Supreme Court Takes Suo Motu Cognizance Of Controversial Remarks Made By Justice V. Srishananda Of The Karnataka High Court

Today (September 20, 2024), the Supreme Court (SC) of India took suo motu cognizance of controversial remarks made by Justice V. Srishananda of the Karnataka High Court (HC) during hearings. The Constitution bench of the SC constituting Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, Justice BR Gavai, Justice Sanjiv Khanna, Justice Hrishikesh Roy, and Justice Surya Kant heard the matter today and passed an order seeking a report from the Karnataka High Court on the same. Moreover, the bench also sought the assistance of Solicitor General Tushar Mehta and Attorney General R Venkataramani. 

Recently, two video clips of Justice V. Srishananda had gone viral on social media, where he was seen making objectionable remarks. In one video, he was seen referring to a Muslim-dominated sub-locality in West Bengaluru as ‘Pakistani’. In another video, he was seen reprimanding a woman advocate. In this context, the CJI told the Attorney General, “...we may lay down some basic guidelines and seek a report from the secretary general of the HC.” The bench ordered, “Our attention has been drawn to some comment made Karnataka High Court judge Justice V Srishananda during conduct of judicial proceedings. We have asked the AG and SG to assist us. We ask the registrar general of the High Court to submit a report to this court after seeking administrative directions from the Chief Justice of Karnataka High Court. This exercise may be carried out in 2 weeks."

While passing the order, the CJI said, “In this age of social media, we are closely watched, and we have to act accordingly.” As the videos went viral on social media, several social media users including prominent lawyers criticized the HC Judge for his objectionable remarks. Senior Advocate Indira Jaising posted on X (earlier known as Twitter), “We call upon the Chief Justice of India to take suo moto action against this judge and send him for gender sensitization training.” Another post by Advocate Sanjoy Ghose on X says, “A judge of an Indian Constitutional Court referring to fellow citizens of a different faith as Pakistani! Astonishing!”