News Brief
55 Rajya Sabha MPs File Motion To Impeach Allahabad HC Judge Shekhar Kumar Yadav For Alleged Hate Speech
Rajya Sabha proceeding (Representative Image)
A ground of 55 Rajya Sabha MPs, led by Kapil Sibal, has filed a motion seeking the impeachment of Allahabad High Court judge Shekhar Kumar Yadav.
The charges for impeachment pertain to alleged "hate speech and incitement to communal disharmony."
The 21-page motion, filed with the Rajya Sabha Secretariat on Friday morning, includes signatures from several Opposition MPs such as Congress leaders P Chidambaram and Digvijaya Singh, AAP's Raghav Chadha, Trinamool's Sagarika Ghose and Saket Gokhale, RJD's Manoj Jha, and CPIM's John Brittas.
The document claims that Justice Yadav's speech at a Vishwa Hindu Parishad event "prima facie (shows) evidence (he) has targeted minorities and displayed bias and prejudice against minorities".
The motion highlights Justice Yadav’s alleged overreach by "expressing his views on political matters in a public space" and that this was an egregious violation.
The appeal accuses Justice Yadav of making "outrageous, derogatory, and hateful statements."
It references specific remarks, translated from Hindi, such as "seeing the Ram Mandir with your own eyes", "India should function according to the wishes of the majority... this is the law", and "I have no hesitation in saying this is Hindustan".
The motion cites a 1997 statement by the Supreme Court on Restatement of Values of Judicial Life, in which it was said "a judge shall not enter into public debate or express his views in public on political matters, or on matters that are pending, or are likely to arise for judicial determination".
The actions of Justice Yadav, therefore, "are sufficient to prove grounds of misbehaviour and constitute charges of impeachment", based on factors like engaging in hate speech, targeting and making discriminator remarks against minorities, and breaching a constitutional mandate, it said.
