After sharp words, Madras HC division bench refers advocate’s bias charge to CJ

MADURAI: A division bench of the Madras High Court in Madurai referred the controversial contempt proceedings against a lawyer, who raised allegations of caste and communal bias against a sitting judge, to the Chief Justice for further orders, but not before passing some sharp remarks against the advocate.

Justice GR Swaminathan, the judge at the heart of the row, who sat on the bench along with Justice K Rajasekaran, asked advocate S Vanchinathan if he stood by the allegations that he was biased in favour of lawyers from the Brahmin community while allegedly discriminating against others. But the lawyer refused oral response and instead insisted for a written order so he could respond appropriately.

According to reports, Justice Swaminathan made some sharp remarks, including calling the lawyer a “comedy piece” and even stated that while he earlier regretted calling him a coward, now he did not regret it at all.

The court clarified that the present proceedings were not linked to the complaint filed by Vanchinathan with the Chief Justice of India, but were initiated solely based on his repeated public statements to the media, in which he accused the judge of caste and communal prejudice.

Justice Swaminathan observed that Vanchinathan had been making personal and defamatory remarks against him for the past three years, but he had refrained from reacting until now.

“There is a difference between criticising a judgment and attacking a judge personally with allegations of caste bias,” he said. He specifically referred to media interviews in which Vanchinathan had allegedly claimed the judge showed partiality based on caste.

Last week, a few retired judges of the Madras High Court issued an appeal urging the bench to reconsider its action against Vanchinathan. They termed the move “premature” and said the court ought to have waited for the Chief Justice of India to act on the complaint before initiating proceedings.

In light of these developments, the bench has placed the matter before the Chief Justice of the Madras High Court for further consideration and directions.

The drama spilled over outside the court hall, with several advocates staging a protest in front of District Court in Madurai to drop contempt proceedings against Vanchinathan, while some staged a counter demonstration in front of the High Court in favour of Justice Swaminathan.