communalism, fed on appeasement had become the Frankenstein of a Muslin State; its further feeding on the same appeasement would destroy completely the torn, mutilated bleeding India that had fallen to our share. Master ,Tata Singh’s advice that Muslims in India must make room for the Hindus from Pakistan, and that Muslim property in India must compensate for the less Of Hindu property in Pakistan appeared to me to be not only sound commonsense but the best policy under the circumstances. It seemed that in New Delhi, Mahatmaji was surrounded by Muslims and the cry of the refugees had no means of reaching his cars. ‘To Make this cry reach Mahatmaji’s ears, to protest against his fast, became my obsession. On the night of the 14th it was announced that because of Mahatmaji’s fast, the Government of India had reversed its decision not to pay Its.55 crores to Pakistan so long as Pakistari’s help to the raiders of Kashmere continued. The effect of this reversal was, to use the expressive language of Sardar Patel to supply Pakistan with bullets to put through India’s soldiers in Kashmere. This made me decide to leave for Delhi immediately so that I could take a deputation of refugees to Mahatmaji in the same way as had taken refugee deputations to the District Magistrate of Ahmednagar had already had calls from my ‘father to visit him in Jullunder in connection with my proposed marriage. I decided to go to Delhi first and thereafter to Jullunder. Karkare was also in Bombay at this time. I told him about my, decision and as he had been my guide and helper in organising refugees in Ahmednagar, requested him to accompany me to Delhi. Ire. readily agreed. We left Bombay on the 15th and reached Delhi on the 17th evening. At about 1 p.m. on the 18th it was announced that Gandhiji had broken his fast. The likelihood of breaking fast in the near future had been envisaged by Abdul Kalam Azad in his speech in the Urdu Park on the evening of the 17th., No question now remained of protesting against the fast., But the ‘conditions on which the fast was broken were disastrous to the Hindus and rankled in my mind. The idea .of protest against the sinister revival of the Muslim appeasement policy lingered within me. But there was no opportunity .of taking a deputation or organising a demonstration immediately as, due to weakness, Mahatmaji was not attending the prayer meetings. What. I did on the 18th and 19th has been` deposed to by 5hantaram Amehekar., I visited my relatives in Delhi, I went .to the place of my would-be bride’s people, I attended the meeting addressed by Jai Prakash Narain and protested against his speech, and I brought back with.me a relative to stay in the Hotel for the night and to accompany Shantaram to the bus. stand the next morning. I submit that . during all these days i.e. up to the evening of the 19th, my behavior was not at all that of a member of the conspiracy to murder Mahatma Gandhi who had come to’ Delhi with the express purpose of carrying out the object of the conspiracy.

On the 20th Morning it was announced that Mahatma Gandhi was to attend the prayer-meeting personally that evening for the first time after the fast. I thought of collecting refugees and taking them to the prayer-ground in the evening to place our grissnces bsfore Mahatma Gandhi. I, therefore, went to’ a refugee centre where, I had come to know, a large number of middle-class Punjabi refugees were staying. On that day I happened to meet Badge. He told me that he had come to Delhi as he understood that there was a good market for selling his ‘stuff’ among the refugee population here. He asked me to help him in ‘such disposal ‘of the stuff as I was a Punjabi refugee myself. He gave me a gun-cotton slab and a hand-grenade to be sold to the refugees, who’ were at this time attempting to occupy Muslim localities. When I got the guncotton slab, I thought that I could, as a refugee, myself make sufficient noise by exploding it hereabouts the prayer ground and that there was no necessity of taking a large number of refugees to the Birla House. I was greatly elated by this thought. I had told Karkare about my idea of a refugee demonstration, but I did net tell him about my change of plan and the idea of exploding the gun cotton slab. I wanted to have the sole credit of placing the point of view of my distressed country-men before the Father of the Nation. I regarded my action as another form of Satyagraha which he had taught the Nation. Late in the afternoon on .the 20th went to the Birla House all alone. I reconnoitered the area of the prayer ground and chose the spot for exploding the slab. I satisfied myself that there would be no greater harm done than damaging a few bricks in the boundary well belonging to the multi-millionaire Birla. There were two solid blocks of buildings between the site of my choice and the seat of Mahatmaji in the prayer-ground. The idea of doing any personal harm to Mahatmaji never crossed my mind. I took care that there should’ be no injury whatever to any person or property except the boundary wall. I actually pushed back Sulochana when, out of curiosity, she went near the site attracted by the sparks coming out of the ignited fuse She has told the Court that at the time of explosion she was behind me. Whatever I did, I did openly and not snakingly as a conspirator would be expected to do. My open behavior to have been testified/by the Prosecution witness themselves. Badge has told the Court that my part in the business was to ignite the fuse and then to run to the prayer-ground and throw the hand…grenade at Mahatma Gandhi. That he has told the blackest lie is evident ,  from the fact, established by the Prosecution witnesses the themselves who depose that, after the explosion I stayed where I .was and submitted myself quietly to arrest as a Satyagrahi.

It is on the record that the explosion could take place only after one and a half minutes after the application of lighted match to the fuse. If there was any truth in Badge’s story and if I were minded to do any physical harm to Mahatmaji himself, I could have easily run to where he was sitting after I had set fire to the fuse. That I did nothing of the hind is the evidence before the Court. This fact alone conclusively dis77cves that I could have ever been associated with any conspiracy to murder Mahatma Gandhi as alleged by the’ Prosecution. In the later stages of this part of the case the prosecution made a ridiculous attempt, through evidently tutored witnesses, to prove that I resisted arrest and tried to run towards the prayer ground. And this in contradiction of what the previous witnesses had said: How absurd) These later witnesses, one of them so utterly clumsy that he could not cross the boundary wall with his rifle, are alleged, to have come, after the explosion, from the ,prayer-ground to who I was standing. It is commonsense that, were I so minded, a supple young man like myself could have reached the prayer-ground in a shorter time than they took to reach where was I had not only the advantage of younger age and suppleness, but also of the time between the lighting of the fuse and explosion of the slab. Absurd lies have been put in the mouth of those men just to give a semblance of support to Badge’s false story. It is on the record-of this Court that after arrest I was interrogated for full five hours by several Police Officers. What this terrible interrogation means in actual practice I need not dilate upon. My repeated requests to the Police to take me to Mahatma Gandhi went unheeded. Had I been allowed to have my say before that Great Soul, he, with his boundless human Sympathies, would have understood, I flatter myself, that I had only attempted to tread, with ‘inexperienced and faltering footsteps perhaps, the path that he had shown to get injustice remdied, I emphatically at no time whatsoever I had any intention to harm anybody, least of all Mahatmaji himself. My sole purpose was to attract Mahatmaji’s attention to the tragic, condition of the sufferers in Pakistan and this by the method of self-immolation laid down by Mahatmaji himself, The gravemen of the charge against me in this Court is this: (i) that I conspired with certain others to murder Mahatma Gandhi, (ii) that in pursuance of that conspiracy I exploded a guncotton slab and had a hand-grenade in my possession. It is clear-that if the first part is not established the second part fails automatically.

My defence, to put .it at its lowest is this Assuming, without admitting, that there was a conspiracy of the nature alleged by the prosecution, it has not been at all proved that I was a member of the same The first question, that arises is When did I join the conspiracy? Was it at Ahmednagar? No Ahmednagar witness has been produced in this Court, The inference is reasonable, that it is not the prosecution case that joined the conspiracy or that ever there was a conspiracy in Ahmednagar. The only evidence on the, point is an alleged statement of mine made to Dr. Jain which Dr. Jain (P.W.67) has narrated before the Court in these words: “He had told me that he had formed a party at Ahrednagar and that Karkare was financing that party, Ile had told me that they had formed a party at He then told me that the party was collecting arms and ammunition which had been dumped in a jungle, He then, told me that Vir Savarkar of the Hindu Mahasabha, when he heard of his exploits at Ahmednagar, had sent for him and had ‘a long talk with him for about two hours. He then told me that Vir Savarkar had patted him on his back and had said carry on. He then told me that his party had plotted against the life of some leader. I asked him the name of the leader whose life had been plotted against, He was at first reluctant to give me the name of that leader saving that he had not been given his name. I then insisted, and said he must be knowing the name of that leader. He then mentioned the name of Mahatma Gandhi. I was horrified to learn this.” I on further supposed to have said that I was putting up with my associates at the Hindu Mahasabha, Dadar, at the time I made the statement to Dr. Jain. I am supposed to have made the above statement on 10th-11th January 1948 (P.331). On 21st January 1948, after reading in the newspapers about the explosion in the Birla House and also the Press speculation concerning the same, Dr. Jain is supposed to have reported my alleged, statement, for the first time after 10 or 11 days to someone in authority i.e, to Mr. Morarji Dessi.

It has also been deposed in this Court by the approver, Badge, I along with two others, Jogendra Singh Chopra and on Prabosh, visited Badge’s shop in Poona on 9th January 1948.

It is not for me to discuss in detail the evidence given in this Court. But I beg to place the following few silent facts before the Court for its consideration.

  • The presecution has not told the Court who were the members of the party in Ahmadnagar who had conspired to murder Mahatma Gandhi apart from myself and Karkare. Surely the formidable party did not consist of only two persons.
  • (ii) If there were other members of the conspiracy in Ahmadnagar the Prosecution has not explained why they have not been put up for trial or at least produced as witnesses.
  • (iii) The prosecution evidently does not regard Jogendra Singh Chopra and On Prakash, who were my co-workers in Ahmednagar and who are alleged to have gone with me to Poona-to see Badge’s collection, as members of the conspiracy. Otherwise the Prosecution would not have let Jogendra Singh get away after having caught hold of him once.
  • (iv) If Dr. Jain’s report of my alleged statement is true, ‘then it does not at all stand to reason that I should have seen Dr. Jain before leaving for Delhi on 15,1,48 to carry out the object of the conspiracy and thus should have invited its almost certain failure by Dr. Jain reporting me to the Police. The fact Is tint I never told Dr. Jain that there was a party of conspiracy in Ahmadnagar because there was no such party, Jogendra Singh Chopra is being kept back from the court, for if produced he would have demolished this part of the prosecution case as Shantaram Amchekar had done the subsequent part. All the elaborate explanation given by the prosecution for his nor-production is an instance of protesting a little too much, I did tell Dr. Jain in the course of my several conversations with him, of a volunteer corps of refugees in Ahmednagar and what I had, done for them. I had told him how this corps was working in collaboration with the Hyderabad Congress people in order to protect the people against possible raids from Hyderabad from across the border. It seems that when Dr. Jain read, in the papers about my arrest, he grew panicky because of his association with me. His, heated imagination confused what I had told him with what he had read in the papers and evolved ‘a fantastic story. I deny that I ever told Dr. Jain about any visit of mine to Vir Savarkar or any talk with him, I had paid no such visit and never had any such talk, How could a poor. refugee boy like me ever hope to pay a visit to Vir Savarkar and have a talk with him? I would like to place another aspect before the Court. If I, was in the conspiracy at all, why should I force myself on DO. Jain to tell him all about it? Could I except him to help me in the furtherance of the conspiracy? I am supposed to have gone in the after-noon to see him but as it was not convenient for him to hear my secrets of conspiracy then, I  am further supposed to .have attended on him later in the evening to suit his convenience and incidentarry to have a witness of the part of the talk in egad Singh, The. whole stery’reeke with absurdities, Before leaving this part of the case I should mention that Mr. Morarji has further embellished Dr, Jain’s story, Dr, Sain,s “that party” becomes “he (Badanlal) and his party” in Mt: Desalts moutho Mr. Desni adds Poona to Ahmednagar in the matter of collection of arms Courtesy forbids me to say that a responsible Minister of the brown has deliberately indulged in those embellishments in -order to harm me and my. co-accused, Bit I do say that this is an example how a .story gets distorted when it passes from mouth to mouth at consider able intervals of time without the Original story-teller ever being asked to reduce his story into writing.

I deny that ever saw Daitji M’aaraj at his place’ With Badge on the mornings of 15th January 1948, Badge’s story the karkare and I took-charge at this place of the stuff brought by Badge to Bombay to be taken to Delhi is not supported by Dixtji Moharaj, It is Contradicted by our fellow-passenger to Delhi, Mr. Shantaram amehekar. I admit I met Dixitji Maliraj in the days I was selling Dr, Jain’s books.

 In Badge’s story of 20th January 1948 I come only casually in the picture I was not taken to Birla House in the morning, I was not present in the so-called revolver practice behind the 16.7thaprpha Bhawan, I did not accompany the party which is alleged to have left for Birla House in the taxi in the late afternoon, If it were true that I. wag to give the signal for carrying out the conspiracy, then surely I could not have been left out in this way, The only place where Badge says I was present was the Marine Hotel conference Even  there Bage does not say I was given a false  me, though I was supposed to have a-very important part to play in the

drama, according to him, The talk in the so called Conference was supposed to have been in 2iarathi and I know only Hindi and Punjabi. . It is not alleged by the, Persecution that I was ever in the Marina Hotel before this and no witness from that hotel has identified me, It is clear from the above that I was never in any conspiracy as alleged. by the prosecution, Throughout this statement I have proceeded on the basis that even if it is assumed that there was a conspiracy, as alleged by the Prosecution, it ,is not proved that I was in that conspiracy. About the conspiracy itself I would make only one submission to the Court. Badge himself is the biggest contradiction of his con story of the conspiracy, According to him a big conspiracy was planned even to the minutest details to be carried out within an hour or so of its being so planned. But when the time came the conspiracy fizzled out. And the only reason he gives why the conspiracy was not carried out that he was unwilling to drop the hand-grenade through the trellis work from the servant’s room. This is an absurd explanation. Again if the conspiracy was called off at the last moment for any reason whatsoever, why was not my part in it also called off? Badge gives no answer to this question. The coat I was wearing when was arrested on the 20th January 1948 is alleged ‘by the Prosecution to be APte’s coat. As I have stated above, we came from Pakistan only with the clothes we had on our bodies at the time. Warm lathes were collected from door to door and distributed among the refugees in camps. This coat was given to me in a refugee camp.

The prosecution has attempted to throw a smoke-screen over the defects of its ease by producing a mass of evidence -on matters extraneous to the charges framed against ne. I admit that I was doing refugee work, that I was helping the activities of the Hyderabad State Congress. From this the inference does not follow that I was conspiring against the life of Mahatma Gandhi – the sole abject matter of the charges.

I submit that there was no conspiracy as alleged by the Prosecution; and further that even if there was one I was not in it, I submit that I cannot be convicted for conspiracy and consequently for nothing alleged to have been done in pursuance of that conspiracy.

Delhi November, 19 48.