The Maharaj Libel Case was an 1862 trial in the Bombay Court (then just in transition from a Supreme Court to a High Court) in

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

. The case was against Nanabhai Rustomji Ranina and

Karsandas Mulji Karsandas Mulji (25 July 183228 August 1871) was a Gujarati language journalist, writer and social reformer from India. According to 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica his death occurred in 1875, which may be more likely as it is mentioned that he w ...

, they alleged that & their public accusation is that the religious leaders of

Pushtimarg Pushtimarg (), also known as ''Pushtimarg sampradaya'' or ''Vallabha sampradaya'', is a subtradition of the Rudra Sampradaya (Vaishnavism). It was founded in the early 16th century by Vallabhacharya (1479–1531) and is focused on Krishna.

had had sexual liaisons with women devotees, & it was

libel Defamation is the act of communicating to a third party false statements about a person, place or thing that results in damage to its reputation. It can be spoken (slander) or written (libel). It constitutes a tort or a crime. The legal defi ...

ous for petitioner.

Background

The case arose when the plaintiff, Jadunathji Brijratanji Maharaj, a religious leader, filed a case of libel against a reformer and journalist

for writing an article in the newspaper, ''

Satyaprakash ''Satyaprakash'' () was a Gujarati language weekly founded by social reformer and journalist Karsandas Mulji with an intention of social reform. Launched in 1855, it ran until 1861 and later was merged with ''Rast Goftar'', another newspaper pub ...

'', titled (). In this article he questioned the values of a Hindu sect called the

or Vallabhacharya Sampradaya. The article was claimed to be libelous by the plaintiff. In particular were accusations that Jadunathji had sexual liaisons with women followers and that men were expected to show their devotion by offering their wives for sex with the religious leaders. The libel case was filed in the Bombay Supreme Court by Jadunathji Maharaj, one of the leaders of the Vallabhacharya sect of the Vaishnavaism on 14 May 1861 against Karsandas Mulji, a social reformer and the editor of ''Satyaprakash'', a Gujarati weekly newspaper, and its publisher Nanabhai Rustomji Ranina, for defaming the plaintiff in an article published on 21 October 1860.

Case and judgement

The trial of the case in the Supreme Court was before a full court consisting of the Chief Justice Mathew Sausse and Joseph Arnould. The case was followed with great interest by the press and thousands of the general public attended the case in court. In the course of the case, the sect's philosophies were examined and compared with other Hindu texts by missionary orientalist scholars like

John Wilson John Wilson may refer to: Academics * John Wilson (mathematician) (1741–1793), English mathematician and judge * John Wilson (historian) (1799–1870), author of ''Our Israelitish Origin'' (1840), a founding text of British Israelism * John Wil ...

. Doctors, including

Bhau Daji Ramachandra Vitthal Lad (1824–1874), commonly known as Bhau Daji Lad was an Indian physician, Sanskrit scholar, and an antiquarian. Early life and education Lad was born in 1822 in a Gaud Saraswat Brahmin family in Mandrem (Manjari) Goa. ...

, testified to having treated the religious leader for syphilis and several witnesses recounted his erotic escapades.

Max Weber Maximilian Karl Emil Weber (; ; 21 April 186414 June 1920) was a German Sociology, sociologist, historian, jurist and political economy, political economist, who is regarded as among the most important theorists of the development of Modernity, ...

examined the religious sect and noted that their path to salvation was based on sexual orgies. The case went in favour of the journalist and Judge

Joseph Arnould Sir Joseph Arnould (12 November 1813 – 16 February 1886) was a writer and British judge in India. Life Born at Camberwell, he was the only son of Dr. Joseph Arnould and his wife Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas Baily. He was the great uncle of the ...

pronounced that he was only doing his duty as a journalist of exposing the misdeeds of the religious leader. In his own words - "''a public journalist is a public teacher: the true function of the press, that by virtue of which it has rightly grown to be one of the great powers of the modern world—is the function of teaching, elevating and enlightening those who fall within the range of its influence''." The case commenced on 25 January 1862 and ended on 4 March 1862. Thirty-one witnesses were examined for the plaintiff and thirty-three for the defendant. The judgment was given on 22 April 1862 in favour of the defendant, Karsandas Mulji. The plaintiff was asked to pay Rs. 11,500 to Karsandas, who had to bear a cost of Rs 13,000. A related case was the Bhatia Conspiracy case which arose when Gokuldas Liladhar and eight others were accused of intimidating and preventing witnesses from providing evidence against Jadunathji.

Reaction

The libel case stirred unprecedented interest in the public. Karsandas Mulji's efforts and the court decision received praise from the liberals and the press. For his part, Mulji was cited by the local English presses as 'Indian Luther', after the Christian reformer

Martin Luther Martin Luther (; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, theologian, author, hymnwriter, and professor, and Augustinian friar. He is the seminal figure of the Protestant Reformation and the namesake of Luther ...

In popular culture

Saurabh Shah, Gujarati author and journalist, has written a novel titled ''Maharaj'' based on the case which was awarded the Nandshankar award by the Narmad Sahitya Sabha. Maitri Goswami, Dhawal Patel et al., have written a book titled ''Doctrines of Pushtibhaktimarga: Allegations, Conspiracies and Facts (In context of Maharaj Libel Case)'' based on the case.

References

{{reflist

External links

* Lukhmidass, D. (1911) Maharaj libel case, including Bhattia conspiracy case, No. 12047 of 1861. * Report of the Maharaj Libel Case and of the Bhattia Conspiracy case connected with it. (1862)
Historical Cases - Maharaj Libel Case, 1862

Blog series on the case
Bombay High Court Legal history of India