The case arose when the plaintiff, Jadunathjee Brajratanjee Maharaj, a religious leader, filed a case of libel against a reformer and journalist Karsandas Mulji for … See more

The defense's lawyers sought to have the case thrown out on the argument that Mulji's comments did not attack Jadunath personally but rather as a religious leader, and that a … See more

Thirty-five witnesses were called by Jadunath's side to serve as character witnesses, all from mercantile castes and including several seths. The devotee witnesses did their best to defend Jadunath with the limited theological knowledge they … See more

Karsandas Mulji himself took the stand, and stated the maharajas were oppressive leaders who encouraged sexual debauchery. He stated that Jadunath should rather be sued for libel, given his public attacks against Mulji. Mulji restated his earlier claims … See more

Justice Arnould
Justice Joseph Arnould ruled in favour of Mulji. Arnould was particularly influenced by Reverend Wilson's and Bhau Daji's testimonies. Arnould stated that Mulji's comments in Satyaprakash were not false and not specifically … See more

The libel case stirred unprecedented interest in the public. Karsandas Mulji's efforts and the court decision received praise from the liberals and the press. For his part, Mulji was cited by the local English press as 'Indian Luther', after the Christian reformer See more

Maitri Goswami, Dhawal Patel et al. have written a book titled Doctrines of Pushtibhaktimarga: Allegations, Conspiracies and Facts (In context of Maharaj Libel Case) based on the case.
Saurabh Shah, Gujarati author and journalist, wrote a … See more