DigitEye India Fact Checkers
A social media post claiming that Justice GD Khosla was pressured into giving a death sentence to Nathuram Godse is doing rounds. The post adds that Justice GD Khosla has presided over Nathuram Godse’s trial. It alleges that the Judge expressed regret about his decision in his book – The Murder of Mahatma and Other Cases from a Judge’s Diary. It states a few excerpts from the book to support the claim.
Digiteye India received a request to fact check this viral claim on WhatsApp.
FACT CHECK
The Digiteye India team ran a keyword search to find out details about the Nathuram Godse trial. A report by The Indian Express that was published on January 31, 2023, mentions that the trial began in May 1948 at a special court set up at the Red Fort in Delhi. The trial took place before Special Judge Atma Charan.
Another report by India Today that was published on May 17, 2019, mentions, “Justice GD Khosla, who heard the appeal filed by Godse and his co-convicts against the trial court’s verdict in the Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination case, published a book in 1965 recording the events.”
Using these clues we looked for Justice GD Khosla’s book. The book titled, ‘The Murder of the Mahatma: And Other Cases from a Judge’s Note-book’, was published in 1965. It recounts the events that conspired when Godse and his co-convicts had challenged the decision made by the trial court. The viral post mentions that in pages 305-306 Godse’s statement had made an impact on the crowd and they would have declared him as innocent. However, the post alleges that Justice GD Khosla had to give the death sentence as he was forced under the pressure of the government and administration.
The Digiteye India team found an archive version of the book online. We took a look at the mentioned pages and found out that while Godse’s was reading his statement, “The audience was visibly and audibly moved. There was a deep silence when he ceased speaking. Many women were in tears and men were coughing and searching for their handkerchiefs.” It also mentions that “I have, however, no doubt that had the audience of that day been constituted into a jury and entrusted with the task of deciding Godse’s appeal, they would have brought in a verdict of ‘not guilty’ by an overwhelming majority.”
In page 15 of the book, Khosla mentioned that “The capital punishment is so completely irrevocable and ruthless that I have always felt a certain measure of reluctance in imposing the extreme penalty.” He talked about his reluctance in sentencing a man to a death sentence. However, no where in the book did the Judge mention that he made Nathuram’s judgement under any force or pressure. Neither did he mention that Nathuram was innocent nor did he express any emotion as mentioned in the viral post.
The claim is, hence, false.
CLAIM: Viral social media post claims that Justice GD Khosla was pressured into giving a death sentence to Nathuram Godse, the man who assasinated Mahatma Gandhi. The post alleges that he had talked about this incident in his 1965 book, ‘The Murder of the Mahatma: And Other Cases from a Judge’s Note-book.’
CONCLUSION: The book contains excerpts where it is mentioned that Nathuram Godse’s speech had made the crowd emotional. It also adds that if the crowd was to make a decision for Godse, they would declare him as not guilty. However, no where in the book has the Judge mentioned that he was forced to make that decision. He has, although, expressed his reluctance towards passing capital punishment.
RATING: ??? – Misinformation
