Supreme Court on Wednesday cautioned the courts across the country to refrain from making comments dusting the judicial proceedings 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, as it brought down the curtains on the suo motu proceedings initiated against the Karnataka High Court judge, Justice Vedavyasachar Srishananda, for his objectionable comments, noting that he has already apologised in an open court for his comments made during the proceedings of a case that were being live-streamed.
Having closed the suo motu proceedings against Justice Srishananda, noting that he has already rendered an apology in an open court on September 21, 2024, a five-judge bench headed by Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, and also comprising Justice Sanjiv Khanna, Justice B.R. Gavai, Justice Surya Kant and Justice Hrishikesh Roy said that they did not want to pursue it further in the interest of justice and dignity of the institution.
“We desist from making any further observations save and except to express our serious concern about both the reference to gender and to a segment of the community”, the five-judge bench said closing the matter.
Stating that the social media cannot be controlled, the top court said that in the age of social media, any observations by judges can have a wide impact, and thus, judges should be aware of their predispositions so that they can deliver justice impartially.
The apex court said that one can’t call any part of the country as Pakistan as such comments hit the territorial integrity of the country. It also said that the judges should be careful during the court proceedings and refrain from using “misogynistic or prejudicial comments”. It said that casual observation may indicate certain bias, particularly when they are directed against a certain gender or a community.
The controversy is rooted in two video clips that went viral on social media platforms, wherein Justice Srishananda in one of the videos was heard making gender insensitive comments against a woman lawyer, while in another video the judge referred to a Muslim- dominated locality in Bengaluru as “Pakistan”. However, Justice Srishananda said that he has been quoted out of context in both the video clips.
The Supreme Court on last Friday – September 20 – took suo motu cognisance of the media reports relating to the comments by Justice Srishananda. The video clips of the judge had surfaced on the social media platform X, with several prominent advocates calling for suo moto action against him.
Taking note of the demand, in the wake of the controversy, for stopping the live-streaming of the court proceedings, the court said that the answer is to bring it under more sunlight to ensure maximum transparency in judicial proceedings. The bench said that the answer is not to close it down the live streaming.