature of the case. When the
Editor and the Printer accepted full responsibility for the publication
of the offending passages there was no need for the court to drag
into the case the Meerut correspondent even if law permitted such
a procedure. The correspondent merely supplied material for
publication, leaving it to the Editor or his deputy to judge whether
in any particular case the material should be published in full or
in part or not at all. Even if the correspondent consciously or
carelessly supplied incorrect material, he is answerable to his
employer for that material. But, in any case the Editor, the Publisher
and Printer are responsible for the final publication. If the
correspondent also is to be made responsible for it, there may be no
end to the process of spreading the responsibility, and to the risk
thereby incurred by journalists. The conviction of a correspondent
is, to our mind, unjust and unfair, and an additional menace to
the Press.

Bombay, 11-11-41.

HINDUSTHAN STANDARD

After briefly tracing the history of the case the paper says:

Their lordships have acted according to law. Yet it is difficult
to resist the feeling that things need not have taken the turn they
have. So far as Mr. Gandhi and Mr. Sharma are concerned, their
lordships "acquitted them of malice towards the Chief Justice" and
"accepted the statement of Mr. Gandhi and Mr." Bharadwaja that
up to then they had had full confidence in Mr .Singhal and had never
hart reason to suspect the truth or accuracy of his report." Their
lordships also conceded that Mr. Singhal's report "was probably
founded either on his own inference from what took place in court
(the raising of subscriptions to the war fund by the presiding judge
from the accused persons in a pending case) or on a suggestion from
other persons." Mr. Gandhi, in addition, had openely stated that
he was "extremely sorry" for what had happened and their lordships
conceded that "this may amount to an expression of regret." In
consideration of all these, their lordships might have condoned the
act as an indiscreet one at the worst, arising out of a misunder-
standing but committed in good faith "to maintain", as Mr. Gandhi
said, "the reputation of the High Court and the purity of the
administration of justice". It is regrettable that their lordships were
unable to take such a view of the matter. It is still more regrettable
that they took too legalistic a view and demanded compliance with
the letter of the Jaw which demands an "apology" and gives no
express direction that "expression of regret" may be accepted as a
suitable substitute for apology. The judges of the High Court, we
believe, have ample authority to interpret the law; in the present

case the judges might have accepted the regret in the spirit in which
it was expressed. We think the dignity of the High Court would
have suffered no damage if Mr. Gandhi's expression of regret had
been accepted and the matter had been dropped at that.

Calcutta, 18-11-41.

THE SIND OBSERVER

In the mouth of any person who had followed the Hindustan
Times contempt case closely the conduct of the Additional Sessions
Judge, Meerut, leaves a very bad taste. If we accept his
statement that he did so after the pronouncement, even then
it is highly improper. But he might have felt he would

A gentleman whose conduct has been described by the Hign
Court as "unwise, highly ill-advised, and misguided" does not deserve
to occupy the position of a judge, and the U.P. Government and the
High Court ought to take serious notice of his conduct.

One of the reasons why the Hindustan Times published the
Meerut letter and wrote a moderate and dignified comment was that
it had become the common talk that such things were happening and
formed also the subject of interpellations in certain legislatures. No
affront to the Chief Justice was intended and he was only requested
to put a stop to such things, if there was truth in them, as the
fountain of justice must flow purely. Assuming such a circular was
issued we take the Chief Justice of Allahabad's word that he had
never issued it it would be difficult for a public newspaper to carry
on correspondence with him to which he might not even care to reply.
If a newspaper is honestly satisfied that there is something wrong,
as in this case Mr. Vidyarthi did after all collect the money it
commits no wrong and stands honourably acquitted in the eyes of
the profession of journalism whatever the law of contempt and its
interpretation.

The Chief Justice was alleged to have issued the circular, which
is not true; even then it would have conduced to the creation of
greater public confidence in the conduct of this case if his Lordship
himself did not sit to try it but referred it to other judges. In
the Allahabad High Court there are more judges than six or eight.

There is another peculiar feature of the case which deserves
some attention. At a very early stage of the case his Lordship the
Chief Justice expressed the view to Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru, counsel
for Mr. Devadas Gandhi, that the letter and the comment were clear
contempt of court let us say per se defamatory of the High Court
and it was no use arguing that point. We thought that the case
would end soon after the pronouncement of this opinion and the
judgment be delivered, but the case was given many hearings on
account of the evidence brought forward by the defence, and Mr.
Vidyarthi, who was also examined. As laymen, we may permit
ourselves to ask whether there was any use of proceeding with the
case at all when at a very early stage the Court's opinion was made
Known to the accused.

That leads us to our main point which we have reserved to the
Jast. Without casting any aspersion on the honour, the integrity

1 THE SIND OBSERVER 305

and high sense of duty of the Judges of the High Courts, we, who
belong to the profession of journalism, have yet to be satisned in
India that we would get any justice in any contempt of court case
where the complainant is also the judge and the executioner. The
q lestion is not whether the High Court is wrong or unjust. The
High Court may be acting according to its best and purest lights.
And, after all, judges too are humans, and not angels. The public
must be convinced that in cases of this nature pure and
unadulterated justice is being done to the man in the dock. No such
conviction exists.

We have to make two suggestions. The first is that the judge,
who is aggrieved, should not himself sit to try the case. Secondly,
if an accused person makes an application to the local government
in a contempt of court case it must be transferred to be tried in any
other High Court, which the Government of India on the
recommendation of the local government may be pleased to direct.

These contempt cases are few and far between. It speaks well
of the Press and the public that they respect the dignity of the High
Courts; it speaks better of the High Courts concerned that they are
nor. hasty in launching such cases. But the grievances and the feat
are still there of ar.y person accused of contempt, newspaper editor
or a member of the public, that he is engaged in an unequal contest.
Wo are concerned only with the contempt of the High Courts, but
not of the courts subordinate to them. In the case of the latter we
are certain the High Courts would do impartial justice.

Karachi, 18-11-41.

THE NATIONAL CALL

In a case of this character where the highest judicial authority
sita in judgment on its own complaint, there is bound to be an
element of embarrassment on the part of any critic of that judgment
on its merits. But we must state that after the Editor had expressed
his regrets for that part of the news and the comment, which
according to their lordships amounted to contempt, the insistence
on the use of the word apology could be only justified by a meticulous
regard for the letter of the law. In the light of the above any
penalty must seem excessive.

But if the case has attracted wide public attention, it is not
because of the element of contempt involved in it, since that aspect
so far as the public was concerned had bean disposed of after the
Editor had expressed regret. Its importance lay in the fact that
fo^ the first time a scandalous state of affairs had been brought
to the notice of the public and the High Court, namely, the practice
of certain judicial officers of collecting funds from accused or
discharged persons, even in court. So far as this accusation is
concerned Mr. Devadas Gandhi and his colleagues stand completely
vindicated in the eyes of the public as well as in the eyes of their
loroships. To this extent they have done a great service to the
cause of justice in the United Provinces and to the country.

The judgment clearly shows how jealous his lordship the
Chief Justice and his colleagues are of the dignity and prestige of
the High Court and of the machinery of justice in their province.
The question naturally arises as to whether a mere public castigation
of the conduct of Mr. Vidyarthi was sufficient, or something more is
necessary to prevent the misuse by subordinate judcial officers of
their position for extra-judicial purposes.

We do not know what the view of their lordships would be in
the matter but from a purely administrative point of view and in
the interests of justice it is undesirable for judicial officers to become
fund collectors, whether those funds are required for war purposes,
for the Boy Scout Movement or for any other philanthropic or
charitable purpose. It is undeniable that a sense of obligation is
inseparable from a donation and is, therefore, in conflict with the
purity of justice. The fact also cannot be ignored that when collections
are made in court, especially from acquitted persons, it would appear
as if acquitted persons had some obligation to the judge.

We, therefore, forcefully urge that their lordships in their
discretion should take such action against Mr. Vidyarthi which will
act as a deterrent to misguided zeal and indiscretion on the part of
subordinate members of the judiciary calculated to lower the dignity
and to shatter public confidence in the administration of justice.
Delhi, 19-11-41.

NAGPUR TIMES

The Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court and
Mr. Justice Collister have found Mr. Devadas Gandhi, Editor, Mr.
pevi Prasad Sharma, Printer, and Mr. Singhal, the Meerut corre-
spondent, of the Hindustan Times, guilty of contempt of court. The
Editor was sentenced to pay a fine of Rs. 1,000 or, in default, one
month's simple imprisonment, the Printer to pay a fine of Rs. 500
or, in default, one month's simple imprisonment, and the correspon-
dent was sentenced to two months' simple imprisonment without thp
option of paying fine. These sentences strike one as unduly severe,
especially after the expression of regret by Mr. Devadas Gandhi and
after the finding of the High Court that Mr. Vidyarthi, the Meerut
Judge, was "highly ill-advised to collect subscriptions in this manner
while sitting in court as a judge." There is yet another reason why
a light and lenient sentence would have served the purpose. In cases
of contempt of themselves, judicial traditions would demand extreme
carefulness and caution on the part of judges.

Mr. Singhal is not allowed the option of fine, perhaps because
he was the author of the original report. The position arising out
of this sentence is an addition to the long list of risks which
correspondents have to court in the course of doing their duty. But
once an editor accepts the correspondent's report, the responsibility
legally should shift to the shoulders of the editor. Mr. Singhal said
on oath that his report was true and his editor was convinced of it.
Every editor has, in the course of the rush of his daily work, largely
to depend upon the reports of correspondents. Verification before
publication is often impossible, especially when time is of utmost
importance. And. where reports come from usually reliable
correspondents, the editor has to accept them and run the risk as
Mr. Devadas Gandhi has done in this case. By declaring his intention
to stand by his correspondent and go to jail rather than pay the fine
and escape imprisonment, Mr. Devadas Gandhi has not only main-
tained the noblest traditions of journalism but also has set a golden
standard for the profession. The severity of the sentence only shows
the enormity of the risks to which we of this profession are constantly
exposed. Mr. Devadas Gandhi has done a service to the public In
that he has drawn pointed attention to the fact of a judge collecting
money in court from "some of the accused persons on July 31 after
their acquittal" which the High Court has characterized as "ill-
advised". Directing attention to this fact has meant courting risks.
The Press has always to be in the firing line and so is exposed to
the largest number of risks. And these risks the Press faces with
fortitude and cheerfulness.

Nagpur,

THE SEARCHLIGHT

Pending fuller study of the judgment in the contempt
of court case against the Editor, the Printer and
Publisher, and the Meerut correspondent, of the Hindustan
Times, we had expressed the opinion that the sentence passed on the
accused by the Hon'ble the Chief Justice and Mr. Justice Collister
of the Allahabad High Court was astoundingly severe and was quite
disproportionate to the alleged offence, considering the circumstances
of the case. The study of the judgment since does not incline us to
revise that opinion. We are afraid their Lordships have taken a
more serious and narrower view of things than they need have,
particularly because Mr. Devadas Gandhi, the Editor, had admitted
his error at the very outset so far as the suggestion of sending out
a circular by the Chief Justice for the collection of subscription by
the judges of the lower courts was concerned, and had expressed
his regret. As we said in our previous note, the offended court
themselves being the judge in a case of contempt, the judges cannot
be anything but extremely careful in the judgment they pronounce
and the sentences they pass. We had in this connection referred to
Pandit Motilal's observation in the course of his arguments in the
Searchlight Contempt Case that there was a very thin line of
demarcation that divided the vanity of a judge from the dignity of
the court and that, therefore, the Court should be particularly careful
in dealing with cases of contempt. Unfortunately, portions of the
judgment in the present case a.3 well as the severity of the sentence
passed do leave behind an impression that their Lordships might
have taken a more considerate view of the circumstances of the case.

We are afraid we are treading on very delicate ground and
far be it from us to suggest anything derogatory to their Lordships.
It is apparent that they were fully convinced of the guilt of the
accused and that if they had pronounced the judgment or passed the
sentence that they did, it was because they felt that the evidence
before them left them no choice whatsoever. What we say here is,
therefore, not intended in any way to cast any reflection upon them. A
perusal of the judgment, however, creates the impression in us that
wb?le their Lordships may have been wholly in the right In the
assessment of the value of the evidence tendered before them on
behalf of the accused, any one who studies the portion of their
judgment dealing with the evidence cannot but feel that they have
been rather narrow in their interpretation of facts and in their
appraisement of the evidence tendered before them. For instance,
they say that Mr. Singhal was corroborated in regard to the alleged
interview of August 13 by Mr. Gauri Shankar, but they rejected the
evidence of the latter by saying that they were "not in any way
impressed by this witness." Again, they say that they were
unfavourably impressed by the demeanour of Mr. Dubey who had

THE SEARCHLIGHT 309

suppqrted the respondents as regards the interviews with Mr. K. N.
Banerji and with Rai Bahadur Pandit Surajbal Dikshit. Not only
this, the judgment makes it clear that in their Lordships' view the
evidence of officials and semi-officials for instance, of Mr. Akbar
Hupain, the District Judge, and of Rai Bahadur Surajbal Dikshit.
the Public Prosecutor apparently carried more weight with them
than the evidence of the defence witnesses including Mr. Bharadwaja,
the Assistant Editor of the Hindustan Times, who were all non-
oiflcials, for while they discuss at length their reasons for accepting
or not accepting the latter, they do little of the kind with regard to
the former. We do not suggest that their Lordships were wrong in
the conclusions they arrived at, but to an ordinary reader of their
judgment it does appear that the evidence of the defence witnesses
deserved a better appreciation and, in any case, we respectfully
submit it should not have led their Lordships to the observation which
they made while dealing with the question of the award of a light
or heavy sentence on the Editor and the Publisher that they "were
satisfied from the evidence that they have manufactured evidence
for the purposes of their defence." It is true that there was
dibcrepancy between the evidence of the defence witnesses and that
of the official witnesses and, on the whole, it was a case of oath
against oath. But in a case like this, where a part of the allegation
was correct, namely, that war subscriptions had been collected from
some of the accused in a Sessions case and their Lordships had
themselves admitted that the Sessions Judge was not quite well-
advised either in collecting the subscriptions or in taking the state-
ments of pleaders to refute the allegations against him, the obviously
right course would have been, we may venture to submit most
respectfully, to give the benefit of the conflicting evidence to the
accused.

We hope thoir Lordships of the Allahabad High Court
will take the opportunity provided by this case to issue a warning
to this effect to their subordinate officers in the same way in which
the Hon'ble the Chief Justice of the Patna High Court has instructed
the judicial officers under this Hon'ble Court, to refrain from indulg-
ing in any activity regarding collection of subscriptions and things
of the kind. If that be the result of the case, Mr. Devadas's suffering
may not have been in vain. From that point of view, Mr. Devadas
cannot but deserve the highest praise for rendering a great public
service, though one may regret that circumstances should have made
him the victim of a statement that was not true.

Patna, 19-11-41.

THE INDIAN NATION

At the end of a prolonged and sensational trial, Mr. Devadas
Gandhi, Editor of the Hindustan Times, Mr. Sharma, the
Printer and Publisher of that paper, and Mr. Singhal, its Meerut
correspondent, have been convicted and sentenced for contempt
of court by the Allahabad High Court. On their very face, the
sentences will appear rather heavy and out of proportion to the
offence of the accused. From the trend of the proceedings and from
a perusal of the judgment, it will be clear that the correspondent's
offence was the non-verification of the actual words used by Mr.
Vidyarthi, the Additional Sessions Judge of Meerut, in collecting
subscriptions for war funds from certain persons, who were standing
trial before him. That he did collect funds for the war in open court has
been admitted in evidence by him and accepted as a fact by the hon-
ourable Judges of the High Court themselves.

There is a general and widespread feeling that the
High Courts in India, as the bulwarks of individual and
public rights against executive encroachments or otherwise,
should be offered all possible co-operation in the discharge
of their onerous and responsible work. But in cases in which editors
of newspapers are hauled up for contempt of court, it would appear
essential that High Courts should display a considerable amount of
leniency in the determination of the guilt of the accused persons.
For, without the least intention to bring the courts into contempt,
something may be published which may remotely have that effect.
Their Lordships of the Allahabad High Court held, quite correctly
from the purely legal standpoint, that the effect of the statements
made should be the deciding factor in a case of contempt. But we
may respectfully point out that intention and motive too should be
accorded adequate weight in a matter of this kind and the benefit of
doubt should be given to the accused wherever possible. The
Hindustan Times case was one of the occasions in which the Allahabad
High Court could easily have taken a more lenient attitude than it
actually did in view of the extenuating circumstances referred to.
The sentence on the correspondent is particularly heavy, especially
when the Editor had taken upon himself the responsibility for the
publication of the news-item and the comment based thereon. Once
again the case testifies that there is but a thin line, a very thin line,
that divides the zones of safety and danger within which editors of
newspapers in the country have to function vis-a-vis the law of
contempt. Where our High Courts are inclined to be fastidious in
matters which involve criticism of their decisions or of the actions
of individual judges, the danger line becomes blurred altogether with
a corresponding increase in the danger to the persons concerned.

Patna, 1911-4*.

THE AMRITA BAZAR PATR1KA

We do not propose to offer anything like an elaborate comment
on the judgment of the Allahabad High Court in what is known as
tha Hindu&tan Times contempt case. The case is of great importance
to the Press and affects its rights and responsibilities. We of the
daily Press know under what high pressure we have to work from
day to day. We have to depend very largely on reports supplied to
us by our correspondents, and where the correspondents happen to
be experienced men who have earned the confidence of the papers
by Jong and faithful service, reports supplied by them have got to be
accepted, particularly when they are of public interest.

We have followed the proceedings before the High Court with
great interest and were led to believe from the evidence and
circumstances, particularly having regard to the expression of regret
that Mr. Devadas Gandhi offered, that their lordships would be
satisfied by conveying a warning to the accused persons. It has.
tharefore, been a great shock and surprise to us that the sentences
have been anything but lenient.

We take this opportunity to pay our tribute of respect to
Mr. Devadas Gandhi, the editor, who preferred to go to jail rather
than pay the fine imposed on him because Mr. Singhal, the reporter
in question, was sentenced to imprisonment without any option of
paying fine. The accused persons behaved with great dignity
throughout the proceedings and we can give them the assurance that
their fellow- journalists all over India have not the least doubt that
they had done nothing to forfeit their confidence and that they had
acted in conformity with the best traditions of independent
journalism/

Calcutta,

THE LIGHT HOUSE

We congratulate Mr. Devadas Gandhi on his decision to prefer
on* month's jail to the payment of a fine of one thousand rupees
in the sentence awarded to him in the case known as the Hindustan
Times contempt of court case. One of the necessary and inseparable
incidents in the life of a working journalist in a subject country like
India is the preparedness to lead the jail life; that is the price usually
paid for the freedom of speech or writing. Therefore we offer our
congratulations to our brother in the profession, and also to
Mr. Radhey Lai Singhal who has been awarded two months'
imprisonment and no option of fine in default. The law is no
respecter of persons, and justice is administered according to law
in our law courts. These sentences, however, by no means lower our
fellow-workers in the profession in the estimation of their countrymen
and are likely on the other hand to put them higher in that profession
in respect of their dignity, prestige and the due discharge of duty."

Meerut, 2911-^1.

THE HINDU

1 The proceedihgs in f the Hindustan Times contempt case
have been productive of one good result. The Chief Justice
has, according to the United Press of India, circularized the
subordinate judiciary of the Province on the question of members
of the service taking part in war fund collections. The circular
begins by saying that "there is not the slightest objection to
a judicial officer himself subscribing to war funds or to his being
associated witn members of the Executive or members of the public
in their endeavours to raise such funds provided such endeavours
have no connection whatsoever with his position as judge." The
obligation, which the proviso thus enjoins, rests on the wholesome
general principle that the power, prestige and influence that go with
any public office 1 of authority should not be so used as to coerce or
overawe any private individual (or body) into giving a subscription
for any such purpose against his wish, since otherwise the voluntary
character of such contributions would disappear and they would be
really irregular levies. It is this consideration that is at the back
of the widespread objection to officials of any department or
description making these war fund collections and the demand that
the practice of so employing them should cease. Officials making
war fund collections, far from wishing to compel anybody to pay,
may in each case take special pains to impress it upon the person
whom they approach with a request for a contribution that it is
entirely voluntary and it is perfectly open to him to refuse to give.
But, human nature being what it is, few persons, especially among
the illiterate villagers of the countryside, will have the courage to
turn down a request which, coming as it does from an official with
whom they may have constant business, they cannot but interpret as
a command. Nor can it be supposed that all officials will, in these
circumstances, exercise such iron self-restraint as to give no room
for complaint, especially when they are being constantly reminded
by higher authority that they are not pulling their weight. From
this point of view the undesirability of employing any public servant
in this manner is obvious.

In the case of judicial officers the objection becomes much more
serious. The U.P. Chief Justice's circular, after premising that it
would be difficult to lay down a general rule, points out that "it
would be manifestly improper for a judge to endeavour to raise
subscriptions or be associated with the raising of subscriptions from
persons who are in any way parties to judicial proceedings." For
to do so might, suggests the circular, lead to members of the public
thinking that "subscription or non-subscription to the war fund would
affect the independence and impartiality of the judicial officers"
which the Chief Justice emphasizes he is "determined to do all in his
power to prevent." In other words his Lordship recognizes and

314 THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

rightly, if we may say so that the independence! and impartiality of
judicial officers must be not only unassailable but above suspicion.
In ihis respect judicial officers have got to be even more careful than
members of other branches of the public service. Since they
constantly function as umpires between contending private interests,
the danger is all the greater of their integrity being called in question
if any business not connected with their office such as war fund
collections should throw them into unnecessary contact with members
of the public, whether actual or potential clients, who might thus
get a pretext for going about saying that, by paying a contribution
on the judge's solicitation, they had secured his goodwill. It is,
therefore, not enough to direct, as the circular does, that judicial
officers shall not collect subscriptions from persons who are involved
in judicial proceedings actually going on before them. Every member
of the public is a potential client, so far as judicial officers are
concerned, and so in their case the rule of non-participation in war
fund collections and similar activities must be made absolute if the
confidence of the public in the judiciary is to be maintained
unimpaired.

We are afraid that the bifurcation of personality sought to be
effected by the circular, in distinguishing between the duty of a judge
in his capacity as judge and his duty "as a member of society with
corresponding obligations like any other citizen," is impossible in
practice, since though a judge may ask for a subscription as a private
individual, his neighbour whom he approaches for such a purpose
will not make such nice distinctions. So far from regarding such
detachment as possible, the Government have provided, under the
Government Servants' Conduct Rules, that officers (in any department)
are responsible for even the political opinions of their wife, children
and other dependants! Society expects a specially rigorous code of
conduct from the judiciary and, in token of this, confers on the
holder of judicial office special dignities and privileges and the law
punishes with drastic severity any attempt on the part of a private
psrson to lower the judiciary in the esteem of the public. That
argues a corresponding obligation on the part of members of the
judiciary not to do anything which might be reasonably likely to
hove the effect of damaging them in the eyes of the public.

Madras, 30-11-41.

THE STATES PEOPLE

; Devadas Gandhi and his colleagues of the Hindustan Times have
filled the horizon of politics for the past two or three months. At
last the clouds that had hovered over them have cleared but thunder
and lightning have descended upon them. The contempt of the
highest court was duly evaluated and fines varying from Rs. 500 to
Rs. 1000 were imposed with alternative sentences in two cases and
an additional sentence in the third, of imprisonment. The brave
Editor, setting aside the conventions of courts, addressed the Chief
Justice and said that he would prefer to go to jail to tendering the
fine, as all the accused had not been treated equally. This is but in
tune with an earlier statement made by Devadas when he was asked
to disclose the writer's name. He said he would rather take the
whole responsibility upon him than disclose the name of the writer
of the article under indictment. That laid down a high order of
jou-nalistic ethics and editorial duty. We are not acquainted with
the intricacies of law, but we fail to see how it would be contempt
of court to say that a high officer has urged war collections. The
High Courts of India are not working as collaterals of the Indian
National Congress to be sure! And if, in the alternative, they
represent, as they must and do, the British Government, then they
have, in accelerating war effort, done only what various executive
officers are doing openly and with impunity. Is it not strange then
that you should find fault with people for saying that you have
dorc your duty?

Bombay, 2-12-41.

THE HINDUSTAN TIMES

Law And Procedure

In spite of the grave issues involved in the judgment delivered
by the Allahabad High Court in what is known as the Hindustan
Times contempt case, we had so far refrained from commenting
because it would be manifestly unfair to their Lordships that any
attempt should be made to criticize their judgment before the full
text of it became available. Now that the full text of the judgment
delivered by their Lordships, the Chief Justice and Mr. Justice Collister,
ha.i been published, not only ourselves but the public as a whole
have all the material necessary to enable them to judge for themselves
how far, on the basis of the evidence at the disposal of their Lordships,
theii verdict was justified and how far Mr. Devadas Gandhi, the
Editor of this paper, Mr. Devi Prasad Sharma, the Printer and
Publisher, and Mr. R. L. Singhal, the Meerut correspondent of the
Hindustan Times, were justified in the stand they took. We need
hardly state that, so far as this paper was concerned and so far
as the three respondents were concerned, they were all animated by
the single object of doing what they considered to be a supreme
public duty, and never for a moment was any one of them troubled
by the thought as to what was to happen to himself as a result of
the proceedings started against them. Journalism in this country
has few rewards, but imposes on its votaries many trials and
tribulations, and it is because journalists in India have accepted that
position as a privilege conferred on them, instead of making it a
grievance, that we need have no fears about the future of the
Freedom of the Press in this country.

In contempt proceedings, accused persons are always under a
handicap as tne judge becomes prosecutor and judge rolled into one,
in violation of one of the elementary principles of jurisprudence.
And where the contempt alleged is not against the administration of
justice in general but against a particular judge, the handicap under
which an accused person labours becomes greater when he is tried
by that particular judge. In ordinary cases, it is a common experience
for judges to refuse to try cases in which they may be even remotely
interested, and there is no reason why in contempt cases, either by
an amendment of the law or by the observance of a convention,
judges should not leave trials of persons accused of contempt against
themselves to other judges. This is all the more essential, as one
of the accepted canons of justice is that not only must justice be
done but that the public must appreciate that justice is being done.
The present practice asks the judge to play a very difficult role in
cor.tempt cases in which the alleged contempt refers to himself or
the court over which he presides; but even under present circum-

THE HINDUSTAN TIMES 317

starces, it is possible for judges to give a feeling of confidence to
those charged with contempt, that they are getting an impartial and
fair trial, if, throughout the proceedings, they preserve the judicial
frame of mind, subordinating the role of the prosecutor to that of
the judge. How far that has been done in the present case is a
question in answering ' which we have no desire to be dogmatic,
though we may have our own opinion. In the proceedings of the
case published by us, the public have ample material to answer the
question for themselves. In the notice issued to the Editor and the
Pi inter, who were the two persons against whom proceedings were
started in the first instance, they were asked "to show cause why
they should not be dealt with for contempt of court," the fact of
contempt being assumed. On the very first day of hearing after both
Mr. Devadas Gandhi and Mr. Devi Prasad Sharma had filed their
affidavits, the verdicl went against both the accused, though judgment
was reserved. Later, the whole case was practically retried, because
of Mr. Vidyarthi's denial of the allegations contained in the affidavits.
But throughout, the respondents suffered from the handicap of
having to face a situation in which the Chief Justice had already'
made up his mind as to their guilt. Here is a reversal of the principle
that no man shall be held guilty until he is proved to be guilty in a
court of law. In contempt cases, guilt is assumed and the onus of
proving his innocence is placed on the accused person. To some
extent, what happened in the present case may, perhaps, be inevitable
in view of the nature of the charge brought against the respondents.
But the same cannot be said about the allegations made by
Mr. Devadas Gandhi in his affidavit, which, according to Sir Tej
Bahadur Sapru, counsel appearing on behalf of the respondents,
"disclosed a story the like of which had, probably, never been heard
in this court." One of the allegations made in the affidavit, to which
Sir Tej Bahadur referred in his opening address, was that war fund
collections were started by Mr. Vidyarthi in his court after four
of the accused in* the "Dhakoli murder case" had been convicted and
belore the order of acquittal of the other accused was made. As
soon as Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru referred to the* allegation, this is
what happened:

Chief Justice: The whole judgment must have been read.

Sir T. B. Sapru: According to the affidavit before me, four
men were transported, and at this stage the judge decided to make
these observations and when the money was handed over, the
rest of the judgment was either read out or the substance given
out.

Chief Justice: I find it very difficult to accept this story.
When the judge was delivering judgment in a case in which there
were 20 accused, he would, in the same breath, say so many

318 THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

aie convicted and so many acquitted, and I cannot believe that after
saying that four persons are transported for life, he 1 would not say
anything more with regard to the rest.

It may be that the final finding of the High Court, that
Mr. Vidyarthi did not deliver the judgment piecemeal, as was alleged
in the affidavit, is based on a careful consideration of the; evidence
tendered in the case this is a point which we shall take up later
or but how is an accused person to be satisfied that he is having
a iair trial when one opinion is expressed before any evidence is
tendered and the same conclusion is reached after all the evidence
has been considered. Unlqss the judge trying a case keeps an open
mind till the very end, the accused is not likely to feel the confidence
tint he is getting a fair trial.

Since editors of newspapers figure largely in contempt
proceedings, these are matters which concern the Press as a whole
rather than this particular paper. It would be interesting to know
wiether in other contempt cases also the accused editors had the
ssame feeling as we have, that the combination of the role of
prosecutor and judge in the trying court prevents the case put up
by the defence being given the consideration it deserves, and must
get. Our own feeling, born of recent experience, is that both law
and procedure are defective in this respect, and the initiative in the
agitation to amend both must come from the Press, as it is the
Press which feels the present unsatisfactory state of affairs the most.

Mr. Vidyarthi's Words

n

There arc two aspects of the case which, though connected
with each other, must be kept separate, if the issues involved are
to be understood correctly. One concerned the defence of Mr. Devadas
Gandhi and the other respondents, and the other the wider question
of the circumstances in which war fund collections took place in
the court of Mr. Vidyarthi, the Second Additional Sessions Judge of
Meerut. If this paper was interested in the first, the wider public
and the High Court itself, as the guardian of the purity of
administration of justice, must be vitally interested in the second.
It also became clear, once the story disclosed in the affidavit came
to our knowledge, that important as was the first aspect of defence
against the charge of contempt, the second aspect was immeasurably
more important, and, consequently, the first must take a subordinate
place in the further proceedings. There was nothing in it for regret
then, and there is nothing for us to regret now that we know what
the outcome of the proceedings is.

THE HINDUSTAN TIMES 3J9

To take up the first aspect, first. The news item sent by our
Meorut correspondent on which our comment was based, stated that
judicial officers had been asked by the Chief Justice, at the request
of his Excellency the Governor, for co-operation in 'war efforts. In
the comment based on the news, which became the subject-matter
of proceedings, it was assumed that these instructions must have
been in the form of a circular. On the vdry first day of hearing,
his Lordship the Chief Justice stated that no circular had been
issued and the case could be argued on that basis. The mistake
about the circular did not make the offence if offence there was
more serious than what it would be, if it was merely stated that
instructions had been issued. It was admitted that, if the allegation
in the affidavit about what Mr. Vidyarthi said in open court before
collecting war funds, were proved, it would constitute a mitigating
circumstance, though the offence of contempt would still remain, as
the repetition of a false story carried with it as much responsibility
as the originating 01 it. We may even go further and claim that,
if the allegation had been proved, it would have constituted a very
good, if not complete, defence, as neither our Meerut correspondent
nor ourselves could imagine that one in the position of an Additional
Sessions Judge would be telling an untruth in a matter concerning
instructions from the Chief Justice. The offence would, in that event,
have become a mere technical one, demanding nothing more than a
nominal punishment. Consequently, a great deal depended on what
Mr. Vidyarthi actually said. Mr. Devadas Gandhi said in his affidavit
that these were Mr. Vidyarthi's words:

Since the Chief Justice, who has been requested by his
Excellency the Governor to help in the war efforts, has asked us
to raise subscriptions for the war fund, it is incumbent on us to
raise subscriptions and you should help me in this work.

Whether Mr. Vidyarthi actually used these words or not was
an issue of great importance in the case. Now a great deal has been
said about the conflict of testimony in this respect. Where much
of evidence is oral and not documentary, a certain amount of
discrepancy, and even conflict, is inevitable. The words "lie" and
"liar" have been bandied about, but it is as well to bear in mind
the distinction between the white lies of which most of us are guilty
in our ordinary lives and the guilt of those who are prepared to
perjure themselves after being placed on oath. Hearsay evidence,
we have all heard, is no evidence. If that dictum had been applied
in the present case, much of the testimony to which their Lordships
attached varying degrees of importance would have been eliminated.
Only those who were present in the court of Mr. Vidyarthi could
be expected to bear witness to the fact whether Mr. Vidyarthi
actually used these words or not. For the defence, a number of
witnesses were produced who stated that they were present in the

320 THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

court of Mr. Vidyarthi at the time and had actually heard him use
these words. Of these, the first was Mr. R. L. Singhal, the Meerut
correspondent of the Hindustan Times. It must be remembered in
this connection that till the day he actually came forward to give
evidence on behalf of Mr. Devadas Gandhi and Mr. Devi Prasad
Sharma, no notice was served on him and he had not become a
respondent in the case. Consequently, his evidence has to be judged
like that of any other witness and not like that of an accused
defending himself. The second witness who stated that he was
preseht in court was Mr. Attar Singh, a pairokar in the Dhakoli
murder case on behalf of the complainants, and he confirmed the
story of the previous witness as to the words used by Mr. Vidyarthi.
The third witness who testified to the actual words used by
Mr. Vidyarthi was Mr. Surajbal Swami, one of the lawyers appearing
on behalf of the acquitted accused in the murder case. He was
positive that the judge had used the words mentioned, and he added
that that was the truth.

Now, as against the evidence of these witnesses who were
actually present in court and testified that Mr. Vidyarthi used the
words alleged, what was the evidence produced by Mr. Vidyarthi?
Firstly, there is his own denial that he used the words attributed to
him. After what happened on the first day of hearing, Mr. Vidyarthi
knew what the consequences to himself would be if the High Court
found that he had actually used these words and, consequently, he
could not be expected to admit them, even though he might have
mentioned the names of the Chief Justice and the Governor.
Secondly, there is the evidence of Mr. Akbar Husain, the District
Judge of Meerut. But since he was not present in court and he could
only testify as to what Mr. Vidyarthi had told him, his evidence can
carry only as much weight as Mr. Vidyarthi's own denial, and
nothing more. The third witness produced who testified to
Mr. Vidyarthi's version of the story was Rai Bahadur Surajbal
Dikshit, President of the Meerut Bar Association and a leading
criminal lawyer. He also was not present in the court at the time,
ard his testimony aiso referred to what Mr. Vidyarthi had told him
land, consequently, can have no greater value than Mr. Vidyarthi's
denial. In addition, it must be remembered in the case of this
witness that he had been briefed by Mr. Vidyarthi, and it was only
for the purpose of giving evidence on behalf of Mr. Vidyarthi that
Jie retired from the case and entered the witness-box. Thus we
reach the position that as against three witnesses who heard
Mr. Vidyarthi say what he did in court, we have only Mr. Vidyarthi's
bare denial of the allegation. There were other persons present in
court at the time; but such of them as were summoned by
Mr. Vidyarthi, he did not produce in the court.

THE HINDUSTAN TIMES 321

In the face of such evidence; it is astonishing that their lordships
should have come to the conclusion, not only that the respondents
had failed to establish the case set up by them but that Mr. Vidyarthi
did not give utterance to the words attributed to him. Mr. Singhal's
evidence is disposed of by their lordships as that of one who could not
be relied on to tell the truth. To the aspect of the case so far as it
concerns him, we shall come later. Mr. Attar Singh's evidence is
discounted, because he happens to be related to the two murdered
men for which crime the accused persons had been prosecuted in the
Dhakoli murder case. Mr. Surajbal Swami's evidence is sought to
be discounted, firstly, because he has an ungovernable temper and,
secondly, because he was said to have an animus against
Mr. Vidyarthi, to which Mr. Vidyarthi had testified. But the
remarkable thing about the animus story is that it was never put to
the witness in his cross-examination. To dispose of the evidence of
witnesses who actua'ly heard Mr. Vidyarthi say what he did in this
manner, and on grounds which appeared to be scarcely convincing, and
then accept the denial of Mr. Vidyarthi, the person most interested in the
matter, does not seem either justifiable or reasonable, but that is
what the High Court has done. If the evidence of those who heard
Jiim in court is to be disbelieved, for some reason or another, it was
open to their lordships to summon others who were present in court
and find out the truth. This was all the more essential, as what was
in dispute was not only the reference to the Chief Justice and the
Governor but also the actual circumstances in which war funds were
collected and in which, as we stated before, the High Court must be
mere interested than the respondents. In the absence of any such
attempt to ar.-we at the truth, their lordships might have held that
the respondents had failed to establish the truth of the allegation
about what Mr. Vidyarthi had said, in which case the respondents
would have got the benefit of the doubt. But on the basis of
Mr. Vidyarthi's denial there was no single witness who was present
in the court and who said that Mr. Vidyarthi had not uttered the words
attributed to him to hold as their lordships held, that Mr. Vidyarthi
did not say what he was alleged to have said was to make a
miscarriage of justice unavoidable.

One point of paramount importance to which Sir Tej Bahadur
Sapru referred in his arguments but to which no reference is made
by their lordships in their judgment is the difficulty in a case of this
nature for private parties to secure the testimony of eye-witnesses.
Lawyers and litigants are not likely to come forward to testify
against a judge in whose court they have been appearing and may
appear again. That, in spite of this fact, some witnesses did come
forward is as much a tribute to their courage as to their anxiety to
help the court in establishing the truth. To our profound regret, this
aspect of the matter was completely ignored by their lordships.

322 THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

What Was The Offencef
III

The next question which arises for consideration is whether the
item of news published by us from our Meerut correspondent and the
editorial comment based on it constitute contempt of court, and if so
how. The contempt did not lie in the circulation of an incorrect
j-dport about the circular, as an indirect report by itself will not
constitute contempt. If what was objectionable was the suggestion
about association of judicial officers in war efforts, there can be, and
there are, two opinions about it. We have held, and we still hold, the
opinion that such association cannot be conducive to the impartial
administration of justice, but there are others who hold the contrary
opinion. For example, the Chief Judge of the Oudh Chief Court
presided over a meeting of the members of the Oudh Bar Association
on August 21, 1940, and a substantial sum was collected towards war
loans. If it was right and permissible for him to do this, surely it
cannot be wrong for him to ask other judicial officers to follow his
example. If it was wrongly alleged that the Chief Judge had asked
judicial officers to do so, that might be regrettable but would not
convert the offence into one of contempt.

What then constituted the offence of contempt which their
lordships fourd had been established against the three respondents?
In their judgment their lordships sum up the impression which "an
ordinary intelligent reader" would receive from reading the editorial
comment thus:

It (tho comment) contains a clear insinuation that the Chief
Justice has issued a circular to all judicial officers to raise contribu-
tions from litigants and others to the war fund, that pressure was
thereby being exerted by an authority which "it would not be safe
to displease," and that the prestige of the courts would thus be
impaired. The implication is that the Chief Justice had done some-
thing unworthy of a person holding that high office and that as the
head and representative of this High Court he had committed the
ijross impropriety of forcing judicial officers subordinate to this court
to ask for war contributions from litigants who, notwithstanding
that the giving of donations was ostensibly voluntary, were not in
a position to refuse.

Their lordships also proceeded to refer to the existence of a
political controversy as to the propriety or otherwise of contributing
to the war effurt and the publication in question having the effect of
dragging the Chief Justice, as such, into this political controversy.
The* also held that there was an insinuation in the present case that
the Chief Justice was acting under the influence of the Executive. In

THE HINDUSTAN TIMES 323

conclusion they state:

The suggestion in the editorial comment of August 6, read
with the news item of August 3, was that the Chief Justice, at
the instance of the Head of the Executive, was interfering with
the course of justice in the lower courts inasmuch as the persons
asked by the judge (under orders from the Chief Justice) to
contribute money would have no alternative but to comply,
otherwise they might incur the disfavour of the judge to their own
detriment. The probable effect of the news item and the editorial
comment would be to impair the authority of this court, to lower
its dignity and prestige and seriously to shake public confidence
i,i the administration of justice. The publication of an editorial
comment calculated to have this effect is a clear contempt of court
and it is unnecessary to quote authority.

Now the "ordinary intelligent reader" to whom their Lordships
refer is, perhaps, as mythical a being as the "economic man" to whom
economists attribute all sorts of virtue. But he will be neither ordinary
nor intelligent if either from the news item or from the editorial
comment he draws the inference that "the Chief Justice had issued a
circular to all judicial officers to raise contributions from litigants
(and others) to the war fund." The news item merely referred to
judicial officers being asked by the Chief Justice "for co-operation in
wa 1 * efforts to raise subscriptions for war funds." The 1 editorial
comment in referring to litigants referred to the possible abuses likely
to creep in in subordinate courts as a result of the circular, not that
the Chief Justice had asked judicial officers to collect war funds from
litigants by using unfair means. There was no insinuation either in
the news or the comment that judicial officers were being "forced"
to collect war funds from litigants. The reference in the editorial
comment to "one whom it may not be safe to displease" was also
to the possibility of subordinate judicial officers being displeased with
those refusing to subscribe, and not to the Chief Justice, who was
merely alleged to have asked for co-operation in war efforts. In short,
thore was no insinuation either in the news or the comment that the
Chief Justice in askJng for the co-operation of subordinate judicial
officers suggested to them that they should do so by illegal or improper
means. If the suggestion of resort to improper methods is also not
there, what then remains to make the publications actionable for
contempt? Their Lordships have also referred to the political contro-
vrsy about the collection of war funds and state that the effect of
the publications would be to drag the Chief Justice as such into that
controversy. As regards this, we have already stated that this is a
matter on which there can be two opinions and if a Chief Court Judge
can with propriety associate himself with collection of contributions
to war loans it cannot constitute contempt to say that the Chief Justice

324 TH HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

of a High Court has done so, though the report itself may be wrong.
Lastly, the judgment refers to the insinuation that "the Chief Justice
was acting under the influence of the Executive." The words "who
hart been requested by his Excellency the* Governor" occur only in the
news item and not in the comment. To allege that the Judiciary is
being influenced by the Executive is, no doubt, contempt and their
Lordships have fortified themselves in their judgment in taking up
this position by referring to the Amrita Bazar Patrika contempt case.
But the point at issue in the present case is whether a request by the
Governor for co-operation in the collection of war funds would amount
to an insinuation of the Executive influencing the Judiciary.

In answering that question, it is necessary for us to refer to a
subsequent development, relevant to the point raised in the question.
One would have thought, after the admissions made by Mr. Vidyarthi
as to the manner in which he made war fund collections and the
stiittures passed on his conduct by their Lordships in the judgment,
that the lesson of the whole case would be the dangers inherent in the
association of judicial officers with war fund collections. But curiously
enough, the case appears to have produced the contrary effect. The
charge on which the editor, the printer and the Meerut correspondent
of this paper have been convicted is that they published a report about
an alleged circular issued by the Chief Justice of the Allahabad High
Court to subordinate judicial officers asking for their co-operation in
making war fund collections. But after the conclusion of the case,
the Registrar of tin Allahabad High Court issued a circular to all
district judges as "desired by the Chief Justice" concerning the position
of judicial officers in relation to the war effort. In the course of this
circular occurs the .following remarkable sentence:

There is not the slightest objection to a judicial officer himself
subscribing to the War Purposes Fund or to his being associated with
members of the Executive or with the members of the public in
their endeavours to raise such funds, provided that such endeavours
have no connection whatsoever with his position as a judge. (Italics
ours.)

Now, bearing in mind the qualification mentioned in the circular
let us envisage the position which would arise in a district headquarters
town. There will be no objection to the District Judge subscribing to
war funds. There *vill be no objection to his association with the
District Magistrate or with other members of the public in collecting
such funds, outside the court. In such a situation, if the District
Magistrate requests the District Judge "for co-operation in war efforts,
to raise subscriptions to war funds," will there be anything wrong in
it? Since association in raising war funds is permissible, clearly,
according to the circular issued on the authority of the Chief Justice,
thare will be nothing wrong in the request. If it is right for a District

THE HINDUSTAN TIMES $25

Magistrate to request the co-operation of the District Judge in the
collection of war funds, why should it be wrong for his Excellency
the Governor to request the Chief Justice of a High Court for co-
operation in war fur.d collections? The High Court may be a court
surerior to the District Court, but no one contends that there is any
difference in the nature of the justice administered in the two courts
or what constitutes contempt in the case of one would not constitute
contempt in the case of another. The circular issued by the Registrar,
on the authority of the Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court,
completely exonerates the respondents on the charge of contempt, so
fai- as the charge was based on the alleged insinuation about the
Executive influencing the Judiciary.

There is another remarkable circumstance with reference to
tiie.r Lordships' finding of contempt being established against the
three respondents to which we feel bound to draw attention. Though
in the comment and the news published there is no justification for it,
their Lordships maintain that "in the comment and the news there
was the suggestion that the Chief Justice was interfering with the
course of justice in the lower courts inasmuch as the persons asked
by the Judge (under orders from the Chief Justice) to contribute
m ;ney would have no alternative but to comply; otherwise, they might
inour the disfavour of the judge to their own detriment." They then
proceed to state that the probable effect of the editorial comment
would be "to impair the authority of this court, to lower its dignity
and prestige and seriously to shake public confidence in the administra-
tion of justice" and that this is clear contempt of court. Side by side
with this indictment of the three respondents, let us see what Mr.
Vidvarthi did at Meerut on his own showing. He collected war funds
in court, not from mere litigants but accused persons in murder cases,
after, according to him, he had read out the operative part of the
judgment. Two of the witnesses for the respondents have borne
testimony to the feeling of the accused persons when this "request"
for subscribing to war funds was made by the Judge. Here is what
Mr. Attar Singh stated: "When these four (accused persons) came
before him, the Judge asked them to give subscriptions for the war
fund. One of them kept quiet for some time and then he said, 'We
have been sufficiently looted.' " Here is an extract from Mr. Surajbal
Swami's evidence, as reported in the Press: "He (witness) discussed
the matter (request for subscriptions to war funds) with the Judge
ard another 1 iwyer present there. The lawyer told witness, that his
clients would have to pay Rs. 300. Witness, thereupon, remarked that
he was not engaged by them to have them hanged in this manner."
That was what the accused called upon to subscribe to war funds
felt and anyone with the least sense of humanity cannot but sympathize
with their feeling. If to insinuate as the three respondents are held
to have insinuated that the Chief Justice had asked subordinate
Judicial officers to collect subscriptions for war funds from litigants is

326 THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

contempt for which 1wo of the respondents are in prison and one has
pa'd a heavy fine, we ask, and the public are entitled to ask, whether
it does or does not constitute contempt to collect war funds from
accused in murder cases who, according to Mr. Vidyarthi, had just
been aquitted and who had not had time even to walk out of the
courts. What the respondents had been held to insinuate Mr. Vidyarthi
had converted into an accomplished fact, and still, and still, the verdict
of the highest tribunal in this land is that the editor of this paper
should purge his contempt by being imprisoned for a month and its
correspondent by being in prison for two, while for Mr. Vidyarthi was
reserved only the stricture that he was "highly ill-advised" and that
he acted in "an unwise and misguided manner." As between the
respondents and Mr. Vidyarthi, we would like to know, and the public
are entitled to know, who is more guilty, in the words of their
Lordships, of "impairing the authority of courts, lowering their dignity
and prestige, and shaking public confidence in the administration of
justice."

War Fund Collections
IV

We come now to the second, and from the point of view of the
public the more important aspect of the case, connected with war fund
collections. As we have already stated, once the circumstances in
which war funds were collected by Mr. Vidyarthi, the Second Additional
Sessions Judge of Meerut, came to our notice, we realized that though
much of it was not relevant to the defence in the case, those circum-
s ranees must be brought to the notice of the High Court. Since the
only way in which it could be done was to include the story in his
sworn affidavit, Mr. Devadas Gandhi did so, after satisfying himself,
so far as was humanly possible, of the truth of the allegations made
in it. In the course of the proceedings, mention was often made of
the positive case of the respondents and there was the tacit assumption
that it was for them to prove the allegations to the satisfaction of
their Lordships. This was true so far as Mr. Vidyarthi's reference to
the Chief Justice and the Governor was concerned, as it was vital to
the defence to establish the exact words used by Mr. Vidyarthi. But
as regards the other allegations made in the affidavit, about the
mariner in which war fund collections were made, they should not
have been looked upon as matters regarding which there was an
obligation on the respondents to establish their truth. Mr. Devadas
jGindhi did, indeed, offer to help the court in finding out the truth so
far as in him lay, as he was bound to, after making the allegations.
It seemed to us then, and it seems to us now, that once those allega-
tions had been made by one in the responsible position of the Editor
01 a newspaper of the standing of the Hindustan Times and it must
be remembered that those allegations were made not wantonly or on
fth own initiative, but in the course of defending himself from the

THE HINDUSTAN TIMES 327

charge of contempt of court brought against him it became a matter
in which the High Court, as the supreme guardian of the purity of
administration of justice, should be more interested than the
respondents themselves. If that attitude had been assumed by the
High Court from the very beginning, we are sure the whole case
would have taken an altogether different turn from the one it actually
took. We would, in this connection, like to point out that neither
the Hindustan Times nor the three respondents had or have any
personal animus against Mr. Vidyarthi. In fact, there was no mention
oi Mr. Vidyaithi or his activities in connection with the collection of
war funds in this paper till the time came for us to defend ourselves
against the charge oi contempt, even though our Meerut correspondent
was fully aware of these activities.

As to what happened in the court of Mr. Vidyarthi on July 31,
1941, on the day when he pronounced judgment in the Dhakoli murder
case, we shall consider the circumstances in two parts. Part of the story
was admitted by Mr Vidyarthi when he was examined in court and
the other portion was denied by him. On his own admission, he made
an appeal for subscriptions for war funds, by way of charity to
help wounded soldiers, in court after he had delivered the
operative part of tho judgment convicting four accused and acquitting
tho others, in the Dhakoli murder case. "Operative part" means the
part of the judgment referring to convictions and acquittals and,
consequently, his own implied admission is that the judgment had
not been delivered in full. A certain amount was collected by lawyers
from their clients, the accused in the murder case. We have already
referred to the feeling of disgust and bitterness this caused among
lawyers and *ccuse in that murder case. Mr. Vidyarthi also con-
fessed to making similar collections in another criminal case before.
That one in the position of a Sessions Judge should have resorted to
such methods to collect war funds would have appeared incredible
but for the fact that these were Mr. Vidyarthi's own admissions.
Whether this conduct on the part of a judge presiding over judicial
proceedings in a murder case is or is not likely "to impair the authority
of the court, to lower its dignity and prestige and seriously to shake
public confidence in the administration of justice" the indictment
brought against the respondents by the High Court is now for the
higher court of public opinion to judge.

But this is not all. Mr. Devadas Gandhi in his affidavit had
stated that this appeal for war funds was made! by Mr. Vidyarthi,
not after the operative part of the judgment had been pronounced, as
maintained by him, but after he had stated that four persons had
been found guilty and transported for life and before the other accused
knew the fate which was in store for them. If the allegation had
been proved, it would have constituted an act of extortion unparalleled
in judicial administration, but, fortunately for Mr. Vidyarthi, their

328 THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

Lordships found that he was not guilty of so heinous an offence. Still
there would bo more room for satisfaction if this part of the story
had been more thoroughly investigated by their Lordships and Mr.
Viciyarthi declared absolutely not guilty of a procedure so
objectionable. But, as we have already stated, the attitude of the
Chief Justice was one of absolute incredulity when Sir Tej Bahadur
Sapru first mentioned the allegation on the first day of hearing.
Now coming to the evidence on the point, what is it that we find?
Mr. R. L. Singhal stated that the judge did not read out the whole
of the judgment. He only pronounced sentence on four of the accused
and then kept silent for a minute or two. Then followed, according
to this witness, the incident about war fund subscriptions, the' rest
of the judgment being delivered afterwards. Mr. Attar Singh, one
of the witnesses for the respondents, stated that the Judge sentenced
four of the accused to transportation for life and then appealed for
war funds. After collection had been made the rest of the 16 accused
were declared acquitted. "There was an interval of 15 minutes in
between the orrler convicting the four accused and the other acquitting
the 16 accused." Mr. Surajbal Swami in his evidence said: "He (the
Judge) delivered first the judgment with regard to the four accused
persons who were sentenced to transportation for life. He did not
deliver the judgment as regards the rest of the accused when I was
there,, but the lawyers present knew that they (their clients) stood
acquitted." Ths pont was taken up by the Chief Justice during
the examination of this witness and here are the questions and
answers:

Chief Justice: May I take it that the decision of the
judge as regards all the twenty accused was known to the lawyers
at one and the same time, i.e. that four accused had been convicted
and the rest acquitted? *

Witness: My lord, this is the position. The lawyers present
knew it.

Chief Justice: Then the accusation against the judge that
he delivered judgment piecemeal is untrue?

Witness: Certainly. I may add that we knew that this is
the state of affairs. But if by the word "delivered" it is understood
that some portion of it was read loudly to the accused and some
portion was not then it is not correct.

Chief Justice: Will you kindly elucidate the statement
that you made about the delivery of judgment hi the first paragraph
of your exarMnatlon-in-chief which has just been read over to you?

Witness: My lord, the position is that some of the lawyers
may have been present before me when the warrants for the com-

THE HINDUSTAN TIMES 320

mitment of the accused, who were convicted, to jail were being
written and it may have been then that they somehow or other
inferred and also knew that my clients also stood acquitted.

Chief Justice: How did you know that your clients stood
.acquitted?

Witness: The entire court was chock-full and for some time
I stood in the gallery. Then Harish Chandra probably informed me
that papers were being written to send some of the accused to jail
and we did not know what will happen to our men, and he asked
me to go in and find out. I told him that Mr. Gupta was there, but
then he insisted OP my going and I went there and from the talk
uhich had been going on previously between the judge and some
of the lawyers present before the judgment was pronounced, I
gathered that the rest of the accused were to be acquitted.

Chief Justice: So it is a fact that all at once it was
known to everybody concerned that four of the accused had been
convicted and the rest acquitted?

We do not know why the first question should have been in the
form of what in law is called a "leading question," to which lawyers
usually resort m cross-examination of witnesses, but apart from it the
resultant position from the examination of this witness can at best
ba one of doubt and not that he does not support thel evidence of
Mr. Singhal and Mr Attar Singh, which is their Lordships' finding.
The version of this witness is that both the lawyers and the accused
knew what the judgment was, not that the whole operative part of
the judgment had been read out before the war fund collections
started, as Mr. Vidyarthi maintained. If the position was thus one of
doubt still, we feel that the High Court should have pursued the
matter, both in view of the gravity of the allegations and in the
interests of the administration of justice, by calling upon others who
were present in court to come forward and testify as to what
happened. It is a pity this was not done.

Lastly, we come to the general question of association of judicial
officers in war fund collections. We do not know whether what
happened at Meerut had been happening in other parts of the
province, but the Meerut case is certainly not the only instance of
abuse of position by judicial officers in the collection of war funds.
In a petition moved before the Patna High Court by one of the parties
in a criminal case, his Lordship Mr. Justice Agarwala set aside the
order of the trying Magistrate, being satisfied that the proceedings in
the case were dropped not because of lack of merit in the original
application but because one of the parties eventually agreed to
subscribe Rs. 200 to the war fund. His Lordship also directed that
the sum be refunded to the party who was stated to have contributed

330 THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

it to the war fund. In doing so, his Lordship remarked:

Disputes in courts of the country have to be decided on law
?nd procedure prescribed by the Legislature, and it is highly
improper for any Magistrate or any presiding officer of a court to
invite subscriptions to public or charitable funds from anybody
appeaing in his court either in the capacity of a party or a witness
or professionally or to entertain suggestions made by anybody else
tliat donations should be accepted from such persons.

Cases of abuse of authority by executive officers are* many, but
here we shall refer to one flagrant instance. The Naib Tahsildar of
Hansi convened a meeting of villagers in Bawani Khera for collecting
war funds. A list was prepared under his instructions as to what
amount should be donated by each person. One Mutsadi, who was
assessed Rs. 100, refused to pay the amount and he was prosecuted
for what he said thrn under Rule 38 of the Defence of India Rules
anJ sentenced to 9 months' rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs. 50
or, in default, three months more. On appeal the Sessions Judge of
Hissar acquitted him (Appellate Side Criminal Case No. 249 of 1941),
and in doing so remarked:

On the other hand, I consider that it was the Naib Tahsildar
who brought into contempt the Government and offended against
the dignity of the authorities mentioned in Clause 'E' of Rule 34 by
proceeding in a manner as to give the impression that the payment
of the war fund shall amount to imposition by the authorities.

There is, however, nothing on record to show that the Naib
Tahsildar was convicted under the same Rule and sentenced to the
same term of 9 months' rigorous imprisonment and fine of Rs. 50 or, in
default, three months' rigorous imprisonment more!

When there are such instances of abuse of their powers by
executive officers and when other instances of abuse of their position
by judicial officers in the collection of war funds have also come to
light, we feel there will be greater confidence in the administration
of jastice in this country, if judicial officers are asked not to participate
actively in the collection of war funds. In the circular issued by the
Registrar of the Allahabad High Court, we are told that the Chief
Justice "is determined to do all in his power to prevent members of
the public from thinking that the subscription or non-subscription by
the public to the War Purposes Fund will in any way affect the
independence and impartiality of judicial officers." But the only way
in which he can prevent the public from thinking so is to ask judicial
officers to refiain from taking active part in activities connected with
collections for war funds. There is no other way in which he can do it.

THE HINDUSTAN TIMES 331

Mr. JR, L. Singhal
V

Mr. R. L. Singhal, the Meerut correspondent of the Hindustan
Times, has been committed to prison for two months, to purge his
contempt, by their Lordships, and in doing so they have passed certain
strictures on the evidence given by him in this case. Before we
proceed to examine the process of reasoning by which their Lordships
arrived at his guilt and the assumptions which enabled them to pass
those strictures, we would like, here and now, to pay our tribute of
admiration to one who played the most honourable part of all in these
proceedings. We owe it to ourselves, and we owe it to the profession
to which he and we belong, to state that his own motive throughout
has been to stand by the truth, irrespective of the consequences to
himself. When the notice was first issued on the Editor and the
Printer of this paper, Mr. Singhal, as the correspondent of the paper,
was in no way concerned in it. It was only at a later stage when
it was found that his evidence would be essential for the defence
of this paper against the charge of contempt that he was asked
wnother it would be possible for him to give evidence. Both he and we
understood the posit) on, that though the legal responsibility was the
editor's, by voluntarily coming forward to give evidence on behalf
of the editor, he would be running the risk of himself being prosecuted.
Whatever hesitation there might have been on the part of this paper
in asking one of its correspondents to take upon himself this
considerable risk, there was none so far as Mr. Singhal was
concerned. To the spirit in which he came forward to stand by the
truth and thereby vindicate this paper, it is our duty to pay our
homage.

That brings us to the 1 wider question of the responsibilities of
the editor and the correspondent which is one of the outstanding
issues raised in this case. Bv a fiction of law, the editor of a
newspaper is made, rightly or wrongly, responsible for everything
that appears in his paper, irrespective of the fact whether the articles
appearing in it are written by him or not, or even seen by him before
publication or not. Editors are asked to assume responsibility for
everything that appears in their paper even when they are hundreds
of miles away from where their papers are printed, and we presume
that if a plea of alibi is entered by an editor called upon to explain
something that has appeared in his paper during his absence any
court would reject that plea as untenable. When such is the legal
responsibility of the editor, why should correspondents also be
peralized for the* same offence? The editor and the printer of this
paper were as much responsible for the comment which appeared
in the Hindustan Times on August 5, 1941, as for the news-items

332 THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

which appeared on August 3, 1941, and they gladly assumed
that responsibility. If for purposes of defence it was not necessary
to disclose the name of the correspondent, there was no means by
which the court could get at him, just as there was no means by
wh.'ch the court could get at the actual writer of the offending
comment. Should a correspondent be penalized simply because he
voluntarily conies forward to help the court in establishing the truth?
In any case, what exactly is his offence? Did it consist in sending
thu news to his paper, or in the news sent by him being published?
Editors and correspondents know that there is no obligation on
the former to accept and publish all the reports sent by the latter.
If a report is sent by a correspondent and is rejected by the editor,
will he be equally guilty, if the news happened to be an objectionable
one, even though it may not have been published? If publication
formed the chief element in the offence, is it not right that the
responsibility should be the editor's and the printer's, and not that
of the correspondent? If it is argued that though the editor may be
the primarily guilty party the correspondent is in the position of
accessary to the crime, how many come under the definition of
accessary? Is the sub-editor who subs the correspondent's copy and
has the right to reject or publish it and, in fact, does the delegated
function of the editor equally an accessary? What about the
compositors and proof-readers who help in the task of publication
of the offending article? With a delightful insouciance, their Lord-
ships ignored all these aspects of law inherent in the case and
proceeded to make an example of the unoffending correspondent, as
though he were the supreme offender in this drama. We maintain
that the responsibility can be that of the editor or of the
correspondent and not of both. And since the editor's responsibility
is assumed and accepted on all hands, there could not be any
justification for convicting the correspondent for a crime of which
the editor became guilty by the fact of publication.

That is the wide issue which this case has given rise to, and
since the Press as a whole is interested in it we hope the Standing
Committee of the Editors' Conference will move for a clarification
of the legal position. One result of the finding of the Allahabad
High Court may well be to add another risk to the already consider-
able risks which correspondents of newspapers run, especially in
the mofussil, and which, to that extent, will interfere wfth the supply
of news which flows into a newspaper office. It is true that today
correspondents of newspapers enjoy the protection of the convention
which the profession observes, that editors do not ordinarily disclose
the identity of their correspondents and always assume the
responsibility for any offending publication themselves. But cases
may arise as in the present instance in which it may be necessary
to disclose the name of the correspondent, in the interests of getting

THE HINDUSTAN TIMES 333

at the truth, and, even in such cases, we maintain that correspondents
must be protected from the persecution of the Law so long as the
editor is ready and willing to assume full responsibility for the
publication.

Coming now to the specific case of Mr. R. L. Singhal, our
Mcerut correspondent, all the considerations mentioned by us in
defence of the editor apply to him equally and he is not more guilty
than the editor of the offence) of contempt, as their Lordships seem
to imply. In his case, however, their Lordships have recorded the
finding that "he may either himself have drawn this erroneous
inference (that Mr. Vidyarthi uttered the words attributed to him)
from what he saw or he may have accepted what he heard from
others.'' If this is his offence, we feel constrained to say that he
Jias a very good defence. In case Mr. Singhal left Mr. Vidyarthi's
court on that day under the impression that Mr. Vidyarthi had uttered
these words, then his bona fides are established and he should have
been treated as one who had been genuinely labouring under a
mistake. If he had accepted the story from others on whom he
relied, even then he may be guilty of passing on a wrong story
un warily, but would not be guilty of deliberate contempt. In either
case, his offence would only be a technical one, even if we accept
their Lordships' finding, and not one meriting the punishment of two
months' imprisonment passed on him.

Next, we come to the very remarkable process of reasoning by
which their Lordships arrived at the conclusion that Mr. Singhal
was not a witness on whose evidence much reliability could be
placed. We feel that if their Lordships had some acquaintance with
practices which prevail in newspaper offices or had the benefit of
advice of someone connected with journalistic work, they would not
have been betrayed <nto doing a grave wrong to a working journalist,
and, what is more, finding him guilty of the offence of contempt on
the basis of such reasoning. Because Mr. Singhal did not disclose
the source of his news but used the words "I reliably learn," their
Lordships call it "a truly remarkable" omission, and say that if
Mr. Vidyarthi had used the words alleged, Mr. Singhal could have
no conceivable reason for not saying what his "reliable source" was,
and that in their opinion it was "utterly unbelievable" that Mr. Singhal
would not have reported Mr. Vidyarthi's utterance to the newspaper
he was serving. They are "absolutely convinced" that if Mr. Vidyarthi
had uttered these words in Mr. Singhal's presence he would have
at once reported it to the Hindustan Times. To any one with even
a nodding acquaintance with journalism, this logic must appear truly
amazing. We have absolutely no desire to be anything but respectful
towards their Lordships, but we are afraid they came a cropper.
Even now if their Lordships care to look at their daily newspapers a

334 THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

aitiJe more carefully than they appear to have done, they will find
that correspondents of newspapers quite often use phrases like "I
reliably learn," "It is understood" and "I learn from a reliable
source." The secret behind the use of such words is that the source
of news should not be disclosed, for once the source is disclosed, the
supply of news will immediately dry up. And the editor who, in
every instance, goes hunting after the source of information of his
correspondents will have< started on a fool's errand which will never
end. It may be that the habit which began thus is carried on to
Unjustified lengths, but we feel that if their Lordships were even
casually aware of the practice they would not have drawn the
conclusion they did from the fact that Mr. Singhal had used the
words "I reliably learn."

The second reason given by their Lordships to doubt Mr. Singhal's
veracity is that first of all he reported the facts of the. Dhakoli case
and the judgment, and then there was an item of news about an
extraneous matter and, last of all, came the offending item about
what Mr. Vidyarthi said. Their Lordships state: "This leaves no
doabt in our mind that Mr. Singhal had not heard the Judge make
the alleged statement while delivering judgment in the Dhakoli case."
Here again, if their Lordships are aware of the manner in which
correspondents' items are cut, clipped and rearranged in newspaper
oftL:es, they would not have jumped to the conclusion they did because
of the shape in which the copy emerged from the press. We speak
subject to correction, but our recollection is that this particular copy
was also dealt with in the usual manner and, consequently, any
inference from the order of the news is not justified. In fact, their
Lordships themselves refer "to the original, as sent by Mr. Singhal,
being rearranged by the editorial staff."

The third point made by their Lordships was with reference to
Mr. Singhal's reply to the letter written by us on August 9. Here is
the first paragraph of Mr. Singhal's reply:

In reply to your letter of the 9th instant regarding the
Circular of the Chief Justice 1 of the Allahabad High Court to the
judicial officers I have to state that my news was based on the
verbal saying of Mr. Hari Shankar, the Second Additional District
and Sessions Judge, Meerut, in the open court and to the lawyers
concerned, not only once but several times, in the course of his
delivering judgment, which had probably not been completely
written by then for when I requested the Judge to give me the 4
judgment for taking extracts for the Press he told me that it was
not ready aiid I could send a bare message, in the Dhakoli murder
case, that as the judicial officers had been asked by the Chief
Justice, who had been requested by H.E. the Governor to co-operate
tri war efforts to raise subscriptions for war funds it was incumbent
upon him that he should also contribute his share.

THE HINDUSTAN TIMES 335

Now, from this reply they proceed to draw the inference that
M^. Singhal had stated that Mr. Vidyarthi had not only spoken the
offending words but had asked Mr. Singhal to broadcast this
statement to the Press. We are sure they would not have drawn
this conclusion if they had cared to remember Sir Tej Bahadur's
explanation. The sentence was a complicated one and Sir Te]
suggested that the meaning would be clear if the words beginning
with "which had probably not been completely written" and ending
with "in the Dhakoli murder case' 1 were enclosed within brackets.
Without these brackets the sentence would mean that in the Dhakoli
murder case the Judg asked him to send a bare message "that as
the judicial officers, etc.," which would be meaningless as in murder
cases what correspondents want to wire out is the conviction and
sentence or the acquittal of the accused.

And finally, we come to the incident of the alleged interview
between Mr. Singhal and Mr. Vidyarthi. Their Lordships' finding
is rhat the interview never took place. Since Mr. Singhal confessed
in his evidence that though he had given Mr. Vidyarthi's name to
his paper he told Mr. Vidyarthi that he would not disclose his name
to anybody, their Lordships came to the conclusion that "on his own
showing Mr. Singhal has little regard for truth." To take up first
the incident of the interview. Firstly, there is the evidence of the
slip left by Mr. Vidyarthi's stenographer at Mr. Singhal's house,
showing Mr. Vidyarthi's anxiety to meet the correspondent. Secondly,
Mr. Gauri Shankar, who was present at the interview, corroborated
Mr. Singhal's version of the interview, but their Lordships disposed
of his evidence by saying that "we were not in any way impressed
by this witness." Lastly, it was stated in the course of evidence
that the interview was arranged through the intermediary of one
B. Ganga Prasad, a distant relative of Mr. Vidyarthi. If their
Lordships felt that they could not believe the evidence of two out
of three persons present at the interview, it was certainly open to
them to send lor this B. Ganga Prasad and find what part he played
in this incident. But without doing anything of the sort, they merely
state that they prefer to accept Mr. Vidyarthi's own statement in the
matter.

That statement was to the effect that the alleged interview
never took place. When their Lordships accepted this version of the
stoiy, it meant that the alleged interview never took place. Still,
they proceed to indict Mr. Singhal as one who, on his own showing,
had little regard lor truth because in an interview which, according
to their Lordships, never took place, Mr. Singhal told Mr. Vidyarthi
that he would not disclose his name, though as a matter of fact he
had already done so. That appears to us to involve a double
injustice to Mr. Singhal. His own version of the interview is
disbelieved, but his own words are used to discredit him as a witness.

336 THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

As regards this incident of Mr. Singhal telling an untruth to
Mr. Vidyarthi, let us remember certain facts. Mr. Singhal's obligation
was to his paper and not to Mr. Vidyarthi, and if Mr. Vidyarthi,
according to Mr. Singhal's version, could ask Mr. Singhal to tell
an untruth, too much should not have been made of the fact that
Mr. Singhal saved himself from an embarrassing situation by telling
an untruth. Moreover, in such matters, the courts will do well to
observe one distinction in evaluating the reliability or otherwise of
witnesses who come before them to tender evidence. We suggest
that the witness who, once the oath had been administrated to him,
is prepared to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the
truth, even if it involved the confession of an untruth told by him
outside the court, is a far more honourable man, a more credible
witness than a consistent liar, who lies outside the court, perjures
himself in the witness-box, and tries to get away with it.

Manufacture Of Evidence
VI

Lastly, we come to the strangest part of this episode.
Convicting the editor and the printer of this paper of contempt, their
Lordships said: "We don't feel justified in awarding a light sentence
of fine, for we are satisfied from the evidence that they have
manufactured evidence for the purpose of their defence." (Italics
ours.) In the judgment itself we have looked in vain for any
reference to the evidence on the basis of which their Lordships had
reached this truly astonishing conclusion. Looking into the evidence
and the proceedings, we could get only odd bits which could even
remotely be said to justify a conclusion so strange. On the last date
of hearing when counsel were arguing the case after all witnesses
had been examined, we find the Chief Justice saying:

Speaking for myself, I do not like the frequent visits of
Mr. Devadas Gandhi and Mr. Bharadwaja to Meerut. To me it
appears that they were out to fabricate evidence by their repeated
visits to Meerut.

Once we go into the region of likes and dislikes and
appearances, facts and arguments are .of little avail. We are sorry
that such remarks should have been passed, based on nothing more
than intuition. In the evidence placed before their Lordships, the
objects of their visits were frankly stated. The first visit of
Mr. Devadas Gandhi was for the purpose of inquiring into the facts
stated by our Meerut correspondent and the second was for the
purpose of engaging a local counsel. On neither occasion did
Mr. Devadas Gandhi stay at Meerut overnight. Mr. Bharadwaja also

THE HINDUSTAN TIMES 337

accompanied him during these two visits and in addition he visited
Meerut once or twice, on the first occasion because he was called by
Rai Bahadur Surajtal Dikshit. Since the whole case concerned an
incident which took place at Meerut, it would, evidently, be impossible
to put up anv defence without a minimum number of visits. To
surmise from these visits, about which there was no secrecy, that
they must have been made for the purpose of manufacturing
evidence and pass strictures on the respondents on the basis of this
surmise, without one single fact to justify the indictment, is not
what one would ordinarily expect from the highest judicial tribunal
in the country.

The next incident we can think of in this connection is the
evidence given by Mr. Akbar Husain. He said that the impression
which he had from his conversations with Mr. Banerji was that he
told him that he (Mr. Banerji) was being pressed by Mr. Devadas
Gandhi to make a particular kind of statement. But Mr.' Banerji
himself denied that any pressure was exerted on him or that he was
asked by Mr. Devadas Gandhi to depose to any facts which were
not within his knowledge. The only other relevant point in this
connection is that Mr. Surajbal Swami had stated in his evidence that
there were two parties in Meerut and that was why he did not like
to drag himself in the mud. That on evidence so unsubstantial the
High Court could draw a conclusion so damaging to the respondents
is something inconceivable.

But this is only one half of the story. Let us see what is the
other half. Once the proceedings were started against this paper,
it was obvious that our Meerut correspondent would be one of the
more important witnesses for the respondents. And it is on record,
and it was not denied, that an attempt was made by Mr. Vidyarthi
to approach him. Secondly, we have Mr. Vidyarthi's own, admission
that he took signed statements from some lawyers and that later he
destroyed them. If the High Court wanted to do so, it could have
insisted on Mr. Vidyarthi revealing the identity of the lawyers
mentioned by him, summoned them to the High Court, placed them
on their oath and asked them to reveal the true facts. But there
is on record the statement of Mr. Krishna Swarup that he was asked
by Mr. Vidyarthi to sign a statement saying that he was present in
court and Mr. Vidyarthi did not utter the words attributed to him,
though as a matter of fact he was not present in court. Next there
is the evidence of Mr. Surajbal Swami that Mr. Vidyarthi had asked
Mm not to depose anything about what he had said in court. In the
face of this evidence, all that their Lordships say with reference to
Mr. Vidyarthi is that he behaved "in a very unwise and misguided
manner." As for his taking down the statements of lawyers, they
say that he would have been better advised not to do so. But "in
fairness tp him" they also point out that the respondents were

338 THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

collecting evidence against him and they could not accept the bare
averment of Mr. Krishna Swamp that the statement which he signed
was false. Their Lordships had nothing to say about Mr. Vidyarthi
later destroying these statements.

Now that the public have before them all the facts, it is for
them to judge whether there was any justification for the statement
of their Lordships that the respondents had manufactured evidence
for their defence. It is for them also to say who manufactured
evidence and who destroyed it.

And now to sum up, we hope that so far as the three
respondents were concerned we have succeeded in showing that at
best they should have been honourably acquitted and at worst they
were only guilty of a technical offence for which a nominal
purishment should have been quite sufficient and that the strictures
passed on them were not justified by the evidence produced in the
case.

To the wider public the main issue involved in the case is the
participation of judicial officers in war fund activities and it is for
the public to express its opinion in an unmistakable manner.

Lastly, to editors and journalists the case has been of
considerable importance. For them the issues involved are as to
(how far the present state of affairs is satisfactory so far as law
and procedure in contempt cases are concerned, and the exact
definition of the legal responsibility of an editor and a correspondent
regarding an item oi news sent by the latter and published by the
foimer. We hope the Standing Committee of the Editors' Conference
wUl consider all the issues involved and take whatever action it
may consider appropriate to have law and procedure in these respects
amended suitably.

NEW DELHI, 3, 4, 5-12-41.

THE SOCIAL WELFARE

The principle on which commitments are made for contempt of
Court, to quote an old case, is "to keep a blaze of glory around
them and to deter people from attempting to render them

contemptible in the eyes of the public a libel upon a

Court is a reflection upon the king and telling the people that the
administration of justice is in weak or corrupt hands, that the
fountain of justice itself is tainted and consequently that judgments
which stream out of that fountain must be impure and contaminated."

In view of this classic dictum it has been held over and over
again by the English Courts that a libel on a judge is contempt only
wnen it is published with reference to his judicial capacity. The note
in the Hindustan Times distinctly refers to the administrative
capacity of the Chief Justice.

No more glaring case of a libel on a judge could be found than
In the matter of a special reference from the Bahama Islands, (1893)
Appeal Cases, page 38. In that case the Chief Justice was
characterized by a journalist in the following terms:

"Search the annals of the bench of every country, of every age,
and I defy creation to produce a more noble, more self-denying,
and more virtuous exhibition of a tender conscience than was
afforded by our Chief Justice in refusing to accept a gift of pine-
apples! Some cynic has said, 'Every man has his price.' It is
^assuring to this community to know that the, 'fount of justice' in
this colony is above the price of even one dozen pine-apples. Mr.
Yelverton's noble words of scornful renunciation should be graven
in letters of gold upon the walls of every sweet potatoes, pigeon peas,
etc., cease to exert their baneful influence on the administration of
justice in this colony. But should we be selfish and confine the influence
of such virtue to the limited area of this colony? No, Mr. Editor,
I and others cherish the hope that this beautiful incident will become
historical, and the whole world be benefited by this last and greatest
proof of the purity of English justice. Difficult as it is, Mr. Yelverton
has mastered the problem of being great in little things. When a
boy I remember reading of Judge Gascoygne and Prince Hal; I can
but. hope the little boys of the future will read of the noble conduct of
our Judge Yelverton."

In giving the judgment the Privy Council held that these passages
might be made the subject of proceedings for libel, but "were not in
the circumstances calculated to obstruct or interfere with the course
of justice or the due administration of the law, and, therefore, did
not constitute contempt of Court."

The learned Chief Justice read the remarks of Sir Barnes Peacock
in the Privy Council case of Surendra Nath Banerjea vs, the Chief

340 THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

Justice and Judges of the High Court at Fort William in Bengal to
mean that the comments on the non-judicial activities of a judge
may become the subject-matter of a contempt. Sir Barnes Peacock's
words are: "The publication of a libel reflecting upon a judge in his
judicial capacity or in reference to his conduct in the discharge of
his public duties."

What are the public duties of a judge? The principle laid down
by Sir Barnes Peacock would be too wide if the discharge of public
duties is read to mean duties outside the scope of the duties which
a judge is enjoined to perform as a judge and it is open to grave doubt
whether the issue of an order by a judge in his administrative
caoacity is in the discharge of his public duties as a judge.

By contempt proceedings, what is sought to be protected is not
a judge, but a judge in regard to his acts as a judge. The administrative
acts of a Chief Justice are really the acts of the Executive entrusted
to him as a matter of policy; and are of the same nature which the
Secretary of the Home Department or a Minister of the Crown would
do were it not for the fact that with a view to ensure judicial
independence they have been delegated to the Chief Justice by the
Crown.

With great respect, to include the issuing of a circular relating
to war funds in administrative capacity as the discharge of the
public duties of a judge is to give him complete protection in Law
against any criticism unless that criticism is solely restricted to the
individual traits of a judge.

If the rule in Shri Devadas's case is correct, the 1893 Appeal
case is not good law in India.

The judgment in the Hindustan Times case also lays down
another principle which is scarcely reconcilable with law that a
conditional allegation is not a libel.

In an American case, Lang vs. Gilbert (4 Allen) 445, it was held
that a charge made in a hypothetical form is not defamatory. And
so where the Defendant in a letter to A regarding an affidavit made
by the Plaintiff about the service of a Writ upon him said that "If
L (the Plaintiff) swears that I did not serve him with a copy of that
Writ, he swears to a lie," meaning that the Plaintiff had committed
perjury, it was held that even if the Defendant did not make the
affidavit the letter was not libellous, because it only stated the matter
hypothetically. English Law has not been different.

In the present case the editor was scrupulously fair by putting
forward only a conditional statement regarding the alleged circular.
From the article there is no doubt that he was anxious to keep the

THE SOCIAL WELFARE 341

fountain source of justice pure; and that he had clear doubts whether
such a circular had been issued by the learned Chief Justice. Tbe
principle as laid down in this case, therefore, is in much wider
terms than is justified by the authorities and requires a re-examination
at the hands of an appropriate tribunal, if the Law of Libel is to be
Jcept within the wholesome limits of English Law.

Shri Devadas did not invent this falsehood. The correspondent,
though held, on conflicting testimony, to have not stated the whole
tri'th, was a tried correspondent of the Hindustan Times. The learned
Chief Justice has found: "As regards the editorial staff, we
,are prepared to accept the statement of Mr. Gandhi and of
Mr. Bharadwaja that up to then they had had full confidence in
Mr. Singhal and had never had reason to suspect the truth or accuracy
of his reports. We, therefore, acquit them of malice towards the
Chief Justice . . . . "

An editor, one should have thought, would be protected if he
bona fide relied upon what he thought was a correct report and made
a comment not inspired by improper motives and which was not
discourteous to the Judge.

It is to bo noted that in the course of replying to the searching
questions of the learned Chief Justice Shri Devadas Gandhi replied
thus:

Chief Justice: Do you now realize that the mention about a
circular in the headlines was wholly unjustified?

Mr. Gandhi: I am prepared to agree.

Chief Justice: Did you appreciate this fact on the first day of
hearing in this court?

Mr. Gandhi: I did.

Chief Justice: Do you consider it proper then to make amends
for the wrong done by you?

Mr. Gandhi: The question of personal amends to your Lordship
has been engaging the attention of myself and my distinguished
counsel.

Chief Justice: It is not a question of making amends to the Chief
Justice personally, but it is a question of making amends to the
exalted office of Chief Justice. Has that engaged your attention so
far?

Mr. Gandhi: It has.

* * * * * *

Chief Justice: You have talked about your 'public duty' in the
course of your evidence. Does it occur to you that it was equally your

342 THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

public duty not to show disrespect to the office of Chief Justice?
Mr. Gandhi: Entirely.

Chief Justice: Do you realize it now that disrespect has been
shown to that office?

Mr. Gandhi: I realize that I have been the unwitting instrument
of showing disrespect, for which I am extremely sorry.

After this statement of Shri Devadas one would have expected
he would have been discharged, at the most with a warning, but the
sentence indicates that the learned Chief Justice took a srious view
of what the editor had done, though he had no doubt of Shri Devadas's
bona fides.

Potent as the weapon of contempt proceedings is in the hands
of judges they have been warned against wielding it without restraint.
Great judges have laid down again and again that "this arbitrary,
unlimited and uncontrolled power" should be exercised with the
greatest caution.

Lord Atkin in Ambard vs. Attorney-General for Trinidad and
Tobago (1936), A.C. 322, 325, laid down the principle in this form:

"Whether the authority and position of an individual judge or
the due administration of justice is considered, no wrong is committed
by any member of the public who exercises the ordinary right of
criticizing in good faith, in private or public, the public act done in
the seat of justice. The path of criticism is a public way: the wrong-
headed are permitted to err therein; provided that members of the
public abstain from imputing improper motives to those taking part
in the administration of justice, and are genuinely exercising a right
of criticism and not acting in malice or attempting to impair the
administration of justice, they are immune. Justice is not a cloistered
virtue: she must be allowed to suffer the scrutiny and respectful,
even though outspoken, comments of ordinary men."

The case of the Hindustan Times, therefore, deserves attention
of the judges, lawyers and journalists. If it lays down good law,
not justice, but judges in any capacity except purely personal, can-
not be the subject of any bona-flde comment, however respectfully
and conditionally made. When we consider that in contempt of court
cases the judge is himself the injured party, the prosecutor and the
judge, and that though the dignity of the court, as distinguished from
the vanity of the presiding judge, has to be protected in most cases,
human nature is apt to confound the two the principle of the case,
if it lays down good law, renders criticism of judges practically
impossible and is, therefore, a death-blow to the freedom of speech
so far as Indian Courts are concerned.

K. M. Munshi.

Bombay,

THE STATESMAN

Recently the editor and a correspondent of the Hindustan
Times of Delhi were found guilty of contempt of court and
sentenced to a month's and two months' imprisonment, respectively.
The ground of the offence was the sending, publishing and
commenting on a statement that in delivering or immediately after
delivering judgment in a certain case a judge of a Meerut court said
that judicial officers had been asked by the Chief Justice at the
request of the Governor to contribute to the war effort. Mr. Devadas
Gandhi, the editor, and Mr. Singhal, the correspondent, are now
undergoing their sentence, though it is reported an application has
been made for permission to appeal to the Privy Council. In three
recent issues the Hindustan Times has discussed the case in all its
bearings with dignity and restraint. It is not satisfied that justice
has been done or that the Bench consisting of the Chief Justice of the
Allahabad High Court and another understood the traditions of a
newspaper and the intricacies of its production. Also it notices that
in India a judge may be called on to hear a contempt case in which
the alleged contempt refers to himself. The editor could have avoided
imprisonment by the payment of a fine. But he declined this course
feeling that principles were in issue and also because his
conespondent was not given the option. This point of view will be
approved by many. There is still considerable confusion in India
about law and procedure in contempt cases and about the legal
responsibility of editors and correspondents for news. Mr. Devadas
Gardhi is not the man either to take a light view of his responsibilities
or to compromise with what he considers his duty.-

Calcutta-Delhi, 15-12-41.

RESOLUTIONS PASSED BY EDITORS

Resolutions adopted by the .Standing Committee .of the .All-India
Newspaper Editors' Conference at a meeting held on December
18, 1941, at "Statesman House", Calcutta, with Mr. K. Srinivasan,
President of ihe Conference, in the chair.

1. Moved by Mr. C. R. Srinivasan, seconded by Mr. Francis Low,
and supported by Mr. Arthur Moore:

Arising from the Hindustan Times contempt case, this Com-
mittee resolves

(a) that the present state of law and procedure in a certain

class of contempt cases is extremely unsatisfactory in that
it permits a judge against whom contempt is alleged to
become both prosecutor and judge;

(b) that it is necessary, therefore, to amend the law so that

accused persons in such cases are not tried by the same
court as the one to which the alleged contempt refers; and

(c) that a sub-committee be appointed (consisting of five mem-

bers to be nominated by the President) to consider what
practical steps should be taken by the Committee to give
effect to this resolution and their report placed before the
next meeting of the Standing Committee.

2. Moved by Mr. C. R. Srinivasan, seconded by Mr. F. W. Bustin,
and supported by Mr. K. Rama Rao:

This Committee desires to place on record its appreciation of
the view taken by Mr. Devadas Gandhi in electing to go to jail
himself when the option of fine was not given to Mr. R. L.
Singhal, the Meerut correspondent of the Hindustan Times.

THE CONTEMPT OF COURTS ACT

(Act No. XII of 1926, as amended by Act XII of 1937.)

AN ACT TO DEFINE AND LIMIT THE POWERS OF CERTAIN
COURTS IN PUNISHING CONTEMPTS OF COURTS.

Whereas doubts have arisen as to the powers of a High Court of
Judicature to punish contempts of Courts;

And whereas it is expedient to resolve these doubts and to define
and limit the powers exercisable by High Courts and Chief Courts In
punishing contempts of courts; It is hereby enacted as follows:

1. (1) This Act may be called the Contempt of Courts Act, 1926.
(2) It shall extend to the whole of British India. (3) It shall come
intj force on such date as the Central Government may, by notifica-
tion in the Official Gazette, appoint.

2. (1) Subject to the provisions of sub-section (3), the High
Courts of Judicature established by Letters Patent shall have and
exercise the same jurisdiction, powers and authority, in accordance
with the same procedure and practice, in respect of contempts of
courts subordinate to them as they have and exercise in respect of
contempts of themselves.

(2) Subject to the provisions of sub-section (3), a Chief Court
shall have and exercise the same jurisdiction, powers and authority,
in accordance with the same procedure and practice, in respect of
contempt of itself as a High Court referred to in sub-section (1).

(3) No High Court shall take cognizance of a contempt alleged
to have been committed in respect of a Court subordinate to it where
such contempt is an offence punishable under the Indian Penal Code.

3. Save as otherwise expressly provided by any law for the time
being in force, a contempt of court may be punished with simple
imprisonment for a term which may extend to six months or with
finv which may extend to two thousand rupees, or with both:

Provided that the accused may be discharged or the punishment
awarded may be remitted on apology being made to the satisfaction
of the Court;

Provided further that notwithstanding anything elsewhere
contained in any law no High Court shall impose a sentence in excess
of that specified in this section for any contempt either in respect of
itself or of a Court subordinate to it.

CHRONOLOGY

July 31 d) Judgment pronounced by Mr. Vidyarthi, Additional

Civil and Sessions Judge, Meerut, in the Dhakoli
murder case; making of alleged statement by the
Judge and collection of contributions to war fund
in court.

(ii) Mr. K. N. Banner ji, Pleader, narrates the happen-
ings in the court of Mr. Vidyarthi at a tea party in
the Alexandra Club, Meerut, in the presence of
Mr. N. B. Bonarji, District Magistrate.

August 3 News about Dhakoli murder case judgment and alleged
instructions by the Chief Justice appears in the
Hindustan Times.

August 5 (i) Comment in the local edition of the Hindustan
Times on the above-mentioned news.

(ii) Mr. Vidyarthi (Judge) sends for Mr. Singhal
(correspondent) through his stenographer, who
leaves a note at his house.

August 6 (i) The same news appears in the Dak Edition of the
Leader (Allahabad).

(ii) Comment appears in the Dak Edition of the
Hindustan Times.

August 8 Allahabad High Court orders issue of writ of contempt
against the Editor and the Printer and Publisher
of the Hindustan Times.

August 9 (i) News appears in the Leader (Allahabad) regarding
High Court's notice for contempt of court to the
Hindustan Times.

(ii) The Hindustan Times office writes a letter to the
Meerut correspondent inquiring about the source
of his news.

August 10 Meerut correspondent's reply to the Hindustan Times'
inquiry.

August 13 Mr. Singhal (correspondent) and Mr. Gauri Shankar
meet Mr. Vidyarthi (Judge) at his house.

348 THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

August 14 News appears in the Hindustan Times about the High
Court having issued notice for contempt of court
against it.

August 25 Writ of contempt served on Messrs. Devadas Gandhi
and Devi Prasad Sharma.

August 31 (i) Messrs. Devadas Gandhi and Bharadwaja visit

Meerut to make personal inquiries and meet

Mr. K. N. Bannerji, Pleader, at Prof. Dubey's
house.

(ii) Mr. Devadas Gandhi returns to Delhi in the
evening.

(iii) Mr. K. N. Bannerji, Pleader, meets Rai Bahadur
Suraj Bal Dikshit and Mr. Akbar Husain, District
Judge, at A.R.P. Club tea party.

September 1 (i) Mr. Bharadwaja meels Mr. Suraj Bal Swami,
lawyer.

(ii) Mr. K. N. Bannerji, Pleader, meets Mr. Akbar
Husain, District Judge, in his retiring room where
Mr. Vidyarthi is also present.

(iii) Mr. Vidyarthi (Judge) obtains written statements
from Mr. Krishna Swarup Sharma and other
lawyers of his court, by calling them into his
chambers.

September 2 (i) Mr. Bharadwaja interviews Mr. Akbar Husain, the
District and Sessions Judge.

(ii) Mr. Bharadwaja returns to Delhi.

(iii) Mr. Suraj Bal Dikshit, Advocate, goes to Prof.
Dubey and requests him to send for Mr. Gandhi or
Mr. Bharadwaja.

(iv) Prof. Dubey telephones to Mr. Gandhi (Delhi).

September 3 Mr. Bbaradwaja goes to Meerut and meets Mr. Suraj
Bal Dikshit, who had sent for him.

\

September L Mr ' vid y artni (Judge) pays a visit to Allahabad (exact
3 and 9 I date not mentioned m evidence).

CHRONOLOGY 349

September 9 (i) The two respondents (Messrs. Devadas Gandhi and
Devi Prasad Sharma) file affidavits in the High
Court.

di) Hearing of the case by their Lordships the Chief
Justice and Mr. Justice Collister.

(IP) Respondents found guilty, but judgment reserved
till September 15.

Sept ember 10 (i) Mr. Vidyarthi (Judge) receives Mr. Gandhi's
affidavit from High Court.

(ii) Mr. Surajbal Swami, lawyer, meets Mr. Vidyarthi
in his chambers by invitation.

September 11 u) Mr. Vidyarthi (Judge) examined departmentally by
their Lordships in chambers.

ui) Judgment postponed: Alteration in procedure an-
nounced to Respondents' counsel in court.

September 15 (i) Mi. Vidyarthi and Mr. Akbar Husain (District
Judge) examined in court and case adjourned till
September 25.

(ii) Mr. Vidyarthi as well as the respondents asked to
produce witnesses.

September 16 List of witnesses filed on behalf of the respondents.
September 17 List of witnesses filed on behalf of Mr. Vidyarthi.

Between ^ Messrs. Devadas Gandhi and Bharadwaja visit Meerut
Septembei J- to engage a local lawyer, Mr. Gopi Nath Sinha,
17 and 24 J (exact date not mentioned in evidence).

September 25 (i) Notice for contempt of court issued to Mr. R. L.
Singhal (Meerut correspondent of the Hindustan
Times).

(ii) Messrs. Singhal, Gauri Shankar, Devadas Gandhi
and Bharadwaja examined as witnesses.

September 26 (i) Mr. Bharadwaja (continued from previous day),
Prof. Dubey, Mr. Attar Singh, Mr. Suraj Bal Swami
and Mr. Krishna Swarup examined as witnesses.

(ii) Mr. Devadas Gandhi recalled to witness-box to
answer question by court regarding name of
author of comment.

360 THE HINDUSTAN TIMES CASE

October 27 (i) Court passes order, with counsel's consent, for
amending the notice issued to Mr. Singhal
(correspondent) for correcting a defect.

(ii) Telegram received by the court from Mr. Brahmajit
Singh (one of Mr. Vidyarthi's witnesses) that, his
wife being ill, he was unable to attend the court
to give evidence.

(in) Respondents' evidence concluded with the exami-
nation of Mr. K. N. Bannerji, Pleader, as witness.

(i\ ) Mr. Suraj Bal Dikshit (one of the counsel appearing
in the case for Mr. Vidyarthi) tenders evidence on
his behalf.

(v) Sir Wazir Hasan (leading counsel for Mr. Vidyarthi)
informs the court of decision not to produce rest
of the witnesses who had been summoned.

October 28 (i) Mr Vidyarthi re-cross-examined.

in) Arguments by Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru, Sir Wazir
Hasan and Government Advocate.

(iii) Judgment reserved.

November 14 (i) Judgment pronounced: Mr. Singhal sentenced to
two months' imprisonment and sent to jail;
Mr. Devadas Gandhi and Mr. Devi Prasad Sharma
sentenced to fines of Rs. 1,000 and Rs. 500,
respectively, or one month's imprisonment in
default; in addition, the respondents ordered to
pay Rs. 480 as costs of Government Advocate.
Two weeks' time allowed for payment of fine.

(ii) Mr. Devadas Gandhi intimates court that, as the
correspondent has been sentenced to imprisonment
without any option of fine, he, too, will not pay
his fine and will prefer to go to jail.

November 26 Consequent upon case, High Court issues circular letter
to subordinate courts about judicial officers' partici-
pation in war efforts.

November 28 (i) Mr. Devadas Gandhi sent to prison.

(ii) Mr. Singhal transferred from "C" class to "A" class
by court's order.

December 8 Application filed in High Court for release of Mr. Singhal
on bail, in view of proposed appeal to Privy
Council.

December 10 Mr. Singhal's bail application rejected.

INDEX

"ADMINISTRATIVE CAPACITY", of Chief
Justice, 1. 9; 339 (Press Comments).

AFFIDAVIT, by Mr. Devadas Gandhi,
11-15; by Mr. Devi Prasad Sbarma, 16;
by Registrar, Allahabad High Court, 23; by
Mr. Bharadwaja re. bail application. 151.

AGGRAVATION, of offence, 142.

AKBAR HUSSAIN. Mr., I.C.S., reference in
affidavit of Editor, 13; evidence, 36;
meeting with Mr. Vidyarthi &> Mr.
Banerjee. 68. 94; meeting with Mr.
Bharadwaja, 40, 68; reference by Sir
T. B. Sapru. in arguments, 123; refer-
ence in judgment, 164. 182.
In other pages, 24, 28, 36, 127.

ALTERATION, in procedure, by court. 24.

AMBARD vs. ATTORNEY GENERAL FOR
TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO, 342 (Press
Comments).

AMENDS, 65, 73.

AMRITA BAZAR PATRIKA, reference to
case. 140, 146. 194.

ANIMUS, absence of, against Chief Justice.
64; of Mr. Surajbal Swami against Mr.
Vidyarthi. 96. 111. 184.

ANXIETY, of Mr. Vidyarthi, to see Mr.
Singhal. 126.

APPEAL, to Privy Council, Solicitors in-
structed. 152.

APOLOGY, reference in arguments, 5, 7,
10, 70, 131, 135, 142, 146; regret tanta-
mount to, 7; no meaning in Law,
counsel's argument. 7; "abject and
unqualified apology", 73; reference in
judgment, 196; Press comments on. 297,
299. 301. 303. 306.

ARGUMENTS. Sir T. B. Sapru, 2-10,
116-136; 142-146; Sir Wazir Hasan,
136-140; Dr. M. Waliullah (Govt. Advo-
cate), 140-142.

ASSURANCE, by counsel. 2, 5, 10.

ATKIN, Lord, 342 (Press comments).

ATTAR SINGH, Mr., evidence of, 81-82; re-
ference in Judgment. 183.

AUTHOR OF COMMENT, refusal to dis-
close name of, 76.

BAHAMA ISLANDS CASE, 339 (Press
comments).

BAIL, application moved, 151; rejected
162.

BANERJEE, Mr. K. N., reference in affida-
vit of Editor, 13; evidence, 93-99; nc
complaint against Mr. Gandhi, 95; meet-
ing with Mr. Akbar Hussain, 94. 95
requested to give affidavit, 59, 94, 95
knowledge of reference to Governor am
Chief Justice, 96; relates court Incident*
in presence of District Magistrate, 13, 99
reference in Judgment, 164, 169, W8.
In other pages, 27. 28, 30, 39, 112, 126, 127

BENEFIT OF DOUBT, question of, 138
Press comments, 309, 310 321.

BHARADWAJA, Mr. D. D.. reference ii
affidavit, 13; evidence 67-76; interview
with District Judge, 40, 68; called b;
Rai Bahadur Surajbal Dikshit, 68; di<
Mr. Dikshit advise apology? 70, 78, 101
131; approached for "compromise", 70
"Sacrificing Hindu Judge", 70, 107
reference in judgment, 165, 190. 193.
In other pages, 38. 126, 127, 151.

EONARJI, Mr., I.C.S., 13, 94, 110.
BRAHMAJIT SINGH, Mr., 44, 92.

26 CALCUTTA LAW JOURNAL. 3.

"CAMPAIGN OF VDLIFICATION", agains
Mr. Vidyarthi. 42, 190.

CANARD, starting of, against Governor
05.

"CHARITY", Mr. Vidyarthi states purposi
of collection. 26, 91.

CHIEF JUSTICE, of Allahabad High Court
1, 73, 74. 133, 141; of Lahore High Court
73, 74, 133, 134. 141. 197.

CIRCULAR, Chief Justice's statement thai
no circular was Issued, 6; in heading o:
news-its m, 17; an inference from news-
item, 67, 136; mention in headlines, 65;
importance of its existence, 66; refer-
ence in arguments, 130, 131. 132, 133 136;
reference in judgment, 162, 163.

crVTC GUARDS & A.-R.P., Meerut, 49.

COLLISTER. Mr. Justice, H. J., 1, re-
marks by, 8, 94, 97, 98, 124, 135, 146.

COMMENT, text of, 1, 23; its effect on
reader. Govt. advocate's view. 2; effect
on man in the street, 9; in judgment.
162.

352

INDEX

COMPLAINTS, of exercise of pressure by
officials In raising subscriptions, refer-
ences In Editor's affidavit and exami-
nation, 15, 56; against Rai Sahib Moti-
lal. alleged, 110.

CONDUCT, question of, of accused during
day-to-day proceedings, 137.

CONFESSION, by Mr. Vldyarthl, regarding
collection of funds in court, 27; regard-
ing taking of written statements from
lawyers and subsequently destroying
them, 27.

CONGRESS 1 , Its policy, 56, 229; alleged
pressure on witness on behalf of, 110,
129.

CONTEMPT, respondents held guilty of,
1; not conceded, 8, 135; counsel argues
that contempt Is not committed. 138;
Government advocate on "gross con-
tempt", 140.

CONTEMPT OF COURTS ACT, 345.

CONVICTION, See Judgment.

CORRESPONDENT, 4; sent for by Meerut
Judge 5; meets Judye on August 13, 5;
when did he hear of contempt proceed-
ings? 5.

COSTS, of Govt. Advocate, 147, 155; refer-
ence in Judgment. 197.

COUNTING OF MONEY IN COURT, 47, 96

COURTS' ORDERS, 22, 150, 154.

CRITICISM OF ACTS DONE BY JUDGES,
8.

CROWN COUNSEL, See Govt. Advocate.

"DELIBERATE LIE." Chief Justice's
characterisation of alleged statement of
Mr. Vldyarthl. 8.

DEMEANOUR, of witness, reference in
Judgment, 191; Press comments, 297, 308.

DERBYSHIRE, C. J., quoted in Judgment,
194.

DEVADAS GANDHI, Mr., See Gandhi.

DHAKOLI MURDER CASE, 4, 12, 17; piece-
meal delivery of Judgment, alleged, 4;
Chief Justice disbelieves allegation, 5.
138; Vidyarthi denies allegation, 26, 27;
reference in Judgment, 162,

DIGNITY, of the court, Chief Justice on,
2. 3.

DIKSHIT, Rai Bahadur Pandit Surajbal,
evidence, 99-108; request to Dr. Dubcy
to call Mr. Devadas Gandhi & Mr.
Bharadwaja, 69, 7*7, 99; meeting with Mr.
Vidyarthi, 100; desire to p-event pro-
tracted proceedings in court, 100, 105;
Did he advise Mr. Bharadwaja to submit
apology to High Court? 70, 76, 101, 131;
"Sacrificing of Hindu Judge", 70, 107;
anxiety about war fund, 105, 114; retires
from position of counsel. 93. 101; refer-
ence in Judgment, 170,, 182.

DISTRICT JUDGE, of Meerut. evidence,
39; Chi:f Justice's remark on allowing
people to see him, 6.

DOUGLAS GRAND & DOLD, Privy Coun-
cil solicitors, 151.

DUBEY. Prof. D. L.. evidence 76-81; saving
Mr. Vidyarthi, 77.

In other pages, 53, 169, reference in
Judgment, 164, 191. 171, 172.

EDITOR, 1; responsibility of, for publish-
ing news supplied by correspondent,
counsel's argument, 6; responsibility for
comment, 11; of "Englishman". 3.

FABRICATION OF EVIDENCE. Chief
Justice's remarks. 139; Govt. advocated
remark, 142; counsel's denial, 144.

"FALSEHOOD", repetition of, 8.

FEN WICK & BANKS, case referred to in.
3.

FINE, sentence of, 147; Printer & Publish-
er's fine paid, 150; court's order not to
realize, 149.

GANDHI, Mr. Devadas, evidence 55-66,
public duty, 62, 66; function of news-
paper, 62; "extremely sorry", 66, 196;
refusal to disclose name of author of
comment, 76; belief in correspondent's
innocence, 66; request to Mr. Bauer Jee
for affidavit, 59; statement after convic-
tion, 147; Press comments. 295, 307, 309.
311, 315. 343.
In other pages, 95, 109, 129, 140, 163.

GANDHI, Mahatma, 109, 129.

INDEX

363

GANGA PRASAD, 48, 53, 126, 168, 187.
GAUBI SHANKAK, evidence, 53-55.

In other pages, 14, 35, 48, 126, 168, 187.
"GEESE te SWANS", counsel's remark, 144.
GOVERNMENT ADVOCATE, Ses Dr. Wali-

ullah.
GOVERNOR, His Excellency the, 17, 65,

175.

GUILTY, respondents found, 1. 196.
GUPTA, S.C., witness for Mr. Vidyarthi.

why not produced, 27, 30, 106. 129, 130.

130, 14'5, 176.

HARASSMENT, of witness, alleged, 100.

HASAN, Sir Wazir, counsel for Mr.
Vidyarthi, 136.

HEADLINES, in news-item, 17, 67, 166.

HEARSAY, report by Mr. Singhal, 36; in
judgment, 186.

HIGH COURT, at Allahabad, 1; at Cal-
cutta, 3, 194; at Lahore, 74.

HINDUSTAN TIMES, its policy, 56; wide
circulation, 28, 187.

"IF", significance of, in comment. 9.
IMPRISONMENT, sentence of, 147.

IMPUTATION, on Chief Justice, unjusti-
fied, 64.

INDISCREET, conduct of Mr. Vidyarthi,
127.

INFERENCE, drawn from news. 136; drawn
against judge, not permissible for the
editor of any paper, 136.

"INTENTION", to cast reflection, coun-
sel's disclaimer, 2; "does not count",
says Chief Justice, 3; in Fenwick-
Banks' cass, 4.

IQBAL AHMAD. Sir.. Chief Justice, Allah-
abad High Court, 1.

JAIL. Naini Central, 150.

JAINI, Mr. Raj Bahadur, counsel, 146.

JUDGMENT, text of. 161-197; affidavit
analysed in, 162-166; evidence analysed:
Mr. Singhal, 167-168; Mr. Gauri Shankar,
168; Mr. Attar Singh, 168, 109; Mr. K. N.

Banerjee, 169, 170; Mr. Devadas Gandhi,
170 172; Mr. Bharadwaja, 172, 173; Dr.
Dubey. 173. 174; Mr. Surajbal Swami,
174-176; Mr. Krishna Swamp Sharma,
176, 193; Mr. Vidyarthi, 176-178; Mr.
Akbar Hussain. 178, 179; Ral Bahadur
Suraj Bal Dikshit, 179-181;
animus of Mr. Surajbal Swami against
Mr. Vidyarthi, 184; Mr. Banerjee's evi-
dence discarded altogether, 191; Derby-
shire, C.J., of Calcutta (1935), quoted.
194; Dr. Dubey 's unfavourable demea-
nour, 191; "easy inference*' by Mr.
Singhal. 192; finding in favour of Mr.
Vidyarthi, 192; interview of 13th August
doubted, 187; King vs. Davies (1906).
quoted, 194; manufacture of evidence by
respondents, 197; piecemeal delivery of
judgment in Dhakoll case, 183; political
controversy, 194; question of motive
irrelevant. 195; remarkable utterance,
186, 196; respondents acquitted of malice,
196; Mr. Singhal's erroneous inference,
188; Mr. Singhal's little regard for truth,
1ST; Surendranath Banerjee case, 194;
Tekchand's law of contempt, quoted,
196; unpardonable act of extortion, 183;
untrue facts deposed to, 182; Mr.
Vidyarthi ill-advised, 192; Mr. Vidyarthi
acted in unwise and misguided manner,
192; Wilmot, C.J., in Rex vs. Almon
(1765), quoted, 194.

JUDICIAL OFFICERS, 10; registry's cir-
cular to, after conclusion of trial, 156.

JURISDICTION, submitting to, 2.

"JUSTICE WAS BEING SOLD", counsel's
contention, 4.

KING VS. DAVIES (1906), quoted in judg-
ment, 194.

KRIPA NARAIN, Mr., counsel, 45.

KRISHNA SWARUP, Mr., evidence, 93-91;
reference in affidavit, 14;
In other pages, 27, 128.

LANG VS. GILBERT, American case, 340

(Press comments).
LAW, "no respecter of personalities", 135;

Demand for change in the existing law,

344.
LEADER, news of notice in, 20; text of

news-item in, 4.

In other pages, 4, 31. 93.

354

INDEX

LETTER, from Hindustan Times to Mr.
Slnghal, -56, 116; from Mr. Singhal to
Hindustan Times, 58, 115, 116, 117; from
Mr. Devadas Gandhi to Registrar, 144;
other references, 67, 119, 12S.

LIE, repetition and circulation of, 138, 140.

M

MALAVIYA, Mr, K. D., counsel, 45.
MALICE, denial emphasized by counsel, 6;

respondents acquitted of, 186.
"MANUFACTURE OF EVIDENCE", refer-
ence In Judgment, 197; (Press

ments), 298, 301, 309, 338.
MEERfUT COURT INCIDENT,
MEHROTRA, Mr. Qopaljl,

152.
MEHTA, Mr. Krishna

Leader, 11; editor allud

of Mr. Singhal's reliabl
MENACE TO PRESS, 302,

( Press comments ) .
MISCARRIARGE OF JUST*

309 (Press comments).
MITIGATION, of offence, 8, 25,
MOTILAL, Ral Sahib, witness

Vldyarthi, why not produced, 110, 129,

130, 139, 145.
MUD-THROWING. 75, 128, 145.

N

NEWS-ITEM, text of, in Hindustan
Times, 17; text of, in Leader, 18, 19;
publication regarded unavoidable, 64;
quoted in Judgment. 163.

NOTTCE, of contempt, to Editor & Printer.
22: to Mr. Singhal. 45, 156; Chief
Justice's remarks, 45. 46; defect cured in,
92; first report in Leader, 20; first report
in Hindustan Times, 20.

OFFENCE, mitigation of, 8.
ORDER, See Court's Orders.

ments). 339.

POLICY, of Hindustan Times, 56; of

Congress, 56, 57.
POSITIVE CASE, 45, 130.
PRESIDENT, Meerut Bar Association, 87,

92, 95, 105. 180.

PRESSURE, exercise of, in collection of
war funds, 15, 56.

PRESS COMMENTS, 295-343; any partici-
pation in war fund collections by Judi-
ciary undesirable, 299. 313. 314, 330. 336;
apology. 299, 301; benefit of doubt, 309,
310; demeanour of witnesses, 297, 308;
in of regret, 297, 303; fabrication
of evidence, 309, 338;
Press, 316; is it con-
339; "Lang vs. Gilbert".
340; law & proc'dure to
19. 343, 3 44; menace to
.. 331, 332; miscarriage
I. 309; narrow view of
High 'Court, 309, 329;
je. 298. 305. 316, 342, 343;
ir to Judicial officers,
on correspondents. 302.
war fund collections, 330;
sentence, 306, 307, 308, 311;
Judge and dignity of court.
342.

PRESTIGE, of the court, 1, 2.
PRINTER & PUBLISHER, 16.
PRIVY COUNCIL, Judgment quoted, 135.
PUNJAB, reference in proceedings, 60.

RADHE BEHARI r Mr., 14.
RAFIQUE. Mr. S.A., counsel, 44, 146.
RECEIPT, for collections made in court,

30.
REGRET, expression of, by Editor, 5, 7,

134, 142; by Mr. Vidyarthi, to District

Judge, 28; 'Amrita Bazar Patrika' case,

146.
"REFORMER OF THE COURT', Chief

Justice's characterization, 9, 10.
REPORT, of Registrar, 22.

PARALLEL CASE. 3.

PEACOCK. Sir Barnes, 3, 7; (Press com-

9APRU, The Rt. Hon'ble Sir TeJ Bahadur,
leading counsel for respondents, 1, 45,
146.

INDEX

355

SENTENCE, question of, 196; passed on

respondents, 147, 197.
SEDITION, its connection with telling a

lie, 145.

SHARMA, Mr. Devi Prasad. 1, 165, 167.

SINGHAL, Mr. R. L., Meerut correspond-
ent of Hindustan Times and Leader,
evidence, 47-53; Mr. Vldyarthl states he
sent incorrect report once before, 36;
notice in court, 47; member, Civic
Guard, Meerut, 49; reputation as a
journalist, 56; reliability and honesty.
69, 76,77.97; meeting with Mr. Vidyarthi
on August 13, 49, 109;
Letters to and from Hindustan Times
filed In court. 53, 56, 67, 115. 116, 117;
Omission to mention District Judge in
news-item. 132.

In other pages, 4, 11, 27, 38, 115, 140, 164,
183.

SINHA, Mr. Goplnath, counsel, 45, 60.

STENOGRAPHER'S note to Mr. Slnghal,
21. 27, 35, 46, 118.

STORR. Mr. Norman, I.C.6., Registrar.
Allahabad High Court, 22.

SWAMI, Mr. Surajbai, evidence, 82-90; no
reason to depose falsely against Mr.
Vldyarthl. 96; "animus against Mr.
Vldyartttt", 111, 184; remarkable wit-
ness, 129; temper and its connection
with his reliability, 89, 112, 107. 139, 142,
184; alleged political antecedents, 107,
115. 145:

In other pages. 13. 27, 28, 111, 114, 115,
139, 164, 169, 174, 183.

SUBRAHMANYAM, Mr. M., 56, 116.
SUBORNING OF EVIDENCE. 137. 139.

SURENDRANATH BANERJI'S CASE, quot-
ed in judgment, 194; 339 (Press com-

ments).

T

TXLAK. the late Bal Qangadhar. 14*5.
U

"UNWORTHY OP HIGH OFFICE", refer-
ence by Chief Justice, 2.

VIDYARTHI, Mr. Hari Shankar, 4; alleged
statement by, 12; summoned depart-
mentally by court, 24; denies having
used words ascribed to him, 26; admits
raising of subscriptions in court, 26;
expresses regret to District Judge. 28;
asked by war fund secretary to accele-
rate efforts, 31; reads news-Item on
August 4, 31; reads comment after con-
tempt notice, 32; asked by District
Judge to see Chief Justice, 37; applies
to be examined on commission, 93;
meeting with Mr. Dlkshlt, 100; re-
examination of, 109; denies meeting
with Mr. Slnghal and Mr. Gaurl Shankar
on 13th August, 58, 109; explains why
witnesses were dropped, 110; goss to see
Mr. Dikshit, 113. 114; Mr. Dlkshlt's
anxiety about war fund, 114; "guilty
conscience or clear conscience"? 122, 128.

VISIT'S TO MEERUT, of Messrs. Gandhi
and Bharadwaja. 139, 143, 144.

WALIULLAH. Dr. M., Government advo-
cate, 146.

WAR FUNDS, 1; collected In court, 4;
earlier collections, 29; collection by
Lahore Chief Justice, 74, 133.