New Delhi: Uttar Pradesh chief minister Adityanath has come out in defence of Allahabad high court judge Shekhar Kumar Yadav for his controversial comments endorsing majoritarian will in the country and targeting Muslims. Justice Yadav had spoken “the truth,” said Adityanath on Saturday (December 14).
Adityanath also criticised the Opposition MPs for bringing in an impeachment notice against Yadav for making communal remarks against Muslims at an event organised by the extreme right-wing outfit Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) in the library hall of the Allahabad high court recently. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader who heads the government in India’s most populous state, accused the Opposition leaders of trying to “throttle the constitution” by seeking the removal of judge Yadav.
Allahabad high court judge Justice Shekhar Kumar Yadav at a VHP event. Photo: Special arrangement
Speaking at the Prayagraj event on December 8, Yadav had said that India would function only as per the wishes of the “majority,” referring to the Hindu community, and also made several objectionable references to the Muslim community, painting them as intolerant and violent by upbringing. Yadav, who retires in 2026, was delivering a lecture on the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) titled “Uniform Civil Code – A Constitutional Imperative,” organised by the legal cell of the VHP. He even used the controversial term “kathmulla” to refer to a section of Muslims who engaged in practices such as having four wives and triple talaq, describing them as “fatal” to the nation.
Though his speech was centred around an endorsement of the UCC through the lens of criticising Muslim personal laws, his majoritarian views and stress on a Hindu cultural identity for every Indian led to widespread outrage against him. This led to multiple calls for his dismissal. In his letter to Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna, Campaign for Judicial Accountability and Reforms (CJAR) convenor and senior lawyer-activist Prashant Bhushan said that Yadav used “unpardonable and unconscionable spurs against the Muslim community, bringing shame and disrepute to the high office of a judge of the Allahabad high court and the judiciary as a whole, besides undermining the rule of law, he is meant to uphold.”
Even as National Conference MP Ruhullah Mehdi said he had moved an impeachment motion against Yadav and submitted signatures of 100 MPs to parliament, Adityanath stood firmly with the controversial judge.
Speaking at a World Hindu Economic Forum event in Mumbai, Adityanath endorsed Yadav’s majoritarian views and support for a UCC.
“Across the world the feelings of the majority community are honoured at any cost. If it happens across the world, then if someone talks about the interest of the majority community in India, if someone utters that truth, then what crime has he committed,” asked Adityanath.
The Uttar Pradesh chief minister criticised the Opposition for bringing in an impeachment notice against Yadav. “They call themselves democratic and carry with them a copy of the constitution. They don’t have an iota of shame. These people throttle the constitution,” said Adityanath.
In his speech, Adityanath described the VHP, which has often been accused of promoting and orchestrating hate crimes against Muslims and Christians, as a social and cultural organisation.
“Shouldn’t there be a Uniform Civil Code in the country,” asked Adityanath. He claimed that across the globe the will of the majoritarian community directed the functioning of the country.
“Across the world, the system works according to what the majority community says. And India is saying that the differences between the minority and the majority should come to an end and that a uniform law should be applicable to everyone. The reverse is happening,” said Adityanath.
He urged people to “expose” those “who try to suppress the truth” of what Yadav said in the context of the UCC.
