TRIGGERING A debate on judicial propriety, Justice Shekhar Kumar Yadav, a sitting judge of Allahabad High Court, has made strong remarks on Muslim marriage practices and backed the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) while speaking at a VHP event. Addressing the event organised by the VHP's legal cell on the court premises on Sunday, Justice Yadav said, “You can't disrespect a woman who has been recognised as a goddess in our Shastras and Vedas. You can't claim the right to have four wives, perform halala, or practice triple talaq. You say, we have the right to say 'triple talaq', and not give maintenance to women.” According to a VHP press release, the judge also spoke in favour of the UCC. “Having different Constitutions for people of different communities and religions in a country is no less than a danger to the nation. When we talk of human uplift, it should rise above religion and should be within the ambit of the Constitution,” the press release quoted him as saying. “If the interests of a woman are to be protected, whether it is about her wealth, her maintenance, her rightful share in the property, her remarriage, or her freedom to choose a partner, the limits of all these things should be decided within the ambit of one Constitution,” he said. Justice Yadav said that the Constitution does not permit interests of “Muslim women to be determined separately or interest of women of other religions to be determined by different method”. This is not the first time the judge has attracted public scrutiny. In September 2021, while rejecting the bail petition of a man booked under the UP Prevention of Cow Slaughter Act, 1955, Justice Yadav had urged the Centre to declare cow as the national animal, introduce a Bill in Parliament for cow protection and recognise “cow protection as a fundamental right of Hindus”. In October 2021, while granting bail to an accused, he had observed that Parliament should pass a law to honour Hindu deities. In December 2023, while hearing another bail plea, he had directed the Prayagraj Police Commissioner to submit a progress report on how many cow slaughter cases have been filed in the district and the status of each, on account of the “seriousness of the cow slaughtering cases” in Uttar Pradesh. Justice Yadav enrolled as an advocate in 1990. During his career at the Allahabad HC, he represented both the Central and state governments in several capacities. According to the HC website, he served as an Additional Government Advocate and Standing Counsel for UP before working as a Senior Counsel for the Union of India and Senior Counsel of Railway until he took the oath as a judge of the High Court on December 12, 2019. Justice Yadav was first recommended to the Supreme Court collegium for appointment as a High Court judge on February 14, 2018. However, the Collegium comprising Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra and Justices Ranjan Gogoi and Madan Lokur deferred his recommendation on September 25, 2018. Following CJI Misra’s retirement, with CJI Gogoi at the helm, the Collegium recommended Justice Yadav’s appointment as an Additional Judge of the Allahabad High Court on February 12, 2019. His appointment as a Permanent Judge was approved on March 5, 2021. -inputs from Maulshree Seth in Lucknow
