Madras High Court Judge calls lawyer's caste bias claim 'comedy, not revolutionary'

A lawyer who accused a sitting judge of caste-based bias was summoned by the Madras High Court’s Madurai Bench, triggering a tense courtroom exchange and wider protests from sections of the legal community.

Advocate Vanchinathan, who was appearing before Justices GR Swaminathan and K Rajasekhar in connection with a separate matter, was surprised when he was asked to explain a complaint he had earlier filed with the Chief Justice of India.

In the complaint, sent in June 2025, he had alleged that Justice GR Swaminathan was influenced by caste prejudice in his judicial conduct.

The judge pointed out that Vanchinathan had also made these allegations publicly in a video interview with a YouTube channel.

“For the past four years you’ve been acting like this. What is your stand on claiming that the judge is acting based on caste prejudice? You are making comedy by calling yourself revolutionary,” Justice Swaminathan said during the hearing.

“Mr Vanchinathan, I 100 per cent respect your right to brutally criticise my judgments. But when you are alleging caste bias, things take a different turn,” Bar and Bench reported.

While the court maintained that no contempt proceedings had been initiated against the lawyer yet, Justice Swaminathan said that while criticism of judicial decisions was acceptable, accusing a judge of caste bias was a serious matter that changed the nature of the issue.

Vanchinathan declined to respond orally in court and sought a formal inquiry. The judge then directed the Registry to issue a written questionnaire to the lawyer. The matter has now been referred to the Chief Justice Bench for further proceedings.

“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 judge said.

Following the incident, a group of lawyers staged a protest outside the Madras High Court on Monday in support of Vanchinathan.

Meanwhile, several retired Madras High Court judges issued a joint statement urging the Bench not to take direct action against Advocate Vanchinathan. They emphasised that complaints about judicial conduct should be addressed through the Chief Justice and not dealt with by the concerned judge.

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