The Supreme Court on Wednesday closed the proceedings against the Karnataka High Court judge, after he apologised for his controversial statement made during a court session.
On Wednesday, the Supreme Court bench, headed by CJI DY Chandrachud, perused the report which said the judge tendered a public apology on September 21, NDTV reported. “Bearing in mind the apology which has been tendered by the judge of the high court, in the course of the open court proceedings on September 21, 2024, we consider it in the interest of justice and the dignity of the institution to not pursue these proceedings further,” the Supreme Court bench said.
During a recent court hearing, Karnataka HC Justice Srishananda, while addressing a landlord-tenant dispute, referred to a Muslim-majority area in Bengaluru as “Pakistan” and made a misogynistic comment involving a woman lawyer.
His comments, which went viral on social media, prompted the Supreme Court to take suo motu cognizance on September 20 and seek a report from the Karnataka High Court, which was submitted shortly after the incident.
“No one can call any part of territory of India as ‘Pakistan’,” Chief Justice Chandrachud said. “It is fundamentally against the territorial integrity of the nation. The answer to sunlight is more sunlight and not to suppress what happens in court. The answer is not to close it down.”
“The text of the report, which has been submitted by the Registrar General, would amply indicate that the observations which were made in the course of the proceedings before the High Court of Karnataka were unrelated to the course of the proceedings and should have best been eschewed. The perception of justice to every segment of society is as important as the rendering as the rendition of justice as an objective fact,” the top court said.
“You can’t call any part of the territory of India as “Pakistan”. It is fundamentally contrary to the territorial integrity of the nation,” the CJI orally said expressing concerns about the remarks made by a Judge of the Karnataka High Court, Live Law reported.
“Casual observations may indicate personal biases especially when perceived to be directed at a certain gender or community. Thus one must be wary of making patriarchal or misogynistic comments. We express our serious concern about observations on a certain gender or a community and such observations are liable to be construed in a negative light. We hope and trust that the responsibilities entrusted to all stakeholders are discharged without bias and caution,” CJI Chandrachud added.
The Supreme Court bench said that when social media plays an active role in monitoring and amplifying courtroom proceedings, there is an urgency to ensure judicial commentary aligns with the decorum expected from courts of law.