Karnataka HC Judge Expresses Regret For 'Pakistan' Comment, Responds To Row Over Remarks To Woman Lawyer

Karnataka HC's Justice V Srishananda expressed regret for his controversial remarks referring to a Bengaluru locality as "Pakistan" and responded to a row over a 'misogynistic' comment to a woman lawyer.

Karnataka High Court Judge, Justice Vedavyasachar Srishananda, has expressed regret over his controversial remark referring to a locality in Bengaluru as "Pakistan". Justice Srishananda called representatives of the Bar Association to his court on Saturday, explaining that his comment was not intended to target any specific community. He further assured that he would avoid making such remarks in the future.

This comes after the Supreme Court took suo motu cognisance of viral video clips showing Justice Srishananda making controversial statements during live-streamed court proceedings. In one of the clips, the judge was seen referring to a neighbourhood in Bengaluru as "Pakistan".

Another clip, which surfaced on social media, purportedly showed the judge making a misogynistic comment directed at a female lawyer. The judge also provided an explanation regarding the incident saying that his comment was directed at the litigant the female lawyer was representing, and not aimed at her personally.

Row Over Karnataka High Court Judge's Remarks

Previously, senior lawyer Indira Jaising shared the video on X (formerly Twitter), calling upon Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud to take immediate action. "We call upon the Chief Justice of India to take suo motu action against this judge and send him for gender sensitisation training," Jaising wrote.

A five-judge bench of the Supreme Court, led by Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, has since sought a report from the Karnataka High Court’s Registrar General on the matter. “Our attention has been drawn to some comments made by Karnataka High Court Judge Justice V. Srishananda during judicial proceedings. We have asked the Attorney General (AG) and Solicitor General (SG) to assist us. We ask the Registrar General of the High Court to submit a report to this court after seeking administrative directions from the Chief Justice of Karnataka High Court. This exercise may be carried out in two weeks,” the Supreme Court stated.

Justice Srishananda was appointed as an Additional Judge of the Karnataka High Court on 4 May 2020 and made a permanent judge on 25 September 2021. He hails from Gadag, where he practised law before joining the judiciary. 

Bar Association representatives have requested the judge to refrain from making remarks unrelated to the cases in future hearings, to which Justice Srishananda has agreed. Following his statement of regret, it is expected that the matter may not escalate further.