Justice Shekhar Yadav likely to appear before SC Collegium over comments at VHP event

In the eye of a storm over his alleged remarks against Muslims at a Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) event, Justice Shekhar Kumar Yadav of the Allahabad High Court is likely to appear before the Supreme Court Collegium led by CJI Sanjiv Khanna.

The meeting was expected to take place in the week commencing December 16, sources said, adding that Justice Yadav would be asked to explain his conduct before deciding the future course of action.

Taking note of Justice Yadav’s controversial speech at a VHP Legal Cell event in which he allegedly endorsed the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) and made certain remarks against Muslims, the Supreme Court had on December 10 called for details from the high court.

“The Supreme Court has taken note of newspaper reports of a speech given by Justice Shekhar Kumar Yadav, a sitting judge of the High Court of Judicature at Allahabad. The details and particulars have been called from the high court and the matter is under consideration (sic),” an official statement issued by the top court said.

The development comes close on the heels of 55 opposition MPs in the Rajya Sabha giving a notice as provided for under the Judges Inquiry Act, 1968, for moving a motion to remove Justice Yadav as a judge for his alleged misconduct.

Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar – who is also the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha -- can either admit or refuse to admit the motion for removal of a judge.

However, if he admits the motion, a three-member committee comprising a Supreme Court judge, a high court chief justice and a distinguished jurist will be constituted to probe the complaint and determine whether a case is made out to initiate the process for removal of the judge in question.

According to Article 124 of the Constitution, “A Judge of the Supreme Court shall not be removed from his office except by an order of the President passed after an address by each House of Parliament supported by a majority of the total membership of that House and by a majority of not less than two-thirds of the members of the House present and voting has been presented to the President in the same session for such removal on the grounds of proved misbehavior or incapacity.”

Article 218 makes this provision applicable to high court judges as well.

In case such a committee is set up and it finds someone guilty of “misbehaviour or incapacity”, the motion for his removal will be taken up for consideration and debated in Parliament.

To remove a judge from office, the motion has to be adopted by each House by a majority of the total membership of that House and a majority of at least two-thirds of the members of that House present and voting.  After the motion is adopted in both the Houses, it’s sent in the same session to the President, who will issue an order for removal of the judge.

In a purported video of his speech widely circulated on social media, Justice Yadav can be seen saying that the law should work according to the majority.

Alleging breach of judicial ethics and constitutional principles of impartiality and secularism by Justice Yadav, Supreme Court lawyer and convener of the Campaign for Judicial Accountability and Reforms Prashant Bhushan had written to CJI Khanna seeking an “in-house inquiry” into his conduct.

Condemning Justice Yadav’s remarks, the Bar Association of India had called upon him to retract his statements and tender an apology. It had also urged the CJI and other SC judges to deal with the issue in a stern and emphatic manner.