Radhabinod Pal was an Indian jurist of international repute. He was born on January 27, 1886, in a tiny village called Salimpur situated in the Bengal region of British India, which is now a part of Bangladesh. Pal was highly qualified in terms of his education – even before he had attained his law degree, Pal held a degree in mathematics.

Radhabinod Pal’s degrees in constitutional law and mathematics equipped him more than adequately to contribute towards the drafting of the Income Tax Act introduced in 1922. The British government also appointed him as their legal advisor, after which he worked at several law colleges and universities in varying capacities. In 1946, Pal was appointed as a jurist for the Tokyo Trials, which was the highlight of his career.

The Tokyo Trial, also known as the International Military Tribunal for the Far East, was a transnational military tribunal appointed to hold the senior officials of Imperial Japan accountable for the charges of joint conspiracy to start a war, war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Out of eleven countries who were selected to preside over the case, Radhabinod Pal represented India. After intense debates in the courtroom, Pal, unlike the majority, passed his judgement in favour of the Imperial Japanese defendants.

Although he agreed that atrocities had been committed by the Japanese, he felt that the judgement to brand the Imperial Japanese guilt for stated charges was incorrect because the Americans did so in the spirit of retribution, and not to seek justice.

The proceedings of this controversial tribunal have also been depicted in the form of a mini-series called the Tokyo Trials, in which Irrfan Khan plays the role of Radhabinod Pal.

Later on, in his career, Pal was also appointed as a member of the United Nations’ International Law Commission till 1966. He died on January 10, 1967, at the age of 80.