Can’t call any part of India Pakistan: Top court rebukes Karnataka judge

Taking exception to Karnataka High Court judge V Srishananda’s controversial remarks that a particular Muslim-dominated area in Bengaluru was in Pakistan, the Supreme Court on Wednesday cautioned judges against making casual comments reflecting their personal biases.

“We can’t call any part of the territory of India as Pakistan because that’s fundamentally contrary to the territorial integrity of the nation,” a five-judge Bench led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud said.

The Bench, which had on September 20 taken suo motu cognisance of the judge’s controversial remarks, however, closed the proceedings on the issue as Justice Srishananda had apologised in an open court on September 21.

Cautions against casual comments

Courts, therefore, have to be careful not to make comments in the course of judicial proceedings which may be construed as being misogynistic or prejudicial to any segment of society. —Bench

“Casual observations may well reflect a certain degree of individual bias, particularly when they are likely to be perceived as being directed at a particular gender or community,” said the Bench, which also included Justice Sanjiv Khanna, Justice BR Gavai, Justice Surya Kant and Justice Hrishikesh Roy.

“The heart and soul of judging is the need to be impartial and fair...,” said the CJI.

Apart from referring to a particular area in Bengaluru as being in Pakistan, Justice Srishananda had also made certain “gender insensitive remarks” against a woman lawyer.