SC refuses to withdraw judicial work from Meghalaya High Court judge over controversial remarks

The Supreme Court Friday refused to withdraw judicial work from Meghalaya High Court judge Justice Sudip Ranjan Sen who had created controversy by his remarks that India should have been declared a Hindu country at the time of partition in 1947.

A bench comprising Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice Sanjiv Khanna asked the petitioner, who has sought withdrawal of judicial work from Justice Sen, to amend the prayer and seek expunction of the controversial remarks in the judgment.

Justice Sen had written in his judgement, "Pakistan declared themselves as an Islamic country and India since was divided on the basis of religion should have also been declared as a Hindu country but it remained as a secular country.

"Even today, in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan, the Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Christians, Parsis, Khasis, Jaintias and Garos are tortured and they have no place to go and those Hindus who entered India during partition are still considered as foreigners, which in my understanding is highly illogical, illegal and against the principle of natural justice," Justice Sen had said.

The plea filed by Sona Khan and others contended that the judgment authored by Justice Sen is "legally flawed and historically misleading".

The observations made by the judge violates the citizenship law and makes a case for India as a country of and for Hindus, the petition said.