New Delhi: Senior advocates have written to Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna on Friday to direct CBI to register an FIR against Allahabad High Court judge Shekhar Kumar Yadav, after taking suo motu notice of communal comments reported to have been made by him during an event organised by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad on December 8, 2024.
The petition has been addressed to the Chief Justice through the secretary general of the apex court and copied to other senior judges, including Justices BR Gavai, Surya Kant, Hrishikesh Roy and AS Oka. The petition has been moved by senior advocates, including Indira Jaising, Aspi Chinoy, Navroz Seervai, Anand Grover, Chander Uday Singh, Jaideep Gupta, Mohan V. Katarki, Shoeb Alam, R Vaigai, Mihir Desai and Jayant Bhushan.
The petition, sent through an email, said in his references to religious reforms, Justice Yadav employed a tone of coercion and dominance. “While acknowledging that Hindus have reformed traditional practices such as Sati and untouchability, he demanded that Muslims discard practices such as polygamy and triple talaq”, it said.
“Ostensibly, Justice Yadav was commenting on the Uniform Civil Code, but the entire speech seemed like a cover for spreading hate speech on a public platform. There was nothing academic, legal, or juristic about the contents of the speech”, it added.
The senior advocates urged the apex court to take suo motu notice of Justice Yadav’s speech and in view of the seriousness of the issue direct the CBI to register an FIR against him.
“This letter is being written to you in your capacity as Chief Justice of India, in light of the seriousness of the matter impacting the independence of the judiciary, and because an investigation is required to be impartial and independent of the State, to take suo moto note of the cognizable offences committed by the said judge and make a reference to the CBI to register an FIR to prosecute Justice Yadav…..”, said the petition.
The petition said the delivery of such communally charged statements by a sitting judge of the High Court at a public event not only undermines religious harmony, but also erodes public confidence in the integrity and impartiality of the judiciary.
The senior advocates stressed that it is clear that Justice Yadav’s participation in the event and his inflammatory statements represent a severe violation of Articles 14, 21, 25, and 26, read alongside the Preamble of the Constitution. “These actions are discriminatory and stand in direct contradiction to the fundamental principles of secularism and equality before the law, which are the bedrock of our Constitution”, said the petition.
The lawyers said that Justice Yadav’s comments “drew a stark and inflammatory distinction” between two religious communities, and added that it was a blatantly divisive rhetoric disregarding judicial impartiality. Justice Yadav has rejected the allegations, saying his comments were interpreted out of context. Earlier, Justice Yadav had met with the Supreme Court collegium judges.
The petition by lawyers referred to a 1991 reported judgment of the apex court in the K Veeraswami case in which it had held that “no criminal case shall be registered under Section 154, Cr PC against a judge of the High Court, Chief Justice of the High Court or judge of the Supreme Court unless the Chief Justice of India is consulted in the matter. Due regard must be given by the government to the opinion expressed by the Chief Justice."
