While hearing a case at the Karnataka High Court, a judge referred to a Muslim-dominated locality Gori Playa in Bengaluru as ‘Pakistan’ sparking widespread controversy.
A video of the judge’s statement surfaced on social media on Wednesday, September 18 in which he is discussing traffic congestion near the Mysore Road flyover.
“Go to Mysore road flyover, every auto rickshaw has 10 people. It is not applicable because the Mysore flyover head left for the market from Gori Palya, which is in Pakistan, not India. This is the reality. No matter how strict a police officer you put, they will be beaten up there,” he is heard saying in the video.
The video footage has triggered an outrage among users who criticised the judge’s remarks. Many expressed concerns about how a person sitting in a constitutional position could make such a statement.
“A Judge of the Karnataka High Court, Vedavyasachar Srishananda, has referred to a Muslim-majority area in Bengaluru as Pakistan. A Judge calls His Country’s citizens Pakistani, Is there anything more shameful Will the Supreme Court take Suo Moto,” wrote one user.
“If people in the judiciary speak like this, it will only encourage common people to dehumanize Indian Muslims even more. So, when the judiciary, Police, educational institutions, media, the govt, and society at large treat Indian Muslims this way because they are Muslims, it comes under “systemic discrimination” which is something our Hindu friends will never have to worry about, and that is exactly why all of us need to do more and talk about ” Systemic” discrimination faced by Indian Muslims because Indian media will never speak about it,” wrote another user.
“Like IAS/IPS/IRS judges also must be filled after a proper educated test at least on the constitution of India, instead of the so-called collegium where personally biased selection is possible,” wrote another user.
Justice Srishananda has served as an additional Judge of the Karnataka High Court since May 2020 and became a permanent Judge in September 2021.
In May, a major controversy erupted when Kannada news channel Asianet Suvarna News displayed the Indian flag for Hindus and the Pakistani flag for Indian Muslims during a live broadcast. The segment, which was discussing a report released by the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM) on the changing religious demographics in India.
According to Human Rights Watch, state actions have increasingly targeted Muslim communities leading to a climate of fear and mistrust among them. The lack of representation in political positions further deepens these issues.
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