Sri Aurobindo Acquitted 1909

On October 19, 1908, Sri Aurobindo’s case began in court sessions with C.B. Beachcroft as the Magistrate, who had been a schoolmate and a colleague of Sri Aurobindo’s in Cambridge. The case went on for nearly a year. Chittaranjan Das, defense attorney for Sri Aurobindo, concluded his eight-day speech with the famous peroration:

“My appeal to you therefore is that a man like this who is being charged with the offences imputed to him stands not only before the bar in this Court but stands before the bar of the High Court of History and my appeal to you is this: That long after this controversy is hushed in silence, long after this turmoil, this agitation ceases, long after he is dead and gone, he will be looked upon as the poet of patriotism, as the prophet of nationalism and the lover of humanity. Long after he is dead and gone his words will be echoed and re­-echoed not only in India, but across distant seas and lands. Therefore I say that the man in his position is not only standing before the bar of this Court but before the bar of the High Court of History.

 The time has come for you, sir, to consider your judgment and for you, gentlemen, to consider your verdict…”

The Jury gives a verdict of “Not guilty” on April 14 1909. The judge accepts their verdict and delivers his judgement on May 6, 1909, acquitting Sri Aurobindo and many others – about fifteen of them. And on this same day, Sri Aurobindo’s brother Barin is sentenced to death, but later committed to life in prison by the High Court.