The Supreme Court on Wednesday concluded suo motu proceedings initiated after Karnataka High Court judge Justice Vedavyasachar Srishananda made communal comments during court proceedings. The judge had referred to a Muslim-dominated area of Bengaluru as “Pakistan.” On September 21, he issued an apology for his remarks in open court.
Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud, leading a five-judge bench, emphasized, “We can’t call any part of the territory of India as Pakistan.” The bench also included Justices Sanjiv Khanna, B R Gavai, Surya Kant, and Hrishikesh Roy. The court noted that judges should be cautious of making comments that could be perceived as biased against any community or gender.
Justice Srishananda’s comments had sparked controversy after video clips of the judge reprimanding a woman lawyer during a hearing went viral on social media. In the clips, he made inappropriate comments, suggesting she might know intimate details about the opposing party. The Supreme Court, which had taken cognizance of these incidents, advised the Karnataka High Court to investigate further.
