Angered by the comment on Lord Vishnu… would the judge have said this in the hearing on the mosque? What did former judge Katju say on the lawyer’s anger regarding CJI Gavai?

Former Supreme Court judge Justice Markandey Katju has advised that judges should not make too many comments during the hearing. One should remain silent and listen to the arguments. He said this on the incident of an attempt to throw a shoe in the court of Chief Justice Bhushan Ramakrishna. He said that judges make unnecessary comments in the court and then invite such incidents. Markandey Katju also said that what would have happened if the judge had said this in the case related to the mosque.

Markandey Katju has said that such incidents happen because of unnecessary comments made in the courtroom. Markandey Katju has reacted to this matter through a post on social media platform X. In the post, Markandey Katju said that he completely condemns this indecent conduct of the lawyer along with CJI BR Gavai, but excessive speaking of judges in the court invites such incidents.

He said, ‘I condemn the incident of an attempt to throw shoes at CJI BR Gavai, but the CJI himself has invited this incident by commenting on the petition demanding restoration of the statue. On the petition demanding restoration of the broken idol of Lord Vishnu in Khajuraho temple, he had said – You say that you are a great devotee of Lord Vishnu. So go and ask God to do something. Go pray to him.

Markandey Katju further wrote in the post, ‘This comment was completely inappropriate and unnecessary, which had nothing to do with the legal issues of the case. Judges should speak less in the courtroom and should not give sermons, sermons or lectures. What will happen if a judge hears a petition related to a mosque and says something like this…’

Markandey Katju further shared the link of one of his articles in the post, which he has written on this issue. In this he said, ‘The judge who speaks too much is a dissonant instrument. Quoting the Lord Chancellor of England, Sir Francis Bacon, Katju wrote, ‘The job of a judge is to listen in the court, not to speak, and then give whatever decision he thinks is appropriate.’

Markandey Katju also shared his experience of the British Court. He said that there is complete silence in the courts there and judges conduct hearings in silence and lawyers also give arguments in a low voice. The judge questions the lawyer only when necessary, otherwise he remains silent during the entire hearing. The atmosphere of the court should be like this – peace and stability.