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The Madras High Court, on Monday, July 28, witnessed an unusually dramatic courtroom exchange, as Justice GR Swaminathan took strong exception to allegations of caste and communal bias made against him by senior advocate S Vanchinathan. “You are a comedy piece,” Justice Swaminathan told Vanchinathan during proceedings.
The comment came as the court was probing whether Vanchinathan stood by his prior statement accusing Justice Swaminathan of displaying caste prejudice in the court. Justice Swaminathan said, “I don’t know who called you all revolutionary. You are all comedy pieces.” Vanchinathan had earlier refused to answer orally and instead insisted on a written query.
The phrase “comedy piece” is considered a sharp Tanglish insult popular in Tamil Nadu’s meme culture and street slang. It is intended to portray someone making a fool of themselves, often used in reference to comic characters.
The hearing, presided over by Justices GR Swaminathan and K Rajasekar, was sparked by a June 14 letter sent by Vanchinathan, under the banner of the People’s Rights Protection Centre, to the Chief Justice of India and other Supreme Court judges. The letter levelled 15 serious allegations against Justice Swaminathan, including ideological partisanship, caste bias in judicial appointments, and communal leanings, citing, among other things, the judge’s role in the controversial Lavanya suicide case and his alleged remarks against the Dravidian model of governance.
In court, Justice Swaminathan acknowledged that criticism of judicial decisions is fair, but said that imputations of caste bias “take a different turn.” “Mr Vanchinathan, I 100% respect your right to brutally criticise my judgments. But when you are alleging caste bias, things take a different turn,” he said.
According to Bar and Bench, the judge further noted, “For four years, you have been slandering me. I have not taken any action against you. We are also conscious of the rules of procedure. We are not fools. We will place the case before the Chief Justice or an appropriate bench. The whole ecosystem has ganged up, we are aware. We will not be intimidated or cowed down. Judicial independence is supreme.”
The bench clarified that its proceedings had nothing to do with the confidential letter Vanchinathan sent to the Supreme Court, denying any link. The order stated, “We fail to understand on what basis such allegations have been made against this Court...We clarify once again that the proceedings against him have nothing to do with that complaint.”
The court recorded that Vanchinathan had appeared in person on July 25 and July 28, and that he had submitted a written response premised on his belief that the court was acting in retaliation to his Supreme Court complaint. However, the bench maintained that it had not initiated any contempt action until July 25 and had only sought clarification on whether he continued to allege caste and communal bias.
Adding to the institutional strain, eight retired judges of the Madras High Court wrote to the Chief Justice of India requesting intervention, urging that any complaint against a sitting judge must follow the in-house mechanism set by the Supreme Court and not be addressed by the judge in question. “While this matter is pending, it is most unfortunate that some retired judges are rendering opinions,” Justice Swaminathan remarked in court, expressing particular disappointment over Justice SS Sundar's endorsement of the letter.
Vanchinathan, meanwhile, maintained in a public statement that his petition to the CJI was confidential and had not been leaked by him. He filed a police complaint over the alleged leak, which he said occurred via a WhatsApp group administered by lawyers affiliated with the BJP.
As the hearing concluded, Justice Swaminathan made another biting remark: “I regretted calling you a coward. Now I do not regret at all.”
