In November 1945, the colonial government placed three Indian soldiers on trial for the crimes of waging war against the British Empire, murder, and abetment to murder. In what ultimately proved a foolhardy decision, the colonial administration decided to hold the trial in the historic Red Fort in Delhi, the site from where this book began. While the trial was intended to solidify military discipline and consolidate British legitimacy in India, the affair escalated into a major crisis of colonial authority. As the controversy around the trial grew, mercy once again emerged as a key terrain of political contestation in the final days of empire.