New Delhi: The Supreme Court collegium on Tuesday (December 18) reportedly told Allahabad high court Justice Shekhar Kumar Yadav that his discriminatory remarks at a recent Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) event were “avoidable”, the Indian Express has reported.
Justice Yadav, as The Wire has earlier reported, had delivered a communal speech at a VHP event on December 8, where he had said that India would function only as per the wishes of the “majority,” referring to the Hindu community. He used the controversial term “kathmulla” to refer to the Muslim community and made several references to the “ills” in Muslim society, adding that Muslim children could not be expected to be “tolerant” and “generous” as they are exposed to violence and “the slaughter of animals” from an early stage.
More details about the 30-minute meeting between Justice Yadav and the collegium, headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sanjiv Khanna, are yet to be known.
Impeachment notice
Justice Yadav’s remarks had attracted the ire of opposition MPs who moved an impeachment notice against him on Friday (December 13). The notice for moving the impeachment motion was signed by 55 opposition MPs including Kapil Sibal, Vivek Tankha, Digvijaya Singh, John Brittas, Manoj Jha and Saket Gokhale, the Economic Times had reported.
“We believe that the judge has no right to hold that post and he should be removed… We have moved a motion to remove the judge…This is not a political issue but an issue of protecting the Constitution and the independence of the judiciary,” Sibal had told the media.
Adityanath backs Justice Yadav
Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath came out in support of Justice Yadav’s controversial remarks on December 14. He said that Justice Yadav had spoken “the truth” and criticised the opposition MPs for filing an impeachment notice. He accused the opposition leaders of trying to “throttle the constitution” by seeking Justice Yadav’s removal.
“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, who was speaking at a World Hindu Economic Forum event in Mumbai.
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.
‘Matter under consideration’: Supreme Court
The Supreme Court had taken a note of Justice Yadav’s speech on December 10 and announced that the matter was under consideration.
The Campaign for Judicial Accountability and Reforms (CJAR) had also written to the CJI on the same day, urging an “in-house enquiry” to be conducted on the matter, by a committee formed for the purpose.
The Supreme Court’s statement had said the court had already sought details from the Allahabad high court.
The All India Lawyers Union too had written to the CJI Khanna, saying the judge’s comments leaned away from democracy and towards a “Hindutva Rashtra”.
CPI(M) leader Brinda Karat had written to the CJI calling the judge’s speech a violation of his oath. “No litigant can hope for justice in a court in which a member holds such a biased, prejudiced, publicly expressed opinion against the minority community and in favour of a majoritarian approach,” she wrote.
