Patrika Contempt Case

WE offer our congratulations to our veteran contemporary, Babu Moti Lal Ghose of the Amrita Bazar Patrika on his having come out of the ordeal of a contempt case unscathed. The Full Bench of the Calcutta High Court gave him the benefit of the doubt. The other two directors were acquitted on the ground that they were not in the station when the offending articles were published, and the manager because he was concerned mainly with the financial side of the paper. The printer has been convicted and fined Rs. 300. The case presents several features usual in criminal law and procedure. In the first place the proceedings for contempt were instituted by the High Court itself, and rules were issued on the accused to show cause why they should not be committed for contempt of court. The proceedings were under the Letters Patent which empower the court to take notice of a contempt of its authority whether committed in its presence or not.