In the year of 1919, some pleaders of the Ahmedabad Court had signed the "Satyagraha pledge"(committed to refuse civilly to obey these laws such as the Rowlatt Act). On 22 April 1919 the District Judge of Ahmedabad (Mr. B. C. Kennedy) mentioning name of two barriters submitted a letter to the High Court for determination whether that pledge was consistent with their duties as advocates and pleaders. 

On 6 August1919 a newspaper named as Young India published the said latter as well as comments on that. Then the editor and publisher of newspaper respectively Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi and Mahadev Haribhai was charged with the offence of contempt of Court for publishing the news.

“The gist of the charge is that it was a private official letter forming part of certain proceedings… and that the comments which the respondents made in their newspaper were comments on that pending case”

The Court held that they were guilty of contempt of Court for publication of letter and comments on that which is pending proceedings before the Court.