Ex-judges urge Madras High Court to desist from action against lawyer who accused Justice GR Swaminathan of casteism

Seven retired judges of the Madras High Court have issued a joint appeal urging Justices GR Swaminathan and K Rajasekar to desist from taking contempt of court action for the time being against advocate Vanchinathan who had written to the Chief Justice of India (CJI) alleging caste and communal bias on the part of Justice Swaminathan.

The issue arose after the High Court summoned Vanchinathan in connection with several social media posts and video interviews in which he allegedly accused Justice Swaminathan of acting with communal and caste prejudice in judicial decisions. In response, the Court sought to clarify whether the lawyer stood by these remarks or wished to retract them.

However, Vanchinathan wrote a letter to CJI BR Gavai and other sitting judges of the Supreme Court raising allegations against Justice Swaminathan.

Seven retired judges of the High Court have now come out in support of advocate Vanchinathan.

A statement was released by former Justice K Chandru on behalf of himself and six other retired judges on July 26, stating that any inquiry into misconduct of a judge must follow the procedure laid down by the Supreme Court in C Ravichandran Iyer v. Justice A.M. Bhattacharjee (1995). According to this precedent, complaints against a judge’s conduct must be sent directly to the Chief Justice of India, who alone is empowered to initiate an "in-house inquiry" if deemed necessary.

Thus, until any action is taken by CJI Gavai on the letter sent by Vanchinathan, the High Court should not initiate contempt action against him, the statement read.

“We are of the opinion that in the absence of any such action taken by the Chief Justice of India on the petition sent by the Advocate, it will be premature for the learned judges to initiate action against the lawyer concerned,” it says.

The former judges further noted that a similar process was followed recently in the case involving Justice Yashwant Varma of the Allahabad High Court.

They reiterated that unless the in-house committee finds prima facie merit in the allegations, no further action should be taken.

Thus, the retired judges urged the High Court bench to refrain from initiating contempt proceedings for now.

“We appeal to the learned judges to give up any action at this stage and also to await any decision to be taken by the Chief Justice of India in the petition sent by Advocate Vanchinathan,” the statement read.

Justice Chandru issued the statement with written confirmation and authorization from the six other retired judges, Justices D Hariparanthaman, CT Selvam, MM Akbar Ali, P Kalaiyarasan, S Vimala, and SS Sundar.

“This appeal is made only in the interest of the judicial institution. We have no other interest in the matter,” the statement concluded.

While Justice Sashidharan's name featured in the list of judges, he had subsequently issued a statement distancing himself from the letter. A statement issued by Justice Sashidharan dated July 26 said that he was not consulted, nor had he sent any written confirmation to send a letter on his behalf.

"I, therefore, dissociate myself from the contents of the said letter," Justice Sashidharan's statement read.

Pertinently, while hearing Vanchinathan's case today, Justice GR Swaminathan orally remarked that he was hurt by what his brother judges did.

In his order, he said,

"While this matter is pending, it is most unfortunate that some retired judges are rendering opinions."

Justice Swaminathan specifically noted that he was hurt by Justice SS Sundar signing the letter.

Eventually, the bench led by Justice GR Swaminathan directed that the case be placed before the Chief Justice of the High Court for further orders.