Justice Shekhar Yadav, Allahabad High Court Judge Shekhar Kumar Yadav, who allegedly made a controversial statement at a program of Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), appeared before the Supreme Court collegium on Tuesday (17 December 2024). According to sources, Shekhar Kumar Yadav appeared before the collegium headed by Chief Justice Sanjeev Khanna and during this time he has been asked to present his side on the statements given.
The Supreme Court took cognizance of the reports based on the statements on December 10 and sought a report from the Allahabad High Court on the issue. An official statement said, “The Supreme Court has taken cognizance of the newspaper reports on the speech given by Allahabad High Court judge Justice Shekhar Kumar Yadav. Details and information have been sought from the High Court and the matter is under consideration.”
Strong reaction was received on social media
As per the prescribed norms, when a report is sought from the concerned High Court by the Collegium of the Supreme Court on any controversial issue against a judge, he is given an opportunity to present his case before the Collegium of the Supreme Court headed by the Chief Justice of India. goes. At a VHP event on December 8, Justice Yadav said, among other things, that the main objective of the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) is to promote social harmony, gender equality and secularism. He was addressing the provincial conference of VHP’s legal cell and High Court unit at Allahabad High Court. The next day, several videos related to Justice Yadav’s address surfaced on social media, drawing sharp reactions from many quarters.
Prashant Bhushan demanded internal investigation
The judge had said that the law works according to the majority. Opposition leaders raised questions on his alleged statements and termed it as “hateful speech”. Advocate Prashant Bhushan, convener of NGO ‘Campaign for Judicial Accountability and Reforms’, wrote a letter to Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna demanding an “internal inquiry” into the conduct of the Allahabad High Court judge.
Bhushan said that the judge violated judicial ethics and constitutional principles of impartiality and secularism. Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) leader Vrinda Karat wrote a letter to the Chief Justice on December 8, calling Justice Yadav’s speech a violation of his oath and saying, “There is no place for such people in the court.” But requested the Supreme Court to take action. Similarly, ‘Bar Association of India’ also passed a resolution condemning the statement of the High Court judge.
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