IN RE: REMARKS BY HIGH COURT JUDGE DURING COURT PROCEEDINGS versus

Citation: [2024] 9 S.C.R. 668 · Decided: 25-09-2024 · Supreme Court of India · Bench: D.Y. CHANDRACHUD
Open in Lexace · Ask the AI about this case
Judgment (excerpt)

[2024] 9 S.C.R. 668 : 2024 INSC 758
In Re: Remarks By High Court Judge During  
Court Proceedings
(Suo Motu Writ (Civil) No. 9 of 2024)
25 September 2024
[Dr Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud,* CJI, Sanjiv Khanna,  
B.R. Gavai, Surya Kant and Hrishikesh Roy, JJ.]
Issue for Consideration
Certain misogynistic remarks as well as comments prejudicial to 
a particular community were made by a Judge of the High Court 
of Karnataka in the course of the judicial proceedings. Suo motu 
case taken up by the Supreme Court.
Headnotes†
Judicial Discipline – Misogynistic comments to a woman lawyer 
and casual observations against a particular community at 
large made by the Judge during judicial proceedings – Suo 
motu proceedings taken up by the Supreme Court however, 
notice was not issued to the Judge to maintain the institutional 
dignity of the High Courts and the Judges:
Held: The report submitted by the Registrar General of the High 
Court of Karnataka showed that the observations made were 
unrelated to the course of the proceedings – They should have 
been eschewed – Serious concern expressed about the reference to 
gender and to a segment of the community, deprecated – Accepting 
the apology tendered by the Judge in the open court proceedings, 
in the interest of preserving the dignity of the institution, proceedings 
not pursued further. [Paras 17, 13]
Administration of Justice – Access to justice – Live reporting 
of court proceedings – Casual observations, impact – 
Responsibility of judges, lawyers and other stake holders, 
discussed.
List of Acts
Karnataka Rules on Live Streaming and Recording of Court 
Proceedings 2021; Rules for Video Conferencing for Courts 2020 
by High Court of Karnataka.
* Author
[2024] 9 S.C.R. 
669
In Re: Remarks By High Court Judge During Court Proceedings
List of Keywords
Remarks by High Court Judge; Casual observations during judicial 
proceedings; Misogynistic comments; Comments prejudicial to 
a segment of the society; Judicial discipline; Judicial conduct;  
Suo motu proceedings; Administration of Justice; Live reporting 
of court proceedings; Apology by the Judge.
Case Arising From
CIVIL ORIGINAL JURISDICTION: Suo Motu Writ (Civil) No. 9  
of 2024
(Under Article 32 of The Constitution of India)
Appearances for Parties
By Courts Motion.
Mr. R. Venkataramani, Attorney General, Tushar Mehta, Solicitor 
General, Advs. for the Respondent.
Judgment / Order of the Supreme Court
Judgment
Dr Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud, CJI
1.	
The Court was apprised of reports circulating in the media pertaining 
to comments attributed to Justice V Srishananda, a Judge of the 
High Court of Karnataka, during the conduct of judicial proceedings.
2.	
In this backdrop, a suo motu proceeding has been registered.
3.	
On 20 September 2024, the Registrar General of the High Court 
of Karnataka was requested to submit a report after seeking 
administrative directions of the Chief Justice of the High Court of 
Karnataka in regard to the subject matter of the suo motu proceedings.
4.	
A report dated 23 September 2024 has been submitted by Mr K S 
Bharath Kumar, Registrar General of the High Court of Karnataka, 
in pursuance of the above directions.
5.	
The report deals with two proceedings before the Judge, the first of 
which took place on 6 June 2024 and the second on 28 August 2024. 
The Registrar General has submitted a transcript, duly translated as 
670
[2024] 9 S.C.R.
Digital Supreme Court Reports
a part of his report, bearing in mind the fact that some part of the 
dialogue in the Court had taken place in Kannada. The report, insofar 
as the proceedings of 6 June 2024 are concerned, is set out below:
“The Proceedings on 6th June 2024,
3. On the aforesaid date, in Court Hall No.26, in the court 
presided over by Hon’ble Shri Justice Vedavyasachar 
Srishananda, the proceedings of Criminal Revision Petition 
No.634 of 2021 filed under Section 397 read with Section 401 
of Code of Criminal Procedure 1973 in M.V. Krishnappa v. M. 
Srinivas were conducted. Therein the petitioner had prayed 
to set aside the judgment and order dated 15th February 2021 
passed by learned Principal District and Sessions Judge, 
Bengaluru Rural District in Criminal Application No.26 of 
2020 confirming the judgment and order of conviction and 
sentence dated 25th February 2020 by the Additional Chief 
Judicial Magistrate, Bengaluru Rural District, Bengaluru in 
Criminal Case No.8381 of 2018 convicting the petitioner-
accused for the offence punish
Excerpt shown. Read the full judgment & AI analysis in Lexace.