Supreme Court criticises judge's Pak remark on Bengaluru area, seeks report

The judge, while addressing a landlord-tenant dispute, referred to a Muslim-majority area in Bengaluru as 'Pakistan'

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The Supreme Court (SC) on Friday directed the Karnataka High Court to submit a report regarding the remarks made by Justice Vedavyasachar Srishananda during a recent hearing. Justice Srishananda, while addressing a landlord-tenant dispute, reportedly referred to a Muslim-majority area in Bengaluru as "Pakistan" and made a misogynistic remark towards a woman lawyer, according to a report by NDTV.

During the hearing, while discussing traffic issues near the Mysore Road flyover, Justice Srishananda allegedly remarked, “Go to the Mysore Road flyover, every auto rickshaw has 10 people. It is not applicable because the Mysore flyover head left to the market from Gori Palya is in Pakistan, not in India. This is the reality. No matter how strict a police officer you put there, they will be beaten up there.”

A five-judge bench led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, along with Justices Sanjiv Khanna, BR Gavai, Surya Kant, and Hrishikesh Roy, underscored the need to establish clear guidelines for judicial commentary in constitutional courts.

The Supreme Court further observed that, with the growing role of social media in amplifying courtroom proceedings, it is essential for judicial comments to maintain the decorum expected from the judiciary.

"Our attention has been drawn to some comments made by Karnataka High Court judge Justice V Srishananda during judicial proceedings. We have asked the Attorney General and Solicitor General to assist us. We direct the registrar general of the Karnataka High Court to submit a report to this court after seeking administrative directions from the Chief Justice of Karnataka High Court. This exercise should be completed within two weeks," the bench noted.

Justice Srishananda's comments have sparked widespread criticism after videos of the remarks circulated on social media. One clip shows him referring to a Muslim-majority area as "Pakistan", while another captures him making an inappropriate comment towards a woman lawyer, suggesting she might know the colour of the opposition party's undergarments.