Karnataka HC judge vows vendetta against complaining bar members

We know all about treading lightly while making remarks against judges, but how do things work the other way around? How much banter is a judge allowed to have with advocates before they take offence?.This is a particularly relevant question, especially in light of recent events in and around the Karnataka High Court. In the eye of the storm is Justice Ram Mohan Reddy, who was appointed as a permanent judge of the High Court in 2004. He has been accused of making “derogatory remarks” against advocates appearing before him, in particular against junior lawyers..The issue dates back to October of last year, when the judge allegedly passed some comments against advocate Venkataramana Reddy..Subsequently, Reddy, along with advocate NP Amrutesh launched a campaign to condemn the judge’s behaviour towards members of the Bar. Apparently 600-700 advocates signed the petition, calling for a meeting of the Advocates Association of Bangalore (AAB) to stand in solidarity with the complaining bar members..Speaking to Bar & Bench, Amrutesh said,.“His remarks have been affecting advocates for some time, but nobody has tried to stop it. He can make one or two comments to lighten the atmosphere, but everything has a limit. One time, a lady advocate fainted in court because of the remarks he made.”.However, a couple of younger advocates practicing in the High Court, on the condition of anonymity, do not agree with Amrutesh. They have dismissed Justice Reddy’s remarks as “harmless”. The same opinion was reflected by the President of the Advocates Association, when he refused to convene the meeting..In fact, he went one step further and proceeded to bring the petition to the judge’s notice, much to the ire of Amrutesh..In response, Amrutesh filed a petition in the High Court seeking that the President and the General Secretary of the Advocates Association be directed to convene the meeting. However, when the matter came up for hearing before Justice Anand Byrareddy, he was reluctant to proceed against his brother judge, especially given Justice Reddy’s impending retirement in June this year..But the matter did not end there. Yesterday, things got rather ugly when Justice Reddy was hearing an unrelated matter..In a land allotment controversy involving the Prestige Group, SR Hiremath, an activist of the Samaja Parivarthana Samudaya (SPS) filed an intervention application praying that the land, being used for grazing of cattle, should not be allotted to private parties. He also sought Justice Reddy’s recusal in the matter, alleging that the judge and the government counsel were “hand in glove with builders and were delaying court proceedings”..Senior Advocate Udaya Holla, appearing for Prestige, was quoted as saying,.“Every litigant cannot be given the opportunity to chose the judge on the basis that the judge is biased.”.When the judge asked why contempt proceedings should not be initiated against the intervenor, old bones were dug up..S Basavaraj, appearing for the intervenor, brought to light the petition filed by Amrutesh, alluding to the bar members’ impression of the judge. In reaction to this, the irate Justice Reddy vowed to take action against the complaining members by filing cases against them post-retirement..This is not the first time members of the AAB have picked a beef with a sitting judge. In 2014, they sought the transfer of Chief Justice DH Waghela to another court..The question remains as to whether the present issue is a case of an oversensitive section of lawyers or an insensitive judge. From the facts at hand, it is unclear whether Justice Reddy’s demeanour towards the bar calls for reproach. In any case, the complaints of Amrutesh and others are surely affecting the other matters pending before the judge..So how should advocates address their grievances against a judge?.TN Raghupathy, an advocate who regularly appears at the High Court, recalls his method of dealing with judges, with particular reference to Justice Waghela..He says,.“If the judge talks to you in an insulting manner, you should protest. I have been branded as a quarrelsome lawyer because of that, but it doesn’t matter. I would say that my attitude has helped me get along better with judges. Lawyers think that if they say anything to the judge, he may keep it in mind and damage other cases, but that has never happened to me.”.Image courtesy:.NP Amrutesh.Justice Ram Mohan Reddy