Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal has called for the impeachment of the Allahabad High Court judge
Justice Shekhar Kumar Yadav over his
recent remarks against Muslim community. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has taken note of the controversial remarks made by Justice Yadav on 8th December at an event organised by the legal cell of right-wing organisation Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP).
Mr Sibal, the Member of Parliament (MP) from Rajya Sabha, while addressing a press conference, said that he along with other leaders and MPs will soon bring a motion of impeachment against Justice Yadav.
"...hum jald hi jald Member of Parliament milengey aur hum Judge sahab ke khilaf ek impeachment motion layengey. Koi aur rasta bacha nahi. Pichle kai saalon ke hum dekh rhe hain ki jis tarah se nyay ki pranali mein khott sa fail raha hai"(We will get together soon and we will bring an impeachment motion against the judge. There is no other way left. In the past few years we have seen how the justice system has failed)," he said
Further, Sibal also urged the Supreme Court of India to take strong steps in this regard,
"Supreme Court ko is sandarv mein thos kadam uthana chahiye . Mai maanta hoon ki Supreme Court ko ye power hai ki aise shaks ko us kudsi pe baithne ki ijazat nahi honi chahiye aur jabtak voh wahan hai uske aage koi case nahi jaana chahiye (The Supreme Court in this regard should take a strong step. I believe that Supreme Court has the power to say that such a person should not be allowed to sit on that chair and as long as he is there, no cases shall be heard by him)."
Sibal clarified that he was not speaking in his capacity as the President of the Supreme Court Bar Association but in his capacity "as a citizen of this country, who believes in the constitution, rule of law and who believes passionately in the independence of the judiciary."
Sibal went on to expresa hope that the Prime Minister of India, the Home Minster and other leaders in power who are MPs will also be supportive of taking action against Justice Yadav.
Justice Yadav's
controversial remarks were made during a speech at a recent event organized by the legal cell of the right-wing organization Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP).
The judge had made contentious statements against the Muslim community and had stated that India will function as per the wishes of the majority community. He also used the term "kathmullah", which is used as a slur against Muslims and is commonly used on WhatsApp and other social media platforms. Justice Yadav had said,
While being critical of the High Court judge's remarks, Sibal said,
"Agar aisa bhashan judge de sakta hai aur voh bhi High Court ka judge toh sawal uthta hai ki aise log appoint kaise hote hain. Sawal ye bhi uthta hai ki aise logon ki himmat kaise hoti hai ki aise bayaan dein. Sawaal ye bhi uthta hai ki pichle das saal mein aisa kyu ho raha hai (If such a speech can be made by a judge and that too a High Court judge, then the question arises that how are such people appointed? The question also arises that how do such people have the audacity to make such statements. The question also arises that why is there a rise in such incidents in the last 10 years)"
Sibal also referred to the High Court judge Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay's
recent decision to join the BJP (Bhartiya Janta Party) after he retired from office.
"You must be aware and everyone knows that the judge of Calcutta also takes such decisions while sitting on the chair of the High Court and immediately after that he resigns and joins BJP and is now a Member of Parliament".
Sibal pointed out that Justice Yadav's remarks violated judicial principles, which prohibit judges from engaging in public debates, expressing views on political matters or discussing issues pending or likely to arise for judicial determination.
He proceeded to urge the Prime Minster and other ruling party leaders to quickly start an investigation against Justice Yadav and impeach him so that a message is sent that the country will not tolerate judges of this nature in this country, sitting anywhere.