Karnataka High Court judge V Srishananda who made objectionable comments about a woman lawyer by referring to “undergarments” and calling an area in Bengaluru “mini-Pakistan” has apologised for his remarks.
Expressing regret for his statements that may have caused hurt which he said were unintentional, he also stated that he was being quoted out of context in the viral videos. He also said that he would not make similar statements in the future.
The Supreme Court has taken serious cognisance of the controversial remarks made by Justice Srishananda and sought a report from the Karnataka HC on the matter.
Two videos of the judge, one calling an area Gori Palya a “mini-Pakistan” while heating a case on landlord-tenant dispute, the other to a woman lawyer while hearing another case where he said that she knew too much about her opponent and may even know the colour of their undergarments, had been circulating and causing massive outrage not just among the legal fraternity but also society.
Justice Srishananda’s statements also led to a five-judge bench led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud and justices S Khanna, BR Gavaskar, S Kant, and H Roy to establish guidelines for constitutional court judges regarding remarks they make in the courtrooms. They also emphasised that the livestreaming of court proceedings has the social media actively motoring and there must be decorum while conducting themselves.
As the court proceedings began at 2.30 pm on Saturday, Justice Srishananda read out a prepared statement in open court where members of the Bengaluru Advocates Association were present.
The president of the association, Vivek Subba Reddy, told News18 that Justice Srishananda had delivered excellent judgements, but his side remarks and comments had blunted the effectiveness of his position.
“He has been a judge of integrity and has been very true to his jobs. However, his unwanted statements have caused issues that have digressed from what the legal system really stands for,” Reddy said.
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