The Supreme Court on Wednesday came down heavily on Karnataka High Court Judge Justice V Srishananda over his recent controversial remarks.
A five-judge bench led by CJI DY Chandrachud closed the proceedings against Srishananda and cautioned courts against making comments that may be construed as “misogynistic” or directed towards a particular “gender or community” and said no part of Indian territory can be called Pakistan.
What did Srishananda say?
During a recent hearing at the Karnataka High Court, Justice Srishananda allegedly called a Muslim-populated area in Bengaluru “Pakistan.”
In the same landlord-tenant dispute case, the judge also made misogynistic comments about a woman advocate.
The video of the proceeding quickly became viral on social media, drawing strong condemnation from people.
‘Courts should be careful making remarks’
The apex court, which took up Srishananda’s case suo moto, said, “Casual observations may well reflect a certain degree of individual bias particularly when they are likely to be perceived as being directed to a particular gender or community,” the bench, also comprising Justices Sanjiv Khanna, B R Gavai, Surya Kant and Hrishikesh Roy, said on Wednesday.
“Courts, therefore, have to be careful not to make comments in the course of judicial proceedings which may be construed as being misogynistic or for that matter prejudicial to any segment of our society,” it said.
Meanwhile, Justice Srishananda has apologised for making the remarks following which the Supreme Court took note of it while pronouncing its order.
The bench said the prevalence and reach of social media has included wide reporting of court proceedings and most high courts in the country have now adopted rules for live streaming or for conduct of video-conferencing.
“Emerging as a necessity in the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, video-conferencing and live streaming of proceedings has emerged as an important outreach facility of courts to promote access to justice,” it said.
The bench said all stakeholders in the judicial system, including the judges, lawyers and litigants particularly parties-in-person, have to be conscious that the reach of proceedings which takes place in the courts does not extend to merely those who are physically present but also to audiences.
With inputs from agencies
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‘Can’t call any part of India as Pakistan’: SC cautions courts against ‘misogynistic’ comments
