30 Jan 2024 4:54 AM GMT
On this day, 30th January, the father of our nation was murdered by Nathuram Vinayak Godse, a Hindu Mahasabhaite.
Date of Assassination
30th January, 1948
FIR registered on
30th January, 1948 at 5:17pm
FIR lodged by
Nandlal Mehta at Tuglak Road P.S.
Police submitted charge sheet
27th May, 1948
Number of Prosecution Witnesses
149
Total number of Accused persons
Out of 11 accused , 3 were declared absconding.
Thay are: Gangadhar Dandwati, Gangadhar Jadhav, Suradeo Sharma
Offences under: Section 302, 120B, 109, 114 & 115 of the Indian Penal Code
Section 3, 4, 5 and 6 of the Explosive Substances Act
Section 19 of the Indian Arms Act.
Trial was held at – Special Court at Red Fort, Delhi. Special Court was constituted on May 4, 1948 under Sections 10 and 11 of the Bombay Public Security Measures Act, 1947.
Trial commenced on – June 22nd, 1948
Cause Title – “The Crown versus Nathuram Vinayak Godse and Others”.
Judge who Tried the case - Justice Atma Charan
Examination of witness & evidence concluded on – 06th November, 1948
Judgement of Special Court pronounced on – 10th February, 1949
Judgement of the Special Court is divided into 27 chapters and runs into 110 pages.
Details of Accused persons and sentence awarded by the Special Court:-
Names of Accused Persons
Sentence awarded by Special Court
Nathuram Godse
Death by hanging
Narayan D Apte
Death by hanging
Vishnu Karkare
Imprisonment for life
Digambar R Badge (approver)
Was tendered a pardon on 21st June, 1948
Madanlal K Pahwa
Imprisonment for life
Shankar Kisstaya
Imprisonment for life
Gopal Godse
Imprisonment for life
Vinayak Damodar Savarkar
Acquitted
Dattatraya Parchure
Imprisonment for life
Vinayak Damodar Savarkar
Reasons recorded by the Trial Court for Acquittal of Vinayak Savarkar :-
Prosecution case against Vinayak Savarkar rests on the evidence of the approver alone. The court noted that, “it would be unsafe to base any conclusions in the evidence of the approver as against Vinayak Savarkar. There is thus no reason to suppose that Vinayak D. Savarkar had any hand in what took place at Delhi on 20.01.1948 and 30.01.1948.”
Appeal before the High Court:-
02nd May, 1949 - All the convicted persons filed appeals against their conviction and sentence before the East Punjab High Court at Simla.
The three judges on the special bench which decided the appeals are :- Justice A.N. Bhandari, Justice G.D. Khosla and Justtice Achhru Ram.
21st June, 1949 - The High Court upheld the conviction for five of the accused persons and acquitted two of the accused persons i.e. Dattatraya Parchure and Shankar Kistayya.
Appellate Court- conviction and sentence:-
Names of Accused
Convicted/Acquitted
Execution
Nathuram Godse
Upheld the conviction (death penalty) ( He appealed against conspiracy charge )
Hanged in Ambala Jail on 15th November, 1949
Narayan D. Apte
Upheld the conviction (death penalty)
Hanged in Ambala Jail on 15th November, 1949
Vishnu Karkare
Upheld the conviction
Released from jail in October 1964
Madanlal K Pahwa
Convicted
Released from jail in October 1964
Shankar Kisstaya
Acquitted
Gopal Godse
Convicted
Released from jail in October 1964
Dattatraya Parchure
Acquitted
The accused in the murder of Mahatma Gandhi. Front row (L-R): Nathuram Godse, Narayan Apte, Vishnu Karkare; 2nd row (L-R): Digambar Ramchandra Badge (obscured), Shankar Kistaiya, Gopal Godse; 3rd row: Unidentified, Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, DS Parchure; May 1948 (Photo: Alamy)
Reasons for Acquittal of Shankar Kisstaya & Dattatraya Parchure
Some of the Findings of the High Court: -
The Court noted that conspiracy to murder Mahatama Gandhi did exist. Apte and Nathuram Godse remained the “chief organisers” throughout the plan.
Justice Achhru Ram and Justice Bhandari recommended the commutation of sentence of Gopal Godse and Madanlal Pahwa owing to their young age, but Justice Khosla disagreed on the recommendation of Justice Achhru Ram to commute the sentence of Madanlal Pahwa.
Justice Achhru Ram observed, “Both are quite young and in the bloom of their lives. Both seemed to have succumbed to influences exercised over them by stronger and more determined persons.”
Justice Khosla in his one paragraph judgement observed, “I wish, however, to disassociate myself from the recommendation for mercy made by my Learned Brother Achhru Ram J. in favour of Madanlal Pahwa. Pahwa took a very prominent part in the plan of conspiracy originally conceived.”
Justice Bhandari noted that the observations of the Special Judge against the Delhi Police was unwarranted and that, “it was impossible for any police officer, however capable and efficient he might have been, to have prevented Nathuram from committing the crime”
On the question of slackness on part of the Delhi Police, Justice Bhandari observed “The evidence on record satisfies me (a) that no opportunity was afforded to the police to explain the circumstances which prevented them from apprehending Nathuram before the 30th January and thereby saving the life of Mahatma Gandhi; (b) that Madanlal failed to supply the names of the conspirators to the police; (c) that even if those names were supplied it was extremely difficult, if not impossible, for the police to arrest Nathuram who was going about from place to place under assumed names and who was determined to assassinate Mahatma Gandhi even at the risk of losing his own life."
Mr. Justice Achhru Ram noted, “Before concluding 1 want to advert to some remarks made by the learned Special Judge as to the slackness shown in the investigation during the period between the 20th and the 30th January 1948 but for which. in the view of the learned Judge, the tragedy could have been prevented. I must say that I have not been able to discover any justification at all for these remarks which in my judgment were wholly uncalled for.”
Mr. Justice Khosla stated "I concur with the conclusions arrived at by my learned brothers Bhandari and Achhru Ram JJ.”
A petition for special leave to appeal to the privy council was lodged by all the five who stood convicted and sentenced by the High court – Nathuram Godse, Apte, Karkare, Pahwa and Gopal Godse and the same was declined.
After almost 75 years, a petition was filed before the Supreme Court in April 2023 alleging mistrial in the Mahatma Gandhi assassination case in 1948.
A Bench comprising of Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice Ahsanuddin Amanullah imposed a cost of Rs 25,000 on Abhinav Bharat Congress' while dismissing the petition, noted that, “It is the most misconceived petition under Article 32 of the Constitution of India. The parties cannot walk into the Supreme Court with any pleading or with any prayer they want.”