Kumar Bahukhandi
Karnataka: Karnataka High Court judge Justice V Sreeshananda on Saturday September21 expressed regret over his recent statements, which had sparked controversy across the country. Justice Sreeshananda clarified that his intention was not to hurt anyone’s sentiments. He gave this clarification in the court in the presence of members of the Bangalore Advocates Association. The first controversial statement came during a discussion on road safety on August 28, when he referred to a particular area of Bengaluru as “Pakistan”. The second “objectionable statement” was in reference to a female advocate. Both statements received strong reactions on social media.
According to a report, Vivek Subba Reddy, president of the Bangalore Advocates Association, said, “He (Justice V Sreesananda) said that he had no intention to hurt the sentiments of any community or individual, and if anyone was hurt, he regretted it.” On the statement made regarding the female advocate, Justice Sreesananda clarified that the comment was not about the advocate’s information but about his client’s information.
“We said there is no doubt that he is a good judge, but he should not make statements that are not essential to the case,” Reddy added. Earlier, the Advocates’ Association had sought a temporary ban on livestreaming and sensitivity from judges in the wake of the controversy. They also pointed out that several YouTube channels ran clippings of court proceedings “with misleading and mischievous titles”. Justice Sreesanand had allegedly referred to a Muslim-dominated area in Bengaluru as ‘Pakistan’. The judge was also seen making gender insensitive remarks against a woman advocate in a separate case. Several handles on ‘X’ objected to his comments in their posts.
