Presentation on

Bhawal Court Case

Submitted to
Masood Imran
Parbon Saha Partho
ID: 2222688630
HIS101.16
Location of Bhawal Rajestate

Bhawal Estate was one of the largest zamindari in

Eastern Bengal.

The estate comprised over 579 square kilometers

including 2,274 villages and around 500,000 villagers.

According to the present map, the Bhawal estate

includes Gazipur, Mymenshing, a large portion of
Tangail, and Dhaka.

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OVERVIEW
The Bhawal court case was a pre-Independence case that revolved
around the identity of a sannyasi (or Hindu religious ascetic).

Ramendra Narayan Roy (Bhawal Raja) got sick, and was taken to
Darjeeling for treatment. One day the residents of Bhawal Estate
heard that he had passed away in Darjeeling, and according to
Hindu customs, his funeral also took place. To perform other
ceremonies, his wife and others arrived at Bhawal.

But incredibly after 12 years of his death, the king reverted to

hermit (সন্ন্যাসী) form. But the queen was unwilling to recognize the
monk as Mejo Kumar .

Then Ramendra initiates a lawsuit to recover his “zamindari.” It is

known as "Bhawal Mamla" and  one of the most well-known
incidents in the twentieth-century history of the British Empire.
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 Family Introduction
Raja Rajendra Narayan Ray

Ranendra Narayan Ray Ramendra Narayan Roy Rabindra Narayan Roy

 In 1901, Raja Rajendra Narayan Ray died away. Following his passing,
the zamindari was divided among his three sons. Their mother, "Rani
Bilashmoni Devi," assumed control over the estate as a trustee because
they were minors. In 1907, Rani Bilashmoni Devi died. After that,
Ramendra Narayan Roy and his two brothers took control of the state.
 The second son, Ramendra Narayan Roy, is referred to as "Bhawal Raja."

 He is the subject of the presentation. How he died in the first place and
came back to life after 12 years .

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Ramendra Narayan Roy
He was such a monarch who showed great
kindness to his citizens but he spends the
majority of his time with women, enjoying
himself, and hunting.

Bibhawati Devi
She was the wife of Ramendra Narayan Roy.
She was stunning, but her relationship with
the king wasn't strong enough. The king was
unable to spend time with the queen
because of his extravagant lifestyle and
desire for women.

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The Story
In 1908, Ramendra Narayan Roy contracted syphilis as a result of excessive intimacy.
On the advice of his family doctor, Ashutosh Das Gupta, he was taken to Darjeeling to
be cured with his wife “Bibhawati Devi” and his brother-in-law “Satyendranath
Bandyopadhyay” . However, he was discovered dead after a few days. Immediately, his
funeral took place, and his family came to Bhawal.

His wife got ownership of his share of "zamindari" after his death. Her brother
“Satyendranath Bandyopadhyay” manages the state on behalf of her.

But the sensational event began after 12

years, when the king arrived in Dhaka
as a monk in 1920. He remained
anonymous even though many people
could recognize him. In 1922, he was
escorted to Bhawal by those who
acknowledged him. And then he revealed
his identity.

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The Case
Obstacles started after revealing his identity. As a member of the
family, he testifies to how familiar he is with every aspect of the
palace. He claimed his one-third of the Bhawal Estate. However,
his family refused to believe him and labelled him an imposter. The
Bhawal royal family asked the government for protection against
him (Naga Sonnasi).

Following repeated unsuccessful attempts to find a solution,

Bhawal Raja filed a lawsuit in Pannalal Bose's court seeking the
state's part of the inheritance from his wife and other royal family
members. To handle the case, Barrister P.C. Chatterjee was
appointed to represent Bhawal Raja.

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 Statement of Bhawal raja
A significant number of native and European witnesses spoke in Bhawal Raja's
favour.

The monk asserted in court that Satyendranath Bandyopadhyay (Brother-in-

law) had conspired against him. Additionally, he said that Satyendranath was
unemployed. He wished to rule the estate. He had the support of Dr. Ashutosh
Das Gupta for his scheme.

They intended to poison him, burn him in the dark, and purposefully
transported him to Darjeeling. Unfortunately, that evening there was a lot of
rain. The hired Dom (ডোম) left him unburned as a result.

A group of Naga Sonnasi were passing by the crematory at the time. When
they spotted Ramendra, they brought him to their place. He was recovered
with the assistance of those Naga Sonnasi.
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Before going to Darjeeling After 12 years as a ascetic After revelling identity

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Over a hundred witnesses were called by both sides, and their testimonies
clashed. But Jotirmoi Devi, Ramendra's sister, who was on the defence team,
testified about the monk as Ramendra Narayan Roy and said that the monk
shared Ramendra's facial features. However, Ramendra's wife denied that the
ascetic was her husband.

In support of the monk, a ton of evidence was submitted in court, including

photographs, physical scars, letters from well-known individuals, etc. These
facts established the monk's identity as Ramendra Narayan Roy.

In 1937, the court gave its verdict that the monk is Ramendra Narayan Roy,
owner of one-third of the Bhawal Estate. But his family appealed to the higher
court because they disagreed with the judgment

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Kolkata High Court remained the same judgment. Then the
case was transferred to London Privy Council. In 1946, the
privy council gave judgment in favour of the prosecution, and
dismissed the case.

After all of this struggle, Ramendra Narayan Roy wasn't able to

rule. He died unexpectedly in Kolkata from a cardiac condition
the day before the final verdict.

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The Other Aspect
Another rumour said that Bivaboti Devi and family doctor Ashutosh Das
Gupta had an extramarital affair. Because of this, the doctor poisoned
Ramendra to death over time.

However, Bivaboti Devi moved to Kolkata to live as a widow after

Ramendra passed away, while Dr. Asotos Das Gupta stayed in Dhaka.
That raises questions about this statement.

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News articles and Movies
There were so many news articles all over the sub-continent
covering this case

Plenty of movies were made based on this famous Bhawal Case.

BY- BY-
Pijush Bose Srijit Mukherji

Cast- Cast-
Uttam Kumar Jisshu Sengupta
Supriya Devi Jaya Ahsan
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THE END

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