The Trial of Bhagat Singh: Politics of Justice Book

Bhagat Singh's trial was counter to any code of law that could be deemed civilized. It was the antithesis of justice. It was a blatant abuse of judicial process to meet political ends. This is what A. G. Noornai demonstrates in this well researched, three hundred odd page book, complete with appendices containing all the relevant documents.

The author excavates the gravest injustice committed by a vindictive government, cloaked under the procedure of law. 'The Trial of Bhagat Singh' is a detailed account of how the legislative and executive branches of the British government in India, coupled with an apparatchik-y judiciary, bent, broke and twisted laws that were their own making, flouted the fundamental principles of jurisprudence, and made a mockery of the criminal justice system. And all this was done to achieve a single objective---to eliminate a twenty three year old revolutionary.

Not every admirer of Bhagat Singh might find this book interesting, for this is more about the trial than the person; not that the book does not offer a peep into the life and times of Bhagat Singh. In fact, it does give the reader a glimpse of the man, the strength of his character, conviction of political ideology and an enviable intellectual capacity to learn, reflect and rethink. The first two brief chapters are devoted to these and the next two are about the unlawful political activities of Bhgat Singh and his comrades---the offenses that they would be charged with in what would be called the Lahore Conspiracy Case.

Then begins the hour of the trial. The author walks us through it. Not a trifle is left out. The trial stands out for many reasons. The committal proceedings in the magistrate's court were aborted midway, a tribunal of three high court judges to try the case was set up through an ordinance, which itself had a validity of only six months, the right to appeal was denied, and the only Indian judge on the tribunal, Justice Agha Haidar, who carefully questioned the witnesses was dropped without giving any reason. Added to all these was the government's indecent treatment of the accused.

Noorani's exposition is erudite and amply substantiated. The proceedings in the Privy Council takes one chapter and another unusual one poses the "If-Lord-Atkin-were-on-the-board" question. The most interesting chapter, however, is the one on the brilliant speech made by Mohammed Ali Jinnah in the Central Legislative Assembly, virtually defending Bhagat Singh and his comrades. The Government brought a bill, notoriously called the hunger strike bill, to dispense with the presence of the accused at trial, even though they were unrepresented by counsel. And Jinnah, the excellent advocate that he was, tore it apart. The government's attitude was accurately summed up by Jinnah: "We will pursue every possible course, every possible method, but we will see that you are sent either to the gallows or transported for life, and in the meantime we will not treat you as decent men....The man who goes on hunger-strike has a soul. He is moved by that soul and he believes in the justice of his cause; he is not an ordinary criminal who is guilty of cold-blooded, sordid, wicked crime...Is there today in any part of the globe a civilised government that is engaged, day in and day out, week in and week out, month in and month out, in prosecuting their people?... What are the Government to do? … have more imagination, do not be guilty of bankruptcy of statesmanship,.. but try and understand the root cause and deal with the situation as politicians, as statesmen and not as bureaucrats, who can see no other way but to come forward before this House and ask for more statutory powers the moment any difficulty arises....Behave as a humane and decent Government, and that is enough for you."

One cannot help contrast Jinnah's vocal defense with Gandhi's conspicuous silence. No telling of the legend of Bhagat Singh is complete without the contentious role of the Mahatma in the post conviction affairs, in the deliberations leading up to the Gandhi-Irwin pact, which did not address the issue of clemency or commutation of Bhagat Singh's sentence at all. Noorani relies on various sources to clear the air. In his final analysis, Gandhi did not, till the very last, intervened effectively to save Bhagat Singh's life. And the most hilarious part of the book, tragically though, is the Catch 22 ruling of the tribunal, dismissing a petition challenging its own existence.

Bhagat Singh apart, 'The Trial' is relevant as it brings into sharp focus the alarming potential for abuse of executive power, stretched beyond limits and unchecked by judiciary.

P.S. A little more careful editing would not have been a bad idea, for Mary [p. 74] was Terence MacSwiney's sister, not his wife (according to Wikipedia).