Page:Heroes of the hour- Mahatma Gandhi, Tilak Maharaj, Sir Subramanya Iyer.djvu/219

 But the feelings which it is the object of 124A to prohibit may be excited towards the Government in a number of ways. It would be a question of fact to be determined in each case with reference to its circumstances."

Though one can certainly understand the very sympathetic spirit of these observations, yet the situation with reference to the law of sedition in India cannot be held to have materially been helped by them. The agitation against the law in its present form must certainly be kept up and if it has to be tested in the manner in which Mr. Tilak has tested it we may have to sacrifice very many years of the life of such precious brethren as Mr. Tilak. Justice Batchelor and Justice Shah however have done the next best thing to judicially amending the law. They have once for all set aside the theory that everyone who is offensive or insulting to certain high functionaries must necesssarily be presumed to be seditious. No crime attaches according to Justices Batchelor and Shah to Offensiveness or Insolence towards great dignitories. The most important point in the Judgment of these two Judges has yet to be metioned. They have truly and practically applied the oft repeated maxim in