HC Deb 17 November 1920 vol 134 c1856
4. Colonel YATE

asked the Secretary of State for India whether Lajpat Rai, who was deported from India in 1907 for sedition, and to whom a special passport from America to India was granted by the Secretary of State for India in October, 1919, is the same Lajput Rai, the author of the book "Young India," which was seized in November, 1017, under Regulation 51; whether criminal proceedings can be taken against him now that he has returned to British territory; whether he can now state whether there is any evidence that Lajput Rai was subsidised by German agents in America; and, if so, what action he proposes to take in the matter?

Mr. MONTAGU

Mr. Lajpat Rai was given an ordinary passport back to India last year. The question of taking criminal proceedings against him is entirely for the Government of India, with whose discretion I shall not interfere.