'Cow Exhales Oxygen', 'Skin To Skin' , 'Will You Marry Her' & Other Controversial Judicial Remarks Of 2021

In 2021, there were certain bizarre and astonishing remarks made by judges, which created widespread public controversies.  Here is a look at some of them.

'Cow the only animal which exhales oxygen' : Allahabad High Court

While deciding a bail application in a case for cattle slaughter, Justice Shekhar Kumar Yadav of the Allahabad High Court opined that cow should be declared as the national animal of India.

In the order, written in Hindi, Justice Yadav enthusiastically described several virtues of cow, in order to emphasize that it deserved to be the national animal.

"Scientists believe that cow is the only animal which inhales and exhales oxygen", Justice Yadav observed in the order.  "Panchgavya, which is made of cow milk, curd, ghee, urine and cow dung, helps in the treatment of several incurable diseases", the judge went on to say. He further observed that it is a tradition in India to use ghee made of cow milk during yajna because "this gives special energy to sunrays, which ultimately causes rains".

These comments created a stir in the social media, with several users pointing out the absolute lack of scientific basis in the judge's observations. Justice Yadav observed in the order that no one can claim a fundamental right to eat the meat of the cow, and called for a law to declare "cow protection a fundamental right of Hindus".

'Will you marry her?' CJI Bobde's question to rape accused stirs controversy

In March, the then Chief Justice of India SA Bobde kicked up a row with his 'will you marry her?' question to a man accused of raping a minor on a false promise of marriage. The man, who was accused of inducing a minor girl into sexual intercourse by promising to marry her while he was a teenager, had approached the Court seeking anticipatory bail . Upset with the huge backlash generated by the remarks, CJI Bobde, on a later date, claimed that his observations were misreported and said "we never gave a suggestion that you should marry. We had asked, are you going to marry".

'Such people must not be spared' : Madhya Pradesh HC judge during bail hearing in Munawwar Faruqui case

While hearing the bail applications of comedians Munawwar Faruqi and Nalin Yadav in a case alleging insult to religious sentiments, Justice Rohit Arya of the Madhya Pradesh High Court made certain strong remarks, which suggested a pre-determination of guilt at the investigation stage.

"...why you take undue advantage of other's religious sentiments and emotions? What is wrong with your mindset? How can you do this for the purpose of your business?", Justice Rohit Arya asked Faruqui's counsel.

"Such people must not be spared", the judge said while reserving order. Later, the judge passed an order rejecting bail observing that the evidence collected suggested that the accused "under the garb of stand up comedy" made "scurrilous, disparaging utterances, outraging religious feelings of a class of citizens of India".

Faruqui approached the Supreme Court challenging the HC order. On the first day of the case itself, a bench led by Justice Nariman granted bail to Faruqui within less than 5-minutes. The bench also stayed a production warrant issued by a UP Court against him in a similar case registered there.

Wide remarks against films in the 'Tandav' case

While denying anticipatory bail to the actors and makers on the web series 'Tandav', which got entangled in a case for outraging religious sentiments, Justice Siddharth of the Allahabad High Court made certain blanket observations, going beyond the issues involved in the case.

"..if the petitioner does not want to see his Prime Minister or if he is ashamed to see the picture of his Prime Minister, he can avert his eyes to the bottom side of the vaccine certificate".

"Ram is the soul and culture of India and India is incomplete without Ram," Justice Yadav observed in the order written in Hindi. The order was passed in a bail application of a man accused of offending religious sentiments by sharing objectionable pictures of deities in social media.

The remarks invited several critical comments that a judge holding a constitutional post in a secular country ought to avoid such remarks expressing personal reverence to religious figures.

No POCSO offence if there is no 'skin to skin' contact : Bombay High Court's shocking judgment

The judgment of the Bombay High Court which held that 'skin-to-skin' contact is necessary for the offence of sexual assault under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences(POCSO) Act became a subject matter of huge public condemnation.