Allahabad HC judge to be impeached for ‘hate speech'? What Kapil Sibal said

Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal on Tuesday said he and a few other members will introduce a motion to impeach Allahabad high court's Justice Shekhar Kumar Yadav, who gave an alleged anti-Muslim hate speech at an event of the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP).

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“I have spoken to Digvijaya Singh, Vivek Tankha, Manoj Jha. Javed Ali, and John Brittas. We will soon meet and bring an impeachment motion against the judge. There is no other way. This is hate speech in every sense of the word,” Sibal, who also heads the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA), said at a press conference, PTI reported.

He added, "Any judge who makes such a statement is violating his oath of office. If he is violating the oath of office, he has no right to sit on that chair."

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Sibal's remark came before the Supreme Court took note of the speech delivered by Justice Yadav and directed Allahabad high court to provide details of the case.

The apex court, he asserted, “has the power to stop such people from sitting on the chair” and demanded that no case be given to the high court judge.

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“If a high court judge can make a speech like this then the question arises how do such people get appointed in the first place. The question also arises how do they get the courage to make such remarks,” the senior lawyer stated.

The process to remove a high court judge from office is outlined in Article 218 of the Constitution of India.