SC calls for Allahabad HC report on Justice Yadav’s speech at VHP event
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday took judicial note of news reports over the controversial speech of Justice Shekhar Kumar Yadav at a VHP function and called for a detailed report from the Allahabad high court.
“The Supreme Court has taken note of the newspaper reports of a speech given by Justice Shekhar Kumar Yadav, a sitting judge of the High Court of Judicature at Allahabad. The details and particulars have been called from the High Court and the matter is under consideration (sic),” an official statement from the apex court said.
The development assumes significance amid the rising clamour seeking action from Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna against the high court judge for his remarks. Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) president Kapil Sibal demanded Justice Yadav’s impeachment for his utterances and has already reached out to the I.N.D.I.A. bloc for an impeachment notice.
Lawyer and convenor of the NGO, Campaign for Judicial Accountability and Reforms, Prashant Bhushan also wrote a letter to the CJI seeking an “in-house enquiry” into the conduct of sitting judge of the Allahabad high court.
At a VHP function on December 8, Justice Yadav said the main aim of the uniform civil code was to promote social harmony, gender equality and secularism. He was addressing a provincial convention of the legal cell and high court unit of the VHP in Allahabad high court.
A day later, videos of the judge speaking on provocative issues, including the law working according to the majority were circulated widely on social media, prompting strong reactions from several quarters, including Opposition leaders who questioned his reported statements, labelling it as hate speech.
Sibal said Justice Shekhar Yadav has violated his oath of office by making a “hate speech” and asserted that he along with other Opposition MPs will submit a notice to bring a motion to impeach the judge. Opposition MPs are likely to submit the notice in the next few days, sources said.
“Any judge who makes such a statement is violating his oath of office. If he is violating the oath of office he has no right to sit on that chair,” Sibal said at a press conference.
The SCBA president said, “If a high court judge can make a speech like this, then many questions arise including how do such people get appointed in the first place, how do they get the courage to make such remarks, and why these things have been happening in the last 10 years”.
Sibal said the Supreme Court has the power to stop such people from sitting on that chair and till then it should be ensured that no case comes before him.
“I have spoken to some fellow leaders Digvijaya Singh (Congress), Vivek Tankha (Congress), Manoj Jha (RJD), Javed Ali (SP), and John Brittas (CPM), we will soon meet and we will bring an impeachment motion against the judge. There is no other way. This is hate speech in every sense of the word,” Sibal said.
Meanwhile, Bhushan said the judge breached judicial ethics and violated the constitutional principles of impartiality and secularism.
Flagging that the remarks undermined judiciary’s role as a neutral arbiter and eroded public trust in its independence, Bhushan’s letter said, “A strong institutional response is needed to restore public faith in the judiciary….we call upon your office sir (the CJI), to restore the faith of the people in the institution of the judiciary by immediately setting up an in-house committee to enquire into acts of judicial impropriety by Justice Yadav and by withdrawing all judicial work from Justice Yadav.”