The Supreme Court on Wednesday closed proceedings initiated on its own motion against controversial remarks made by a Karnataka high court judge during recent judicial proceedings, even as it criticised the judge for referring to a Muslim-dominated area in Bengaluru, Gori Palya, as “Pakistan”.
“No one can call any part of India as Pakistan. It is fundamentally against the territorial integrity of the nation,” observed a bench comprising the five seniormost judges of the top court, underscoring the need for decorum and restraint from judges in the digital age when court proceedings are frequently live-streamed and closely watched.
The bench was headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud, and included justices Sanjiv Khanna, Bhushan R Gavai, Surya Kant and Hrishikesh Roy.
The bench, however, took note of the “contrite apology” made by the high court judge in an open court proceeding on September 21, saying the “interest of justice” and “institutional respect” for the high court would prompt closure of the suo motu matter.
Also Read: Supreme Court directs Delhi govt to decide on remission plea within 3 weeks
Simultaneously, the bench issued a detailed order warning that “casual observations” by judges may reflect a certain degree of individual bias, particularly when they appear to be directed against a gender or community. Modulation of behaviour by the judges, the top court emphasised, is a must because it is as important for the stakeholders of the judiciary to appear fair and unbiased as rendering justice.
The bench had on September 20 ordered a report from the Karnataka high court registry over two videos of the high court judge showing him making certain “gratuitous comments”.
The videos in question, which recently surfaced on social media, show Karnataka high court judge, justice Vedavyasachar Srishananda, making objectionable remarks during hearings.
In one clip, the judge is heard referring to a Muslim-dominated area in Bengaluru, Gori Palya, as “Pakistan,” while in another, he makes inappropriate comments directed at a woman advocate.
The video clips of justice Srishananda’s remarks sparked widespread criticism on social media, drawing the ire of legal professionals and the public alike. Prominent lawyers, including Indira Jaising and Sanjoy Ghose, condemned the judge’s comments, emphasising the importance of judicial conduct and the potential repercussions of such statements, especially when shared widely through livestreams.
Jaising had posted the video clip on her X account on September 19, saying that justice Srishananda should be trained on gender sensitisation.
“We call upon the Chief Justice of India to take suo motu action against this judge and send him for gender sensitisation training,” the senior counsel wrote.
A day after the Supreme Court took up the matter, justice Srishananda, in an open court statement, said his observations were unintentional, but they were reported out of context on social media platforms.
“I express my sincere regrets if they hurt any individual or any section of the society or community,” said the judge on September 21.
On Tuesday, the Karnataka high court restrained public and social media platforms from sharing the court proceedings, live-streamed on high court’s YouTube channel.
The interim order was issued on a petition filed by the Advocates’ Association, Bengaluru (AAB), which complained that the social media platforms and the private YouTube channels were editing the videos of live-streamed proceedings of the high court contrary to the Karnataka Rules on Live-Streaming and Recording of Court Proceedings, 2021.
