DE GA CONSPIRACY CASE-1873       About the beginning of 1873, the Bombay High Court was concerned with a most remarkable case, unprecedented, and almost unparalleled in the annals of crime. It came to be known as the De Ga Conspiracy Case. The De Gas were a family of Indian Christians, consisting of one Nicholas De Ga and his wife Rose Mary De Ga.  It appears that Mrs. De Ga inherited a large sum of money and a landed property under the will of her father. The testator had appointed by his will his son-in-law Nicholas, along with one Pestonjee Dinsha as executors of his will. This man Pestonjee was a solicitor; and according to the prosecution, he was the villain of the piece.  This tragic drama consists of two parts. About October 1872, a parcel of Indian sweetmeats was delivered by a peon at the house of the De Gas. The parcel was addressed to Mr. and Mrs. De Ga, "Prospect Lodge, Grant Road". After delivering the parcel, the peon immediately disappeared. The De Gas opened the parcel; and finding the sweetmeats good, they kept some for themselves, and distributed the remaining among some friends and relatives. It soon appeared that all those who partook of the sweetmeats were seized with a sudden illness; and one of them actually died. The De Gas themselves, who apparently were the intended victims, escaped; they soon recovered from the illness. The sweetmeats were evidently poisoned by the party who had sent them. The police made diligent inquiries about the peon who had delivered the parcel; but he could not be traced. Ultimately, it was surmised that he too had been given a portion of the sweets, which he was asked to take himself, after delivering the parcel; and having taken the poisoned sweets he had apparently died. So the sender of the poisoned parcel was never traced.       Some time after this unsolved mystery, the second part of the drama opened. A Bohra named Alimahomed, who was an ex-convict and a jail-bird, well-known to the police, went to the police office and made a statement to Mir Abdul Ali, the head of the C.I.D.  He stated that Pestonjee Dinsha, a solicitor, had through one Sakharam, a broker, sought his assistance for finding out some person, who by his  "Ilam" or art, could remove from his path two persons whom he wanted to get rid of, for certain reasons. Alimahomed suggested to Sakharam the name of a Mahommedan Fakir, one Khakishah, who apparently had made a name as a practitioner of the black art. A meeting was arranged by Alimahomed between Pestonjee, Sakharam, and the Fakir, at his house at Kamatipura. On getting this information, the police arranged to send to the house of the fakir some police detectives to observe what took place at the meeting. The detectives concealed themselves in such a way as not to be seen or heard, but so that they may hear and see all that passed between the parties. At the meeting the fakir asked of Pestonjee and Sakharam,  "What is it that you want me to do?"  Pestonjee said that he was informed that with his  "Ilam" and occult powers, he could cause the death of any person he liked. " I have in mind two persons who are dangerous obstacles in my way; and whom I want to get rid of. I am prepared to pay you well if you can accomplish this business."   The fakir then inquired about the identity of the intended victims. According to the story, Pestonjee named the De Gas, husband and wife; and stated that he was anxious that they should be removed in such a way as not to arouse any suspicion. Sakharam said that his Seth (Pestonjee) did not wish the parties to be removed by ordinary means like poison; Pestonjee adding,   "they must be got rid of by 'Ilm', -poison will not do." "polish them off by your occult art.  "The fakir said, "well, I must see the persons; and then after consulting my book of divination, I will let you know."   Pestonjee assured the fakir that he was prepared to give him Rs. 500 as soon as Nicholas and his wife fell ill; and if they were  "finished"  in two or three days, he would pay another sum of Rs. 2,000.     The motive of Pestonjee in seeking to get rid of these two persons was, that as executor of Mrs. De Ga's father's will, he had been managing the money and properties. It seemed that he had committed gross breaches of trust, and misappropriated large sums of money out of the estate of the deceased. The De Gas wanted him to hand over the money and the property bequeathed by the testator to his daughter. The solicitor evaded and delayed matters for some time on various pretexts. Ultimately, Mrs. De Ga filed a suit for recovering the property which she had received under her father's will.   Pestonjee tried to compromise the matter with the lady. The solicitor was apparently heavily involved in debts. He had sold the house which the testator had bequeathed to his daughter, and played fast and loose with the cash. As the time approached for the hearing of the suit, the solicitor found himself in desperate straits. He had committed serious criminal breaches of trust, with regard to the properties which he was handling as an executor; and if the facts were exposed, he, being a solicitor, and as such an officer of the court, would incur dire penalties. In his desperation, it would seem but this is only a surmise that he had tried to get rid of the De Gas by sending them the poisoned sweets. There was not, and there could not be, any reference to the poisoned sweets in the subsequent trial; for there was no evidence whatsoever to connect Pestonjee in any way with the previous abortive attempt to poison the De Gas. But that project miscarried as we have seen.   He, therefore, resorted to other more subtle, and, as he believed, effective means of getting rid of the obnoxious couple, in such a way that no suspicion may be aroused. Hence his approach to the fakir Khakishah.  The police apprehended both Pestonjee, and Sakharam. They were committed to the High Court Sessions to stand their trial for instigating the murder of the two De Gas.  The trial took place before Mr. Justice Bayley and a special jury.  The charge against the prisoners was that on or about 11-12-1872, they had instigated one Khakishah Elahibux to murder Nicholas De Ga and his wife Rose Mary. Scoble, Advocate-General, with Ferguson appeared for the Crown; Anstey with Inverarity for Pestonjee; and Marriott with Tyabji for Sakharam. At the trial, the police evidence was to the effect that Pestonjee's instructions to the fakir were that no poison should be used, as that would cause inquiries to be made.  "So kill them by some science or other means."  "Tumara Illum se Saf Karo".   Pestonjee as well as Sakharam were found guilty by the jury, convicted, and sentenced to seven years' R.I.  The accused, on a certificate of the Advocate General, moved the Full Bench consisting of the Chief Justice, Sir Michael Westropp, and four other judges, Sargent, Gibbs, Bayley and Melvill, contending that murder by sorcery was a crime unknown to the law; and that the judge had misdirected the jury by omitting to point out to them that a charge of instigating murder by sorcery could not be sustained in law. Mr. Justice Bayley, who had tried and sentenced the accused in the Sessions Court, was also, according to the prevailing practice, a member of the Full Bench. From his version of the charge to the jury, it appeared that there was no such non-direction or misdirection, as the accused contended. On the contrary, he had said, "it is extremely improbable that a person educated as a solicitor of this High Court could believe in sorcery or magic."  The accused's counsel produced the notes of the hearing in which, according to them, the judge appeared to have been guilty of both misdirection and non-direction. But the Full Bench ruled that the judge's version was final, and could not be contradicted.  Their judgment was to the effect that the judge's address showed that proof of instigation to murder by means other than sorcery was indispensable to warrant a conviction. The charge made it clear by implication that instigation of murder by sorcery was excluded; though it was not explicitly stated in so many words. As the charge to the jury contained no misdirections, the review petition was dismissed; and the conviction and sentences were affirmed. Pestonjee apparently was a very clever solicitor and had established a good business. He was undone by his inordinate greed for money; and his very promising career ended in ruin and disgrace. He was of  course struck off the rolls. Mter serving his sentence, he came out of jail, and survived for some years until he died in 1895.  It may be interesting to note here, that the first instance of the suspension or of the striking off of a solicitor in Bombay, had occurred only a few months before. An English solicitor, named Elliott, was charged with falsely attesting a will. He evaded the summons issued against him under the disciplinary jurisdiction of the High Court. Chief Justice Westropp had fixed the 25th April 1872 for the solicitor's appearance and explanation. As Elliott failed to make his appearance before the judges On 25th of April 1872, his name was struck off the roll of solicitors. Pestonjee Dinsha's case seems to be the second instance of the striking off of a solicitor in Bombay for professional as well as criminal misconduct.   *  *  *  *  *