New Delhi : The dispute was between the landlord and the tenant. Its hearing was going on in the Karnataka High Court. During the hearing, Justice Vedavyaschar Srishanand of Karnataka High Court called the 'Muslim-dominated' area of Bangalore as Pakistan. The Supreme Court itself took cognizance of this comment. Then the judge had to apologize and now finally the Supreme Court closed the proceedings in this case. CJI DY Chandrachud remarked on Wednesday that no part of the country can be called Pakistan, it is against the integrity of the country. A 5-judge bench of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, Justice Sanjeev Khanna, Justice BR Gavai, Justice Suryakant and Justice Rishikesh Roy warned the judges and lawyers that while discharging their post, they should ensure that their personal bias is not reflected. The Karnataka High Court had also spoken to a female lawyer in objectionable language.
The bench said, “We cannot call any part of India Pakistan as it is against the integrity of the country.” However, after the high court judge apologised for his statement, the Supreme Court closed the suo motu proceedings in the case.
The apex court said, 'This careless comment reflects personal prejudices, especially when it is considered to be directed towards a certain gender or community. Therefore, patriarchal or negative comments towards women should be avoided. We express our serious concern about the comments made on a certain gender or community and such comments should be taken negatively.'
PressNews24 provides latest news, bollywood news, breaking news hollywood, top tech news, business standard news, indian economy news, world economy news, travel news, mumbai news, latest news mumbai loksabha election 2024, video viral news, delhi news, Only at PressNews24.in
The court said that in the age of social media, any comment made by judges can have far-reaching consequences, hence judges must be conscious of their biases to deliver justice impartially.
“The proliferation and reach of social media has involved extensive reporting of court proceedings. Most of the High Courts in the country have now adopted rules for conducting live-streaming or video conferencing, which have emerged as a necessity during the corona pandemic… All parties, judges, lawyers, litigants must be aware that the proceedings reach an audience which is far beyond the physical boundary of the court and as such all must be aware of the wider impact of comments on the community. As Judges we are aware of the fact that every individual has a set of prejudices based on experiences early or later in life. It is important that a Judge is aware of his or her own prejudices, and a Judge has heart and soul only when they are impartial and only then can we deliver objective justice”, the Court observed.
Two videos of Justice Srisanand of Karnataka High Court went viral on social media. In one video, he was seen calling the Muslim-dominated area of West Bengaluru 'Pakistan'. In the second video, he was seen reprimanding a female lawyer for answering a question asked by the lawyer of the opposing party. The judge was seen jokingly telling the female lawyer that it seems she knows a lot about the opposing party and next time she can even tell the color of their undergarments.
The Supreme Court had taken suo motu cognizance of these remarks of the judge and had sought a report from the Karnataka High Court on this. After the Supreme Court took cognizance, the judge apologized.
