Sayyad Agha Haider (also spelt as Syed Agha Hyder) (1876−1947) was a barrister and judge in British India.[1] He is known for refusing to pass the death sentence to Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev Thapar and Shivaram Rajguru in the 1930 Lahore conspiracy case.[2][3][4] He was a former judge of Lahore High Court.[5]

Family

Haider had son, Zargham Haider (who died at age 12) and two daughters, Ameer Bano and Shehar Bano.

Biography

He was born in 1876 in a Zamindar family in Saharanpur. In 1904, he started practicing as a lawyer in Allahabad High Court, where he was later elevated to the bench. He was appointed as the Judge in the Lahore High Court in 1925.[5][6]

He was a member of the Special Tribunal at Lahore to try Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev, Rajguru and other Indian revolutionaries for waging war against the British Empire. He was the only Indian member in the tribunal.[3] The other tribunal members were Justice J. Coldstream, who was the panel chairman and Justice G.C. Hilton. On 12 May 1930, Bhagat Singh and his compatriots were brought to Poonch House in Lahore, where the trial was held.

In protest against being handcuffed, Singh and his comrades refused to get down from the police bus, shouting slogans and singing patriotic songs instead. Justice J. Coldstream ordered the police to use force on them in the courtroom, which was objected to by Justice Haider, who refused to sign the day's proceedings and record his dissent.[6]

I was not a party to the order of the removal of the accused from the court to the jail and I was not responsible for it anyway. I disassociate myself from all that took place today in consequence of that order.

— On 12 May 1930, Justice Haider had recorded in an order.[7]

He had objected to the lack of even-handedness in the Lahore Conspiracy Case trial. Justice Agha Haider was removed by the British Government from the tribunal because he questioned the witnesses closely and repeatedly dissociated himself in writing from their orders, unlike the two European judges.[2][8] While dissenting with British Judges in the Bhagat Singh case, Justice Haider said, I am a judge, not a butcher.[9][10]

Syed Agha Haider died on 5 February 1947, in Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh.[11]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Vaidya Śyāma Lāla Kauśika (1990). Jilā Sahāranapura meṃ svātantrya saṅgrāma. Svarājya Mandira. p. 135.
  2. 1 2 Daniyal, Shoaib (23 March 2016). "'The man who goes on a hunger strike has a soul': When Jinnah defended Bhagat Singh". Scroll.in.
  3. 1 2 Kuldip Nayar (2000). The Martyr. Har-Anand Publications. p. 110. ISBN 9788124107003.
  4. ↑ "फांसी पर नहीं किए हस्ताक्षर, पद त्यागना मंजूर" (in Hindi). Meerut: Amar Ujala. 14 August 2020.
  5. 1 2 "Appointment of the Hon'ble Mr. Justice Agha Haidar, Barrister-at-Law, as a permanent Judge of the Lahore High Court". Abhilekh-patal.in. 1931.
  6. 1 2 Kazmi, S.M.A. "Bhagat Singhs: Complaints of relatives grow".
  7. ↑ A. G. Noorani (2005). Indian Political Trials, 1775-1947 . Issue 66. Oxford University Press. p. 33. ISBN 978-0-19-567215-2. the sole Indian member, an independent-minded Justice Sayad Agha Haider of the Lahore Court, was removed from the Tribunal. Justice Haider had, on 12 May 1930, recorded in an order: I was not a party to the Order of the removal of the accused from the Court to the Jail and I was not responsible for it in anv wav. I dissociate myself from all that...
  8. ↑ Abuzar Salman Khan Niazi (13 February 2017). "The mis-trial of Bhagat Singh". Pakistan Today. Fifth, the viceroy exercised undue influence on the Tribunal as Justice Syed Agha Haider was removed from the Tribunal, when he tried to closely question the prosecution witnesses and detached himself from the Tribunal's order of removal of the accused from the court.
  9. ↑ A. G. Noorani (28 January 2018). "When Jinnah fought for Bhagat Singh". Asian Age.
  10. ↑ "I'm a judge, not a butcher: When Justice Agha dissented with British Judges in Bhagat Singh Case". Cineink. 15 June 2019.
  11. ↑ "एक ऐसे जस्टिस जिन्होंने शहीद भगत सिंह को फांसी नहीं लिखी, बल्कि अपना इस्तीफा लिख दिया !" (in Hindi). JPP News. 11 September 2021.
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