Calling any part of India ‘Pakistan’ contrary to territorial integrity: SC on judge’s remarks

Referring to any part of India as “Pakistan” is fundamentally contrary to the country’s territorial integrity, the Supreme Court said on Wednesday about statements made by a Karnataka High Court judge earlier this month, Bar and Bench reported.

A bench of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justices Sanjiv Khanna, BR Gavai, Surya Kant and Hrishikesh Roy also said that judges and lawyers must ensure that their personal biases were not reflected while discharging their duties.

Two video clips showing High Court Justice V Srishananda making controversial comments about a woman advocate and the Muslim community during two separate hearings earlier this month were widely shared online in recent days.

At one of the hearings, he was heard referring to the Muslim-dominated locality of Gori Palya in Bengaluru as “Pakistan”.

In another video, he was heard saying to a woman lawyer that she seemed to know so much about the opposite party in a litigation that she could even reveal the colour of their undergarments.

The Supreme Court took cognisance of the two video clips on September 20. On Monday, the judge expressed regret for his comments, saying they had been made unintentionally and were not meant to hurt any person or section of the society

On Wednesday, the bench, while hearing the matter, said: “We can’t call any part of the...

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