Supreme Court Takes Suo Motu Cognizance of Karnataka HC Judge's Controversial Comments

A five-judge Supreme Court bench has taken suo motu cognizance of controversial comments made by Karnataka High Court judge Justice Vedavyasachar Srishananda against a woman lawyer and a Muslim-majority area in Bengaluru. The bench seeks a report and may lay down guidelines for courtroom remarks.

The Supreme Court's five-judge bench has taken suo motu cognizance of controversial and objectionable comments reportedly made by Karnataka High Court judge Justice Vedavyasachar Srishananda against a woman lawyer and a Muslim-majority area in Bengaluru.

Before proceedings commenced, the court's senior-most justices—Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud, Justice Sanjiv Khanna, Justice B R Gavai, Justice Surya Kant, and Justice Hrishikesh Roy—gathered to address the remarks.

The bench said, "We will ask the Register General of the High Court to send us a report and perhaps with your assistance lay down some guidelines on observations in the course of hearings and draw the issues now that social media is now so prominent in observing proceedings in court, commenting on that."

(With inputs from agencies.)