‘No One Can Call Any Part Of India As Pakistan’: SC On Karnataka High Court Judge’s Remarks
Supreme Court has rebuked Karnataka High Court judge Justice Vedavyasachar Srishananda for his controversial statement during a recent hearing on landlord-tenant dispute.
Supreme Court has said that one can’t call a region of India as Pakistan.
"No one can call any part of India as Pakistan. It is fundamentally against the territorial integrity of the nation. The answer to sunlight is more sunlight and not to suppress what happens in court. The answer is not to close it down," CJI DY Chandrachud said.
A bench headed by CJI DY Chandrachud said the judge has apologised for his remarks.
A 5-five judge bench was hearing the suo motu matter related to viral videos of Karnataka High Court Judge where he was making controversial statement.
In the video, the judge was heard calling a Muslim-majority area in Bengaluru as ‘Pakistan’ while hearing a dispute case. He had also made an objectionable remark on woman advocate.
The bench comprised of CJI DY Chandrachud, Justice Sanjiv Khanna, BR Gavai, Surya Kant and Hrishikesh Roy.
Supreme Court has asked the judges to be cautious of what they speak during the proceedings in age of electronic media, where court proceedings are widely reported. The SC emphasized on the need for Judges to align with court’s decorum and restrain from making any comment that can have negative impact.
"Casual observations may well reflect a certain degree of individual bias particularly when they are likely to be perceived as being directed against a particular gender or community. Courts therefore have to be careful not to make comments in the course of judicial proceedings which may be construed as being misogynistic or prejudicial to any segment of our society," the bench said in the order.
SC has also desisted from making any further observations in this case. “Since the judge of the Karnataka High Court is not a party to the proceedings, we desist from making any further observations, saving except to express our serious concern about both the reference to gender and to a segment of the community,” the bench said.
The Supreme Court also said that the judges deliver impartial and fair decision, while being guided by the values which are enshrined in the Constitution of India.
After the video of Judge Vedavyasachar Srishananda’s went viral and drew backlash from the people, SC had sought a report from Karnataka High Court on September 20.