The
Supreme Court on Wednesday closed suo motu proceedings initiated over alleged
objectionable comments made by a Karnataka High Court judge during court
proceedings.
A
five-judge bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud noted that Karnataka
High Court judge Justice Vedavyasachar Srishananda, who had made those
observations, had on September 21 tendered an apology for his comments in the
open court there.
"We
can't call any part of the territory of India as Pakistan," the CJI
observed.
The
bench, also comprising Justices Sanjiv Khanna, B R Gavai, Surya Kant and
Hrishikesh Roy, observed that courts have to be careful not to make comments in
the course of judicial proceedings which may be construed as being misogynistic
or for that matter prejudicial to any segment of the society.
"Casual
observations may well reflect a certain degree of individual bias particularly
when they are likely to be perceived as being directed to a particular gender
or community," the bench said.
The
top court had on September 20 taken suo motu cognisance of the high court judge's
alleged objectionable comments against a woman lawyer during the court
proceedings in a case and his reference to a Muslim-majority area in Bengaluru
as "Pakistan" in another.
In
video clips, which went viral on social media, Justice Srishananda was seen
reprimanding a woman lawyer and reportedly made some objectionable comments
when she intervened in an ongoing hearing.
The
judge, in another case related to landlord-tenant dispute, referred to a
Muslim-dominated locality in Bengaluru as "Pakistan".
"At
this stage, we request the Registrar General of the High Court of Karnataka to
submit a report to this court after seeking administrative directions of the
Chief Justice of the High Court of Karnataka, in regard to the subject matter
which has been referred to above," the apex court had said on September
20.