MADURAI: The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Monday clarified that the proceedings initiated against advocate S Vanchinathan, who has accused Justice G R Swaminathan of acting with caste bias while discharging his judicial duties, was based on his interviews on social media and had nothing to do with his petition to the Chief Justice of India (CJI) against the judge.
A division bench comprising justices G R Swaminathan and K Rajasekar, which initiated the proceedings last week, directed the Registry to place the matter before the Chief Justice of the Madras HC.
On July 24, the bench summoned Vanchinathan and asked him if he stood by his accusations against Justice Swaminathan. The bench further remarked that his action prima facie amounted to contempt.
Following Vanchinathan’s request, the bench issued the question in writing along with a pre cognisance notice, which directed him to respond in person on Monday.
On Monday, Vanchinathan responded that he would not be in a position to reply unless the written question is specific, mentioning which of his statements the judges were referring to. The judges said they had summoned him only to comply with the principles of natural justice before referring the matter to the CJ. “Our intention was to close the matter if he had indicated a change of heart,” they said.
However, even after a video of one of his interviews was played before him in the open court, advocate Vanchinathan refused to state if he stood by his statement unless the question is served in writing, the judges said. “This speaks for the courage of the man,” they added.
The bench further spoke about the significance of judicial independence. “The legal system provides for remedies and recourse has to be taken to them by persons aggrieved by individual decisions. Without doing so, launching communal campaigns on social media would eventually weaken the system itself,” they added.
The judges also slammed social media channels that are involved in such ‘slanderous’ campaigns and said one cannot condone such acts of contempt in the name of freedom of speech and expression. “Lawyers who make such statements are guilty of professional misconduct,” they said. It is also unfortunate that many retired judges made ‘reckless comments’ in support of Vanchinathan without waiting for the outcome of the proceedings, the bench further remarked.
Expressing solidarity with Vanchinathan, several advocates staged protests in Madurai, Chennai and Nagapattinam on Monday, criticising the judges’ oral remarks and demanded the bench to drop the action against him.