UPSC Prelims 2025 Q73: Chauri Chaura Trial and Its Defence — Explained
Who provided legal defence to the people arrested in the aftermath of Chauri Chaura incident?
- C. R. Das
- Madan Mohan Malaviya and Krishna Kant
- Dr. Saifuddin Kitchlew and Khwaja Hasan Nizami
- M. A. Jinnah
Answer: (b) Madan Mohan Malaviya and Krishna Kant
Statement-wise explanation
- a: incorrect — C. R. Das was a leading Calcutta lawyer, best known for defending Aurobindo Ghose in the Alipore Bomb Case of 1908, which ended in Aurobindo's acquittal. He did not lead the defence in the Chauri Chaura trial. After the Non-Cooperation Movement was called off, he co-founded the Swaraj Party with Motilal Nehru (late 1922 to early 1923).
- b: correct — A Gorakhpur Sessions Court tried the accused and in January 1923 sentenced 172 of them to death. Madan Mohan Malaviya, assisted by Krishna Kant Malaviya, argued their appeal before the Allahabad High Court. The High Court confirmed the death sentence for only 19, and the rest received prison terms instead. PIB's 2021 centenary release credits Malaviya and Baba Raghavdas with saving about 150 freedom fighters from hanging.
- c: incorrect — Saifuddin Kitchlew is linked to Amritsar in 1919. He and Dr Satyapal led the Rowlatt satyagraha there, and their arrest and deportation led up to the Jallianwala Bagh massacre of 13 April 1919. Khwaja Hasan Nizami was a Delhi-based Urdu writer. Neither of them defended the Chauri Chaura accused.
- d: incorrect — M. A. Jinnah was a Bombay barrister who had left the Congress in 1920 because he opposed Gandhi's non-cooperation programme. He had no part in defending the Chauri Chaura accused, whose case was heard in the United Provinces, at Gorakhpur and then Allahabad.
How to eliminate
You need to know the fact to answer this one, but location helps. Chauri Chaura is in Gorakhpur district in the United Provinces, so any appeal would go to the Allahabad High Court. Malaviya was the best-known Allahabad lawyer-politician of the time, and he founded Banaras Hindu University in the same province. C. R. Das is tied to Calcutta and the Alipore case, Kitchlew to Amritsar and the Rowlatt satyagraha, and Jinnah to Bombay. Jinnah had also left the Congress over non-cooperation, so he is unlikely to have defended non-cooperators. The fact to remember: Malaviya defended the Chauri Chaura accused before the Allahabad High Court (1923), and only 19 of the 172 death sentences were upheld.
Know more
Chauri Chaura and the end of Non-Cooperation
On 4 February 1922, at Chauri Chaura in Gorakhpur district (United Provinces), police fired on a crowd of non-cooperation volunteers. The crowd then set the police station on fire, and 22 policemen were killed. Gandhi called this a "Himalayan blunder": he felt the masses had not been prepared for non-violence. On 12 February 1922, at Bardoli, the Congress Working Committee suspended the Non-Cooperation Movement. Gandhi fasted for five days as penance. In March 1922 he was arrested and sentenced to six years for "promoting disaffection".
The trial
| Stage | Court | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Trial (January 1923) | Sessions Court, Gorakhpur | 172 accused sentenced to death |
| Appeal (1923) | Allahabad High Court | Defence led by Madan Mohan Malaviya; 19 death sentences confirmed, the rest given prison terms |
Baba Raghavdas, a local Congress worker, organised the effort to help the accused.
Famous lawyer-nationalists and their cases
| Lawyer | Case linked to them |
|---|---|
| C. R. Das | Alipore Bomb Case (1908): defended Aurobindo Ghose |
| Madan Mohan Malaviya | Chauri Chaura appeal (1923) |
| Saifuddin Kitchlew | Led the Rowlatt satyagraha in Amritsar (1919) |
Why it matters: suspending the movement split nationalists. C. R. Das and Motilal Nehru formed the Swaraj Party to contest the councils, while others stayed with Gandhi's constructive programme. The centenary was marked from 4 February 2021 to 4 February 2022, when the PM released a postage stamp.
NCERT Concepts to Revise
- Chauri Chaura incident: The question concerns the trial that followed this February 1922 incident in Gorakhpur district.
- Non-cooperation movement: Chauri Chaura took place during this movement and ended it, which helps you place the people named in the options.
- Jallianwala Bagh massacre: One option names a leader whose 1919 arrest in Amritsar came just before this massacre, a different episode.