‘Neither experience, nor qualification, he/she is not fit to be a judge’, former CJI Chandrachud had opposed the appointment of Justice Shekhar Yadav.

New Delhi : Allahabad High Court Justice Shekhar Kumar Yadav is in the headlines for his/her comments against Muslims in support of the Uniform Civil Code. Several political parties reacted sharply to parts of his/her speech at the Vishwa Hindu Parishad event. Some opposition MPs have also started the impeachment process by giving notice in Parliament to remove him/her. The Supreme Court Collegium has summoned Justice Yadav and issued a stern warning. Amidst all this, a legal news website ‘Leaflet’ has claimed that while being a judge of the Supreme Court, former CJI DY Chandrachud had strongly opposed the appointment of Justice Yadav. he/she had bluntly told the then CJI of the Supreme Court that Yadav was ‘not fit to be a judge’ of the High Court. On the other hand, former CJI Chandrachud has also confirmed in a conversation with another legal news website Live Law that yes, he/she had opposed the appointment of Justice Shekhar Yadav as a judge.

Former CJI Chandrachud’s reaction on Justice Yadav
Speaking to Live Law, former CJI DY Chandrachud said, ‘It is true that along with Shekhar Yadav, I had opposed many other names also due to nepotism, connections and other prejudices.’ he/she further said that being a relative of a judge is not in itself a reason for disqualification. The former CJI said that sitting judges should always be careful about what they say, whether inside or outside the court. his/her statements should not send such a message that the judiciary gets the impression that it is biased.

Chandrachud was a judge in the Supreme Court then
After all, why did former CJI Chandrachud oppose the appointment of Justice Yadav? ‘The Leaflet’ has revealed this in its report. Chandrachud had opposed Yadav’s appointment as a judge on the grounds of his/her RSS links, his/her closeness to a minister at the Center who was then a Rajya Sabha MP from the BJP, and his/her lack of adequate experience.

The then CJI Deepak Mishra had sought Justice Chandrachud’s opinion in the name of Yadav.
‘Leaflet’ has made this claim in its report based on the analysis of Supreme Court documents. According to the report, when Justice Chandrachud was a judge of the Supreme Court, in 2018, the then CJI Deepak Mishra had sought his/her opinion regarding the appointment of Shekhar Yadav, who was then practicing law, as a judge of the Allahabad High Court. In fact, on February 14, 2018, the High Court Collegium led by the then Chief Justice of Allahabad High Court Dilip Babasaheb Bhosale had sent the names of 33 lawyers to be made judges. Since Justice Chandrachud had been the Chief Justice of Allahabad High Court before becoming a judge of the Supreme Court, the then CJI Deepak Mishra had sought his/her opinion on these names.

Chandrachud wrote a note – Shekhar Yadav is not worthy of becoming a judge.
‘Leaflet’ further writes in its report that Justice Chandrachud wrote a letter to the then CJI Deepak Mishra on 13 August 2018. In the letter, he/she cited Yadav’s allegedly inadequate experience, his/her links with the RSS and Yadav’s closeness to a then BJP Rajya Sabha MP who is now a minister at the Centre, saying he/she was not fit to be a judge. Chandrachud wrote at the end of his/her note regarding Yadav, ‘he/she is not worthy of being appointed as a High Court judge.’

Supported only 6 out of 33 lawyers’ names
The special thing is that out of the 33 lawyers for whom Justice Chandrachud’s advice was sought, he/she supported only 6 names. For 22 names, Justice Chandrachud wrote in his/her note that they are ‘not fit to be appointed as judges of Allahabad High Court’.

Justice Chandrachud had written in his/her note, ‘The candidate is an Assistant Government Advocate. Even though he/she is 54 years old, he/she does not have enough work experience. he/she is an average lawyer. he/she is an active member of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh…he/she is close to —- who is a Rajya Sabha member from BJP.

The collegium led by the then CJI Gogoi sent Yadav’s name for appointment.
CJI Deepak Mishra retired. After him/her Justice Ranjan Gogoi became CJI. On February 12, 2019, the collegium led by him/her, ignoring the objections of Justice Chandrachud, recommended the appointment of Shekhar Yadav as a judge. On 12 December 2019, Yadav was appointed Additional Judge of Allahabad High Court. Later on 26 March 2021, he/she was made a permanent judge.

What did Justice Yadav say?
Justice Yadav recently attended a program organized by the legal cell of VHP in the Allahabad High Court premises. Speaking on the issue of Uniform Civil Code, Justice Yadav strongly supported it. During this, he/she also made some comments which sparked controversy. he/she termed 4 marriages of Muslims as wrong. Hinduism was described as more tolerant than Islam. Justice Yadav said, ‘I have no hesitation in saying that this is India… and the country will run according to the majority living in India.’ Justice Yadav is scheduled to retire on 15 April 2026.