Indian judge refers to Muslim-dominated area in Bengaluru as ‘Pakistan’

BENGALURU: A Karnataka High Court judge sparked significant controversy by referring to a neighbourhood in Bengaluru as “Pakistan”.

This comment arose during his remarks on Gori Palya, a locality situated in the western part of the city, Indian media reported.

While discussing traffic issues near the Mysore Road flyover, in a recent session, Justice Vedavyasachar Srishananda expressed his views on local conditions, saying, “Go to Mysore road flyover, every auto rickshaw has 10 people. It is not applicable because the Mysore flyover head left to the market from Gori Palya is in Pakistan, not in India. This is the reality. No matter how strict a police officer you put there, they will be beaten up there.”

A video clip of his statement has since gone viral on social media sites. Gori Palya is known to be predominantly inhabited by the Muslim community. The judge’s words have sparked debate across platforms, with numerous users condemning the remarks.

“5-6 people cramping up in an auto should NOT be encouraged because it is a safety issue, but it is extremely unbecoming of a judge to use the words he did. This is how systemic dehumanisation of Indian Muslims look like where even the ones who’re supposed to uphold the law, dehumanise Indian Muslims,” an X user wrote.

“If people in judiciary speak like this, it will only encourage common people to dehumanise Indian Muslims even more,” he added.

However, some agreed with the judge, with an internet user writing, “Good to see the judge speaking out the reality.” “Hats off to the Karnataka High court,” another posted. “Hope the judge puts this observation in his written order!” an X user said.