Justice Shekhar Kumar Yadav: Who Is Allahabad High Court Judge In Eye Of A Storm?
This is not the first time Justice Shekhar Kumar Yadav has been in the news for controversial remarks. In the past, too, he has been known to pronounce judgments coloured by religious and ideological overtones
Justice Shekhar Kumar Yadav, a sitting judge of the Allahabad High Court, has once again courted controversy with his comments on how India will only operate as per the wishes of the majority.
This is, however, not the first time Justice Yadav has been in the news for his controversial remarks. In the past, too, he has been known to pronounce judgments coloured by religious and ideological overtones – from Ram to cow protection to religious conversion.
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A day after the high court judge addressed a provincial convention of the legal cell and high court unit of the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP), videos of him speaking on provocative issues, including the law working as per the majority, were circulated widely. This triggered a strong reaction from different opposition parties, which questioned his reported statements and labelled them hate speech.
“I have no hesitation in stating that this is Hindustan, and this country will function according to the wishes of the majority living here. This is the law. It is not about speaking as a high court judge; rather, the law operates in accordance with the bahusankhyak (majority)," he was quoted from his lecture on the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) at the event.
He did not stop there. He used a derogatory slur against Muslims – “kathmullah" – referring to them as extremists and cautioning India against the community.
WHO IS HE?
According to the Allahabad High Court website, Justice Shekhar Kumar Yadav graduated in law from Allahabad University in 1988 and enrolled as an advocate on September 8, 1990.
He then practised at the Allahabad High Court taking up in civil and constitutional matters. He has worked as an additional government advocate, standing counsel for the state, additional chief standing counsel, senior counsel of the Union of India and senior counsel of railway.
Till he was elevated as an HC judge, Justice Yadav worked as a standing counsel of VBS Purvanchal University in Jaunpur. He took oath as an additional judge in December 2019 and then as a permanent judge in March 2021.
OTHER CONTROVERSIES
A report published by Bar and Bench website said in October 2021, Justice Yadav urged the central government to introduce a law to honour Hindu deities Ram and Krishna, as well as the Ramayana and Mahabharata, Bhagavad Gita among others. He said the Supreme Court’s decision in the Ram Janmabhoomi dispute was in favour of those who believe in “Ram".
“Ram resides in the heart of every citizen of this country, he is the soul of India. The culture of this country is incomplete without Rama," he was quoted. He stressed this law was needed to “educate children by making it a compulsory subject in all the schools".
He was in the news earlier over the observations he made in a case of cow slaughter in September 2021. “Cow should be declared the national animal and cow protection should be kept in the fundamental rights of Hindus because when the culture and faith of the country is hurt, the country becomes weak."
He had termed the cow to have an important place in Indian culture. “The great importance of cow has been shown in Indian Vedas, Puranas, Ramayana etc. For this reason, cow is the basis of our culture. It is not that only Hindus have understood the importance of cow. Muslims also considered cow as an important part of Indian culture and Muslim rulers had banned the slaughter of cows during their rule," he had observed.
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