Chief Justice of India, D.Y. Chandrachud speaks during a hearing in Supreme Court. File photo
| Photo Credit: PTI
A five-judge Bench of the Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud and comprising four senior most judges on Friday (September 20, 2024) took suo motu cognisance of a video clip on social media showing a Karnataka High Court judge’s “scandalous” remarks in open court to a woman lawyer during proceeding.
The High Court judge, Justice Vedavyasachar Srishananda, was seen on video making a sexist and disparaging remark to the woman lawyer, creating a furore online.
The other four judges on the Bench were Justices Sanjiv Khanna, B.R. Gavai, Surya Kant and Hrishikesh Roy.
The Bench has sought the assistance of Attorney General R. Venkataramani and Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, both of whom were present in the courtroom.
The Bench directed the Registrar General, Karnataka High Court, to consult with the Chief Justice of the High Court and submit a report on the incident in the next two days. The Bench listed the case for hearing on September 25.
Senior advocate Indira Jaising had posted the video on ‘X’ with a comment “we call upon the Chief Justice of India to take suo motu action against this judge and send him for gender sensitisation training”.
The same judge had, on a previous occasion, been in the eye of public storm for reportedly referring to a Muslim dominated sub-locality in West Bengaluru as ‘Pakistan’.
The video showed that the judge’s comment was triggered by the initiative taken by the women lawyer to respond to a question directed at the male lawyer representing the opposite side in the case.
The judge said, in a jocular time, that she seemed to know everything about him and may even reveal the colour of his undergarments if asked tomorrow.
Published – September 20, 2024 12:09 pm IST
