In a heated courtroom exchange, Justice G.R. Swaminathan of the Madras High Court confronted Advocate Vanchinathan over allegations that the judge was acting with caste and communal bias. The proceedings took place before a Division Bench comprising Justices G.R. Swaminathan and K. Rajasekar.
“You are a comedy piece,” Justice Swaminathan said, reacting sharply to Vanchinathan’s refusal to answer questions orally and his insistence that the Court issue a written order. “I don’t know who called you all revolutionary. You are all comedy pieces,” the judge added.
The Court had summoned Vanchinathan following multiple social media posts and interviews in which he reportedly accused Justice Swaminathan of judicial bias against members of the Dalit community and favouritism towards Brahmin lawyers. The Bench clarified it sought to verify whether the advocate stood by his allegations or wished to withdraw them.
“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,” Justice Swaminathan remarked.
The judge noted that one of the interviews circulating on social media included claims that a Dalit senior lawyer had been targeted by the Court, while a Brahmin lawyer was allegedly spared. Expressing concern, the judge said, “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 Court’s written order confirmed that Vanchinathan appeared in person on 25 July and 28 July 2025. It noted that the advocate had linked the present proceedings to his complaint sent to the Chief Justice of India and other Supreme Court judges, a connection the Bench denied. “We fail to understand on what basis such allegations have been made against this Court… We clarify once again that the proceedings against him have nothing to do with that complaint,” the order stated.
The Court emphasized that the summons were issued to uphold natural justice, given that serious accusations of casteism were made publicly against a sitting judge. “You have assumed two things that have no basis. First, this has nothing to do with the complaint you sent to the Hon’ble Chief Justice of India. Second, we have not initiated any contempt action till Friday. We only want to clarify your stance, whether you continue to allege caste and communal bias,” the Bench said.
In a development related to the matter, eight retired judges of the Madras High Court, including Justices K. Chandru, D. Hariparanthaman, C.T. Selvam, Akbar Ali, P. Kalaiyarasan, S. Vimala, K.K. Sasidharan, and S.S. Sundar, wrote to the Chief Justice of India seeking intervention. They urged that complaints against judges be addressed through the office of the Chief Justice and not by the judges concerned. Reacting to this, the Court said, “While this matter is pending, it is most unfortunate that some retired judges are rendering opinions.”
Justice Swaminathan also expressed particular disappointment that Justice S.S. Sundar had signed the letter.
Concluding the hearing, the Bench ordered that the case be placed before the Chief Justice for appropriate orders. As the proceedings ended, Justice Swaminathan remarked, “I regretted calling you a coward. Now I do not regret at all.”
(With inputs from Bar and Bench)
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