Historic trials

Indian Political Trials 1775-1947 by A.G. Noorani; Oxford University Press, 2005; pages 464, Rs.645.

"SINCE the dawn of time, political trials stand out as landmarks in man's quest for truth, freedom, and justice. Trials have been used for political ends by persons in power, as well as those who seek power or accountability from wielders of power." A.G. Noorani sets out this premise right in the early parts of the introduction to his latest book, Indian Political Trials 1775-1947. This, in essence, is Noorani's principal objective in putting together the volume containing 12 notable political trials, from the initial periods of the Raj to the birth of free India. The book is an attempt not merely to document the trials in terms of their legal proportions or in terms of the history of the judiciary, but to use them as instruments in the study of larger socio-political trends of history.

For those who are familiar with Noorani's writings of the past two decades - which must include all serious students of society, politics and law - this approach would hardly come as a surprise. Almost all writings of this jurist and advocate of the Supreme Court have been marked by a characteristic of interpreting events relating to the judiciary in terms of larger socio-political history, incorporating even its subtle nuances. In fact, it would be no exaggeration to state that Noorani, in pursuing this approach, has left a special stamp in the realm of socio-political and judicial commentary. The components of this distinctive practice include extensive research and documentation of archival and current material from varied sources - relating to politics, law, journalism and statecraft - coupled with a forceful style of writing. But its most distinguishing attribute is an incisive and objective analysis that strings together past and current happenings thematically. The analysis imparts a unique value to Noorani's work in terms of historical merit and contemporary relevance. This imprint has found expression in his regular columns in the print media and series of books that have come out over the past many years.

The books, which include Trial of Bhagat Singh (1996) - which is a precursor to the volume under review - Indian Affairs, the Political Dimension (1990), Constitutional Questions in India (2000), The BJP and the RSS: A Division of Labour (2001), The Muslims of India (2002), Islam and Jihad (2002), Savarkar and Hindutva (2002) and The Babri Masjid Question from 1528 to 2003, collectively highlight, in his own words, a singular absence of "indifference to matters of substance".

Indian Political Trials 1775-1947 is faithful to this diligence. Even a cursory browser of this study can pick out the massive archival exploration that has gone into its making. The exceptional understanding of judicial systems, approaches and history that Noorani possesses as a jurist is another evident component of the book. This aspect of the book, in many ways, also becomes a sort of record of the emergence and growth of the Indian Bar, and the ways in which it was bred by jurists belonging to both British and Indian origins.

The volume is structured more or less chronologically, opening with the trial and "judicial murder" of Maharaja Nanda Kumar of 1775. It is followed by the examination of other notable trials such as the ones against Bahadur Shah Zafar, the last Mughal emperor, in 1858, the Great Wahabi case of 1943 and the cases against Bal Gangadhar Tilak for sedition in 1897, 1908, and 1916. The case against Aurobindo Ghose for inciting revolution in 1908, the joint trial of the Sankaracharya of the Sharda Peeth and the Ali Brothers at Karachi on charges of conspiracy in 1921, Maulana Azad's trial on a charge of sedition in the same year, the case against Mahatma Gandhi in 1922 on a similar charge, the Meerut Conspiracy Case of 1930, the Indian National Army (INA) trial of 1945 and the trial against Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah in 1946 form the other components of the book. The developments in each of these trials are methodically recorded and the book brings to life the judicial issues involved in each of them, the unique ways in which lawyers of the prosecution and the defence took their arguments forward and the approaches employed by individual judges in deciding on the cases.

The manner in which Indian lawyers gifted in the art of persuasion and learned in law, especially English constitutional history, created a glorious tradition is an interesting facet of the volume. In the process, the book highlights the contributions made to this process not only by thoroughbred legal luminaries but also by personalities such as C.R. Das and Mohammed Ali Jinnah, who were primarily social and political activists despite their professional qualifications in law.

WHILE this steadfast chronicling of events in the judiciary has, by itself, immense value, particularly with regard to the documentation of judicial history, the Noorani stamp is evident in the delineation of the political setting of the times in the discussion on each of the cases. The volume of information that Indian Political Trials presents even in terms of documentation of political affairs is vast. The analysis of this data lays bare the machinations and manoeuvres that led to the trial. It illustrates how Indian freedom fighters used most trials to put the colonial system on the defensive and question the legitimacy of British rule.

The exposition of the first trial in the volume brings out the political objective that the Warren Hastings-led British administration had in disposing of Maharaja Nanda Kumar from the face of the earth. The record of the trial of Bahadur Shah Zafar shows clearly how the proceedings of the case were manipulated to bring disrepute to a political foe, and the elucidation of the Meerut Conspiracy Case highlights how leaders of the nascent Communist Party of India were persecuted for holding political beliefs different from the ones accepted by the authorities.

The depiction of the case against Maulana Abul Kalam Azad and the proceedings therein are distinguished by reference to its many political dimensions. Primarily, it exposes, using Azad's arguments, how judicial systems were controlled in order to perpetuate the interests of the ruling classes. But at another level it brings to light how Azad expounded a theology of liberation, in the context of India's independence struggle.

The portrayal of the INA trial brings out the ideological contradictions within the Indian freedom movement and the underlying unity within the advocates of differing perceptions. Noorani has done a great service by recording the various political contradictions and accords of the times in this form. The spirited legal defence of Subhas Chandra Bose by Jawaharlal Nehru even while expressing his political differences with Bose is one of the documentations available in this chapter.

The trial of the sedition cases against Tilak brings out some of the great defences put forward by C.R. Das and Mohammed Ali Jinnah. The reproduced text of Jinnah's performance in the court is particularly interesting in the context of the recent debates on Jinnah's political personality. Whatever the final verdict on the founder of Pakistan, this record highlights Jinnah's great legal skills and his commitment to the cause of India's freedom. The Wahabi case draws attention to the use of a habeas corpus petition to curb the state's power to imprison any person arbitrarily without trial.

The discussions on all the chapters underline a unique British dilemma, particularly with regard to its proclamations on and practice of democracy. Noorani points out that a repressive judicial system was antithetical to the constitutional history of the imperial country because it involved a struggle for democracy against the prerogatives of the British Crown and an assertion of parliamentary privileges coupled with the establishment of rule of the law.

However, the depiction of various trials in the volume indicate that the British tried to solve this dilemma practically, by paying lip-service to liberal principles while their actions were guided overwhelmingly by self-interest. Although Noorani cautions that "judgment on the record of British justice in India must await a full study", particularly because the Raj began with farcical trials (such as the ones of Nanda Kumar and Bahadur Shah Zafar) and proceeded to fair ones like that of Aurobindo Ghose and the INA leaders.

Still, there can be little doubt as to what Indian Political Trials wants to convey about the Raj's judiciary - it was subjugated by the political system. Noorani points out that "enough is known of the record to suggest that while inconvenience was tolerable (to the Raj), outright challenge was not" and "when its prestige was at stake, the British Raj had no qualms about cutting corners and even perpetrating frauds".

In keeping with the Noorani imprint, Indian Political Trials converts this methodical documentation of political and legal contexts of the past to striking discussions on issues of contemporary relevance. In a kind of nuanced fast-forward, the analysis points towards the plotting and intrigues that have become part and parcel of some of the political trials of recent times, including the one that is going on against deposed Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, under the auspices of the occupying United States administration.

In a significant analytical paragraph that juxtaposes past records of judicial infamy with the recent ones, Noorani points out that "political trials are staged to signify the establishment of a new order by usurpers of power in order to establish their legitimacy". He adds: "Nanda Kumar and Bahadur Shah Zafar had to be eliminated by the British. Zia-ul-Haq felt he had no option but to put Zulfikar Ali Bhutto on trial - and eliminate him. The pattern was an ancient one, set long before Charles I and Louis XVI were put on trial."

Noorani emphasises the point by quoting Maulana Abul Kalam Azad: "History bears witness that whenever the ruling powers took up arms against truth and justice, the court rooms served as the most convenient and plausible weapons... For a tyrannical and repressive government, there is no better weapon for wreaking vengeance and perpetrating injustice. Next to battlefields, it is in the courtrooms that some of the greatest acts of injustice in the history of the world have taken place... In that list we find a holy personage like Jesus Christ, who was made to stand with thieves before a strange court of his times. We find in it Socrates, who was sentenced to drink a cup of poison for no other reason than that he was the most truthful person in his country."

As one goes through the volume, it is clear that Noorani has been faithful to the premise he had set out for Indian Political Trials. The book should certainly become part of the reference kit of students and practitioners of law, politics and social science. But at the same time it should interest the general reader on account of the countless anecdotes and personality portraits of political and legal luminaries.

But this accomplishment must also pass on another (one is almost tempted to qualify it historical) responsibility to Noorani. The pursuit of his larger societal theme coalescing politics, law, justice and statecraft cannot stop with the birth of India. If anything, the practice of democracy and execution of justice by the judiciary in independent India have raised several problematic questions from time to time. Noorani's own columns in the print media have, time and again, highlighted these issues. Taking all this into consideration, readers are certainly entitled to demand from Noorani sequels to Indian Political Trails 1775-1947.