Captain A. EVANS asked the Secretary of State for India whether he has now received a report from the Government of Bengal on the case of the hon. Member for Hanley (Mr. Hales); whether an inquiry has been made into the magistrate’s conduct who was responsible in this case; and whether he is in a position to make a statement to the House?
The SECRETARY of STATE for INDIA (Sir Samuel Hoare) Yes, Sir; I have now received a report from the Government of Bengal on the questions raised in this House regarding the conduct of the Hon. S. K. Sinha as Chief Presidency Magistrate, Calcutta. In two cases, one of which was concerned with the hon. Member for Hanley (Mr. Hales), Mr. Sinha can be considered to have committed an error of judgment; but after reviewing all the circumstances of these two cases, the Government of Bengal have satisfied themselves that there is nothing to suggest that Mr. Sinha did not act throughout in perfect good faith, or to cast any reflection on his judicial probity. They are also satisfied that there is no foundation for the allegations that have been made in the remaining cases. Mr. Sinha’s judicial conduct has already been passed under review by the Calcutta, High Court, and after taking the comments of that Court into account the Government of Bengal have decided that there is no justification for executive action in the matter. Their view is supported by the Government of India and after a careful examination of the information supplied to me I find myself in entire agreement. Out of 638 appealable cases disposed of by Mr. Sinha and 238 actual appeals, only 30 have succeeded. The percentage of successful appeals to appeals is much below the percentage for the courts of First Class Magistrates in Bengal as a whole.
