Allahabad high court (File photo)
PRAYAGRAJ: Justice Shekhar Kumar Yadav of Allahabad high court, against whom an impeachment motion is pending in Rajya Sabha over alleged communal remarks made at an event in 2024, retires on Wednesday with proceedings to remove him stalling automatically after 18 months of procedural delay.Justice Yadav had been appointed to HC as additional judge on Dec 12, 2019, and became a permanent judge on March 26, 2021. In Dec 2024, he triggered outrage with an allegedly disparaging remark about Muslims during a speech on the proposed Uniform Civil Code at an event organised by VHP’s legal cell.Members of the Bar, civil society groups and politicians closed ranks on the judge’s statement that India must function based on the will of the majority.
He allegedly used a derogatory term to refer to Muslims and contrasted Hindu traditions with their practices, including mention of polygamy, triple talaq and animal slaughter.Within days of the speech, a campaign started in Parliament to initiate impeachment proceedings against Justice Yadav.Around 13 senior advocates wrote to then CJI Sanjiv Khanna, urging him to initiate a criminal investigation against Justice Yadav for his speech.
The Supreme Court collegium subsequently considered initiating an in-house inquiry, only for the move to be halted by a communication from Rajya Sabha secretariat that this was Parliament’s prerogative.On Dec 13, 2024, a motion to impeach Justice Yadav was submitted to the secretary general of Rajya Sabha, signed by 55 MPs of Upper House, well above the requirement of 50 members’ consent to move an impeachment motion.
But the process soon ran into procedural hurdles, and the motion remains pending without formal admission.“Since impeachment is a process designed specifically to remove a sitting judge from office, proceedings for the same cannot continue once the judge retires,” a legal expert said on the eve of a full court reference on Justice Yadav’s last official day at work.
