Lucknow, June 26 (IANS) The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) has written to political parties requesting them to push for action in the matter of the “objectionable” speech delivered by Justice Shekhar Yadav of the Allahabad High Court, a Board official said on Thursday.

AIMPLB General Secretary Mohammed Fazlur Rahim Mujaddidi said Justice Yadav’s remarks on December 8, 2024, amounted to giving “a twisted and misdirected understanding of secularism, coloured by the strong religious consciousness of his own religious belief”.

In a letter addressed to political parties, he said: “The Board feels that for the last six months, there has been no effective action in this matter. It appears that the political class of our country has not taken this issue seriously.”

Justice Yadav had reportedly stated that India should run according to the will of the majority and made remarks perceived as targeting the Muslim community. A video of the speech was circulated widely on social media.

Following the incident, the Supreme Court took cognisance and sought a report from the Chief Justice of the High Court.

“We need to remind all the political parties/class that constitutional culture as contemplated by the Constitution of India, 1950, does not permit a Judge of a Constitutional Court to show his/her partisan approach while holding the position of a sitting Judge,” the AIMPLB official said.

Board’s Office Secretary Vaquar Uddin Latifi shared excerpts of Mujaddidi’s letter, which said: “The Learned Judge appears to have not only forgotten the position that he commands but also disregarded the fact that the concept of a secular state.”

“The Constitution preaches by treating every citizen equally as far as their practices — many of them derived from their religion and culture — has space within the constitutional setup, and that is the secularism in our country, and not the definition of secularism that the Learned Judge believes in, by giving a twisted and misdirected understanding of secularism coloured by the strong religious consciousness of his own religious belief,” the AIMPLB official wrote in the letter.

The freedom of faith and religion is an integral part of the social structure. Muslims at large also feel that many religious practices in interpersonal relationships are also necessary, wrote Mujaddidi.

“The learned Judge appears to have forgotten that his strong religious consciousness targeting a particular religion, under the garb of his understanding of constitutionalism, shall hamper the rule of law,” he wrote.

“Being a member of a Constitutional Court, the basic requirement of which is to remain neutral, the Judge has advocated his personal agenda to promote one kind of constitutionalism, which itself is unconstitutional and requires serious intervention from the mechanism set up within the Constitution itself,” he said.

Even otherwise, diversity and inclusivity in our country do not permit a Judge to take sides as Justice Yadav has taken, and hence it is necessary that political parties/class take up this issue within the permissible procedure as stated in the Constitution of India, he said.

Mujaddidi’s letter comes at a time when senior advocate and Rajya Sabha member Kapil Sibal has strongly criticised Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar for not acting on an impeachment motion filed against Justice Yadav, nearly six months after it was submitted.

–IANS

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