Collegium to meet HC judge amid row over controversial remarks

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court collegium is set to hear Justice Shekhar Kumar Yadav of the Allahabad high court explain his controversial remarks at a Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) event, as the top five judges of the apex court consider options ranging from counselling the judge to taking more decisive measures, including an in-house inquiry, based on the outcome of the deliberations.

- Utkarsh Anand

Justice Yadav's purported remarks on December 8, targeting the Muslim community and invoking themes of majority rule and the Uniform Civil Code (UCC), triggered sharp criticism from political and legal circles, raising significant questions about judicial impartiality and propriety.

The meeting of the collegium, originally scheduled for the weekend, was deferred to next week due to the unavailability of two of the five collegium members. It is now likely to take place on Tuesday, December 17.

The focus of the meeting, according to people aware of the matter, is to satisfy the principle of natural justice by allowing the Allahabad high court judge to present his version before the collegium contemplates any action.

"The idea is to hear the high court judge's version before any decision is taken regarding the episode. The gravity and sensitivity of the issue required intervention by the highest court of the land to ensure that Bangalore principles of judicial conduct are affirmed," said one of the persons cited above.

The Bangalore principles, adopted in 2002, are a set of standards for ethical conduct of judges.