NASIK CONSPIRACY CASE-1910
On the 21st of December
1909,
Mr. A. M. T. Jackson, the then Collector of Nasik, was shot dead in a
theatre
at Nasik. Jackson was an I.C.S. officer. Unlike other English
district
officers, he was sympathetic towards Indian aspirations, was a student
of
Sanskrit, and generally was popular as a man of learning and
culture.
It was his interest in Indian history and culture, which induced him to
attend
the performance of a Marathi drama at Nasik. During an interval
in
the performance, a young Brahmin student of Aurangabad, named Anant
Kanhere,
stepped forward, drew out a pistol and shot Mr. Jackson through the
heart
at point blank range. The murder created a great deal of
sensation
in Nasik, Poona and Bombay; and it even created consternation in the
ranks
of Indian Nationalists, because of Jackson's reputation as a very
sympathetic
and popular district officer. Many Indians could not understand
why
such a good man ("good Topivalla ", as such Englishmen were called in
those
days) was singled out for such a dastardly murder. But it seems
that
there was a school of extremists at the time, who believed perversely
that,
these "good Topivallas" were really more dangerous than officers of the
type
of Dyer and O'Dwyer, for instance; for, it is the good popular
government
officials who reconcile Indians to foreign rule.
However, whatever the
reason,
the fact remained that the executive head of the district was shot dead
openly
in a blaze of light, and in the sight of hundreds of people.
Several
persons were arrested; and in the course of the police investigation,
it
was found that there was a deep-laid, widespread conspiracy to
overthrow
British Government in India, by means of an armed rebellion or
revolution,
and to overawe the government established by law by force or show of
criminal
force. It seemed that there were branches of this conspiracy at
various
places at Nasik, Poona, Bombay, Aurangabad, Pen and Yeola. The
murder
of Jackson was the result of this conspiracy. In view of the
evidence
collected by the police, the Government of Bombay, with the sanction of
the
Government of India, set up a special tribunal for trying the persons
involved
in this conspiracy, as provided by Act XIV of 1908. The Special
Tribunal
consisted of Sir Basil Scott, the Chief Justice, Mr. Justice
Chandavarkar
and Mr. Justice Heaton. In the first place, about six or seven
persons
who were directly implicated in the murder were tried by this Special
Tribunal;
and three of the accused, viz., Kanhere, Karve and Deshpande, were
sentenced
to death.
Thereafter, thirty-eight
persons
accused of being members of this criminal conspiracy, who were all
Brahmins
except one, were put up for trial before the same Special
Tribunal.
The accused were jointly charged under various legal heads; but in
brief
the charge against them amounted to this, that they were all members of
a
conspiracy which advocated, prepared for, and conspired to bring about
an
armed rebellion against Government. Among these thirty-eight
persons,
one was Vinayak Damodar Savarkar. From the evidence, it was clear
that
Savarkar (with his two brothers,) was the brain, leader, and moving
spirit
of the conspiracy. He was the most active and stimulating member
thereof;
and various groups of patriots were formed for the purpose which the
conspirators
had in view. Savarkar along with some others had been working at
it
from before 1906. In 1906, he went to England with a scholarship
given
by Shamjee Krishna Varma, another Extremist and founder of the India
House
in London. Even in London, Savarkar was the leader of Indian
revolutionaries.
He was being brought to India in a ship under an extradition warrant in
about
1909, when he attempted to escape from the ship by jumping into the
sea,
near the coast of France; but he was overtaken and reshipped.
At the trial before the
Special
Tribunal all the accused except three were defended by counsel.
Savarkar
himself stated to the court that he declined to take any part in the
trial;
but practically he was defended by Mr. Joseph Baptista, a well-known
and
capable barrister of those days with nationalist feelings.
The hearing lasted for
sixty-nine
days. Various questions of law were raised by the defence in the
course
of the trial. The line of defence taken on behalf of the accused
persons,
as indicated by the cross-examination, was to the effect that the
prosecution
was mainly based upon the unreliable, if not false, evidence of
approvers
and accomplices; that the evidence of the searches and of finding of
various
incriminating articles by the police was in several cases a fabrication
or
a delusion; and that the police evidence whether relating to the
searches
or other matters was dominated by an unscrupulous determination to
secure
a conviction by any means. Further, the defence attacked the
confessions
and the statements made by the accused as evidence extracted by
ill-treatment
or inducement, and that they were not free or voluntary as required by
the
law.
At the conclusion of the
trial,
the Tribunal delivered judgment. Having regard to the magnitude
and
complexity of the case, the judgment of Sir Basil Scott is really
admirable
for its brevity, clearness and convincing analysis of the charges and
of
the evidence. After dealing with the general aspects of the case,
and
the evidence relating to the existence, ramifications and the
developments
of the conspiracy at various places, the judgment dealt with the case
of
each individual accused, and the charges preferred against him.
It
is remarkable that, in spite of the magnitude of the case, the large
number
of accused involved, the great volume and intricacy of the evidence,
the
judgment covers just 20 printed pages. It is illustrative of the
usual
brevity and lucidity of the judgments of Chief Justice Scott.
After
carefully considering the case collectively as well as individually,
the
Tribunal came to the following conclusion, and these orders were
passed:
eight out of the thirty-eight accused persons were acquitted and
discharged.
The rest were sentenced to various terms of transportation or
imprisonment,
ranging from transportation for life and rigorous imprisonment for ten
years
to imprisonment for six months. Vinayak Savarkar as the soul,
inspiration,
and moving spirit of the conspiracy extending over a number of years,
was
sentenced to transportation for life and forfeiture of all his
property.
Another accused person Keshav Shripad Chandvadkar was sentenced to
transportation
for fifteen years. Three other accused persons were sentenced to
ten
years' Rigorous Imprisonment, one 7 years, 5 five years, 4 four years,
5
three years, 3 two years, and the remaining 4 six months each.
The
case concluded and the sentences were passed on 24th December 1910.
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