‘You are a comedy piece’: Madras High Court judge rebukes advocate for levelling allegations of caste bias against the judiciary
On Monday (28th July), Madras High Court judge GR Swaminathan rebuked advocate Vanchinathan after the lawyer accused him of caste and communal bias. Justice Swaminathan called the lawyer a “comedy piece” and accused of orchestrating a campaign aimed at maligning the judiciary.
During a hearing by a bench comprising Justice GR Swaminathan and K Rajsekar, Justice Swaminathan said, “You are a comedy piece. I don’t know who called you all revolutionary. You are all comedy pieces.”
This came after advocate Vanchinathan refused to respond to Justice Swaminathan’s queries orally and urged the Court to pass a written order.
It all started with advocate Vanchinathan accusing Justice Swaminathan of acting with communal and caste prejudice in judicial decisions. The lawyer cited several social media posts and video interviews to back is accusations.
Following this, Justice Swaminathan summoned Vanchinathan to clarify whether the lawyer stood by these remarks or wished to retract them. It was during the hearing on this matter that the High Court judge called advocate Vanchinathan a “comedy piece”.
Justice Swaminathan asserted that while criticism of judgments is legitimate and acceptable, allegations of caste-based bias cross the line.
“Mr. Vanchinathan, I 100 per cent respect your right to brutally criticise my judgments. But when you are alleging caste bias, things take a different turn,” Justice Swaminathan said.
The bench also mentioned one of advocate Vanchinathan’s interviews wherein he reportedly claimed that the Court had targeted a senior lawyer since he was a Dalit, while not giving similar treatment to another senior lawyer as he was a Brahmin.
“For four years, you have been slandering me. I have not taken any action against you. We are also conscious of the rules of procedure. We are not fools. We will place the case before the Chief Justice or an appropriate bench. The whole ecosystem has ganged up—we are aware. We will not be intimidated or cowed down. Judicial independence is supreme,” Justice Swaminathan said.
“We fail to understand on what basis such allegations have been made against this Court…We clarify once again that the proceedings against him have nothing to do with that complaint,” the court order reads.
“You have assumed two things that have no basis. First, this has nothing to do with the complaint you sent to the Hon’ble Chief Justice of India. Second, we have not initiated any contempt action till Friday. We only want to clarify your stance—whether you continue to allege caste and communal bias,” the Court added.
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