Thirteen Senior Advocates on Friday wrote to Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sanjiv Khanna, requesting him to order the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to file a first information report (FIR) against Allahabad High Court judge, Justice Shekhar Kumar Yadav, over his controversial speech at a Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) event, according to legal news website LiveLaw.
The letter sent to the CJI via the Secretary General of the Supreme Court was also copied to several senior judges of the top court, including Justices BR Gavai, Surya Kant, Hrishikesh Roy, and AS Oka, as reported by LiveLaw.
“Take suo motu notice of the aforesaid speech and, in view of the seriousness of the issue, direct the CBI to lodge an FIR against Justice Shekhar Kumar Yadav in accordance with the law laid down in K Veeraswami,” the letter said.
The letter, urging the Chief Justice of India to direct the CBI to file an FIR against Justice Shekhar Kumar Yadav, was signed by prominent Senior Advocates, including Indira Jaising, Aspi Chinoy, Navroz Seervai, Anand Grover, Chander Uday Singh, Jaideep Gupta, Mohan V Katarki, Shoeb Alam, R Vaigai, Mihir Desai, and Jayant Bhushan.
“Ostensibly, Justice Yadav was commenting on the Uniform Civil Code, but the entire speech seemed like a cover for spreading hate speech on a public platform. There was nothing academic, legal, or juristic about the contents of the speech,” the letter stated, as reported by LiveLaw.
At a Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) event on December 8, Justice Shekhar Kumar Yadav stated that the primary goal of the uniform civil code was to foster social harmony, gender equality, and secularism. He made these remarks while addressing a provincial convention of the VHP's legal cell and high court unit in Allahabad.
“I have no hesitation in saying that this is Hindustan, this country would function as per the wishes of the bahusankhyak living in Hindustan. This is the Law. You can't say that you are saying this being a High Court Judge. The law, in fact, works according to the majority. Look at it in the context of family or society...Only what benefits the welfare and happiness of the majority will be accepted,” he said, speaking at the event, according to the legal news website LiveLaw.
The following day, videos of the judge's speech, touching on provocative topics such as the law aligning with the majority, were widely shared on social media. This sparked strong reactions from various groups, including opposition leaders, who criticized his statements as “hate speech.”
(With inputs from agencies)
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