Mr. Gandhi’s conviction and sentence Premium

Mr. Satyachandra Mukerji writes in the 'Leader': I am not at all satisfied with the remarks of the learned sessions Judge who tried Mr. Gandhi and the reasons he had given for imposing a sentence of six years' simple imprisonment on the accused. As the accused pleaded guilty to the charges there is nothing further to be said about the propriety of the convictions. But the question of sentence was a very delicate one and required to be handled carefully. In the first place there was no analogy or resemblance whatever between the case of Mr. Gandhi and that of the late Mr. Tilak. In the latter case the presiding judge and the majority of the jury held that the article, the subject of the charge, approved of the cult of the bomb and as such was a direct incitement to violence. In the case of Mr. Gandhi it is admitted that he never counselled violence and on the contrary preached against it. In the second place the sentence on Mr. Tilak was one of six years' transportation which the local Government commuted into six years' simple imprisonment.