Speech that doesn’t befit a judge’s office

When they’re sworn in, high court judges take an oath to bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of India. Their work, and words, are supposed to be directed not just by the letter of India’s founding document but also its spirit — of constitutional morality, fairness and justice for all. Which is why the speech delivered by a sitting Allahabad high court judge, delivered at a Vishwa Hindu Parishad event, is so vexing. Delivering a lecture on the constitutional necessity of Uniform Civil Code at an event organised by the legal cell of the VHP, justice Shekhar Kumar Yadav said, “I have no hesitation in saying that this is Hindustan; this country would function as per the wishes of the bahusankhyak [majority] living in Hindustan. This is the law.” He made a litany of controversial statements, used a slur often employed by social media trolls to describe orthodox Muslims, and said while children of one community are taught kindness, tolerance and non-violence, in another community, children cannot be expected to be tolerant given that they witness animal slaughter. The insinuation was obvious, and unfortunate.