Justice Gowri's appointment: SC says it can't go into question of suitability
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court, which had on February 7 refused to entertain two pleas seeking to restrain Lekshmana Chandra Victoria Gowri from taking oath as an additional judge of the Madras High Court, on Friday pronounced the reasons for the dismissal of the petitions.
"We have followed the constitution bench judgement and can't go into the question of suitability," a bench headed by Justice Sanjiv Khanna said while pronouncing the order.
However, the detailed order is yet to be uploaded on the apex court website.
The two pleas, including one moved by three Madras High Court lawyers, had opposed Gowri's appointment as an additional judge.
Minutes before the top court had on February 7 dismissed the pleas against Gowri's appointment, she was administered the oath of office as an additional judge by Madras High Court's Acting Chief Justice T Raja.
During the hearing on February 7, the top court had observed that Gowri has been appointed as an additional judge and if she is not true to the oath or does not discharge her duties in accordance with the oath, the collegium is entitled to take a view of that, while pointing out that there have been instances where people have not been made permanent judges.
"We are not entertaining the writ petition. Reasons will follow," a special bench comprising Justices Sanjiv Khanna and B R Gavai had said on Wednesday.
The petitioners -- lawyers Anna Mathew, Sudha Ramalingam and D Nagasaila -- in on of the pleas had referred to alleged hate speeches made by Gowri against Muslims and Christians.
The proposal to elevate the woman lawyer, who had been representing the Centre before the Madurai bench of the Madras High Court, was mired in controversy after reports emerged about her alleged affiliation with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Some bar members of the high court had written to the chief justice of India (CJI), seeking a recall of the recommendation made for appointing Gowri as an additional judge of the court.
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K’taka HC judge whose controversial remarks triggered controversy expresses regret before open court
Bengaluru: Karnataka High Court judge, Justice V Srishananda, on Saturday expressed regret in open court after facing backlash over his controversial remarks in his recent court hearings, reported Bar and Bench.
Two purported video clips from Justice V Srishananda’s court hearing that show him making inappropriate comments went viral across social media platforms.
On Saturday, Justice Srishananda invited members of the Advocates Association, Bengaluru, and senior lawyers to his courtroom at 2:30 PM, where he read out a note expressing regret for inappropriate comments.
Quoting Advocates Association President Vivek Subba Reddy, Bar and Bench wrote, “He expressed regret for the comments and clarified that it was not his intention to offend any community or members of the Bar. He also requested the association to relay this message to all members of the Bar.”
Reddy further stated, “We also advised him to encourage young lawyers in the courtroom and refrain from making any irrelevant remarks during hearings.”
Another senior lawyer present during the session confirmed to the legal news portal that Justice Srishananda also addressed comments directed at a woman lawyer, who was seen in one of the videos being reprimanded by the judge. The judge Justice Srishananda clarified that his remarks were not intended to target her (woman lawyer) specifically, but rather pertained to the appellant she was representing. “He explained that his comment was meant to imply that the appellant seemed to know a lot about the other party,” said the lawyer.
In addition, Justice Srishananda assured those present that he would avoid making such comments in the future.
The controversy came to light on September 19, when a video clip from an August 28 Court hearing surfaced on social media, showing Justice Srishananda referring to a Muslim-majority sub-locality in Bengaluru’s Goripalya as "Pakistan." Hours later, another video from the same courtroom emerged, in which the judge was seen making a gender-insensitive remark.
Following outrage over the viral videos, a Supreme Court bench led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, along with Justices Sanjiv Khanna, BR Gavai, Surya Kant, and Hrishikesh Roy, on September 20 took a suo motu cognizance and sought a report from the Karnataka High Court Registrar General in connection with the viral video.
