TRIAL OF MALHARRAO GAIKWAD-1875       Malharrao, who had succeeded Khanderao Gaikwad as the Ruler of Baroda, was, in 1874, charged with attempting to poison Col. Phayre, the then Resident at Baroda.  The charge was serious; and the Governor-General, Lord Northbrook, attached such great importance to the case, that he appointed a special Commission to hear the case.  The Commission was a mixed one, consisting of three English and three Indian members.  The Indian members were the Maharajas of Gwalior and Jaipur, and Sir Dinkar Rao.   The European team consisted of Sir Richard Meade, Sir Philip Melvile and Sir Richard Couch (then Chief Justice of Bengal), who was appointed the President of the Commission.   For the prosecution, the Government of 1ndia had briefed Scoble, who was then Advocate-General of Bombay, and J. D. Inverarity. The charge being of a very serious character, Malharrao was advised to get a leading counsel from England for his defence.  Henry Hawkins of Tichborne fame (then at the height of his powers and reputation at the English Bar; and who afterwards became a judge in England, where his severity earned him the title of  "Hanging Hawkins") was first offered the brief; but he seems to have refused. The brief was then offered to Sjt Ballantine who, accepted it; and this note on the Malharrao Gaikwad Case is prepared mainly from the memoirs of Sjt Ballantine.       The fee fixed for Ballantine was Rs. 100,000 in lump.  There used to be a story that Ballantine, on his voyage out, halted at Paris, and gambled away the whole amount at a casino; but Inverarity said that it was an idle canard.   Ballantine was instructed in the case by Mr. Jefferson of the firm of Jefferson & Payne, Solicitors, Bombay.  After a few days' stay in Bombay, he went to Baroda, where the trial was to be held.  He had as his juniors for the defence, Branson, Vasudeo. J. Kirtikar and Shantaram Narayan, all distinguished practitioners in the Bombay High Court.  The conduct of the trial, both on the prosecution and the defence sides, was thus in the hands of Bombay lawyers; and the President of the Tribunal Sir Richard Couch had been, prior to his transfer to Bengal, Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court.       The prosecution case was that, on the 9th of  November 1874, Col. Phayre returned from his morning ride, and partook of a glass of Sherbat which was kept ready for him as usual on his dressing-table.  On swallowing a draught or two, he found the taste somewhat bitter.  He threw away the contents of the glass, with the result that only a little sediment remained in the glass. This sediment along with such adulterated stuff as could be scooped up from the rubbish on which it had been thrown, was sent to the Chemical Analyser; and the presence of some poison was detected.  It was suggested by the prosecution that Malharrao was not on good terms with Phayre and wanted to get rid of him; and that the drink had been poisoned at his instigation.  It seems that Malharrao, after he came to the Gadi of Baroda, had by his behaviour made many enemies; and there were two factions in the State, one on the side of the ruler, and the other bitterly opposed to him. Col. Phayre, who appears from all accounts to have been a fussy, tactless, credulous and meddlesome man, entirely unfit for the post which he held, instead of observing strict neutrality, listened to the tales of Malharrao's misdeeds carried to him by tale-bearers.   He threw himself violently into the opposite faction.   The relations between the Ruler and the Resident became so strained, that it was impossible for them to pull on together.   The Gaikwad made a representation to the Viceroy for his removal.   This representation was under consideration by the Government of India at the time when the alleged attempt to poison was made.   Both the Government of India and the Government of Bombay themselves appeared to have been dissatisfied with the conduct of Phayre, and were contemplating his removal.   Malharrao was aware of this.   It was elicited at the trial that one of his bitterest enemies, a man called Bhau Poonekar (spelt Bawooh Puneka by Ballantine)  used to see the Resident frequently.   It was also shown that this man had free access to the dressing-room of the Resident; and was observed hovering about the premises on the fateful morning.   Col. Phayre himself proved an extremely unsatisfactory witness, and made a very poor show in the box.  On being asked why he threw away the contents of the glass if he believed that it contained poison, instead of preserving it, his only and very lame excuse was, "lest I may be tempted to drink more!"   According to Ballantine, it was satisfactorily proved that the Gaikwad had, at the moment at least, no motive at all to get rid of the Resident by murder.   He had sent his memorial to the Viceroy, and was soon expecting a favourable reply.   In fact, it was generally expected in Baroda at the time that Phayre would be transferred.   The evidence was certainly unsatisfactory and inconclusive; and the verdict, at the worst, could only be a verdict of "not proven" (which is recognized by Scottish if not English law).   Ballantine concedes that the trial was conducted with conspicuous fairness both by the Prosecuting Counsel, and by Sir Richard Couch, the President. The fact that the evidence against the Gaikwad was most unsatisfactory and inconclusive is reflected in the result, viz., that the three English Commissioners held the charge proved; whereas the three Indian Commissioners were of the opposite view.       With this divided verdict, the Government of India itself felt that they could not hold the charge proved; but on account of the general mismanagement of the State, reports of which, as well as reports of his unsatisfactory private and public behaviour which were received by Government, Lord Northbrook passed orders deposing Malharrao from the Gadi.   This, of course, was a political act and it had nothing to do with the judicial inquiry.   Ballantine regards the opinion of the English Commissioners inexplicable.   In his view, they did not give sufficient weight to the thoroughly unsatisfactory evidence and demeanour of Col. Phayre in the box, and the absence of motive for such a dangerous and desperate crime.       Inverarity, who was Scoble's  junior, narrates a curious anecdote in connection with this trial.   Among the prosecution witnesses was a man called Narsoo, who was a servant of the Gaikwad's household.   At the lunch interval every day, this witness used to be taken out into the compound of the courthouse, to take his mid-day meals near a well, attended by two policemen.   One day, in a fit of remorse at his ingratitude in giving evidence against his patron, "whose salt he had eaten ", he threw himself into the well.   He was rescued and brought back to court.   Ballantine made a magnificent use of this incident.   In his address, he referred to the old saying, that truth is to be found at the bottom of a well.   Narsoo, said Ballantine, threw himself into the well to find the truth, at the bottom of the well, which so far he had not got; and failing to find it even there, he returned empty-handed, as destitute of truth, as ever.       That there was some sort of deleterious substance introduced into the drink is certain.   But the suggestion of the defence that it was done by the enemies of the Gaikwad, to concoct a case against him, was by no means unreasonable, in view of the total absence of motive for such a dangerous step, the suspicious circumstances surrounding the whole affair, the behaviour of the police in collecting evidence and coercing witnesses, and the unsatisfactory nature of the evidence itself.       In any event, Ballantine's performance was magnificent; and he received a grand ovation both at Baroda and in Bombay.   At Baroda, a special  "garba" (song) was composed and recited in his honour; as was earlier done in the case of Anstey.   In Bombay too he was given a great send-off on his departure for England.   An address signed by 1,500 citizens of Bombay, eulogising the ability, courage, and independence with which he had conducted the defence, was presented to him. When he started for the docks, an enthusiastic crowd gave him a great send-off; and the press of the admiring crowd was so great, that his carriage could proceed with difficulty.       The result of the inquiry, with the Commissioners equally divided in their opinion, was most unsatisfactory; and the Government did not profess to accept either opinion.   But they were apparently fed up with the unfavourable reports of the conduct of both the ruler and the Resident, and had made up their minds to get rid of both.   Phayre was removed from Baroda almost at the same time.   *  *  *  *  *