Allahabad HC Judge Shekhar Kumar Yadav appears before SC collegium over his remarks on UCC at VHP event

NEW DELHI: Allahabad high court judge Shekhar Kumar Yadav, who landed in controversy after his remark on the Uniform Civil Code (UCC), appeared before the Supreme Court collegium on Tuesday.
Yadav appeared before the collegium headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sanjiv Khanna and was asked to put forth his version of the statements made, reported news agency PTI citing sources.
“The Supreme Court has taken note of newspaper reports of a speech given by Mr Justice Shekhar Kumar Yadav, a sitting judge of the high court of Judicature at Allahabad. The details and particulars have been called from the high court and the matter is under consideration,” an official statement had said.
According to the established norm, a judge, against whom a report is sought by the apex court collegium on any controversial issue from the high court concerned, is given opportunity to put forth his or her version before the top court collegium headed by the chief justice of India.
His remark on the UCC, calling it a measure to “eliminate unequal legal systems” triggered controversy, with the Supreme Court intervening in the matter.
Justice Yadav’s speech, made on December 8 while addressing a provincial convention of the legal cell and high court unit of the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) in Allahabad high court, included remarks that did not go well with a certain section.
“UCC’s purpose is to promote social harmony, gender equality and secularism by eliminating unequal legal systems based on different religions and communities,” Justice Yadav told the gathering in Allahabad.
“The aim is to replace various personal laws that currently govern personal matters within different religious communities, ensuring uniformity of laws not only between communities but within a community,” he added.
After the uproar over Justice Yadav’s remark, the Supreme Court had sought a detailed report from the Allahabad high court over the matter.