The Indian judge at the Tokyo, Japan War Crimes Tribunal dissented with the other judges in claiming that the trial was an exercise in retribution by the victors of the war and that Japan’s wartime leaders were not guilty.
Radhabinod was born on 27 January 1886. After completing law education from Kolkata’s Presidency College and Kolkata University, he remained a teacher in the same university from 1923 to 1936. He was appointed judge of the Kolkata High Court in 1941. When he started a case called ‘Tokyo Trials’ against Japan after the Second World War, he was made a judge in it. Pal’s contribution to the relations between India and Japan is still remembered. Following his war crimes trial, he was elected to the United Nations International Law Commission, where he served from 1952 to 1966.
