Meghalaya Judge's "Hindu Country" Line To Be Deleted? Top Court To Decide

The Supreme Court had agreed to look into a controversial remark on "Hindu country" made by a judge of the Meghalaya High Court last December.

Justice Sudip Ranjan Sen sparked a major row after he wrote a judgment that said India should have been declared a "Hindu country."  "Since Partition of the subcontinent, during Independence, was done on the basis of religion, Pakistan declared that it was an Islamic country... India should also have been declared a Hindu country...," Justice Sen had said. He was hearing a petition by an Army recruit who was refused a domicile certificate by the Meghalaya government.

The top court will examine whether the remarks of the High Court judge can be deleted and issued a notice to the Meghalaya High Court registrar. The court was hearing a petition that contended that the judgment by Justice Sen is "legally flawed and historically misleading". 

Several top lawyers, retired judges and political parties had condemned his comment and even sought his impeachment.

Justice Sen had later clarified that his order wasn't influenced by any political ideology. In his clarification posted on the official website of the Meghalaya High Court, Justice Sen wrote, "I do not belong to any political party nor have I got any dream to get any political berth after my retirement and neither is my judgment politically motivated or influenced by any party."

The CPI(M) alleged that the judge's views will increase discord in the region and that Justice Sen has "lost his moral right to continue in the office as a judge in a High Court".