Never Forget 23 March 1931
Academicians say Shaheed Bhagat Singh's trial is an important event in the Indian history because it defied the fundamental doctrine of criminal jurisprudence. The trial was held ex parte in breach of the principles of natural justice, according to which ‘No man shall be condemned unless he is given a hearing’. The three bravehearts – Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru – were hanged to death on 23 March 1931 in the Lahore Central Jail.
In 2007, the birth centenary year of Bhagat Singh, the Supreme Court of India established a digital museum online to display landmarks in the history of India’s judicial system. It also put on display records of some historic trials.
The Two Trials of Bhagat Singh
Bhagat Singh faced two trials. One was in the Delhi Central Assembly Bomb case. On 8 April 1929, Bhagat Singh and B.K. Dutt offered themselves for arrest after throwing harmless bombs in the Central Assembly to 'make the deaf hear.' Their case drew worldwide attention.
This trial started on May 7, 1929 in Delhi and was committed to the Sessions Judge, on charges under Section 307 of the Indian Penal Code and the Explosives Act.
The second case pertains to 17 December, 1927, when the revolutionaries Bhagat Singh and Shivaram Rajguru shot and killed assistant superintendent of police John Saunders. Fellow freedom-fighters Sukhdev Thapar and Chandrashekhar Azad were their accomplices in this act. However, their original target was not Saunders but the superintendent of police James Scott who had ordered his men to lathi-charge protesters leading to the death of the Lala Lajpat Rai.
The trial in that case, related to the murder of Saunders, began on July 10, 1929. Bhagat Singh, who was on hunger strike since June 15 (along with BK Dutt, demanding status of political prisoners). was brought to the court on a stretcher.
Exhibits Related To Bhagat Singh’s Trials:
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