THE GREAT TRIAL
(Reprinted from the "Young India")
At the Circuit House at Shahi Bag, the trial of Mr. Gandhi and Mr. Banker commenced on Saturday noon.
Sir J. T. Strangman with Rao Bahadur Girdharlal conducted the prosecution, while the accused was undefended. The Judge took his seat at 12 noon and said there was a slight mistake in the charges framed, which he corrected. The charges were then read out by the Registrar, the offence being in three articles published in the "Young India" of September 29, December 15, of 1921, and February 23, 1922. The offending articles were then read out; first of them was, "Tampering with Loyalty"; the second, "The Puzzle and Its Solution," and the last was "Shaking the Manes."
The Judge said the law required that the charge should not only be read out, but explained. In this case, it would not be necessary for him to say much by way of explanation. The charge in each case was that of bringing or attempting to bring into hatred or contempt or exciting or attempting to excite disaffection towards His Majesty's Government established by law in British India. Both the accused were charged with the three offences under section 124-A, contained in the articles read out written by Mr. Gandhi and printed by Mr. Banker. The words "hatred and contempt" were words the meaning of which was sufficiently obvious. The word "disaffection" was defined under the section, where they were told that disaffection included disloyalty and feelings of enmity and the word used in the section had also been interpreted by the High Court of Bombay in a reported case as meaning political alienation or discontent, a spirit of disloyalty to Government or existing authority. The charges having been read out, the Judge called upon the accused to plead
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