Justice Shekhar Yadav’s judicial roster was altered by the Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court four days after he made a contentious remark at a public gathering hosted by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad’s (VHP) legal cell. According to the updated schedule, Justice Yadav will only hear “First Appeals” pertaining to civil court orders, namely those issued up until 2010, as of December 16.
Up until recently, Justice Yadav had been dealing with “major” bail requests pertaining to instances including sexual offences and rape. On October 15, the current roaster was informed. It’s interesting to note that for the majority of his tenure, Justice Yadav, who was appointed as an Additional Judge of the HC in December 2019 and made a permanent judge in March 2021, has mostly handled bail and criminal cases. He is set to retire in March 2026.
This comes just two days after the Supreme Court noted reports regarding the contentious speech made by Justice Yadav, an Allahabad High Court judge, at a Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) rally on Sunday. He said that India would operate in accordance with the views of the majority (bahusankhyak) in his lecture on the subject, Uniform Civil Code: A Constitutional Necessity, which caused indignation.
From declaring that he was “taking a vow” that the Uniform Civil Code would soon be implemented in the country, to recounting the ‘sacrifices’ made by ‘our ancestors’ to see Rama Lalla freed and witness the construction of a grand Lord Rama temple at Ayodhya, to using the derogatory slur ‘kathmullah’, Justice Yadav also remarked that Muslim children could not be expected to exhibit kindness and tolerance when, from an early age, they are exposed to the sights of animals being slaughtered in front of them.
In his speech, Justice Yadav compared Islam with Hinduism, pointing out that while several traditions, such polygyny, halal, triple talaq, and untouchability, had been outlawed in Hinduism, the Muslim community still allowed them. This practice was unacceptable to him.
The Campaign for Judicial Accountability and Reforms (CJAR) wrote to CJI Sanjiv Khanna today (December 10) in response to his address, requesting a “in-house enquiry” in order to take the proper measures against Justice Yadav. Ruhullah Mehdi, a Member of Parliament (MP), also announced on X Post that he was bringing an impeachment resolution to remove Justice Yadav. Justice Yadav’s impeachment was also demanded by senior advocate and Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal.
